From A Letter to a Student in Divinity
“The chief means for attaining wisdom, and suitable gifts for the ministry, are the holy Scriptures, and prayer. The one is the fountain of living water, the other the bucket with which we are to draw. And I believe you will find, by observation, that the man who is most frequent and fervent in prayer, and most devoted to the word of God, will shine and flourish above his fellows. ” —John Newton, The Works of John Newton
“[H]is delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” —Psalm 1:2
The clean animal chewed the cud. My intent is illustrative, not allegorical or interpretative: we must eat Scripture like a cow, not a pig. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we eat less, but that we chew more. We ought be constantly chewing. It isn’t the Christian who eats most, but who chews most that will prove most genuinely righteous.
“Remember, it is not hasty reading, but serious meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that make them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee’s touching of the flower that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian.” —Thomas Brooks
The “counsel of the wicked” stands against the “law of Yaweh” in Psalm 1. You don’t have to outsource “the counsel of the wicked.” You’ll find a factory of foolishness close to home inside your own head. Everyone knows how to meditate. We do it constantly. Our minds are churning on something. It might be nonsense, haphazard, or illogical, but they are churning. What are they churning on? The counsel of the wicked is incessantly thrown at us from every angle. If we are passive, if we are on autopilot, then we default to a way that leads to death (Proverbs 14:12).
“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you.” —D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The righteous man is one who wants God’s voice to be the loudest, to drown the others out, and so, he meditates. He fixes his mind on the Word. He chews.
Meditation is for living. It is for bringing God’s Word to bear on all of life out of zeal for His glory and love for His being. If it for living the blessed life.
I don’t believe the Bible is a book of heroes. The Bible does have heroes in it, but that is not what it is about. It is a book about the Hero. Nonetheless, I do believe in having heroes, and I believe it is Biblical to have them.
Heroes are not perfect, and thus they point us to Christ in three ways. Their faults (weaknesses and sins) point us to the Savior that they, and we, all need. With this foundation we learn two further truths concerning their strengths. First, they are a result of God’s gifting and working in them such that He gets all the glory. Second, their strengths also point us to Jesus by whom they are graded – Jesus is the ultimate curve breaker. All heroes are judged in relation to Him.
Every year I single out one hero to study in particular. This year I will study the life and works of John Newton.
Newton is no doubt best known for being the writer of the most beloved English hymn “Amazing Grace.” He was born July 25, 1725 and died December 21, 1807. He pastored two churches. One in Olney for 15 years and one in London for 27 years.
Newton’s life is remarkable, but what I am most looking forward to studying are his pastoral letters. I have the older and beautiful six volume edition of his works published by Banner of Truth (I believe they are working on a new reformatted four volume version). Volumes 1, 2, 5, 6 are significantly comprised of these letters. I pray and hope his pastoral wisdom, counsel, and care of souls will both minister to me and help me to better minister to others.
Knowledge, therefore, is not an accidental and externally added component of salvation but integral to it. Salvation that is not known and enjoyed is no salvation. Of what benefit would the forgiveness of sins, regeneration, and complete renewal by the Holy Spirit, the glories of heaven, be to us if we did not know about them? They could not exist. They presuppose and require consciousness, knowledge, enjoyment, and in these confer salvation. God saves by causing himself to be known and enjoyed in Christ. But since on earth the benefits of the covenant of grace are only granted to us in part; since communion with God, regeneration, and sanctification are still incomplete; and since our knowledge is imperfect, has invisible things for its object, and is bound to Scripture, our knowledge of God on earth is ‘a knowledge of faith.’ Faith is the only way it can be appropriated, the only form in which it can take shape. Indeed, all benefits (forgiveness, regeneration, sanctification, perseverance, the blessedness ofheaven) exist for us only by faith. We enjoy them only by faith. We are saved only through hope (cf. Rom. 8:24). —Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics
