On the Difference between the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

The difference between seventeenth-century Puritan theology and that in the eighteenth century is well summed up by the following remark made by the Calvinistic Baptist David Kinghorn to his son, the famous Joseph Kinghorn: “I think if [Stephen] Charnock were abridged by a skilful hand, it would be a valuable work.”[1]

The seventeenth-century passion for big systematic tomes was simply not shared by the eighteenth-century men, even when the two different generations shared a similar commitment to Reformed orthodoxy.

[1] Letter to Joseph Kinghorn, December 18, 1790 [in Martin Hood Wilkin, Joseph Kinghorn, of Norwich: A Memoir [1855 ed.; repr. in The Life and Works of Joseph Kinghorn (Springfield, Missouri: Particular Baptist Press, 1995), I, 182].

Nine Top Biographies

A friend asked me about a list of top ten biographies that I would recommend. I came up with the following nine--I have always preferred odd numbers to even. It is quickly done and does not have the academic bibliographical stuff, but I trust the books I am referring to are clear. These are ones that have had a profound impact on my life. There are others I know that should be here but that would lengthen it maybe to the top seventeen! These are in no particular order.

1. Iain Murray, DM Lloyd-Jones (2 vols.)

2. Faith Cook, Grimshaw of Haworth

3. Courtney Anderson, To the Golden Shore (Adoniram Judson)

4. Timothy George, Faithful Witness (W Carey)

5. Andrew Fuller, Memoirs of Samuel Pearce

6. A Dallimore, George Whitefield (2 vols.)

7. Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo

8. George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards

9. Iain Murray, Jonathan Edwards

The Past & Understanding Islam

Understanding Islam is imperative. Such knowledge is vital for stability in the Middle East and, with the spread of jihadist terrorism, it is now essential for the larger sphere of global peace. More importantly, such knowledge is vital for the great task that the Church has in our generation, namely, the planting of gospel churches among Muslim peoples. And as with other spheres of human insight and understanding, such knowledge must come from first-hand contact. Far too much so-called knowledge in the West about the Muslim world is sketchy at best and utterly untrustworthy at worst. Western Evangelical Christianity, confident that it is not influenced by the secular press, has become an unwitting perpetrator of far too many myths about the Muslims. Westerners, even Evangelicals, tend to adore the present and future, and look with disdain on the past. But such an attitude is fatal in any work seeking to be fruitful among Muslims, where the contours of the past are constantly being recalled. And so to understand Islam we must remember the past, and especially our past encounters with Islam.

Clement of Alexandria and the Term “Father”

The use of the term “father” for Christian mentors is quite ancient. Here is a quote from Clement of Alexandria that indicates this: “Words are the progeny of the soul. Hence we call those that instructed us fathers” (Stromateis 1.1.2-2.1).

Of course, Paul uses it thus in 1 Thessalonians 2:11. Our Lord emphasizes, though, that the term cannot be used in such a way that it compromises the fact that God the Father alone is our true Father. Any other father in Christ is relative compared to Him (Matthew 23:9).

The Puritans & Their Immersion in the Word

In a piece in The New York Times Magazine this past summer, Noah Feldman reflects on his upbringing in Orthodox Judaism. There were quite a number of things I found fascinating, but none more than this remark about his immersion in the Hebrew Bible: “Line by line we burrowed into the old texts in their original Hebrew and Aramaic. The poetry of the Prophets sang in our ears. After years of this, I found I could recite the better part of the Hebrew Bible from memory. Among other things, this meant that when I encountered the writings of the Puritans who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, I felt immediate kinship. They read those same texts again and again—often in Hebrew—searching for their own errand into the American wilderness.” [“Orthodox Paradox”, The New York Times Magazine (July 22, 2007), 43].

