Out of all the great things to see and learn in Scotland, my favorite was the story of Patrick Hamilton. Even though he was part of the church, it wasn't until he was 23 (close to my age!) when he heard the Gospel for the first time. Immediately, he became very excited about the truth of salvation by grace alone through faith. So much so that he shared what he learned with Friar Campbell. The friar was amazed by the message from Patrick and put his trust in Christ.
Or... at least he pretended to.
In reality, Friar Campbell had no true conversion. He didn't even believe what Patrick told him about salvation. Instead, he acted like a believer to get Patrick to tell him more about the "heresy."
Eventually, the friar turned Patrick Hamilton in to the church authorities, who acted quickly.
He was summoned by a church council, tried, and sentenced to die. Hamilton's execution was carried out very quickly so that his friends would have no time to organize a rescue.
The church archbishop's intent was to quiet the spread of the true Gospel. Quite the opposite from what they intended, the news of Patrick Hamilton's death spread throughout Scotland. When people heard his story, it made them curious to learn more about the One he stood for.
Although his time as a Christian was only a year long, Patrick Hamilton influenced many people. He wrote:
"The Law saith, Where is thy righteousness, goodness, and satisfaction? The Gospel saith, Christ is thy righteousness, goodness, and satisfaction."
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