WEBVTT 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:05.020 How's that? There we go. Thanks, Aidan. That's a comforting thumbs up. 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:14.140 Good morning, everyone. My name's Janet Skora. Lovely to be able to be with you this wonderful 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:20.359 summer's morning. I've been a long-time member of St Paul's and have the great privilege of being 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:27.679 one of our wardens and one of our community group leaders. Really excited to have the opportunity 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:36.299 to speak to you briefly today about the amazing life of Jane Grey. We're in our series over January, 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:43.380 as you may be aware, of looking at steadfast women in faith, and Jane Grey is certainly one of those. 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:50.500 So let me pray for us before we have a short look at this amazing woman's life. 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:57.320 Our Lord and Saviour, we thank you that you have given us the gift of salvation 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:03.500 and thank you for a gospel that is a light for our path and thank you that it was your gospel that 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:11.379 lit Jane Grey's path so many hundreds of years ago. We thank you that she is a part of our faith 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:19.200 heritage and pray that as we at her life today, that you would speak to us by your spirit about 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:27.659 what your gospel means for us here today in this place. Amen. As I said, we continue this week exploring 00:01:27.659 --> 00:01:33.600 women of faith and we get the opportunity today to look at the very short life of Lady Jane Grey, 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:40.740 who's often called the Nine Days Queen. She really is a powerful example of unshakable faith, 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:50.000 of personal scriptural conviction and of courage in the face of significant persecution. Though her reign 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:57.159 as Queen was brief, her testimony as a young Protestant martyr left an enduring theological legacy. 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:02.819 So I want to reflect on Jane Grey from the perspective of her commitment to God's Word, 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:09.539 her unwavering trust in Jesus and her bold witness under persecution. But first, 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:18.780 let's have a bit of a look at who she was. Jane Grey was born in 1537 into a very tumultuous time 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:25.620 in English history. She was born into a noble family, she was educated and she was wealthy and 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:30.899 she was very close to the political controversy that surrounded the English Reformation. 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:36.739 Now, I could probably spend all of this talk and most of the day talking about the Reformation and 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:42.900 you'll be very pleased to know that I don't intend to do that. So let's try and give you a short 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:46.219 whistle-stop tour so you've got the context if you're not familiar with it. 00:02:47.920 --> 00:02:56.000 From 1517, the German monk and professor Martin Luther challenged the Pope about fundamental issues 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:03.160 of faith. The basis for his argument was that salvation is by faith alone and that scripture 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:08.259 was the ultimate authority on any theological issue. And these were different beliefs to what 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:14.019 the Catholic Church has. And it really marked the beginning of the Protestant movement, 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:21.400 which we are now a part of. As the Reformation spread from Europe into Britain into the 1520s, 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:26.159 Protestant reformers in England were being persecuted for their faith. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:33.379 This changed somewhat when King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church. He didn't do that 00:03:33.379 --> 00:03:37.960 necessarily for good reasons. He did that so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon. 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:45.219 But at that time, England broke away from the Catholic Church. As a result, the king and his 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:52.819 successors, for the most part, adopted a Protestant faith. And over time, the English people came to 00:03:52.819 --> 00:04:02.180 identify as Protestant. In 1536, the reform-minded Anne Boleyn, who you might have heard of, was out of 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:10.000 favour with Henry VIII and was beheaded, as you are, in somewhat dubious circumstances. And over time, 00:04:10.459 --> 00:04:16.600 the king grew less favourable towards reform. And so evangelicals were again forced into the underground. 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:24.620 And so Jane Grey was born into the midst of this, into the rumbling times between church and politics. 00:04:25.580 --> 00:04:32.980 So she would have known, had grown up with the knowledge of this context and what had happened 00:04:32.980 --> 00:04:40.400 prior to Henry VIII's death in 1547. But she had also been exposed to the gospel of grace. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:47.579 She came from a family who was deeply connected to evangelical theology. Her father, Henry, was a 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:54.939 passionate man committed to the gospel of grace, and he was reform-minded. So when King Henry VIII died, 00:04:55.419 --> 00:05:00.979 Jane went to live with his widow, Catherine Parr, who actively fostered and nurtured her faith. 