Saint Patrick: The Man Behind The Myth

Date: SUN PM 17th March 2024
Preacher: Rev. David McLaughlin
Bible Reference: Isaiah 38:19

The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Will the real Saint Patrick of history please stand up and make yourself known?

Today I want to present the true story of Patrick: The true story is more interesting/ exciting than the stuff of myths and legends. Today there is loads of stuff about the popular Patrick parroted by the Irish Government, the Irish Tourist Board, and the Roman Catholic Church, but long before the stuff of myths and legends rose up and gained traction, there was the real true story of the Patrick of history.

Let’s ask some questions:

Who was Patrick ?
What sort of man was he ?
What did he really do in Ireland ?
Why is he so important to Irish Christianity ?

I believe that Patrick was a sinner saved by the grace of God, whom God later called and sent on a mission with a message; to convert the pagan Irish of the 5th Century – it’s the same Gospel message needed for today, Christ is the Answer. In the video below, I set forth Patrick, the man, the myth, and the message.

Rev. David McLaughlin
Minister of Carryduff FPC

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Below is a detailed summary of the sermon titled “Understanding St. Patrick: The Man Behind the Myth,” delivered on 17th March, 2024, based on Isaiah 38:19. The sermon seeks to reclaim the historical St. Patrick by debunking myths, describing his life, discovering his message, and declaring his mission, urging Christians to celebrate his true legacy.

1. Debunking the Myths

The preacher identifies ten myths perpetuated by modern celebrations, the Irish government, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Irish Tourist Board, arguing they distort Patrick’s legacy:

Myth 1: Patrick was not Irish; he was born in Roman Britain, not tied to Irish nationalism.
Myth 2: He was not a Roman Catholic priest or mitered bishop (miters emerged 500+ years later).
Myth 3: He did not wear clerical robes or carry a crook/cross.
Myth 4: He was never canonized by the Vatican, raising questions about Roman Catholic claims.
Myths 5 & 6: Patrick had no ties to the Roman Catholic Church, which didn’t exist in Ireland until the 12th century; the Celtic Church was biblical and evangelical in the 5th-7th centuries until Pope Adrian IV’s 11th-century intervention.
Myth 7: He didn’t drive snakes from Ireland (there were none).
Myth 8: Alleged miracles (e.g., at Lough Derg or Croagh Patrick) are superstitious fables, not supported by his writings; such tales echo pre-Christian Druid beliefs.
Myth 9: The shamrock-Trinity story emerged 1,000 years after Patrick.
Myth 10: There was no High King in 5th-century Ireland for him to convert.

These myths, fueled by later works like a 1647 Jesuit book, contrast with Patrick’s authentic writings, which lack papal or Marian references.

2. Describing the Man

Using Patrick’s own writings—Confession and Letter to Coroticus—the preacher outlines his life:

Birth and Capture: Born in 389 AD in Roman Britain (near Dumbarton, Scotland), Patrick was kidnapped at 16 by Irish pirates and enslaved for six years on Mount Slemish, herding sheep.
Conversion: Raised in a Christian home (his father a deacon, grandfather an elder), he was not a believer until his captivity. On Slemish, he recognized his sin, calling himself a “stone in the mud” until God “raised him up” (Confession 12).
Escape and Call: At 22, he escaped after a dream, traveling 200 miles to a ship back to Britain. Later, a vision of Victoricus with “The Cry of the Irish” compelled him to return as a missionary.
Missionary Work: Ordained by the British Church (not Rome), Patrick served in Ireland for 30-38 years, dying in 461 AD and buried in Downpatrick. He converted thousands, ended pagan practices (e.g., human sacrifice, slavery), and founded hundreds of churches and schools.

Patrick saw his captivity as God’s providence, transforming him from a sinner to a missionary bishop, earning him the title “Apostle to Ireland.”

