Marc Lloyd pays tribute to John Cheeseman, who died on 15 April.
John attended school at Epsom College in Surrey and was converted to the Christian faith at the age of 17 during a Scripture Union houseparty, never having previously attended church or Sunday School. He received his call to the ministry at Oxford University where he studied Classics.
After a gap year, during which he taught English at a North London Comprehensive school, he moved on to Trinity Theological College Bristol, where he studied under Jim Packer and Alec Motyer. But he always said that the best thing he gained from theological college was his wife Joy, who was training to be a church pastoral worker.
John wrote The Grace of God in the Gospel (Banner of Truth Trust, 1972) with Philip Gardner, Michael Sadgrove and Tom Wright, who were concerned that a man-centred gospel was being presented to the university.
John was a curate in Sevenoaks and Egham where he was also a chaplain at Royal Holloway College, then in London and Kent.
John was thoroughly sound. He is one of the few contemporary Anglicans to have been published by The Banner of Truth, after all. He always remained committed to a Reformed understanding of the faith and to the doctrines of grace, because of his fidelity not to a system, but to the consistent truth of Scripture.
John was an encourager, a caring and diligent pastor who was always interested in people. He and his wife, Joy, were a team and he valued her counsel highly.
He was neither pompous nor pretentious. He was highly intelligent yet he had a real sense of fun and was no dusty academic. With his transparent humility, good humour and warmth, he was down-to-earth and able to relate to all sorts of people.
Passionate preacher
John saw himself first and foremost as a preacher. He spoke vividly with an energy and passion which he thought were sometimes lacking in contemporary preaching. John was concerned that sermons should have a message and punch, not merely be exegetical notes or worthy but boring lectures. His preaching was clear and logical, engaging and comprehensible. Like the Puritans whom John so admired, he stressed the importance of practical application. He valued church history and biography as helpful in grounding the truth of Scripture in everyday life.
John had a great sense of integrity and what he preached in public he sought to live out consistently in private. He was determined to stand for the truths of Scripture, even when it cost. But, although valiant in contending for the faith, he also had an irenic spirit and did not court controversy for the sake of it.
He loved cricket, and now that he has left the crease to return to the pavilion, he will be sadly missed.
