A Scottish Christian Heritage

I have come to grips with the fact that I cannot read every edifying book that catches my eye. Thankfully, I am surrounded by book-loving brothers who can thoughtfully distill the highlights of some of the best books that are out of my reach. One of those brothers just so happens to be my dad, Gene Smith. I asked him to give me his review of Iain Murray’s recent book A Scottish Christian Heritage.

There is a famous saying that goes something like this: “We must study history and learn from its mistakes, or else we will be doomed to repeat them.” Or as Paul writes to the church at Corinth: “These things happened to them as examples, and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” (1 Cor 10:11) Thoughts such as these come to mind in the reading of Iain Murray’s A Scottish Christian Heritage. As Murray states in his foreword, he is not attempting to give a summary of Scottish church history, nor to write “a book in praise of things Scottish as such.” Rather, he singles out certain leaders in particular and draws from their biographies lessons for us to learn for our walk of faith today.

Who has not heard of John Knox and his battle with Mary Queen of Scots? But what of Robert Bruce, Thomas Chalmers, John MacDonald, and the Bonar brothers? Murray’s treatment of each whets the appetite for further exploration of these men of the highlands and moors. As he quickly points out, there is nothing holy about Scotland in and of itself, but there were so many Scottish Christians of “adoring and heavenly minds” because of their recovery of biblical truth, and the persecution that followed. Murray traces that recovery, and battle to maintain it, and then the sad erosion of those biblical foundations. The subtle invasion of theological liberalism which resulted in a quenching of the fire which once burned brightly within those of the Scottish kirk led Robert Louis Stevenson to write in 1887, “The most influential books, and the truest in their influence, are works of fiction.” What happened and how did such a reversal occur for the spiritual climate set by the likes of Knox and Bonar? As Murray sums it up, “Faith in God cannot long survive disbelief in his Word.”

Murray takes the reader on a fascinating journey with the men who shaped the Scottish reformation from the 16th to 19th centuries, in the form of their biographies, their sermon content, and of course their struggles and the lessons that we can learn from them today. As Murray puts it, “The most frequently used word in John Knox’s vocabulary was undoubtedly ‘battle’; and the battle, as he knew it, was ‘not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world’” However, in spite of Knox’s at times coming across as severe and extreme in his day of harshness of persecution, he also had a strong ministry of encouragement to struggling believers. “Your imperfection shall have no power to damn you,” he writes to a Mrs. Bowes, “for Christ’s perfection is reputed to be yours by faith, which you have in his blood.” And of course, we must not leave out the power of Knox’s preaching. As the English ambassador exclaimed upon hearing Knox preach, “The voice of one man is able in one hour to put more life in us than five hundred trumpets continually blustering in our ears.” Even so, Knox was quick to admit that he was not a good orator, but that his powerful preaching was a result of the grace and working of the Holy Spirit within him.

A study of Knox’s life also reminds us of how God is active in history. It was a result of Knox’s exile to England that his friendships were formed that helped draw the two long-hostile nations together. And as Murray continues to point out, his exile to Calvin’s city contributed to bringing Britain the Geneva Bible. A touching portrait of Knox is presented through these words spoken to gathering friends in his final days of earth: “Live in Christ. Live in Christ, and then flesh need not fear death – Lord, grant true pastors to thy Church, that purity of doctrine may be maintained.”

In reading of the lives and prayers of the Scottish reformers, it is almost as if they arise heavenward as the aroma and smoke of the burning peat rising from the bogs of the highlands. May they continue to inspire us to offer up our lives to God as vessels of reformation and restoration of Biblical truth for the kirk in our day.

Singing Psalm Twenty-One

I’ve jumped on the West Tennessee Psalm-singing bandwagon.

I posted a morning meditation on Psalm 21 a few months back, and this Sunday evening I will attempt to preach it at my church. In addition to my exposition, the truths of Psalm 21 will be proclaimed by obeying Paul’s instructions in Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16. I’m no Chad Davis, but here’s my first attempt at Psalm versification.