3. Discovering His Message

Patrick’s writings reveal a biblical, evangelical faith:

Trinitarian: He affirmed the Triune God (Confession 4, 14, 60), with no other deities past or future.
Christ-Centered: His life was a sacrifice to Christ (Philippians 1:21), reflected in St. Patrick’s Breastplate, a prayer exalting Christ’s presence, with no mention of Mary or the Pope.
Confessional: He adhered to the British Church’s creeds, not a lone ranger but part of a universal faith.
Regeneration: He believed in the necessity of being born again, thanking God for lifting him from sin.
Scriptural: A “man of one book,” Patrick quoted the Bible extensively (135 times in Confession, 54 in Letter), citing 23 New Testament and 12 Old Testament books, relying solely on Scripture—not church fathers or tradition.

His Gospel message called for repentance and faith in Christ, akin to modern evangelical preaching.

4. Declaring His Mission

Patrick’s mission was to preach the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20), resulting in a 5th-7th century revival:

Impact: He established 300 churches, each led by an elder/bishop, and founded schools with 3,000 students, including foreigners. Paganism waned, and Ireland became a “land of saints and scholars.”
Perseverance: Facing persecution and living ascetically, he prayed fervently and saw Europe evangelized through the Celtic Church.
Legacy: His mission aligns with today’s call to reach the lost, reflecting the Free Presbyterian Church’s founding on March 17, 1951, with the same Gospel focus.

The preacher argues Christians should celebrate Patrick by emulating his mission to preach Christ in a pagan world.

Conclusion

Returning to the initial question—Should Christians celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?—the answer is “yes,” but only by rejecting myths, understanding the historical man, embracing his Christ-centered message, and pursuing his mission. Patrick’s life exemplifies God’s grace lifting a sinner to serve, a model for believers to follow in winning souls. The sermon closes with a blessing, hoping the message glorifies God on this St. Patrick’s Day.

Key Themes

Historical Accuracy: Separating fact from fable to honor the real Patrick.
Gospel Focus: Patrick’s faith and mission centered on Christ and Scripture.
Call to Action: Christians must reclaim his legacy by living out his evangelistic zeal.

Sermon Transcript

Bible Reading: Isaiah Chapter 38, Verses 14-22

Our Bible reading this afternoon is taken from Isaiah chapter 38, and we’re going to commence reading from verse 14 to the end. Let us hear the Word of God:

“Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove. Mine eyes fail with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and Himself hath done it. I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit; so wilt Thou recover me and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness, but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. For the grave cannot praise Thee; death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known Thy truth. The Lord was ready to save me; therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. For Isaiah had said, ‘Let them take a lump of figs and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.’ Isaiah also had said, ‘What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?'”

Amen. Now, the Lord will bless to us this reading of His own precious and infallible Word.

Prayer

Let’s unite in prayer:

“Almighty God and loving Heavenly Father, we just commit ourselves unto Thee now as we turn to Thy precious Word. We come with praise and thanksgiving, O God, not only for 2,000 years of Bible belief in Christianity here in this island that we call Ireland, but we especially thank Thee, O God, for what took place here in the third and fourth centuries in particular. We rejoice, O God, in Thy servant St. Patrick. We thank You, O God, for saving him in the mountains of Slemish. We bless Thee, O God, for causing him to return home to his family, and we’re so thankful that Thou didst send him back to this land as the Apostle of Ireland. We’re glad that he came with the Gospel message, the good news of Jesus Christ in the fullness of His person and work. And we thank Thee, O God, that it is true: Christ is the answer. We rejoice that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. And we thank You, O God, for the marvelous and wonderful legacy that St. Patrick has left behind. We bless Thee, O God, for the historicity of the old Celtic Church, and Lord, we long for such days to return to our land, when this land would become known again as a land of saints and scholars—not only in the north but, O God, throughout the rest of this island home. We commit ourselves unto Thee now as we engage in this Patrick’s Day service. We pray Thy blessing to be upon it. We look to Thee for help, pray for the outpouring of Thy Spirit, and we pray, Lord, as we preach again the unsearchable Word of God, that Thy blessing will be upon all who hear it. And, O God, Thou wilt undertake not only for the people but undertake for this poor preacher. Cleanse me now in the blood and quicken me by the Holy Spirit, and use Thy Word, we pray, for Thy glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

Sermon: Understanding St. Patrick – The Man Behind the Myth

Now, my text today is taken from Isaiah chapter 38, verse 19. It reads as follows:
“The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known Thy truth.”

