by David Robinson
“Verily I Say Unto You, They Have Their Reward” - Matthew 6:2
This month, The Lord sent me to Spain. Among other places here, I ended up in the city of Valencia. I didn’t know what I’d find there, but you go anyway because it’s the Lord directing us, right?! So we go in faith and obedience because we love Him!
I was based in what’s called the “old city” area of Valencia, dating back to Roman times. In a nut shell, what I found was major contrast. The Lord primarily led me to visit the cathedral of Valencia, which is dedicated to ‘Mary’ and was built on the site of the main Islamic mosque of the Moors, who invaded in 711 AD. The mosque was incorporated in the main dome section over the main alter.
The cathedral is well-advertised and signposted. The building itself is very ostentatious and its’ interior extremely ornate. Inside you’ll get a multi-language audio tour; you can see the “actual” 1st century “grail” cup of the last supper. There are statues, artworks, dedicated chapels and relics galore - such as the mummified right arm, cut* from 2nd Century ‘Saint’ Vincent the martyr.
*(before the rest of his remains were shipped off to Lisbon in the 11th century)
I then happened to read on an internet search, regarding the above mentioned ‘Vincent the martyr’ and that there was a location here related to him, very near the cathedral. Vincent was a ‘Visigoth’ Christian (pre-Constantine) and this site was his prison cell, that later became his crypt.
To fill you in, in 304 AD, he suffered terrible torture and death, rather than deny Jesus Christ to the Roman authorities and public. He was tied to a grid iron and publicly roasted alive over a fire. As a result of his ultimate witness and also some strange, miraculous, events surrounding his death for the gospel of Jesus Christ, there was a massive conversion to Christianity in this city!!!
But you wouldn’t know it today though - it took me over an hour of searching and asking directions to find a simple sign in Spanish and a bit in English. Even then, it took another 10 minutes to realise the site itself was behind a steel shuttered door right next to it. The place was difficult to find, kept in a low key state and locked to the public anyway!
I started to compare this back street site to the austere cathedral, only a few hundred yards around the corner in the main plaza of the old city; also there is hardly any mention in the city of the people, sites and Christian theology of the consequent Visigoth community in Valencia, destroyed, when the moors attacked in 711 AD. As ‘Visigoth Christians’, perhaps they should have “come home to ‘mother’ Rome” (as per the later counter-reformation - which is still, increasingly, being played out today under a guise of ‘unity’) then they (and Vincent) might have gotten some subsequent publicity!
So why is Vincent’s story and the consequent winning of Valencia for Christ, (pre-Constantine) barely told here; as opposed to the veneration of everything else but, his story?
Have I just answered it?
Please make up your own minds on the issue - which, by the way, is one definition of the word ‘heretic’ … or would you rather passively leave it up to a ‘clergy’ to make up your mind for you, on pain of death if you refuse? It could happen again! Well… at least I’ve told his story to you, as the Lord instructed me to!
This Vincent was a saint of God; I say ’saint’ in the true sense of the word. All who have, as per scripture, repented to God; believed on and put their trust in the name of His resurrected son, Jesus Christ; i.e. received Him by God’s grace as their own Lord and Saviour and walk in faith to follow Him alone… these are His ’saints’.
If there were such a thing as a ‘patron saint’, (I can’t seem to find it in the bible) I suppose Vincent would represent millions of the “nameless, faceless” who loved Jesus and the truth of the gospel to the end; yet were left out of history, because they weren’t “one of theirs”.
What I’m reporting here isn’t just Vincent’s story, but what appears to be the “dumbing-down” of Vincent’s story. Ultimately, if our hearts, priorities and motives are right however, a lack of recognition on earth is not the end of the world.
God knows about it all though… and it’s encouraging to ponder, that what He writes and records in Heaven is what ultimately matters! We will find it is very different to what appears to be the case down here.
Hold on to this reality friend… it will help you now and in the future.
Jesus states about Himself very clearly in the bible, that HE is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life and that no-one can come to the Father (in heaven!) except through HIM.
Do thank the Lord that we are saved by and to God Himself, not to a church or an added set of sacraments, etc (resold today as “vintage” spirituality). Jesus said “It is finished”!!
As the bible tells us, it is not enough to just know the truth, we must love the truth. Vincent had this and could not, in all conscience, recognise an emperor in Rome as ‘god on earth’ or any man-made authority, over his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. May The Lord give us the same love and strength in Jesus Christ, as Vincent and countless others have had, if such ultimatums in law come again, for us as Christians.
Today, as many people are building their ministries with “good ideas” and “needs-based” projects ‘cut and pasted’ from one place to another (whether God wanted them or not) … may our motives, be after the heart of The Father; for Jesus’ name sake as He builds His church (people) for His glory, rather than personal posterity (or Selfish Ambition as the bible defines it). If we operate out of the latter, or in retrospect lessen/embellish facts and testimonies, like those whom hold tradition equal to scripture, the real message can become a stumbling block of idolatry to those that follow on after us.
The apostle John said both these things; “Beloved, love one another…” (1John 4:7) & “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1John 5:21)
May the Lord help His people in Spain arise again, to shed and be rid of the love of tradition and fear of man; Instead, may they bring the good news of Jesus Christ, in a fear of the Lord, to this city, the Nation of Spain and the world! Amen? Amen!