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:08.679 When she was 11 years old and Catherine died, Jane went back to live with her family and resumed her 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:15.379 extensive studies, benefiting from learning of many of the evangelical thinkers who visited her family 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:22.680 home. At the heart of what she learned, though, was that an understanding of scripture must be joined 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:30.620 with developing a character of godliness. As a young woman, Jane Grey is described in what I've read as 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:37.079 someone who was intelligent, she was loyal, she was studious, she was loving, she was honourable, 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:43.759 and she was a bit stubborn. There's no doubt she was raised by her family in a way that acknowledged 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:48.899 and perhaps took advantage of the world that she would live in as a woman of noble heritage, 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:55.159 receiving a broad and rich education, but equally having a deep understanding of God's word 00:05:55.159 --> 00:06:02.899 and what it meant to live as his servant. And so we find Lady Jane Grey was deeply committed to 00:06:02.899 --> 00:06:10.379 scripture. It shaped her theological understanding and it shaped her moral compass. At just 16 years 00:06:10.379 --> 00:06:16.379 old, when her life ended, she had a remarkable grasp of the Bible and of what the Reformation was all 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:24.620 about. She had a deep personal devotion to scripture. Her education was provided to her by people who were 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:31.579 critical to evangelical thinking in England. She was fluent in ancient languages and had read a wide range 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:38.979 of philosophy and literature. Her education had encouraged her to have a curious mind, but her faith 00:06:38.979 --> 00:06:46.539 demanded that everything she read be tested against the scripture as a source of truth. And so she became 00:06:46.539 --> 00:06:54.019 one of the best educated women in England. What stood out consistently though is that Jane was devoted to the 00:06:54.019 --> 00:07:01.319 gospel of the Lord Jesus. Knowledge of scripture was not enough. It had to grow alongside faith and a 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:07.040 character that was shaped towards godliness. What Jane was learning, she had to put into practice. 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:13.079 And as her life went on, the depths in her understanding of scripture enabled her to speak 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:19.639 confidently about her faith, even in situations where people with many more years and much more life 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:26.019 experience would find daunting. It shaped her character, it shaped her worldview and her moral framework. 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:38.259 Later in her young life, when Jane is, she needs to debate her faith with some of the Catholic 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:44.939 Christians. And she did that with, she did, Jane defended the authority of scripture over human tradition 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:52.259 and was able to quote the Bible to counter arguments. This was because it conveyed the importance of God's 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:56.879 word, not the church as the authority over her life, as it should for any believer. 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:03.740 Jane's life really illustrates the power of scripture to guide and sustain us as believers. 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:10.779 Her knowledge of God's word enabled her to stand firm in her convictions, even when she was facing death. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:18.139 Her example challenges us to deepen our engagement with scripture for ourselves and to make it a foundation 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:27.560 for our faith. At a very young age, Jane's life took a very swift turn as she's drawn more into the 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:34.019 controversy of the English throne. The Duke of Northumberland, which sounds very grand, wanted his son, 00:08:34.199 --> 00:08:40.299 Guildford Dudley, to marry royalty. And so he persuaded the dying King Edward to change his will 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:51.099 so that Lady Jane Grey would inherit the crown and then he had to his son. Now Lady Jane wasn't aware 00:08:51.099 --> 00:08:57.759 that this had occurred. And so when the King died, people turn up at her door to inform her that she 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:04.159 is his successor and will be appointed Queen. And she wasn't thrilled about this idea, it's safe to say, 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:12.219 saying, the crown is not my right, it pleases me lot, not Lady Mary is the rightful heir, Mary being the 00:09:12.219 --> 00:09:20.600 Queen, the Princess. Eventually she was persuaded to take the throne, but there was no fanfare, there 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:26.000 wasn't the usual ceremony that went with the proclamation of the Queen, because she was well aware 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:35.580 that Princess Mary expected to be Queen. One of Jane's only actions during her very short reign was to 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:43.379 oversee a ceremony baptising a baby. Edward Underhill was a man who had been transformed by the gospel of 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:50.240 Jesus and had gone from living a very wild life to becoming a man of faith. He wanted to have his son 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:57.820 baptised and Queen Jane stood as his godmother. As she was praying that the baby would trust in Christ 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:04.200 all his life and fight for the gospel, Mary became Queen and things changed again for young Jane. 00:10:06.299 --> 00:10:13.279 Lady Jane had a personal theology that was centred on salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:20.200 The principle of the Reformation was at the heart of her disagreement with what the 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:25.200 Reformation was about and it was central to her personal faith, and she lived that out in how 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:30.980 she wanted to see other people understand who Jesus was. In her writings, in her conversations, 00:10:31.160 --> 00:10:37.300 she made that very clear, that her hope was in Christ's atoning work, not in rituals and not in 00:10:37.300 --> 00:10:45.820 human effort. In the passage that Gary read to us earlier, this is affirmed. It is by grace you have 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:51.940 been saved through faith. It's not from yourselves, it's a gift from God. And these are the words that 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:58.860 Jane Grey was convinced of, that salvation came by God's grace, not by anything any of us do. Not all 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:04.540 the good deeds in the world, not for the most noble, not for the best dressed or the well educated. 