I have entitled this message: Understanding St. Patrick: The Man Behind the Myth. Today is the 17th of March in the year 2024. It’s also known as St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick is undoubtedly the world’s most famous patron saint. Today, as another St. Patrick’s Day dawns, St. Patrick will be celebrated by many throughout the world—not just among the Irish, not just among the Irish diaspora, but thousands of others around the world. Churches and cathedrals have been named after St. Patrick. Wells and mountains are all connected to his name. We could think about St. Patrick’s Well in County Tyrone; we could think about Croagh Patrick. Today, parades are also held in his honor. Think of the parade in New York—it’s the largest demonstration of its kind in the world. Literally, 100,000 people will march up or down Fifth Avenue. Parades are also being held in Belfast, in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, and in other cities in the United Kingdom.

On St. Patrick’s Day, the world turns green. Everyone who is someone discovers that they have at least some sort of Irish connection—they discover a long-lost relative or a long-lost cousin by the name of John or Jimmy or Joe. Today, St. Patrick is presented as a very cheerful, colorful character—a kind of fun-loving guy, a guy who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Sadly, the reality is that the vast majority of people who attend these parades, who celebrate St. Patrick, have not got one clue as to who he was, what he believed in, or what he did. It’s as if today the facts do not matter. As someone has said, “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

Now, here’s a very important question: Who was the real Patron Saint of Ireland? We could ask, “Will the real St. Patrick stand up and speak in our day and generation?” I have also been asked this afternoon: Should St. Patrick be celebrated by true Christians all over the world? Let’s think for a moment of those parades that are held annually around the world in honor of St. Patrick—Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the UK, the United States of America, as far away as Australia and New Zealand. They’re held, we are told, by the organizers in his honor and his memory. But today it’s all about dressing up, shamrocks, drinking green beer, leprechauns, pots of gold. Did you know that in the great city of Chicago, city officials dump something like 40 pounds of green dye into the river? There you see a green vein runs through every parade, every city, every town, every river.

Now, today I want to present the true story of St. Patrick. The true story is far more exciting and interesting than the stuff of myths and legends. Today, there’s a lot about the popular Patrick, but long before the stuff of myths and legends and fables arose and gained traction in the hearts and minds of the people, there was the true story of the Patrick of history. And that true story is connected to the old Celtic Church. We have rightly asked the question: Who was St. Patrick? What sort of a man was he? What was he like? What did he do? Why is he so important in Irish history? Some people have literally called him—rightly so, I believe—the Apostle to Ireland. I believe, of course, that St. Patrick, as he called himself, was a sinner. He was saved by the free, sovereign grace of God in the mountains of Slemish. When he escaped from Slemish and came back to Ireland, it was God who called him, it was God who sent him, and He sent him with a message—sent him on a mission to convert and win the pagan Irish to Christ.

Now, there are a number of important things we want to consider about Patrick today. And sadly, let me emphasize that the Irish government, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Irish Tourist Board don’t want the facts to get in the way of a good story. I have no doubt that you’ll see the parades that are taking place, and some of them will have pro-Palestinian flags, LGBTQ flags—all celebrated by the Irish diaspora. Many thousands are proud to be Irish. I’ll tell you what you’ll not see in a parade: you’ll not see the Union Flag. Do you know that the Union Flag bears the Cross of St. Patrick? He is rightly called, I believe, the Patron Saint of Ireland. The Union Flag is not an English flag, but you’ll not see it on display in Central Avenue or O’Connell Street or in the Falls Road. But the Union Flag has got three crosses. It bears testimony to three characters, and one of those crosses and one of those characters is St. Patrick. You see, the Union Flag displays the Cross of St. Patrick because it’s a central and material part of the story of the island of Ireland.