This is extraordinary not only for the remarks about the memorization of the Old Testament, but also for the kinship felt by Noah, an orthodox Jew, for the Puritans. It is good testimony to the latter’s immersion in the Word of God

The Spirit of Holiness

One does not have to read far in Romans—the most systematic of all of Paul’s letters—to encounter a reference to the Spirit’s sanctifying work. In Romans 1:4 Paul describes the Spirit with a phrase that is unique in the New Testament—he is the “Spirit of holiness.”[1] What exactly does the Apostle mean by describing the Spirit thus? Why does he not use the more common term “Holy Spirit”? For some writers the terms “Holy Spirit” and “Spirit of holiness” are simply synonymous and they would understand the term “Spirit of holiness” to mean something like “the Spirit whose character is holiness.” There is another way, though, to understand this phrase and that is to see it as a description of the Spirit’s work: he is the giver of holiness, the One who supplies holiness to all who call upon the name of Jesus.[2] Given the Old Testament form of the phrase “Spirit of holiness,” the latter interpretation is probably the better of the two. It highlights the fact that central among the activities of the Spirit is the sanctification of the people of God. In fact, for Paul as for the other New Testament authors, the Holy Spirit is indispensable for living a life that pleases God.[3] Another key text with regard to the Spirit’s sanctifying work is found in Romans 15:8-21. Here, the Apostle begins by indicating that one of the ultimate goals of Christ’s ministry was that Gentiles might come to glorify the God of Israel for being a God of mercy. The citation of four Old Testament texts, drawn from various parts of the Old Testament canon, supports this affirmation (Romans 15:8-12). Christ’s intentions with regard to the Gentiles is of central concern to the Apostle for he has been called by God to preach Christ among the Gentiles where the name of Jesus has never been heard (Romans 15:20), or, as he puts it, “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God” (Romans 15:16). Using imagery drawn from the Temple worship of Israel to describe his ministry, Paul argues that Gentiles—who were formerly ritually impure and thus utterly unacceptable to God—have now become acceptable to God. In the immediate context of these verses, what has made them acceptable is their embrace of the gospel, which, in turn, was made possible by the Holy Spirit’s power (Romans 15:19). In Paul’s words, they have been “sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:16), that is, set apart to serve God and to fulfill his purposes, which, because of God’s holy character, inevitably involves leading lives of godliness.[4] It is on the basis of this sanctifying work of the Spirit that Paul, later in this chapter and in the one that follows, can call believers “saints” (Romans 15:25-26, 31; 16:1, 15).

Earlier in this letter, the sanctifying work of the Spirit had also been highlighted in Romans 8:1-4. Christ came into the world so that those who believe in him would be able to truly obey the essence of the Law (Romans 8:4). Central to Christ’s death is the liberation of men and women from the death-dealing bondage of sin. This obedience and freedom is made a reality in believers by the Spirit, who is none other than the “Spirit of life,” that is the Spirit of the living God, the source of all that is good. Thus, the liberating work of the Spirit is rooted in the saving work of Christ (Romans 8:2).[5]

Again in this chapter, Paul emphasizes that the Spirit’s indwelling presence in the life of the believer provides him or her with rich resources to fight sin: Romans 8:12-14. Although the believer has been radically delivered from sin’s tyranny, this does not mean—as so much of the teaching of the New Testament makes clear—that he or she now experientially enjoys perfect holiness. There is an ongoing battle with sin and thus the necessity of heeding the Apostle’s admonition to mortify sin (Romans 8:13).

This work of mortification—the “gradual annihilation of all the remainders of this cursed life of sin,” as the Puritan author John Owen (1616-1683) aptly puts it[6]—involves the believer’s complete involvement, though ultimately it is the Spirit’s work. Owen well sums up the Apostle’s thought in this regard when he states in his classic exposition of Romans 8:13, The Mortification of Sin in Believers (1656), that the Spirit

"doth not so work our mortification in us as not to keep it still an act of our obedience. The Holy Ghost works in us and upon us, as we are fit to be wrought in and upon; that is, so as to preserve our own liberty and free obedience. He works upon our understandings, wills, consciences, and affections, agreeably to their own natures; he works in us and with us, not against us or without us; so that his assistance is an encouragement as to the facilitating of the work, and no occasion of neglect as to the work itself.”[7]

In other words, this is a variation on one of the central ethical principles of the New Testament: be what you are. Because you are saints lead holy lives; live in holy conformity with the Spirit who indwells you. Since he is holy, be holy. Paul puts it this way at the close of another well-known passage that deals with the sanctifying work of the Spirit: “if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25, ESV).