“Triumph of the Lord’s King”
Psalm 21:1-13
To the tune of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”

(1) O LORD, in your great strength the King
exults and lifts his voice,
In your salvation brought to him
He greatly will rejoice!

(2) The heart’s desire of the King
You freely did bestow
And the requests upon his lips
LORD, you did not withhold!

(3) For you do come to meet your King
with blessings rich and good
And on his head, LORD you have set
a crown of purest gold!

(4) Your dying King asked life of you,
you gave him life, O LORD!
You blessed him with such length of days,
He’ll live forevermore!

(5) Great is the glory of the King,
through your salvation, LORD!
Splendor and majesty on him
You freely do bestow!

(6) For you have made the King most bless’d
He’s bless’d forevermore,
You make him glad with the joy of
The presence of the LORD!

(7)Because the King trusts in the LORD,
And him he looks unto,
Through steadfast love of the Most High
The King shall not be moved!

(8-9) Your hand will find your enemies,
Who hate you without fear,
Your wrath consumes them with a blaze,
When you, the LORD appear.

(10) The names of all your enemies
Shall not for long endure;
For their descendants you destroy,
Their offspring from the earth

(11-12) Though planning evil ‘gainst the Lord
Their plans will not succeed
You’ll aim at them with mighty bows,
Before you they will flee!

(13) Now be exalted in your strength,
Your pow’r we praise and sing,
In all the earth, LORD, you are God,
There is no other King!

Baptist History and Theology Links

Justin Taylor recently pointed out several interviews about Baptist history, theology, and present-day trends, featuring some heavy-hitters:

Baptist Identity Panel Discussion with historian-theologians David Dockery, Greg Wills, Nathan Finn, and James Leo Garrett.

Baptist 21 Panel Discussion at the SBC with Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, David Platt, Danny Akin, Ed Stetzer, and Daniel Montgomery.

Timothy George Interviewed on Reformed Theology

Also of interest is the upcoming conference at Union University, “Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism,” October 6-8.

Administering the Gospel to the Wounded

In chapter four of book three in The Institutes, Calvin addresses the error of the “schoolmen” who promote the penitence of confessing sins to a priest and receiving pardon from him. While he vigorously argues for Christ as the only true priest who can pardon our sins, he does commend the Biblical practice of confessing our sins to one another. One section I found particularly helpful was the real-life scenario of he proposed of a sin-burdened church member coming to his pastor for help with his guilt.

“Nor is private absolution of less benefit or efficacy when asked by those who stand in need of a special remedy for their infirmity. It not seldom happens, that he who hears general promises which are intended for the whole congregation of the faithful, nevertheless remains somewhat in doubt, and is still disquieted in mind, as if his own remission were not yet obtained. Should this individual lay open the secret wound of his soul to his pastor, and hear these words of the Gospel specially addressed to him, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matt 9:2), his mind will feel secure, and escape from the trepidation with which it was previously agitated. But when we treat of the keys, we must always beware of dreaming of any power apart from the preaching of the Gospel.” (3.4.14, 415)

While the pastor himself has no power to forgive sins, he has been entrusted with the ministry of the Gospel, to apply it both publicly and privately to the flock of God. At this very moment, I am convinced that there are numerous members in all of our churches in desperate need of just such a private ministry of the Gospel. This brings a number of questions to my mind as a pastor:

1) Am I striving to know my people in such a way that I can tell when they are burdened, and when they are rejoicing? Or am I content to prepare my sermons without thought to their needs and shake their hands on their way in and out of church on Sunday mornings?

2) Do I present myself as a knowable pastor, himself conscious of his sin and carried away by mercy? When my people think of someone who is approachable and sympathetic, do they think of me? Or do I come off as high-handed, demanding, and scolding?

