Formalism

Posted on by Nate

“Formalism” from Practical Religion by J.C. Ryle

“Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

—2 Timothy 3:5

“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.” “No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”

—Romans 2:28-29

      The texts which head this paper deserve serious attention at any time. But they deserve special notice in this age of the Church and the world. Never since the Lord Jesus Christ left the earth, was there so much formalism and false profession as there is in the present day. Now, more than ever, we ought to examine ourselves, and search our religion, that we may know what sort it really is. Let us try to find out whether our Christianity is a thing of form or a thing of heart.

      I know of no better way of unfolding the subject than by turning to a plain passage of the Word of God. Let us listen to what Paul says about it. He lays down the following great principles in his Epistle to the Romans: “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God” (Romans 2:28-29). Three most instructive lessons appear to me to stand out on the face of that passage. Let us see what they are.

      I. We learn, first, that formal religion is not true religion, and a formal Christian is not a true Christian in God’s sight.

      II. We learn, secondly, that the heart is the seat of true religion, and that the true Christian is the Christian in heart.

      III. We learn, thirdly, that true religion must never expect to be popular. It will not have the “praise of man, but praise from God.”

      Let us thoroughly consider these great principles. Two hundred years have passed away since a mighty Puritan preacher said, “Formalism, formalism, formalism is the great sin of this day, under which the whole country groans. There is more light than there was, but less life; more profession, but less holiness.” (Thomas Hall, on 2 Timothy 3:5, 1658). What would this good man have said if he lived in our times?

I. We learn first, that “formal religion is not religion, and a formal Christian is not a Christian in God’s sight.”

      What do I mean when I speak of formal religion? This is a point that must be made clear. Thousands, I suspect, know nothing about it. Without a distinct understanding of this point my whole paper will be useless. My first step will be to paint, describe, and define.

      When a man is a Christian in name only, and not in reality–in outward things only, and not in his inward feelings–in profession only, and not in practice–when his Christianity in short is a mere matter of form, or fashion, or custom, without any influence on his heart or life–in such a case as this the man has what I call a “formal religion.” He possesses indeed the “form,” or shell, or surface of religion, but he does not possess its substance or its “power.”

      Look for example at those thousands of people whose whole religion seems to consist in keeping religious ceremonies and ordinances. They regularly attend public worship. They regularly go to the Lord’s Table. But they never get any further. They know nothing of true heartfelt Christianity. They are not familiar with the Scriptures, and take no delight in reading them. They do not separate themselves from the ways of the world. They draw no distinction between godliness and ungodliness in their friendships, or matrimonial alliances. They care little or nothing about the distinctive doctrines of the Gospel. They appear utterly indifferent as to what they hear preached. You may be in their presence for weeks, and from what you hear or see on any week day, you might easily assume they were atheists. What can be said about these people? They clearly profess to be Christians; and yet there is neither heart nor life in their Christianity. There is but one thing to be said about them–they are formal Christians. Their religion is only a FORM.

      Look in another direction at those hundreds of people whose religion seems to consist of a lot of talk and profession. They know the theory of the Gospel with their heads, and profess to delight in Evangelical doctrine. They can say a lot about the “soundness” of their own views, and the “ignorance” of all who disagree with them. But they never get any further! When you examine their inner lives you find that they know nothing of practical godliness. They are neither truthful, nor loving, nor humble, nor honest, nor kind, nor gentle, nor giving, nor honorable. What shall we say of these people? They claim to be Christians, and yet there is neither substance nor fruit in their Christianity. There is but one thing to be said–They are formal Christians. Their religion is only an empty FORM.

      Such is the formal religion against which I wish to raise a warning voice this day. Here is the rock on which multitudes of people from every part of the world are making catastrophic shipwreck of their souls. One of the wickedest things that was ever said was this: “Don’t worry about your religion, but only the appearance of it.”

      Such notions are from the earth. No, rather they are from beneath the earth: they smell of the pit. Beware of them, and stand on your guard. If there is anything about which the Scripture speaks expressly, it is the sin and uselessness of FORMALISM.

      Listen to what Paul tells the Romans: “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical” (Romans 2:28). These are strong words indeed! A man might be a son of Abraham according to the flesh–a member of one of the twelve tribes–circumcised the eighth day–a keeper of all the feasts–a regular worshipper in the temple–and yet in God’s sight not be a Jew! In the same way, a man may be a Christian by outward profession–a member of a Christian Church–baptized with Christian baptism–faithful in receiving the Lord’s Supper–and yet in God’s sight, not a Christian at all.