[1] As James D.G. Dunn notes, the term “Spirit of holiness” would almost certainly be understood by Paul and the first Christians as denoting the Holy Spirit” [Romans 1-8 (Word Biblical Commentary, vol.38A; Dallas: Word, 1988), 14-15. See also Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 43.

[2] C.E.B. Cranfield, Romans: A Shorter Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1985), 7; Gordon D. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), 483.

[3] See Smith, “Pauline Studies: Pauline Pneumatology.”

[4] See the similar idea in 1 Corinthians 6:11. See also the comments of James D.G. Dunn, Romans 9-16 (Word Biblical Commentary, vol.38B; Dallas: Word, 1988), 860-861; Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 626-627; David Peterson, Possessed by God. A New Testament Theology of Sanctification and Holiness (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1995), 58-59; Schreiner, Romans, 766-767.

[5] Cranfield, Romans, 174; Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 519-538.

[6] A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit [The Works of John Owen (1850-1853 ed., 16 volumes; repr. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1965-1968), III, 545].

[7] Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers (Works, VI, 20). See also the comments of J. I. Packer, “ ‘Keswick’ and the Reformed Doctrine of Sanctification”, The Evangelical Quarterly, 27 (1955), 156.

Humility: One Avenue

In Romans 12:3 the Apostle defines one aspect of humility: knowing one’s gifts and limitations and acting accordingly. The constant temptation for God’s children is the one that came to Adam and Eve in the garden: we can be as God and know, and by implication do, all things. But we cannot be as God—we all have limitations, we all have a place to fill that no other can fill. One great task for all of us that call on the Lord Jesus is to determine where he would have us serve and do that to the best of our ability. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? If it were that simple, much of the turmoil in church life and in seminaries and parachurch organizations would be solved instantly, for in all these places we have people doing things they were not called to do. What they and we need to do is to take sober stock of our calling and our gifting and find where we should be. Such sober stock-taking involves looking at our gifts, passions, training, family context, and listening to what others say.

Oh to grow in humility!

Pursuing the Study of History with Chastity?

Here is a fascinating quote from the Puritan historian Patrick Collinson: “History fails to impress or inspire me. I refer you to a quotation from Lord Acton, used as a motto prefacing The Elizabethan Puritan Movement: ‘I think our studies ought to be all but purposeless. They want to be pursued with chastity, like mathematics.’ ”

It is taken from an interview on The Conventicle website. Fascinating that there were no comments on the interview or this particular statement. It surely cuts against the grain of much of my own thinking about history! To be sure, there must be a deadly seriousness with regard to accuracy--but to admit no inspiration from the past or purpose in studying it strikes me as ultimately self-defeating as an historian.

Spiritual Vitality and Church Governance

Any one who has read this blog knows of my tremendous admiration for the Puritans. But they could be wrong at times. Their interpretation of Romans 8:26-27, which they consistently read as the Spirit’s inspiration of the believer in groaning prayer, is a case in point. Another would be the presupposition that the New Testament contains an ecclesiology as accurate as an architect’s blueprint. The emergence of Presbyterianism and Congregationalism—both espoused by Puritans who treasured the Word of God—reveals that such a presupposition did not necessarily yield one ecclesial model. And while I have definite predilections in one direction, who am I to say that a Presbyterian like Samuel Annesley, the grandfather of the Wesley brothers, was not used by God?

Also wrong, I believe, is the further presupposition that spiritual vitality is yoked to one ecclesial model. I am a convinced Baptist and Congregationalist, but any fair reading of Church History forces one to realize that God, for instance, has used moderate Episcopalianism as found in the eighteenth-century Church of England or Puritan Congregationalism or the semi-Episcopalianism of the Arminian Methodists of the eighteenth century or the interesting structure of the Moravian Church—that “exotic plant” as one recent history has described the Moravians of England—to extend his kingdom.

In the recent resurgence of the doctrines of grace, it seems to me that some Reformed folk have learned this lesson, hence the appreciation for others of a different ecclesial ilk. Others, though still tie spirituality to ecclesiology with the consequent negative impact on the virtue of humility and usefulness in the Kingdom.