Sadly, today, St. Patrick’s Day has been hijacked, used as a political football. The popular Patrick is much to the fore—he’s celebrated and proclaimed—yet the real Patrick is ignored. So, I want to attempt this afternoon to reclaim the historical Patrick. I want us to understand that as an individual—whether orange or green, Protestant or Roman Catholic—it’s important to remember who this real historical character is. There are four things I want to set before you for the time that I have:

1. Let’s Debunk the Myths

Sadly, the popular Patrick promoted today amongst the Irish people, by the Irish diaspora, the Irish Tourist Board, the Irish government, and the Roman Catholic Church, is full of myths and legends. A lot of it’s blatantly false. For example:

Myth 1: Patrick was not born in Ireland. He was not Irish at all. He was not a part of Irish nationalism. Did you know that Patrick was born in Roman Britain?
Myth 2: Patrick was not a Roman Catholic priest. Patrick was not a mitered bishop. Do you know that the miter was not invented until 500 years and more after Patrick’s death? Patrick was not a Roman Catholic bishop.
Myth 3: Patrick did not wear clerical robes or clerical attire. He didn’t carry a crook; he didn’t carry a cross.
Myth 4: Patrick was not canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Isn’t it interesting that the Vatican, to this day, has never officially canonized St. Patrick? We could ask the question, “Why not?” We could challenge the Archbishop of Armagh: Why is St. Patrick not a canonized saint for the Roman Catholic faithful to pray to? A Roman Catholic author by the name of Aidan Nichols, using a Vatican publication, has rightly said this: “Patrick’s writings show no pretension to papal support.” St. Patrick was not sent to Ireland by the Pope.
Myth 5 & 6: St. Patrick had nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. You see, the Roman Catholic Church was not in Ireland in the fourth and fifth centuries. The Roman Catholic Church didn’t emerge in Ireland until the 12th century. Do you know that in the 5th to the 7th centuries in Ireland, there was a strong, biblical, evangelical church? It was known as the old Celtic Church. And it was only in the 11th century that Pope Adrian IV—he was an English Pope—issued a papal bull. He ordered Henry II to conquer Ireland and bring the Celtic Church under the Roman Catholic Church. Think of it: in the fourth, fifth, and seventh centuries, there was a church that was Bible-based, a church that was Christ-centered, a church that had a born-again membership, a church that professed thousands of blood-washed believers who believed in the Word of God, who trusted Christ. And yet that church came under attack so that it would pay taxes to the English Crown and a levy to the Church of Rome at that time. You can read all about that in the Encyclopaedia Britannica—it’s not something that we have invented; it’s something that’s there historically. Isn’t it laughable to hear Sinn Féin leaders calling for an end to English rule in Ireland? English rule in Ireland started on the orders of Pope Adrian IV. He gave the order for the annexation of Ireland, and dreadful crimes were committed against the Celtic Church.
Myth 7: St. Patrick didn’t drive out all the snakes of Ireland. Why? Because there were none here.
Myth 8: St. Patrick definitely did not perform all the so-called miracles attributed to him. They’re the stuff of legends and fables. In 1647, a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest wrote a book, The History of St. Patrick. It received wide circulation and became a bestseller in that day, but it was a book full of wild, exaggerated claims—miracles at wells, miracles at Lough Derg, miracles on mountaintops—all of it sadly, and we have to be honest here, superstitious. Do you know that that superstition partly prevails to this day? Somewhere in the Clogher Valley, on some rural estate, there’s a little stream called St. Patrick’s Well. People go there and sit and pray beside that little stream. There’s a blackthorn tree—you can go and visit it—but that tree is full of blood-soaked bandages. Why? Well, certain Roman Catholics who have loved ones in hospital, who have ill relatives, believe that if they tie those blood-soaked bandages to the tree, their loved ones will be healed. They’ll get better; they’ll miraculously recover. And you see, such stories like this one that I’m referring to go all the way back to the ancient Druid religion that was here and prevailed in Ireland before Patrick came. It’s alleged that St. Patrick spent 40 days of Lent in Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, that he walked barefoot. The Roman Catholic Church promises the faithful access to Patrick’s merits, even though they haven’t canonized him—very strange. And of course, there’s another story told that on the island of Lough Derg in County Donegal, Patrick allegedly had visions of purgatory—another holy place for pilgrims to visit. Funny—he never mentioned purgatory in the two pieces of literature written by his own hand that he’s left us. Did you know that the legend of St. Patrick and purgatory at Lough Derg began with the pilgrimage to Lough Derg of a soldier known as Knight Owen in around the middle of the 12th century? You see, all of that’s not true; it’s the stuff of myths and legends. And we would say and call to the Roman Catholic theologians of our day, call to the Roman Catholic historians of our day, the bishops, the priests: Let’s tell the truth to the people. Don’t have the faithful believing a lie. These are what we call pious legends; these are people’s fictions. They don’t make an appeal or an interesting story for Patrick. A man by the name of John T. McNeill wrote, “The popular image of Patrick partakes largely of the legend and bears little relation to the real historical person.”
Myth 9: The myth of the shamrock story to defend the Trinity—it didn’t emerge until a thousand years after Patrick.
Myth 10: There was no High King in Ireland in the fifth century to convert.