      Hear what the prophet Isaiah says: “Listen to the Lord, you leaders of Israel! Listen to the law of our God, people of Israel. You act just like the rulers and people of Sodom and Gomorrah. “I am sick of your sacrifices,” says the Lord. “Don’t bring me any more burnt offerings! I don’t want the fat from your rams or other animals. I don’t want to see the blood from your offerings of bulls and rams and goats. Why do you keep parading through my courts with your worthless sacrifices? The incense you bring me is a stench in my nostrils! Your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath day, and your special days for fasting–even your most pious meetings–are all sinful and false. I want nothing more to do with them. I hate all your festivals and sacrifices. I cannot stand the sight of them! From now on, when you lift up your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look. Even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen. For your hands are covered with the blood of your innocent victims. Isaiah 1:10-15

      These words, when examined, are extraordinary. The sacrifices which are here declared to be useless were appointed by God Himself! The feasts and ordinances which God says He “hates,” had been prescribed by Him! God Himself pronounces His own institutions to be useless when they are used formally and without heart in the worshipper! In fact, they are worse than useless; they are even offensive and hurtful. Words cannot be imagined more distinct and unmistakable. They show that formal religion is worthless in God’s sight. It is not worth calling it religion at all.

      Hear, lastly what our Lord Jesus Christ says. We find Him saying of the Jews of His day: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men” (Matthew 15:8-9). We see Him repeatedly denouncing the formalism and hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, and warning His disciples against it. Eight times in one chapter (Matthew 23:13) He says to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” But for the worst of sinners He always had a word of kindness, and held out to them an open door. But formalism, He would have us know, is a desperate disease, and must be exposed in the severest language. To the eye of an ignorant man a formalist may seem to have a very decent “quantity” of religion, though not perhaps of the best “quality.” In the eye of Christ, however, the case is very different. In His sight formalism is not a true religion at all.

      What shall we say to these testimonies of Scripture? It would be easy to add to them. They do not stand alone. If words mean anything, they are a clear warning to all who profess and call themselves Christians. They teach us plainly that as we dread sin and avoid sin, so we ought to dread formalism and avoid formalism. Formalism may take your hand with a smile, and look like a brother, while sin comes against us with drawn sword, and strikes at us like an enemy. But both have one end in view. Both want to ruin our souls; and of the two, formalism is the one most likely to do it. If we love life, let us beware of formalism in religion.

      Nothing is “so common.” It is one of the great family diseases of the whole race of mankind. It is born with us, grows with us, and is never completely cast out of us till we die. It meets us in church, it meets us among the rich, and it meets us among the poor. It meets us among educated people, and it meets us among the uneducated. It meets us among the Roman Catholics, and it meets us among Protestants. It meets us among the leaders of the church, and it meets us among the newest member. It meets us among Evangelicals, and it meets us among those who go through many rituals, like the Liberals do. Go wherever we will, and join whatever Church we may, we are never beyond the risk of its infection. We will find it among Quakers and Plymouth Brethren, as well as among the Roman Catholics. The man who thinks that there is no formal religion in his church, is a very blind and ignorant person. If you love life, beware of formalism.

      Nothing is “so dangerous” to a man’s own soul. Familiarity with the form of religion, while we neglect its reality, has a fearfully deadening effect on the conscience. It brings up by degrees a thick crust of insensibility over the whole inner man. None seem to become so desperately hard as those who are continually repeating holy words and handling holy things, while their hearts are running after sin and the world. Leaders of our society, who go to church just for show, to make everyone think they are religious–Fathers who have family prayers formally, to keep up a good appearance in their homes–unconverted ministers, who every week are reading prayers and lessons of Scripture, in which they feel no real interest–unconverted church members, who are constantly reading responses and saying “Amen,” without feeling what they say–unconverted singers, who sing the most spiritual hymns every Sunday, merely because they have good voices, while their affections are entirely on things below–all, all, all are in awful danger. They are gradually hardening their hearts, and searing the skin of their consciences. If you love your own soul, beware of formalism.

      Nothing, finally, is “so foolish,” senseless, and unreasonable. Can a formal Christian really suppose that the mere outward Christianity he professes will comfort him in the day of sickness and the hour of death? That is impossible. A painting of a fire cannot warm, and a painted banquet cannot satisfy hunger, and a formal religion cannot bring peace to the soul. Can he suppose that God does not see the heartlessness and deadness of his Christianity? Though he may deceive neighbors, acquaintances, fellow-worshippers, and ministers with a form of godliness, does he think that he can deceive God? The very idea is absurd. “Does He who formed the eye not see?” He knows the very secrets of the heart. He will “judge the secrets of men” at the last day. He who said to each of the seven Churches, “I know your works,” is not changed. He who said to the man without the wedding garment, “Friend, how did you get in here?” will not be deceived by a little cloak of outward religion. If you don’t want to be put to shame at the last day, once more I say, beware of formalism. (Psalm 94:9; Romans 2:16; Revelation 2:2; Matthew 22:11)

II. I move on to the second thing which I want you to consider. “The heart is the seat of true religion, and the true Christian is the one who is a Christian in their heart.”