Most recently, this arrogance can be seen in those who would argue that one type of model of church growth is guaranteed to produce the goods. Some urge a model of church growth à la Willow Creek, others cite Emergent as the only way to go. Some embrace a business model with the pastor as the CEO—to be honest this I find the strangest of all recent church growth models—and tout this as the sure fire method of spiritual revitalization. How utterly mistaken!

God is sovereign and ecclesial prosperity his right alone to grant. To be sure, there are paths that must be followed, but they are ways of piety and morality, not this type of structure or that. I have been closely following the path of one denominational grouping here in Canada that have recently endorsed one model of denominational governance with the conviction that this is the pathway to spiritual vitality and renewal and growth. It is a model that outrightly rejects the heritage of this group of churches, for whom I have a deep love, and I fear that they have been sold “swamp land in Florida” and will have a rude awakening! I hope I am wrong, but the weight of church history is against the claims of those who pushed this body of churches down this path.

As D.A. Carson, whose life and writings have been a tremendous inspiration to me personally, has rightly said: “We depend on plans, programs, vision statements—but somewhere along the way we have succumbed to the temptation to displace the foolishness of the cross with the wisdom of strategic planning.”

O Lord, humble your people, make them a people of prayer and just practice, zeal for the gospel and the salvation of sinners, and above all a passion for yourself and your glory—revive them wherever they are. Amen.

The Dancing Puritan: Shattering the Stereotypes Once Again

In the past I have gone on record as saying that I have never read through Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Some friends have been horrified at this admission. But this does not mean that I do not appreciate aspects of this remarkable work. For instance, there is a tremendous scene in Part II, that second half of the work which many never look at—I have looked at parts even if I have not read the whole! Part II stresses the communal nature of the Christian life, with Christian’s wife, Christiana, and her family taking the pilgrim way along with a company including such characters as Feeble-mind and Ready-to-halt (Oh those names! One reason I have not been able to persevere with the whole).

In one priceless scene, their guide, Mr. Great-heart slays the Giant-Despair and the company of pilgrims destroy the giant’s refuge, Doubting Castle. Two of the giant’s prisoners, Mr. Despondency and his daughter Much-Afraid, are rescued and they join the company of pilgrims, “for they were honest people.”

This liberation of the captives caused the pilgrims to rejoice greatly. Now, Christiana, we learn, “played upon the Vial and her daughter Mercy upon the Lute.” So they began to play, and “Ready-to-halt would dance.” So he took Despondency’s daughter, Much-Afraid, by the hand and “to dancing they went in the Road. True, he could not dance without one crutch in his hand, but I promise you, he footed it well; also the girl was to be commended, for she answered the music handsomely.”

If I didn't already have a name for my blog, I would be half-disposed to call it "The Dancing Puritan"!

An Elder’S Prayer

Baptists have historically not been into written prayers. If you want to know why, read John Bunyan’s I will pray with the Spirit. But it is great to have recorded prayers from godly men of the church like C.H. Spurgeon that help us understand the piety of our Baptist forebears.

Here is a prayer from a man whom it has been my privilege to know and serve with, Dr. Colin Wellum, Sr., with whom I have served as an elder at Trinity Baptist Church, Burlington, Ontario. I have just offered my resignation as elder at this my home church and that because of the duties I now have as a professor at SBTS.

But it has been one of the deepest joys of my life to serve alongside Dr Wellum, and the pastor, Carl Muller, and the other elders. They are a remarkable group of godly men, for whom I give thanks regularly. May the Lord continue to bless this church and own it, as he has done in the past thirty-five years, for his glory.

Here is the prayer, it is on the blog of Colin’s son, Kirk Wellum: To God Be The Glory.

The Faithful Preacher: A Book Note

Thabiti M. Anyabwile, The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2007), 191 pages. Like far too many church historians trained in the West in the past thirty to forty years, this book made me realize that I am woefully ignorant of the spiritual experience of African-American pastors and congregants. Rightly does John Piper state in his foreword to this volume by the senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman Islands, that it “mines the unknown riches of the African-American experience” (p.9). Now, I had heard of one of the figures treated in this book, the Edwardsean Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833), but the other two men—Daniel Payne (1811-1893) and Francis Grimké (1850-1937)—were completely unknown to me. And what I knew about Haynes could have been told in less than a minute!

