16/05/2026
The conflict between human law and the divine mandate is one we must navigate with both conviction and clarity. When state statutes directly impede the Great Commission—the command to preach the Gospel to all—the believer faces the same dilemma as the Apostles in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.”
The irony of the current climate is that by legislating "safe zones," the government has not fostered peace; it has instead radicalised the public sphere, forcing citizens to pick a side in a curated moral vacuum. We see this same restrictive spirit in the recent actions taken to silence and bar journalists and commentators from entering the country. When the state decides which voices are permissible and which are "far-right" or "extremist," it is not protecting the public; it is consolidating a monopoly on truth.
To those who argue that one must always obey the law, we must remember that justice is not merely adherence to the latest government decree. As Proverbs 31:8 charges us: “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.”
True freedom is not granted by the state, and therefore it cannot be revoked by the state. When we witness the erosion of free speech, we are seeing the slow dismantling of the foundation upon which a free people stand. We will continue to pray for our nation, but we will not be silent while the truth of God is relegated to the shadows. Our allegiance remains to the King of Kings, whose mandate to proclaim life and salvation is not subject to the approval of any Parliament or court.
PRESS RELEASE: The Criminalisation of Gospel Witness
CARRYDUFF FREE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Official Statement
The Unjust Prosecution of a Faithful Servant
Carryduff Free Presbyterian Church issues this statement to express our profound indignation regarding the recent conviction of Pastor Clive Johnston. That the state would choose to target a 78-year-old retired minister—a man who has given his life to the service of Christ and formerly served as President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland—is a shameful indictment of the current legal climate in the United Kingdom.
Pastor Johnston was brought before the court following his actions in Coleraine, where he was charged with breaching an abortion safe zone. His supposed crime was the humble, public proclamation of John 3:16, the heartbeat of the Gospel. That a man of his years and standing should be dragged through the courts for reciting the offer of salvation is a chilling development. The state has effectively declared that the public manifestation of the Christian faith is now a criminal offence.
Our Stance on the Evil of Abortion
We take this opportunity to state clearly that we condemn the practice of abortion in the strongest of terms. We believe that life is a sacred gift from God, beginning at the moment of conception, and that the intentional destruction of the unborn is a grievous sin and a moral abomination.
The implementation of so-called safe zones is a transparent attempt to shield the abortion industry from any moral witness. These zones do not protect people; they protect the providers of death from the reality of their own actions. By criminalising those who seek to speak for the voiceless and offer the hope of the Gospel, the government is complicit in the culture of death that is currently sweeping through our nation.
A Call to Stand for Religious Liberty
This conviction is a direct assault on the right of every Christian to bear witness to the truth in the public square. When the state dictates where and when the Gospel may be preached, the church is no longer free. We observe with grave concern that these laws are being used to silence dissent and marginalise those who hold to traditional biblical morality.
Carryduff Free Presbyterian Church stands in absolute solidarity with Pastor Clive Johnston. We affirm that the Great Commission is not a suggestion that can be suspended by government decree. The mandate to go into all the world and preach the gospel transcends the shifting whims of political culture and the restrictive zones imposed by secular authorities.
If the public reading of the word of God is now a criminal act in our country, the moral foundation of our society has truly collapsed. We call upon all believers to recognise the gravity of this moment. We commend Pastor Johnston for his courageous stand and assure him of our earnest prayers. We shall continue to preach the Gospel without apology, and we shall continue to speak against the evil of abortion, regardless of the arbitrary boundaries drawn by those who seek to silence the message of Christ.