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:09.880 Salvation is for all people a gift of God and we don't work for gifts. 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:17.840 Even as she faced circumstances well beyond her experience as a young woman, Jane declared her 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:24.500 trust in Jesus saying, I look to be saved by no other means but only by the mercy of God in the 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:31.179 blood of his only son, Jesus Christ. Her faith in the sufficiency of Christ calls us to examine 00:11:31.179 --> 00:11:36.580 where we place our hope and whether we fully trust in his grace in all our life circumstances. 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:44.060 And so soon after Queen Mary took the throne, Lady Jane and her husband were imprisoned in the 00:11:44.060 --> 00:11:50.860 Tower of London. Now the Queen was very determined to make a spectacle of Lady Jane and so she was set 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:57.960 to have a very public trial which meant a very long walk through the very busy streets of London to 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:03.400 where her trial would happen. She was charged with treason and she was condemned to be beheaded. 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:11.799 Those in attendance expected that she would break down but she stood firm. In the aftermath of the 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:21.100 trial she wrote a prayer. O merciful God, consider my misery best known unto thee and be thou now unto me 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:30.079 a strong tower of defence. I humbly require thee, suffer me not to be tempted above my power but either be 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:37.240 a deliverer unto me out of this great misery or else give me the grace patiently to bear the heavy hand 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:45.680 and sharp correction. In such extreme circumstances this young woman displayed a sense of peace and 00:12:45.680 --> 00:12:52.620 calm that could only be a reflection of her spiritual composure. She continued to be unwavering in her 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:59.480 faith, her dependence on God and her proclamation of it. So while she's imprisoned, she lives with a 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:06.519 jailer in his house and soon learned that her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, had 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:14.539 denied his faith prior to his execution in the hope of receiving a pardon. Lady Jane was horrified at this 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:18.600 and it seemed to bolster her own convictions even further. She wrote, 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:26.139 Should I, who am so young and few in years, forsake my faith for the love of life? No, God forbid it. 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:33.920 But God be merciful to us for he says, whoever denies him before men, he will not know him in the Father's 00:13:33.920 --> 00:13:42.660 kingdom. Now it seems that Queen Mary was willing to be somewhat lenient on Lady Jane. She afforded her 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:49.600 some freedoms while she was imprisoned that made it a little more bearable. However, some senior nobles, 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:56.539 including Lady Jane's father, unfortunately, made an attempt to remove her from the throne and this 00:13:56.539 --> 00:14:04.799 really extinguished any chance of leniency and so Lady Jane's fate was sealed. One of the most gripping 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:11.220 accounts of Lady Jane is the conversation that happened between her and the Catholic chaplain, 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:18.660 John Feckernam, in the days before she was beheaded. The chaplain goes to Jane in an attempt to save 00:14:18.660 --> 00:14:24.340 her soul, to convince her that her faith was a fraud and that she should go back to her Catholic belief. 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:32.680 So think for a moment about that scene. You have a 16-year-old girl, imprisoned for days and 00:14:32.680 --> 00:14:38.259 imprisoned and days away from what she knows will be a horrific death and you have a seasoned, 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:46.179 older, experienced minister of the church who has authority and perhaps influence over what the 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:53.139 Queen might do to spare Jane's life. Now this conversation happened over three days and so I 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:58.419 don't, I'm not going to go over the detail of it but Feckernam asked her at one point what is required 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:05.879 in a Christian and she answered, to believe in God the Father, in God the Son, in God the Holy Ghost, 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:11.600 three persons and what God. Is there anything else required in a Christian but to believe in God? 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:18.399 She answered, yes, we must believe in him, we must love him with all our heart, with all our soul, 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:26.539 with all our mind and our neighbour as ourself. After three days of talking the chaplain concluded 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:33.039 that Jane was not to be persuaded to deny her faith and he left her saying that they would not meet 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:41.199 again. She replied, true that we shall never meet again unless you, unless God turn your heart, 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:49.059 for I am sure unless you repent and turn to God you are an evil case. I pray to God in the bowels of 00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:57.559 his mercy to send you his Holy Spirit. Jane Gray doesn't let her youth or her diminished status, 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:06.119 or her status diminished her testimony. She engages in a debate with Feckernam and stands firm in what 00:16:06.119 --> 00:16:12.339 she believes and she knows what she believes. She's spent time in scripture herself, she's asked 00:16:12.339 --> 00:16:20.199 questions, she understands what she's saying, she is out, she's compelled, she's assured. The chaplain 00:16:20.199 --> 00:16:26.619 presses that we can be saved by our works, that the scripture has authority over the church, 00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:33.580 not the other way around. It demonstrated that she had that unwavering faith and strength in her 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:40.600 belief and that she was convinced that faith is by Christ alone and in the authority of the scripture. 