Pastor Peter Simpson was setting forth the name of the only Saviour of sinners in the centre of Middlesbrough on September 18th. At one stage, he tried to challenge a group of young men going by about the importance of the message being set forth. They claimed in response that there was no sufficient evidence that Jesus Christ even existed, let alone for all that He taught about Himself. They also argued that it is not possible to trust in what was written in a book 2,000 years ago. We have no photos of Jesus, one of the teenagers said, and their whole thrust was that there was simply no verifiable grounds to believe in Him. Pastor Simpson responded by quoting the Lord's words : “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). The preacher then asked the young men, “Do you doubt that Julius Caesar existed, or any other famous character in history? Why is it only Jesus Christ whose existence historically you question?” The conversation also focused upon the nature of man, with the preacher explaining that he is not just flesh and blood, but has an immortal spirit which lives on when the body dies. When Pastor Simpson said this, the young men responded as if they had actually never heard this stated before, believing resolutely that death simply means the complete end of one's existence. The pastor then asked them, “What is the purpose of life?” One of the youngsters answered, “Money”, and it did not seem as if he was being humorous when he said that, but that he really meant it. Pastor Simpson responded, “If you make money your God, you are guilty of idolatry. Money cannot save you from sin. It cannot give anyone everlasting life”. He went on to explain that you can only be forgiven for your sins through the Lord Jesus Christ, because when He died on the Cross, He was carrying the penalty for sin which is death. He was satisfying God's justice. The young men responded to this in a way which suggested that they had never heard the word ‘penalty’ used in any other context than that of football, about which they started joking, as if there was indeed a football connection in the death of our Lord. The preacher therefore told them the Christian gospel is the most serious message that they will ever hear. Penalty means punishment, and the punishment for our sins is an everlasting hell.

The message of salvation through faith in Christ alone was being proclaimed in Redcar on September 12th by Pastor Peter Simpson. As the preacher was handing out tracts, a woman passer-by declined one, saying, “No thanks, I am not religious”. The clear implication was that the gospel was of absolutely no concern to her, because she was the type of person who had never taken any interest in what she understood to be ‘religion’. It was simply not ‘her thing’. Had she stopped for a moment to listen to what the pastor wished to say to her, she would have been told that he is also not religious. He is not recommending the need for her to observe any ceremonies, rituals, duties or monastic-type self-denial in an attempt to gain favour with God. He is rather declaring the vital need to be reconciled to one’s Maker and to discover the very purpose for which one is existing upon this earth in the first place. He is making known the gospel of Jesus Christ which focuses upon repenting of sin and trusting in Christ’s death on the Cross for forgiveness and mercy. To turn from sin and follow Christ is not a mere matter of personal lifestyle choice : what kind of music do I like?; what are my hobbies?; where shall I spend my vacation? It is rather to deal with a matter of dire urgency; it is to escape from a frightening situation which has consequences which last for eternity, namely the everlasting wrath of God. The non-Christian should never imagine that the Christian faith is just a possible option for those who want to make the lifestyle choice of ‘being religious’. To turn from sin and trust in the Son of God who died for sinners is actually an obligation placed upon every single human being by the God who made them. The apostle Paul tells us of the Almighty God concerning this obligation : “God commands men that they should all everywhere repent : inasmuch as he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained” (Acts 17:30-31).

Pastor Peter Simpson was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen again in the centre of Middlesbrough on September 10th. Pastor Simpson was able to enter into conversation with two groups of young men in their late teens, as they enquired what the leaflets being handed out were all about. They were told that they dealt with the serious trouble which all people are in, until they realise the reality of personal sinfulness, and respond by coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The preacher then tried to challenge the young men about whether they were good people or not. Their initial response was, as is usually the case, that they thought they were good, to which Pastor Simpson replied, “Well, I am not, but I have hopelessly broken God’s commandments”. Then, trying to make the issue hit home, the pastor asked them about specific sins such as lying, stealing, watching pornography, harbouring hatred and taking drugs. If any of these activities have been engaged in, then it is an offence before the holy God who is the Judge of all of us, and it is certainly proof of our not being fundamentally ‘good’. This led one of the young men to ask, “Is it wrong to smoke weed?” “Most definitely, yes”, was the reply, because it is a deliberate harming of one’s God-given mind and body, and, like excessive alcohol, it leads to an altered state of consciousness, where one is not in full control of one’s faculties. This is sinful before the Lord, because we are every moment of every day answerable to Him for our thoughts, words and deeds. Drug-taking is sinful, because it brings distress to families and others who have to deal at first hand with the consequences. Drug-dealing multiplies these problems many times over, and is an attempt to make material gain upon the misfortune suffered by others (low level drug-dealing is a serious problem in Middlesbrough). Drug abuse cannot be excused on the grounds that people find it difficult to cope with all the stresses of life. Such an argument could also be employed to legitimise sexual promiscuity or getting drunk as a way of coping.

I was declaring the urgency of coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the centre of Middlesbrough on two successive days, September 3rd and 4th. The preaching was taking place against a background of much high profile crime in the town, which has reached such critical levels as to make the national news. There have recently been nine deaths, including seven in a single appalling and tragic accident on the A66. Two of the seven who lost their lives were on-duty Police officers. There was a collision between a car deliberately travelling the wrong way up this major trunk road and a police car going along the dual carriageway in the right direction. The criminal mayhem in the town has also included houses being rammed by cars, a stabbing, and a house fire leading to two more deaths. Our hearts of course go out to all of those bereaved in these tragedies. Between September 2025 and August 2026 there were 23,419 recorded crimes in Middlesbrough, making it the worst place for crime in the whole country (apart from Westminster in central London, where the crime rate is inflated by tourist crime). The Teesside region also has the highest murder rate (1). Much of the recent crime in Middlesbrough has been related to drug dealing and gang warfare between the dealers. Also, local people are afraid of reporting to the Police what they suspect is criminal activity taking place for fear of reprisals against them. What is the underlying reason for all this criminal turmoil? Some are stating that the causes can be traced to the region’s loss of much of its manufacturing industry since the 1980s, and the resulting and now longstanding lack of employment opportunities (2). Such reasons, of course, might be offered for rising crime in many other parts of the country as well. So let us broaden this discussion beyond Middlesbrough and into the realm of more general principles. Are economic decline and a perceived lack of job opportunities legitimate reasons for young men to turn to drug-taking, drug-dealing, and other criminal activity? Does alleged economic deprivation justify the donning of balaclavas to engage in dangerous anti-social activity? Does a stagnating local economy give validation to turf warfare between different criminal gangs, and to conduct which can put terror into a whole neighbourhood?