3) Do I preach the Gospel beautifully, as the best news any sinner has ever heard, as sufficient to cleanse the deepest stains upon the conscience and heart? I personally find it much easier to preach legalistically about what we should do and not do, than to preach the Gospel of glorious free grace. My default mode is to try and modify our sinful behavior, rather than to exalt a merciful, life-giving Savior.

4) Am I able to personally apply the Gospel to the lives of my people when sitting across the table from them and listening to their stories as Calvin described? Or would I bungle this, able only to talk in generalities before a crowd? Have I thought through the sorts of sicknesses from which my people will suffer that will require tonic of the Gospel?

Ryle on Sanctification, Part 3

Post by Landon Preston

Ryle’s second chapter on sanctification has been a huge encouragement to me in my discipleship with Christ. As someone who for years now has wrestled with the concept of the role of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life, I have found Ryle’s guidance to be fairly even-handed and biblical. Personally, understanding how God sanctifies and empowers his people has been an extremely confusing path for me. I have been praying with friends in a room only to find them start shaking on the ground and speaking in tongues. On the other hand, I have had other friends denounce particular stories and coldly declare that the Holy Spirit does not act anymore like it once did in the book of Acts. In both cases, it was difficult to find a good response for me.

While I do not intend for this post to be a theological assessment of the discussions between charismatic and cessasionist camps, what I do want to discuss is how I think Ryle’s chapter benefits what is at the root of the discussion: How does the Holy Spirit interact with believers to accomplish God’s overall goal of conforming his children into the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29)?

Ryle’s answer to this question I think takes into balance the tension of our life here and now. We live in this world but are citizens of Heaven. His treatment of the Scriptures emphasizes a real life on earth where we are responsible for pursuing spiritual development but understand that it is truly God who does this work and prepares us for the life to come. He says, “Let us make sure work of our own condition, and never rest till we feel and know that we are ‘sanctified’ ourselves…Where are we now? What are we doing? Are we sanctified or not? If not, the fault is our own.” To me, this distinction is so important because it pushes the believer to always press on in spiritual growth; we cannot stop in our pursuit of being more like Christ until our last breath. Sanctification and growth is not a singular event. Although it does occur in small (or sometimes larger) singular events, there is always another step to take in being more like our Lord Jesus. It is important not to confuse justification with sanctification.

While he says that we need are responsible to pursue spiritual activities, this charge is tempered with the realization of who we are: sinful humans. “At our best we shall find in ourselves daily cause for humiliation, and discover that we are needy debtors to mercy and grace every hour . . . Our absolute perfection is yet to come, and the expectation of it is one reason why we should long for Heaven.” There are many days I get so discouraged with who I am in the core of my being- a sinful man being made more like Christ. But we should also be reminded that it is God who works in us to make us more like Christ for this life and for the life to come. He says, “We need the work of the Holy Spirit as well as the work of Christ; we need renewal of the heart as well as the atoning blood; we need to be sanctified as well as to be justified. It is common to hear people saying on their deathbeds, ‘I only want the Lord to forgive me my sins, and take me to rest.’ But those who say such things forget that the rest of heaven would be utterly useless if we had not heart to enjoy it! What could an unsanctified man do in heaven, if by any chance he got there?”

Ryle’s assessment of sanctification reminds me to pursue holiness and the sanctified life, but it is God who achieves these things in my inner man. Although I do and will continue to struggle with sin for the rest of my life, the purpose for pursuing holiness and sanctification is to bear fruit now to the glory of God and prepare me for the life to come. Thanks be to God for his kindness to us!

Ryle on Sanctification (part 2)

Post by Landon Preston

In my last post I briefly commented on Ryle’s first 8 points on sanctification. I found each of these points to me so poignant, piercing, and convicting. Instead of commenting further, I think it is just as edifying to list some additional quotes from Ryle regarding each of these.

9. “Sanctification, is a thing which does not a prevent a man from having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict…A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within…The heart of the best Christian, even at his best, is a field occupied by two rival camps, and ‘the company of two armies.’”

