Jan
12
Joy
Filed Under Christian Living, Holiness, Puritans, Thomas Boston, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
One of the more prevalent critiques of Christianity is that it is simply drab and boring. In preparing for my Sunday School lesson on Westminster Shorter Catechism question 36, I ran across this Thomas Boston quote, on the subject of Christian joy.
Most groundless is the prejudice against religion, that it is a melancholy thing (Proverbs 3:17, ‘Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.’) None have such reason to rejoice as the believer has. If the poor wretched and condemned creature has more ground to rejoice than he that is pardoned and enriched with his prince’s favor, then the wicked has as much ground to rejoice as the believer who is justified by grace. Oh! if the ungodly saw their state, they would never rejoice; and if the godly saw theirs, they would never despond.
Nov
28
John Bunyan
Filed Under Books, John Bunyan, Puritans, Reading | Leave a Comment
Taking a glimpse at who was born on this day in history I noticed the name of John Bunyan. Bunyan was born in Elston, England on November 28, 1628. That historical fact gives me ample reason in this post to remind you of Derek Thomas’ parting words to our Fall Lecture series: “I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Pilgrim’s Progress and I hope you will reread it in the coming weeks.”
There is a misunderstanding amongst many Christians that to be a “well-read Christian” you need to have read many books. Against that thought, I would make the suggestion that your soul would be done much more good if you pick a handful of really great Christian classics and reread them numerous times. If we are going to agree with Solomon that, “to the making of books there is no end”, then we will also have need of some means of judging good books. The test of history is a hard test to pass. But if a book passes that test, you can be sure it is a good one. Pilgrim’s Progress has passed the test of history with flying colors. When I talk to dear old saints in Christ the one Christian book that always comes up as being of tremendous help to their souls is Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. So, if you don’t own a copy, by one. If you haven’t read your copy, take the upcoming Holiday season to read Pilgrim’s Progress and to learn at the tinker’s feet.
Oct
24
Packer on Pilgrim’s Progress
Filed Under John Bunyan, Puritans, Reading | Leave a Comment
I read this quote by J. I. Packer on another (excellent) blog and had to pass it along considering our ongoing series on Thursday evening with Derek Thomas on Pilgrim’s Progress. Packer writes:
“For two centuries Pilgrim’s Progress was the best-read book, after the Bible, in all Chrisendom, but sadly it is not so today. When I ask my classes of young and youngish evangelicals, as I often do, who has read Pilgrim’s Progress, not a quarter of the hands go up. Yet our rapport with fantasy writing, plus our lack of grip on the searching, humbling, edifying truths about spiritual life that the Puritans understood so well, surely mean that the time is ripe for us to dust off Pilgrim’s Progress and start reading it again. Certainly, it would be great gain for modern Christians if Bunyan’s masterpiece came back into its own in our day. Have you yourself, I wonder, read it yet?”
J. I. Packer, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” in The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics , ed. Kapic and Gleason (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press: 2004), p. 198.
Remember that we have two meetings left for our Pilgrim’s Progress lectures. Even if you haven’t come yet, we’d love to have you attend the last two on November 9 and 16. Pick up a book, read through Vanity Fair, and you’ll be up to date.
Oct
19
Such a deformed slut
Filed Under Prayer, Puritans, Resources, The Church | Leave a Comment
Tony Reinke of Omaha, Nebraska, has one of the best blogs around–The Shepherd’s Scrapbook. This week he reprinted this from the original ‘Sweet Dropper’, Richard Sibbes:
No man is more ready to charge the church than she is to confess her infirmities.
She never hideth them, she never justifieth them;
she is black, she hath afflictions, she kept not her own vine,
she wants [lacks] knowledge, affection, discretion, love.
She never denies it, but confesses all freely from her heart;
she hides not her sin, but tells what she is, what she hath done,
that so she may give glory to the Lord God of Israel.
And indeed, it makes much for the honor of Christ, and commends his grace,
that he, such a king, will set his heart and his eye
upon such a deformed slut as the world deems her to be.