See, these are 10 myths, and we’ve got to debunk the myths.

2. Let’s Describe the Man

Patrick was born in 389 in Roman Britain, near the modern-day town of Dumbarton in Scotland, in a small village named Banavem Taberniae. He was buried in 461—not in Saul, as I said this morning, but in Downpatrick. And you can visit his grave there outside Downpatrick Cathedral—that’s true and factual. How do we know that? Well, thankfully, we possess two pieces of writings that came from the hand of St. Patrick, and those two pieces of writing are the oldest existing Irish literature. One of them is called Patrick’s Confession. It was written by his own hand near the end of his life; it was written as a defense of his mission work in Ireland. These two writings have been translated into English—they were written in Old Latin—and they give us an insight into the work and world of a Christian missionary in the fifth century.

Patrick’s Confession is an autobiography. The first page, the opening line—this is what he says:
“My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius; he was a deacon. His father was Potitus, a presbyter, an elder, who lived in Banavem Taberniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about 16 years of age at the time.”

So, think of this young boy, born in 389 AD. He was born into a family with ecclesiastical connections. His father, Calpornius, was a deacon; his paternal grandfather, an elder—part of the leaders of the church in Britain at that time. His father was a married man, a member of the local town council, responsible for raising taxes and finances for local government. He also owned an estate. Patrick mentions men and women servants of his father’s house. In Letter 10, he skips over really the first 16 years of his life. Strangely, the place where he lived was accessible to Irish pirates, and during one of these raids by the Irish pirates, he was captured. He was brought over to Ireland, he was sold as a slave, and he ended up as a farm laborer herding sheep on Mount Slemish—that’s near Ballymena.

Think of this young boy, a stranger in a strange land, sold as a slave. He was enslaved for six years, and during those six years, he gives us an insight into his spiritual condition. Though brought up in a godly, covenant home, he had not yet believed in the God of his fathers. This is what he said days before his captivity:
“I was not a believer in the living God and had not been since my infancy, but I lay down in death and disbelief. Then I used to take no thought even for my salvation.”

And it was at the time of his captivity, after his kidnapping, that he confesses:

Confession 1: “I did not then know the true God.”
Confession 2: He was only converted to God when a slave in Ireland.

He later understood that his captivity was in the providence of God, and it was God’s chastising hand upon him on account of his sin. He was very troubled and concerned about his sin. Patrick described himself as a self-confessed sinner. In his Confession, which was a statement of his life and faith, he says this:
“My name is Patrick. I am a sinner.”

That was not a mere routine; that was not mock humility—that was a true, genuine, sincere confession. He had come to that conviction on the mountains of Slemish, and it was in the mountains of Slemish that he was converted. Think with me now: this child, exposed to the things of God up until he was 16, and yet by his late teens, he had not professed faith in Christ. Only when he was in the mountains of Slemish did he become haunted by this accusation—that he had neglected his salvation, that he had despised his privileges. He says this in Confession 12:
“Before I was humiliated, I was like a stone that lies deep in the mud, and He who is mighty came and in His compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on top of the wall.”

You see, he saw himself as a lost, undone, hell-deserving, guilty sinner. He saw himself lying like a stone in deep mud—who couldn’t redeem or rescue himself—but the Almighty reached down, the Almighty lifted him up, the Almighty exalted him. He was on Slemish for six whole years. By the age of 22, he had a dream. He dreamt he saw a route to escape. He then picked up the courage to follow that escape route. He engaged in a 200-mile journey. When he got to the coast, there was a ship waiting for him to take him back to Britain.