“Verily I Say Unto You, They Have Their Reward” - Matthew 6:2
This month, The Lord sent me to Spain. Among other places here, I ended up in the city of Valencia. I didn’t know what I’d find there, but you go anyway because it’s the Lord directing us, right?! So we go in faith and obedience because we love Him!
I was based in what’s called the “old city” area of Valencia, dating back to Roman times. In a nut shell, what I found was major contrast. The Lord primarily led me to visit the cathedral of Valencia, which is dedicated to ‘Mary’ and was built on the site of the main Islamic mosque of the Moors, who invaded in 711 AD. The mosque was incorporated in the main dome section over the main alter.
The cathedral is well-advertised and signposted. The building itself is very ostentatious and its’ interior extremely ornate. Inside you’ll get a multi-language audio tour; you can see the “actual” 1st century “grail” cup of the last supper. There are statues, artworks, dedicated chapels and relics galore - such as the mummified right arm, cut* from 2nd Century ‘Saint’ Vincent the martyr.
*(before the rest of his remains were shipped off to Lisbon in the 11th century)
I then happened to read on an internet search, regarding the above mentioned ‘Vincent the martyr’ and that there was a location here related to him, very near the cathedral. Vincent was a ‘Visigoth’ Christian (pre-Constantine) and this site was his prison cell, that later became his crypt.
To fill you in, in 304 AD, he suffered terrible torture and death, rather than deny Jesus Christ to the Roman authorities and public. He was tied to a grid iron and publicly roasted alive over a fire. As a result of his ultimate witness and also some strange, miraculous, events surrounding his death for the gospel of Jesus Christ, there was a massive conversion to Christianity in this city!!!
But you wouldn’t know it today though - it took me over an hour of searching and asking directions to find a simple sign in Spanish and a bit in English. Even then, it took another 10 minutes to realise the site itself was behind a steel shuttered door right next to it. The place was difficult to find, kept in a low key state and locked to the public anyway!
I started to compare this back street site to the austere cathedral, only a few hundred yards around the corner in the main plaza of the old city; also there is hardly any mention in the city of the people, sites and Christian theology of the consequent Visigoth community in Valencia, destroyed, when the moors attacked in 711 AD. As ‘Visigoth Christians’, perhaps they should have “come home to ‘mother’ Rome” (as per the later counter-reformation - which is still, increasingly, being played out today under a guise of ‘unity’) then they (and Vincent) might have gotten some subsequent publicity!
So why is Vincent’s story and the consequent winning of Valencia for Christ, (pre-Constantine) barely told here; as opposed to the veneration of everything else but, his story?
Have I just answered it?
Please make up your own minds on the issue - which, by the way, is one definition of the word ‘heretic’ … or would you rather passively leave it up to a ‘clergy’ to make up your mind for you, on pain of death if you refuse? It could happen again! Well… at least I’ve told his story to you, as the Lord instructed me to!
This Vincent was a saint of God; I say ’saint’ in the true sense of the word. All who have, as per scripture, repented to God; believed on and put their trust in the name of His resurrected son, Jesus Christ; i.e. received Him by God’s grace as their own Lord and Saviour and walk in faith to follow Him alone… these are His ’saints’.
If there were such a thing as a ‘patron saint’, (I can’t seem to find it in the bible) I suppose Vincent would represent millions of the “nameless, faceless” who loved Jesus and the truth of the gospel to the end; yet were left out of history, because they weren’t “one of theirs”.
What I’m reporting here isn’t just Vincent’s story, but what appears to be the “dumbing-down” of Vincent’s story. Ultimately, if our hearts, priorities and motives are right however, a lack of recognition on earth is not the end of the world.
God knows about it all though… and it’s encouraging to ponder, that what He writes and records in Heaven is what ultimately matters! We will find it is very different to what appears to be the case down here.
Hold on to this reality friend… it will help you now and in the future.
Jesus states about Himself very clearly in the bible, that HE is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life and that no-one can come to the Father (in heaven!) except through HIM.
Do thank the Lord that we are saved by and to God Himself, not to a church or an added set of sacraments, etc (resold today as “vintage” spirituality). Jesus said “It is finished”!!
As the bible tells us, it is not enough to just know the truth, we must love the truth. Vincent had this and could not, in all conscience, recognise an emperor in Rome as ‘god on earth’ or any man-made authority, over his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. May The Lord give us the same love and strength in Jesus Christ, as Vincent and countless others have had, if such ultimatums in law come again, for us as Christians.
Today, as many people are building their ministries with “good ideas” and “needs-based” projects ‘cut and pasted’ from one place to another (whether God wanted them or not) … may our motives, be after the heart of The Father; for Jesus’ name sake as He builds His church (people) for His glory, rather than personal posterity (or Selfish Ambition as the bible defines it). If we operate out of the latter, or in retrospect lessen/embellish facts and testimonies, like those whom hold tradition equal to scripture, the real message can become a stumbling block of idolatry to those that follow on after us.
The apostle John said both these things; “Beloved, love one another…” (1John 4:7) & “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1John 5:21)
May the Lord help His people in Spain arise again, to shed and be rid of the love of tradition and fear of man; Instead, may they bring the good news of Jesus Christ, in a fear of the Lord, to this city, the Nation of Spain and the world! Amen? Amen!