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:49.399 And so Queen Mary pressed on with her efforts to stamp out evangelicalism and have her reign preserved. 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:56.519 Knowing that her fate was now inevitable, Jane wrote words of encouragement. In small Bibles, 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:02.699 for her sister and for the jailer who had kept her, urging them to consider the gospel for themselves 00:17:02.699 --> 00:17:10.839 and to stay true to their faith. As she stood in the public arena before her death, she shared her 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.000 final testimony, including these words. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:19.000 Jane's martyrdom is a testimony to her courage and her faith. Offering a chance to recantate, 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:34.220 she said, she was led to her death on the 12th of February, 1554. 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:43.779 Jane's martyrdom is a testimony to her courage and her faith. Offering a chance to recant and to 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:50.640 embrace her Catholicism, Jane chose instead to remain faithful to her beliefs. She faced her death 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:58.519 with serenity, reportedly quoting the Apostle Paul, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:05.839 and I have kept the faith. And so what can we reflect on from the life of Lady Jane Grey? 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:15.379 Her death at 16 reminds us that faithfulness to Christ comes at a cost. Her example challenges us 00:18:15.379 --> 00:18:20.599 to consider whether we are prepared to stand firm in our faith when we're facing difficult 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:28.779 circumstances, opposition or suffering. Her life is a profound example of commitment to God's word, 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:35.459 of trust in Christ alone for everything we need and boldness in witness. Her faith, though tested, 00:18:35.919 --> 00:18:42.599 never wavered. I have also reflected on the fact that this is a young woman in extraordinary times 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:48.259 and certainly extraordinary circumstances, but she's still a teenager. I think Jane is a tremendous 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:53.299 encouragement to our young people. You need to know that you believe, know what you believe, 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:59.400 know why you believe it. Search the Bible for yourself, ask questions, be courageous in your 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:05.579 faith. Don't underestimate the impact that you can have. Your faith and your testimony is just as 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:12.700 powerful as someone who's older. Lady Jane Grey, known as the Queen of Nine Days, was remembered at the 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:19.640 time and we remember through her history for her faith, for her hope and her deep love. Her life 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:26.000 and her death are equally inspiring for their passion for the truth, courage under trial and an 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:33.620 unwavering hope in Christ. I'm also impressed by how deeply invested in the scriptures she was 00:19:33.620 --> 00:19:41.059 and to constantly learning more, being educated, having the word of God in her heart, in her mouth, 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:47.399 and knowing that it gave her life and hope. Her love of the scriptures gave her a firm grasp of the 00:19:47.399 --> 00:19:53.740 truth. It gave her the foundation for her life and her character. It's the same word that we open today, 00:19:54.379 --> 00:19:59.419 the same word that we use to teach, rebuke, correct and train in righteousness. 00:20:00.899 --> 00:20:06.700 And so maybe your next step this year is spending more time in God's word so that you might have the 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:13.819 same assurance, hope and courage that she showed. Read the Bible four or more times a week. Ask God 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:20.360 to speak to you about what you're about, to speak to you through what you read. Meet with other people 00:20:20.360 --> 00:20:25.819 and be challenged and encouraged through his word to continue in faith. We've already heard this morning, 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:31.420 it's a great time of year to join a community group. We'll spend some time with someone one-on-one 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:36.140 and open the scripture together. Commit to that investment in yourself this year. 00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:43.920 Lady Jane was also compelled that everyone should hear and respond to the gospel. She knew that 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:49.960 salvation was only to be found in Jesus and she wanted people to know that. Even in the faith, 00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:57.120 she had fought in her short life to proclaim that it isn't a works-based gospel. It's not something we 00:20:57.119 --> 00:21:04.459 can earn or buy. God loved the world so much that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him 00:21:04.459 --> 00:21:12.079 shall not perish but have eternal life. Jane knew that God loved her that much. She had nothing to fear 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:19.479 in this world because her eternal life was assured. Her words after darkness, I hope for light, 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:25.539 were realised in her own life and convey for us too the assurance that we can have in Christ. 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:33.059 If that's not your assurance today, my encouragement is that you will take your next step and find out 00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:37.859 before you leave what God has done for you. Let's pray. 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:46.480 Heavenly Father, thank you for the example of Lady Jane Grey, who remains steadfast in her faith, 00:21:46.639 --> 00:21:54.180 even to death. Teach us to value your word, trust in Christ alone and to boldly proclaim your truth. 00:21:54.180 --> 00:22:01.440 Strengthen us to follow her example that we might glorify you in all we do. In Jesus' name. Amen.