A few years later, he had another dream, another vision in the night. This is what he dreamed:
“A man from Ireland, whose name was Victoricus, with a great number of letters. One of those letters had the heading, ‘The Cry of the Irish.’ He handed me the letter, and reading the letter, I heard a voice: ‘Holy boy, we are asking you to come and walk amongst us again.’”

Patrick says, “I was deeply struck to the heart and was not able to read any further, and I woke up from my dream.”

Later, he became a deacon, later a missionary bishop, and then was called and sent to Ireland. He did visit France, but he was not educated in France; he didn’t receive his theological training in France. See, Patrick is a British presbyter—or elder or bishop; they’re all interchangeable terms—and he was sent by the British Church of the British mainland to Ireland. His ordination, his mission to Ireland, was the product of the British Church. For 30 to 38 years, he lived in Ireland. He saw much fruit: paganism was dealt a mighty blow, human sacrifices were all but finished within his lifetime or soon after, the Irish slave trade came to a halt, and all other forms of violence—such as murder and intertribal warfare—ceased.

St. Patrick writes in his Confession of many thousands of converts, many among the ruling class. Hundreds of churches were established. The first church was in Saul, outside Downpatrick—you can visit that. And not only was the thriving Celtic Church established, but many schools and training colleges sprung up. They became centers of learning. Of course, in the fifth century, Ireland became a land of saints and scholars. A kind of monastic life had also taken root—a life of discipline, a life of self-denial—but it was a Christ-centered life, a Bible-believing church that proclaimed Jesus Christ. You think of the Church of Jesus Christ in Ireland—it was well established in the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries. It was that church, the Celtic Church, that played a vital role in the evangelization of Europe, especially in the Dark Ages, especially in the fall of the Roman Empire.

3. Discover His Message

The third thing I want to mention today is: let’s discover his message. Not only debunk the myths and not only describe the man, which I’ve tried to do, but let’s discover his message. You see, using the two pieces of writing that he’s left for us—his Confession and his Letter—we discover this (and I’m only summarizing):

Patrick was a full-blooded Trinitarian. He believed in the Triune God—three in one and one in three. This is what he says in Confession 4:
“There is no other God, nor was there ever in the past, nor will there be in the future, and His Son Jesus Christ, before whom we profess to have always existed with the Father, begotten spiritually before the origins of the world.”
In Confession 14, he talks about the rule of faith of the Trinity. He ends his Confession in Confession 60:
“We believe in and adore Christ who reigns with the Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before ages and now for all ages of ages. Amen.”
Patrick was Christ-centered in his faith. Christ was his true sun in his life. Patrick lived his life as a sacrifice to Christ, my Lord—a life of denial, a life of discipline. Everything he did was for Christ. He could say with Paul, Philippians 1:21: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Do you know that during his lifetime, there’s such a thing as St. Patrick’s Breastplate? It’s been traditionally attributed to him. The word “breastplate” is a translation of the Latin word lorica—it’s a prayer, especially for protection. These prayers would be written out and, at times, placed in the shields of soldiers and knights as they went out to battle. And Patrick’s lorica points beyond himself, points beyond his travels in Ireland—it points to Christ, the one he proclaimed to the people who had taken him captive. This is what this lorica says of St. Patrick’s:
“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”
It’s interesting—in his Confession, read it now in English—there’s never a mention of the Virgin Mary, there’s no mention of the Pope. It’s all about Christ. It’s Christ alone—Christ-centered in his faith, in his life, and his witness, even unto his death. He could talk about “Christ in me, the hope of glory.”
Patrick was a confessional Christian. The Latin style of confession comes to the fore. Of course, it was structured to the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. He was not a lone ranger—he was a member of the British branch of the universal church. He professed Christ in the creedal statements of that church: “We profess, we believe, we confess, we adore.”
Oddly and thankfully, Patrick believed in the necessity of regeneration. He thanked the Lord who, in sovereign grace, had lifted him up like a stone in the mud and warmed and regenerated his heart. He saw himself as a lowly sinner. He had personal faith in Christ as Lord and Redeemer, and he was full of thankfulness for the Lord’s mercy and faithfulness to him in Christ Jesus.
Patrick was a man of one book. The Bible had an immense part in Patrick’s life and testimony. He had a tremendous knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. The references in the Confession are amazing—even in his Letter, it’s full of biblical phrases and texts. This man was armed with the Word of God. In the last sentence of his Confession, he writes the words: “God has spoken.” That has a ring of finality about it. Patrick’s authority was this: that the Triune God was speaking in the Holy Scriptures. He quotes the Bible 54 times in his Letter to Coroticus—who murdered some of his fellow evangelical believers and took them into slavery; that’s what the letter is about. He quoted the Bible 135 times in his Confession. He quotes 23 out of the 27 books of the New Testament; he quotes 12 out of the 39 books of the Old Testament. His quotes come from the Psalms, Romans, Acts, Corinthians, Matthew. His biblical interpretation is remarkable—it’s sound, sensible, straightforward. He definitely made great use of the Bible. He constantly was saying, “The Bible says,” and “What the Bible says, God says.” I’m right in saying that Patrick was a man of one book—the Bible. Of course, he used the Old Latin translation, but there’s no reference in his Confession—neither in his Letter to Coroticus—as I’ve said, to the early fathers, to the Pope, to the Virgin Mary.