It makes for the comfort of her poor children, and much stayeth [sustains] them,
when they shall hear the church in all ages, and in her Abraham, David, and Paul, saying,
‘I am black,’ I have affliction, corruption, as well as others.
It makes for the silencing of all saucy [flippant] daughters that will upbraid her;
an ingenuous confession stops their mouths, and puts them all to silence.
It much quickens her to the use of the means, and maketh her cry,
‘Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest.’
And to seek her comfort in Christ Jesus.
Oh it doth her good to receive the sentence of death, shame, poverty, damnation,
in herself, that so she may be found in Christ,
arrayed with the rich robes of his righteousness.
Hence her plain-hearted openness in her confession.
Let us do the like, and leave it to the harlot and whore of Babylon
to say herself is a queen, she is glorious, she cannot err.
But let us say with the church, we are black;
yea, let us see it, let us speak it with sorrow, with shame,
as the saints have done,
and be so affected with our estate that it may truly humble us, and cause us to say,
‘It is the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.’
And let us so confess it in ourselves,
that we pity others, and bear with them, though full of sins and miseries;
so confess it, that we stir up others thereby to run, as Paul did,
and use the ordinances with all diligence,
to pray much, to read much, to hear, to confer, to advise, and be humble and sincere.
A verbal confession of frailties,
without humility, mercy, diligence, without the use of the means, is hypocrisy.
If we will speak with the church,
we must feel what we say, and so well understand ourselves and our estate,
that we may gain humility, mercy, and watchfulness by it.
- Richard Sibbes, Works 7:97-98
Oct
10
Christians Good Citizens?
Filed Under Apologetics, Christian Living, Puritans | Leave a Comment
This morning I had reason to reflect more on my sermon from this past Sunday evening. As is our custom in opening our staff meetings, Phillip read us a portion of Thomas Brooks’s Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. This morning’s selection was on Satan’s tactic of urging rulers to persecute Christian’s in their countries. The fourth remedy to this tactic that Brooks mentions is that rulers should consider the divine benefit of having Christians in their country interceding for their country. I include an excerpt below.
If it were not for the saints’ sake, God would quickly make the heavens to be brass and the earth as iron; God would quickly strip thee of thy robes and glory, and set thee upon the dunghill with Job. They are the props that bear the world from falling about thy ears, and that keep the iron rod from breaking of thy bones. ‘Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destory them” (Psalm 106.23). Ah! had not the saints many a time cast themselves into the breach betwixt God’s wrath and you, you had been cut off from the land of the living, and had your portion with those whose names are written in the dust. Many a nation, many a family, is surrounded with blessings for the Josephs’ sakes that live therein, and are preserved from many calamities and miseries for the Moses’, the Daniels’, the Noahs’, and the Jobs’, sakes, that dwell amongst them.
Oct
6
Manton Quotes
Filed Under Justification, Puritans | Leave a Comment
I was reading a sermon by Thomas Manton this morning on the redemption purchased by Christ. The sermon was from Colossians 1:15. He had an excellent point concerning the dignity of Christ’s person which I include below for you to think on.
There are three things that commend the value of Christ’s sacrifice - the dignity of his person, the greatness of his sufferings, and the merit of his obedience. But the two latter without the former will little quiet the heart of scrupulous men. His sufferings were great, but temporary and finite - the merit of his obedience much; but how shall the virtue of it reach all the world? And if he be but a mere creature, he hath done what he ought to do. I confess a fourth thing may be added - God’s institution, which availeth to the end for which God hath appointed it; but the scripture insists most on the first - the dignity of his person - which putteth value on his sacrifice.
We can think much on the suffering of Jesus for poor sinners. We can think much of the perfect obedience offered on our behalf. But neither of these truths carry biblical or redemptive weight unless the suffering and obedience of Jesus are subservient to his eternal dignity and value. The glory of Jesus Christ is what makes his sacrifice for sin possible. The glory of Jesus Christ is what lends eternal value to his suffering and obedience.