10. “Sanctification, is a thing which cannot justify a man, and yet it pleases God…Just as a parent is pleased with the efforts of his little child to please him, though it be only picking a daisy or walking across a room, so is our Father in heaven pleased with the poor performances of his believing children.”

11. “Sanctification, is a thing which will be found absolutely necessary as a witness to our character in the great day of judgment… He that supposes works are of no importance, is a very ignorant Christian. Unless he opens his eyes, he will find to his cost that if he comes to the bar of God without some evidence of grace, he had better never have been born.”

12. “Sanctification, in the last place, is absolutely necessary in order to train and prepare us for heaven. Most hope to heaven when they die; but few, it may be feared, take the trouble to consider whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there.”

Ryle’s Holiness, Chapter 2: Sanctification

Post by Landon Preston

In his second chapter on sanctification, Ryle lays out twelve points which he believes are clear in the Scriptures. I find these points to be extremely compelling in helping me to understand the nature of holiness versus a false, singular, and eccentric view of salvation and holiness that can still be found today. Below are Ryle’s first eight points:

1. Sanctification, is the result of that vital union with Christ which true faith gives to a Christian.
2. Sanctification, is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration.
3. Sanctification, is the only certain evidence of that indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
4. Sanctification, is the sure mark of God’s election.
5. Sanctification, is a thing that will always be seen.
6. Sanctification, is a thing for which every believer is responsible.
7. Sanctification, is a thing which admits growth and degrees.
8. Sanctification, is a thing which depends greatly on a diligent use of Scriptural means (praying, reading, worship, Lord’s Supper)

While I would encourage all Christians to read this book, in particular, Ryle’s view of sanctification here emphasizes true sanctification to be an ongoing result of regeneration.  For him, and I would argue the Bible,  this view of Christian living goes against the notion of a short, one- time Christian sprint where all of a believer’s hurdles and challenges are overcome in one occasion. Instead, a steady and persistent marathon of endurance will display a person’s process of sanctification and an ongoing reliance upon the power of God the Spirit for strength and holiness.  Reading Ryle reminds me that sanctification is an ongoing and daily process, and one that I am responsible for yet it is God who is the Sanctifier. May we be challenged and encouraged to strive for holiness each day as God conforms us more into the image of his Son Jesus.

Ryle’s Holiness, Chapter 1: Sin

Chapter one of J.C. Ryle ’s Holiness is simply entitled, “Sin.” His introductory paragraph to the first chapter is frequently quoted, and justifiably so:

He that wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here Is most mischievous. Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption. I make no apology for beginning this volume of papers about holiness by making some plain statements about sin. (1)

This is a key point for pastors and church members alike: a thoroughly Biblical understanding of sin is non-negotiable if we are to rightly preach, live, and prize the Gospel. He goes on:

The plain truth is that a right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without it such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are “words and names” which convey no meaning to the mind . . . Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies, and false doctrines of the present day. If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul’s disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief wants of the church in the nineteenth century has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin.

The entire chapter is just as powerfully and clearly written, and could be quoted in its entirety. I have referred back to this study several times in sermon preparation since I first read it. He offers two vivid illustrations which have stuck with me:

We can acknowledge that man has all the marks of a majestic temple about him – a temple in which God once dwelt, but a temple which is now in utter ruins –a temple in which a shattered window here, and a doorway there, and a column there, still give some faint idea of the magnificence of the original design, but a temple from which end to end has lost its glory and fallen from its high estate. (5)

And again,

So deeply planted are the roots of human corruption, that even after we are born again, renewed, washed, sanctified, justified,” and made living members of Christ, these roots remain alive in the bottom of our hearts, and, like the leprosy in the walls of the house, we never get rid of them until the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved. (6)

If I were digging into teaching the doctrine of sin with a small group, there is no question in my mind that Ryle’s treatment of it here would be the first piece of literature I would want to distribute.  At twenty pages, this chapter is long enough to give a fairly full, Biblical picture. And like Spurgeon, Ryle is dedicated to the very best of Puritan teaching, while blessed with the amazing gift of communicating it in a crystal-clear an unintimidating way. I close with a quote that demonstrates how Gospel-centered Ryle remains, even when aiming at conviction of sin in his hearers.