What makes this volume especially useful is that Anyabwile combines his narrative discussion of the lives of these three pastors with three or four of primary sources from each of their writings. This work is ideal as a source-book to be included in any study of American Christianity. But it is also good for the souls of those called to be pastors and leaders in the Church of the living God.

Here, for instance, is a deeply challenging statement from the Methodist Bishop Payne: “…it is not the omnipotence of God that constitutes His glory—it is His immaculate holiness. And such must be the fact in the moral character of the Christian minister—not his talents…not his learning…but his holiness” (p.95).

John Erskine and a 1784 Letter to John Ryland, Jr.

A question that has long fascinated me is how John Ryland, Jr. (1753-1825) came to be corresponding with Dr John Erskine of Greyfriars, Edinburgh, in the 1780s? Erskine was an Edwards aficionado and sent packets of Edwardsean literature to all with whom he corresponded. So it was that he sent Edwards’ Humble Attempt to Ryland in 1784 and the result was the beginning of a prayer movement among the Northamptonshire Association Baptists, to which Ryland belonged, that led to revival.I initially thought of Ryland’s father, John Collett Ryland, as a link. But just recently I noticed in a letter from John Newton to the younger Ryland—Newton was his mentor—that Newton said that he would forward some letters to Erskine. Could Newton be the link between the young Baptist and the Scottish evangelical?

Eberhard Bethge on Remembering the past

These words of Eberhard Bethge, the biographer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, are an important reminder of the need to remember the past: “Commemoration renders life human; forgetfulness makes it inhuman. …even when remembrance carries grief and shame, it fills the future with perspectives. And the denial of the past furthers the affairs of death, precisely because it focuses exclusively on the present."[1]

[1] Friendship and Resistance. Essays on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Geneva: WCC Publications/Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1995), 105.

Missing “Hymn” in New Jars of Clay Compilation

I recently bought Jars of Clay’s compilation The Essential Jars of Clay (2007). Sweet! But was very surprised to find that one of my favourite songs from their Much Afraid CD was absent, namely “Hymn.” “Hymn” is a truly awesome song, both lyrics and music. The chorus is so rich: “Oh gaze of love so melt my pride That I may in Your house but kneel And in my brokenness to cry Spring worship unto Thee.”

Oh, Lord Jesus, it is this very thing I need: an overwhelming sense of your love—not fleeting, but ongoing day by day—that melts my pride and gives me the ability to truly worship. This is what genuine humanity is about!

John Ryland, Jr. On Believer’s Baptism

John Ryland, Jr. (1753-1825), to be distinguished from his father, John Collett Ryland, about whom I blogged a few days ago, detailed his commitment to the Baptist way in a sermon that he preached in June, 1812, to the students and subscribers of Stepney Academy, founded two years prior to train men for ministry among the Calvinistic Baptists. Ryland gives the following solid advice to the students in his audience:[1] “Always show you are more concerned to turn sinners to God, than to make proselytes to a party. While you teach men to observe all things whatsoever our blessed Lord has commanded, whether with reference to moral duty, or positive institutions, let it appear, in the latter case, that you regard the thing signified as far more important than the sign.

“In administering the Ordinances of the New Testament be careful to point out their important signification. Urge them who are buried with Christ by Baptism into death, to remember their obligations to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness; to be separate from the world and devoted to God. What avails observance of a more significant and scriptural mode of administering the ordinance, if its end be not kept constantly in view? It is not the Baptism of adults, but of believers, for which we plead; let them who profess to have believed, be urged so to walk as to prove they abide in him, whose name they bear. Let them live the life of faith, and fight the good fight of faith. “He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved” [Mk 16:16]. Were the Greek term translated, I am persuaded it should be rendered, He that believeth and is immersed or overwhelmed etc. Overwhelmed with what? with Water? Yes, that is the sign, and thus only we think the ordinance should be administered. But, what is the thing signified? He that is overwhelmed with a sense of Obligation, of Guilt, of Danger, of Gratitude, of Love; he that is immersed in the Holy Spirit, shall be saved. We had rather have the thing signified without the sign, than the sign without the thing signified: though we think both should go together.”

[1] Advice to Young Ministers, respecting their preparatory Studies (Bristol, 1812), 28-29.