      The heart is the real test of a man’s character. It is not what he says or what he does by which the man may be always known. He may say and do things that are right, from false and unworthy motives, while his heart is altogether wrong. The heart is the man. “As he thinks in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).

      The heart is the right test of a man’s religion. It is not enough that a man holds to correct doctrine, and maintains a proper outward form of godliness. What is in his heart? That is the great question. That is what God looks at. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). This is what Paul lays down distinctly as the standard measure of the soul: “A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart” (Romans 2:28). Who can doubt that this mighty sentence was written for Christians as well as for Jews? He is a Christian, the apostle would have us know, which is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart.

      The heart is the place where saving religion must begin. It is naturally irreligious, and must be renewed by the Holy Spirit. “I will give you a new heart,” your old heart is naturally hard, and must be made tender and be broken. “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.” Man’s heart is a heart naturally closed and shut against God, and must be opened. The Lord “opened the heart” of Lydia. (Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 51:17; Acts 16:14)

      The heart is the seat of true saving faith. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified” (Romans 10:10). A man may believe that Jesus is the Christ, as the demons do, and yet remain in his sins. He may believe that he is a sinner, and that Christ is the only Savior, and occasionally wish that he was a better man. But no one ever lays hold of Christ, and receives pardon and peace, until he believes with the heart. It is heart-faith that justifies.

      The heart is the origin of true holiness and the source for continued obedience. True Christians are holy because their hearts are committed to Christ. They obey from the heart. They do the will of God from the heart. Weak, and feeble, and imperfect as all their deeds are, they please God, because they are done from a loving heart. He who commended the widow’s offering of a few pennies more than all the offerings of the wealthy Jews, regards quality far more than quantity. What He likes to see is a thing done from “an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15). There is no real holiness without a right heart towards Christ.

      The things I am saying may sound strange. Perhaps they run counter to all the notions of some into whose hands this paper may fall. Perhaps you have thought that if a man’s religion is correct outwardly, he must be one with whom God is well pleased. You are completely mistaken. You are rejecting the whole tenor of Bible teaching. Outward correctness without a right heart is neither more or less than living like a Pharisee. The outward things of Christianity–Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Church-membership, giving, Bible-reading, and the like–will never take any man’s soul to heaven, unless his heart is right. There must be inward things as well as outward–and it is on the inward things that God’s eyes are chiefly fixed.

      Hear how Paul teaches us about this matter in three most striking texts:

“Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts” (1 Corinthians 7:19).

“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation” (Galatians 6:15).

“In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6).

      Did the Apostle only mean in these texts, that circumcision was no longer needed under the Gospel? Was that all? No indeed! I believe that he meant much more. He meant that under Christ Jesus, everything depended on being born again–on having true saving faith–on being holy in life and conduct. He meant that these are the things we ought to look at chiefly, and not outward forms. “Am I a new creature? Do I really believe in Christ? Am I a holy person?” These are the grand questions that we must seek to answer.

      “When the heart is wrong all is wrong in God’s sight.” Many right things may be done. The forms and ordinances which God Himself has appointed may seem to be honored. But so long as the heart is at fault, God is not pleased. He will have man’s heart or nothing.

      The ark was the most sacred thing in the Jewish tabernacle. On it was the mercy-seat. Within it were the tablets of the law, written by God’s own finger. The High Priest alone was allowed to go into the place where it was kept, within the veil, and that only once every year. The presence of the ark within the camp was thought to bring a special blessing. And yet this very ark could do the Israelites no more good than any common wooden box, when they trusted in it like an idol, with their hearts full of wickedness. They brought it into the camp, on a special occasion, saying, “Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies” (1 Samuel 4:3). When it came into the camp they showed it all reverence and honor, “They shouted with such a great shout that the ground shook.” But it was all in vain. They were slaughtered by the Philistines, and the ark of God was captured. And why was this? It was because their religion was a mere form. They honored the ark, but did not give the God of the ark their hearts.