According to Scripture, therefore, the significance of the physical resurrection of Christ is inexhaustibly rich. Briefly summarized, that resurrection is (1) proof of Jesus’ messiahship, the coronation of the Servant of the Lord to be Christ and Lord, the Prince of life and Judge (Acts 2:36; 3:13–15; 5:31; 10:42; etc.); (2) a seal of his eternal divine sonship (Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:3): (3) a divine endorsement of his mediatorial work, a declaration of the power and value of his death, the “Amen!” of the Father upon the “It is finished!” of the Son (Acts 2:23–24; 4:11; 5:31; Rom. 6:4, 10; etc.); (4) the inauguration of the exaltation he accomplished by his suffering (Luke 24:26; Acts 2:33; Rom. 6:4; Phil. 2:9; etc); (5) the guarantee of our forgiveness and justification (Acts 5:31; Rum. 4:25): (6) the fountain of numerous spiritual blessings: the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:33), repentance (Acts 5:31), spiritual eternal life (Rom. 6:4f.), salvation in its totality (Acts 4:12); (7) the principle and pledge of our blessed and glorious resurrection (Acts 4:2; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:14; etc); (8) the foundation of apostolic Christianity (1 Cor 15:12ff.). —Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics
Our God is so sovereign and so good, He can use evil in a holy way:
Sin is an evil, yet the futurition [future existence] of sin, or that sin should be future, is not an evil thing. Evil is an evil thing, and yet it may be a good thing that evil should be in the world. There is certainly a difference between the thing itself existing, and its being an evil thing that ever it came into existence. As for instance, it might be an evil thing to crucify Christ, but yet it was a good thing that the crucifying of Christ came to pass. As men’s act, it was evil, but as God ordered it, it was good. Who will deny but that it may be so, that evil’s coming to pass may be an occasion of greater good than it is an evil, and so of there being more good in the whole, than if that evil had not come to pass? And if so, then it is a good thing that that evil comes to pass. When we say the thing is an evil thing in itself, then we mean that it is evil, considering it only within its own bounds. But when we say that it is a good thing that ever it came to pass, then we consider the thing as a thing among events, or as one thing belonging to the series of events, and as related to the rest of the series. —Jonathan Edwards, Remarks on Important Theological Controversies
What Christ acquired by this sacrifice is beyond description. For himself he acquired by it his entire exaltation, his resurrection (Eph. 1:20), his ascension to heaven (1 Pet 3:22), his seating at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:20; Heb. 12:2), his elevation as head of the church (Eph. 1:22), the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9-11), the glory of the mediator (John 17:5: Heb. 2:9), power over all things in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:22; 1 Cor. 15:24f.), the final judgment (John 5:22, 27). In addition he acquired for his own, for humanity, for the world, an interminable series of blessings. In his person he is himself the sum of all those blessings: the light of the world (John 8:12), the true bread (6:35), the true vine (15:1), the way, the truth, the resurrection, and the life (11:25; 14:6), our wisdom, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30), our peace (Eph. 2:14). the firstborn and the firstfruits who is followed by many others (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:23), the second and last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), the head of the church (Eph. 1:22), the cornerstone of the temple of God (Eph. 2:20); and for that reason there is no participation in his benefits except by communion with his person.
Yet from him flow all the benefits, the whole of salvation (Matt. 1:21; Luke 2:11; John 3:17; 12:47), and more specifically the forgiveness of sins (Math 26:28; Eph. 1:7); the removal of our sins (John 1:29; 1 John 3:5): the cleansing or deliverance of a bad conscience (Heb. 10:22); justification (Rom. 4:25); righteousness (1 Cor. I:30); sonship (Gal.3:26; 4:5–6; Eph. 1:5); confident access to God (Eph. 2:18; 3:12); God’s laying aside his wrath in virtue of Christ’s sacrifice, that is, the sacrifice of atonement (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2.2; 4:10; Heb. 2:17); the disposition in God that replaced it, the new reconciled—no longer hostile but favorable—disposition of peace toward the world (Rom, 5:1of.; 2 Cor. 5:18–20); the disposition of people vis-à-vis God (Rom. 5:1); further, the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; Acts 2; Gal. 4:6); the second birth and the power to become children of God (John 1:12–13); sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30); participation in Christ’s death (Rom. 6:3f.); the dying to sin (Rom. 6:6f.; Ga1.2:20): the being crucified to the world (Gal. 6:14); the cleansing (Eph. 5:26; 1 John 1:7,9) and the washing away of sins (1 Cor. 6:11; Rev. 1:5:7,14) by being sprinkled with the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:22; 12:24; 1 Pet 1:2); walking in the Spirit and in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4); participation in the resurrection and ascension of Christ (Rom. 6:5; Eph. 2:6; Phil. 3:20): the imitation of Christ (Matt. 10:38; 1 Pet 2:21f.); increased freedom from the curse of the law (Rom. 6:14; 7:1–6; Gal. 3:13; Col. 2:14); the fulfillment of the old and the inauguration of a new covenant (Mark 14:24; Heb. 7:22; 9:15; 12:24); redemption from the power of Satan (Luke 11:22; John 14:30; Col. 1:13; 2:15; 1 John 3:8); victory over the world (John 16:33: 1 John 4:4; 5:4); deliverance from death and from the fear of death (Rom. 5:12f.; 1 Cor. 15:55f.; Heb. 2:15); escape from judgment (Heb. 10:27–28); and, finally the resurrection of the last day (John 11:25; 1 Cor.15:21); ascension (Eph. 2:6); glorification (John 17:24); the heavenly inheritance (John 14:2; 1 Pet. 1:4); eternal life already beginning here with the inception of faith (John 3:15, 30) and one day fully manifesting itself in glory (Mark 10:30: Rom. 6:22); the new heaven and new earth (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1, 5); and the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:24-28). —Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics
The source of his message is himself, not inspiration but incarnation. God did not even speak with him as he did with Moses, face to face, but was in him and spoke through him (Heb. 1:3). He is not one prophet among many, but the supreme, the only prophet. He is the source and center of all prophecy; and all knowledge of God, both in the Old Testament before his incarnation and in the New Testament after his resurrection and ascension, is from him (1 Pet. 1:11, 3:19: Matt. 11:27). The will of God that Jesus came to do further included the miracles he performed. The one work is differentiated in many works (5:36), which are the works of his Father (5:20; 9:3: 10:32, 37, 14:10). They prove that the Father loves him and dwells in him (5:20; 10:38; 14:10), bear witness that the Father sent him (5:36; 10:25), and manifest his divine glory (2:11; 11:4, 40). He not only performs miracles but in his person is himself the absolute miracle. As the incarnate Spirit-conceived, risen and glorified Son of God, he is himself the greatest miracle, the center of all miracles, the author of the re-creation of all things, the firstborn of the dead, preeminent in everything (Col. 1:18). —Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics
For the regulars, I’ll be going dark over the next few weeks in regards to blogdom, Twitterdom, and Facebookdom. Nearly all my writing is the overflow of my preaching ministry at FBCM. John, another elder at the church, is currently preaching a series through Romans 8. I’m thankful for John, thankful for the opportunity to sit under the Word with my family, and thankful for a church that is elder led.
So, am I able to disclose anything regarding my covert ops during this time? Yes. I’m still doing a lot of sermon prep. Following Romans 8 I’ll be preaching a succession of a few shorter series, the first of which will be Habakkuk. I once heard a pastor say that a pastor told him early in his ministry to prepare his people for suffering. A Christian’s responding to suffering is like a soldier’s responding to war: the time to learn how to respond is before you’re immersed in it. When I started at FBCM I knew I wanted to start with a gospel so that the people heard about Jesus every week, and let them know, that though we may go on to other books, nothing is changing, we’re still going to talk about Jesus every week. Thus, we spent about two years going through Matthew. Following that we journeyed through 1 Timothy because we had transitioned to being an elder led church soon after I arrived here. With those series behind me, I’m finally getting around to teaching the sheep entrusted to me, to trust the good Shepherd, wherever He may lead.
Following Habakkuk, I’ll take a handful of Psalms and preach them. I plan on going straight through the book of Psalms, a handful at a time, interspersing them in between other sermon series. After Psalms I’ll get to another series I’ve wanted to do for some time, the Lord’s Supper. After this, we’ll slow down the pace and spend substantial time in Exodus. This means I’ll be using this time to do a lot of reading concerning law and gospel.
I’ll also be preaching a revival at the church of a good friend. But, in good dark op fashion, you’ll have to contact me via a secure means if you want more information.
Finally, some housekeeping. I’ve decided to discontinue the “Tolle Lege” post series. If you enjoyed those posts, you can still catch my thoughts and ratings of books via GoodReads. I already post there more frequently, and this conserves my time to labor in ways that I believe are more fruitful.
I covet your prayer for my studies. May I be faithful. May they be fruitful. May Christ be glorified.
The good, by a free choice, was the cause of evil and remains its substratum. Fallen angels and humans as creatures are and remain good [not ethically, but in their existence] and exist from moment to moment only by, and in, and for God. And just as sin is dependent on the good in its origin and existence, so it is in its operation and struggle. It has power to do anything only with and by means of the powers and gifts that are God-given. Satan has therefore correctly been called the ape of God. When God builds a church, Satan adds a chapel; over against the true prophet, he raises up a false prophet; over against the Christ, he poses the Antichrist. Even a band of robbers can only exist if within its own organization it respects the rules. A liar always garbs himself or herself in the guise of truth. A sinner pursues evil under pretense of the good. Satan himself appears as an angel of light. In its operation and appearance, sin is always doomed to borrow, despite itself, from the treasury of virtue. It is subject to the unalterable fate—while striving for the destruction of all good—of working simultaneously on its own demise. It is a parasite of the good. —Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics
No Other Boast 