You see, Patrick was a preacher of the old school. Patrick preached a biblical, evangelical message. I know today we talk about the Protestant Reformed Faith. The Protestant Reformed Faith was not called that or known as that in Patrick’s day—the word “Protestant” didn’t emerge for another 1,100 years, until the times of Martin Luther in the Reformation. So, we could rightly call Patrick a biblical evangelical who believed in the doctrine of the Trinity, who had a Christ-centered message, who called for repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Redeemer. He believed in the necessity of regeneration; he believed in the necessity of a personal faith in Christ. In other words, he preached the Gospel—that’s the very same Gospel that we preach in the Free Presbyterian Church and other churches in Northern Ireland and beyond preach. It’s interesting that on the 17th of March, 1951—73 years ago—the Free Presbyterian Church commenced as a Christ-centered, Bible-believing, Trinitarian church that called people to repentance and faith in Christ, called people that Christ is the answer, said to people, “Christ in you is the hope of glory.”

4. Declare His Mission

Not only today should we discover his message, but let me finish with this: let’s declare his mission. What was Patrick’s mission? He diligently labored in Ireland as someone who was called of God and sent to preach the Gospel. And in the fifth to the seventh centuries, one of the great revivals in European history took place in Ireland. And through that, pagans repented, and a great Celtic Church emerged.

Did you know that Patrick bore much persecution? He bore loads of reproach. He lived a life of self-denial, a life of much discipline. He gave himself much to prayer. And during his time, 300 churches were established. During his time, 300 elders or presbyters were placed over each of these churches. There was not one bishop placed over a lot of churches—it was one bishop for each church. And that Celtic Church became a missionary church, reached out to England, Scotland, France, and Europe. Patrick, as I have said, established colleges and schools. He ordered a kind of monastic type of life. And the strong preaching of the Irish church, it’s why he believed it saved Europe. Did you know that there were something like 3,000 students here—a quarter of them foreign students—in the fourth and fifth centuries, studying here the Word of God?

Patrick, of course, believed this was his mission. Matthew chapter 28 says in verse 19:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

I come back to that question: Should Christians celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? And I believe the answer is yes. I believe the answer, once we debunk the myths, once we describe the man—what he was like—and once we discover his message, then we need to follow in his steps and go forward to declare his mission. And the mission is that God has raised us up, God has called us, God has sent us forth into the heathen towns and villages of Northern Ireland and beyond, and call people to repentance, call people to believe the Gospel. Remember the message of Christ: “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.”

Patrick, of course, believed in the total depravity of the sinner, the necessity of regeneration, the necessity of personal faith in Christ. He believed at heart Christ was the answer to set man free. And you think of the impact that that message had on pagan Ireland in the fifth century—that’s the same message that’s needed today, delivered in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

Understanding St. Patrick: The Man Behind the Myth. Let’s get sight of the man, let his message take hold of our heart, and let’s go forward in his footsteps with this mission that God has called us to: diligently labor to win the lost for Christ.

May the Lord bless you. Thank you for listening, and I trust and pray the Lord will use this message for His glory on this, another St. Patrick’s Day. Thank you.

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Will the real Saint Patrick of history please stand up and make yourself known?

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