We need not be afraid to look at sin, and study its nature, origin, power, extent, and vileness, if we only look at the same time at the almighty medicine provided for us in the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. (11)

Amen. What a worthy model to emulate.

Lesson on the Necessity of the New Birth

I commented recently on the almost non-exisitence of teaching about the new birth in so many of our churches, and the great need to explain the necessity of the miracle of regeneration as we lay out the Gospel. I received an encouragement in this area from one of my own members not long ago. He is a man in his early eighties, a WWII veteran and a lifelong Gospel quartet singer (bass). His eyesight is such now that he is unable to read the Bible for longer than a few seconds before it becomes blurry, so his wife often reads aloud for them both. A battle with diabetes lead to the partial amputation of one leg a few years back, so getting around is becoming increasingly difficult.  But as I sat in his living room and visited him the other day, speaking about the Christian life, he suddenly fixed me with a steely gaze that could have come from a fiery young sail somewhere in the Pacific over sixty years ago. The intensity increased when he lifted his hand and pointed to me, ensuring that I was paying attention. I was. He said,

“But let me tell you something right now: you have to be born again. Nothing else matters if you haven’t been born again. “

I couldn’t argue with that. Even if I could, I wouldn’t have wanted to try it. I just shifted in my seat, cleared my throat a little and said “Amen.”

For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Galatians 6:15

Discerning the Spirit and John Quincy Adams

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1 John 4:2-3)

I preached 1 John 3:24 – 4:6 on Sunday morning, where John exhorts the Children of God to exercise discernment between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist in the messages that are brought to their ears. The preeminent test which we must apply to these messages, John tells them, is what these messages say about the person and work of Christ. This means that Christology is not just a relic from the past to be studied by pastors and bible teachers. Instead, if they are to be lead by the Spirit rather than into error, all the people of God at all times and in all places need to nourish themselves on the precious doctrines of Christ upon which the church has stood for the last 2,ooo years.

Later that Father’s Day afternoon, my family and I watched a portion of the recent John Adams miniseries on DVD, which lead us into a discussion about the faith of his son and our sixth president, John Quincy Adams. Little did I know that these two themes from Sunday would intersect in this article I found at the Christian History Timeline:

Until George W. Bush’s election, he was the only president’s son to have become president himself. Before holding America’s highest office, Adams was a lawyer, senator, diplomat, and Secretary of State.

That such a man could be elected is a reflection of America’s religious roots. John Quincy Adams sprang directly from those roots and had a firm faith. If Christianity is proven by character, Adams was surely a Christian. This stubborn man whose motto was “Watch and Pray,” spoke openly of his trust in God: but not for that did he win his nickname “Old Eloquence.” Rather, it was for championing principle and attacking the institution of slavery.

He was an unyielding patriarch, tough as the granite of his native New England. Every day he read two to five chapters of the Bible in the original Hebrew and Greek and drew strength from them. He prayed daily. Not content merely to read, he acted on what he read. So often did he put principle before party he became highly unpopular with his followers.

John Quincy did not let their disapproval alter his course. “The Sermon on the Mount commends me to lay up for myself treasures, not on earth, but in Heaven. My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ…” he had written his father. After his single term as President, he returned to Congress.

Christ was central to John’s theology. When Unitarianism emerged, denying the divinity of Christ, Adams flirted with it, but the Bible soon convinced him the doctrine was false. Either Jesus is God incarnate and our path to salvation or we have none. With characteristic rectitude John wrote as much to his parents.

“I find in the New Testament, Jesus Christ accosted in His own presence by one of his disciples as God, without disclaiming the appellation…I see him named in the great prophecy of Isaiah concerning him to be the mighty God.”