1788 Part 3.

Two other Men

The clear preaching of the gospel by Johnson soon brought him into conflict with the Governor, Arthur Phillip. Phillip had no time for such strong Evangelical stuff and asked Johnson to “begin with moral subjects”. This shows the fundamental division between these two key people in the new colony. Johnson was an evangelical, called to preach the gospel. He was concerned for the eternal welfare of the men and women of the colony. He wanted to see them turn to Christ and be saved.

Phillip, on the other hand, was called to establish the new settlement, and what he was concerned about was good order and a solid moral fibre for the community. He was happy to use what he saw as “religion” as a means to an end. It was OK to have a chaplain, as long as he didn’t take things too seriously.

But, as we know, Johnson did. This is the age-old struggle between salvation by works and justification by faith alone with out the works of the law. How interesting that the Australian colony experienced this struggle right at the beginning.

In our day and age, there are many who want the church to be some kind of stabilising moral or social influence. They want us to be in the community helping people… cleaning them up and making them into good citizens. But when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ – a gospel that demands a personal response of repentance and faith – a gospel that calls us to then proclaim that gospel to others – then that’s a different matter.

Let’s face it – if we preach the pure gospel of Christ today, we are not going to have civic leaders, or social commentators, or the media queuing up to thank us. The message we are called to proclaim is a lot more demanding than the polite morality many want to church to teach!

But there was another reaction to Richard Johnson’s preaching that was less favourable.

When, due to ill health, Arthur Phillip returned to England in December 1792, Major Francis Grose assumed control as Acting Governor. Grose hated Johnson and the gospel he preached, and he set out to make life as hard as possible for the Chaplain.

In 1793, after continued government inaction on the construction of a promised church building, Mr Johnson built a church – largely with his own hands. It was big enough to hold 500 people and it opened on 25th August 1793, but – even though church attendance was supposed to be compulsory for all marines and convicts, on Christmas Day 1793, only thirty to forty attended.

Major Grose decreed that the only church service in Sydney Town be at 6 o’clock in the morning – and he ordered the service be cut down to 45 minutes. Sometimes the soldiers were drunk, sometimes they were marched off halfway through the service. There was interference with Johnson’s ministry to the condemned, his convict workers were withdrawn, and river transport was refused for his frequent journeys to Parramatta.

As well, soldiers and convicts were openly encouraged to treat him with contempt – and insults and stones were flung at him as he walked down the road. Tragically, the Colony descended further and further into the gutter as the Rum Corps took control.

So, there we have the three men– Johnson, Phillip, and Grose. One loved the gospel, one was indifferent, and one hated it and the man who proclaimed it.

Against crushing opposition, Johnson did not give in. He kept on preaching the gospel, and showing love for all. Why? Because he was convinced that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. We can see how this godly Christian man sought to live out the text that he preached at that first church service at Farm Cove.

“What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?”

Out of gratitude for what the Lord has done for us, we too need to consider how we can show in our lives our thankfulness.

Lest it be said that Johnson’s faith was only cerebral, academic, let’s notice some of the things he went on to be known for.

Richard Johnson was, in fact, the pioneer of education in New South Wales. The first Christian Schools. He was concerned for the education of all children – whether they belong to convicts or to freemen. By March 1792, he had set up schools in Sydney, Parramatta and on Norfolk Island. By 1798, the school in Sydney (which is also commemorated by a plaque on the corner of Bligh and Hunter Streets) had 150 students.

He was also responsible for the setting up of a fund to care for orphans, and when the Second Fleet arrived in Sydney with hundreds of sick and dying convicts on board, it was Johnson who went into the ships to care for those in need.

Even more than that, he and his wife had a special desire to befriend the Aborigines – who were being dispossessed of their land by the white settlers. The Johnsons did a very symbolic thing, something overlooked by some modern historians. When their daughter was born in 1792, they gave her an Aboriginal name – Milbah.

Has there ever been a missionary that did not have to endure opposition and trials? Richard and Mary Johnson have been forgotten by Australia, but God remembers them!