      There were some kings of Judah and Israel who did many things that were right in God’s sight, and yet were never written in the list of godly and righteous men. Rehoboam started off well, and for three years was noted as, “walking in the ways of David and Solomon” (2 Chronicles 11:17). But afterwards “he did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord” (2 Chronicles 12:14). Abijah, according to the book of Chronicles, said many things that were right, and fought successfully against Jeroboam. Nevertheless, the general verdict is against him. We read, in Kings, that “his ‘heart’ was not fully devoted to the Lord his God” (1 Kings 15:3). Amaziah, we are expressly told, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly” (2 Chronicles 25:2). Jehu, King of Israel, was raised up, by God’s command, to put down idolatry. He was a man of special zeal in doing God’s work. But unhappily it is written of him: “Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit” (2 Kings 10:31). In short, one general remark applies to all these kings. They were all wrong inwardly, they were rotten in their hearts.

      There are places of worship in our country today where all the outward things of religion are done to perfection. The building is beautiful. The service is beautiful. The singing is beautiful. The forms of devotion are beautiful. There is everything to gratify the senses. Eye, and ear, and natural sentimentality are all pleased. But all this time God is not pleased. One thing is lacking, and the want of that one thing spoils everything. What is that one thing? It is heart! God sees under all this outward show, the form of religion, put in the place of substance, and when He sees that He is displeased. He sees nothing with an eye of favor in the building, the service, the minister, or the people. If He does not see converted, renewed, broken, penitent hearts, then He is not pleased! Bowed heads, bended knees, loud amens, eyes lifted to heaven, all, all are nothing in God’s sight without right hearts.

      “When the heart is right God can look over many things that are defective.” There may be faults in judgment, and weakness in practice. There may be many deviations from the best course in the outward things of religion. But if the heart is sound, God is gentle in pointing out that which is amiss. He is merciful and gracious, and will pardon much that is imperfect, when he sees a true heart and a eye fixed on His glory.

      Jehoshaphat and Asa were Kings of Judah, who were defective in many things. Jehoshaphat was a timid, irresolute man, who did not know how to say “No,” and joined affinity with Ahab, the wickedest king that ever reigned over Israel. Asa was an unstable man, who at one time trusted in the King of Syria more than in God, and at another time was angry with God’s prophet for rebuking him. (2 Chronicles 16:10) Yet both of them had one great redeeming point in their characters. With all their faults they had right “hearts.”

      The Passover kept by Hezekiah was one at which there were many irregularities. The proper forms were not kept by many. They ate the Passover “contrary to what was written.” But they did it with true and honest “hearts.” And we read that Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God–the LORD, the God of his fathers–even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary” (2 Chronicles 30:18-19).

      The Passover kept by Josiah must have been far smaller and worse attended than the numerous Passovers in the days of David and Solomon, or even in the reign of Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah. How then can we account for the strong language used in Scripture about it? “The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 35:18). There is but one explanation. There never was a Passover at which the “hearts” of the worshippers were so truly in the feast. The Lord does not look at the quantity of worshippers so much as the quality. The glory of Josiah’s Passover was the state of people’s hearts.

      There are many assemblies of Christian worshippers on earth this very day in which there is literally nothing to attract the natural man. They meet in miserable dirty so-called chapels, or in wretched upper-rooms and cellars. They sing off tune. They have feeble prayers and feeble sermons. And yet the Holy Spirit is often in the midst of them! Sinners are often converted in them, and the Kingdom of God prospers far more than in any Roman Catholic Cathedral, or than in any gorgeous Protestant Churches. How is this? How can it be explained? The cause is simply this, that in these humble assemblies heart-religion is taught and held. Heart-work is aimed at. Heart-work is honored. And the consequence is that God is pleased and grants His blessing.

      I leave this part of my subject here. I ask my readers to consider carefully the things that I have been saying. I believe that they will bear examination, and are all true. Resolve this day, whatever Church you belong to, to be a Christian in “heart.” Do not be content with a mere form of godliness, without the power. Settle it down firmly in your mind that formal religion is not saving religion, and that heart-religion is the only religion that leads to heaven.

      I only give one word of caution. Do not suppose, because formal religion will not save, that forms of religion are of no use at all. Beware of any such senseless extreme. The misuse of a thing is no argument against the right use of it. The blind idolatry of forms which prevails in some quarters is no reason why you should throw away all forms. The ark, when made an idol by Israel and put in the place of God, was unable to save them from the Philistines, and when irreverently and improperly handled, brought death on Uzza. And yet the same ark, when honored and reverenced, brought a blessing on the house of Obed-edom. The words of one of our pastors are strong, but true: “He that has but a form of religion is a hypocrite; but he that does not have a form of religion is an Atheist.” Forms cannot save us, but they are not therefore to be despised. A light is not a man’s home, and yet it is helps a man find his house when he is traveling home on a dark night. Use the forms of Christianity diligently, and you will find them a blessing. Only remember, in all your use of forms, the great principle, that the first thing in religion is the state of the heart.

III. I now come to the last thing which I want you to consider. “True religion must never expect to be popular. It will not have the praise of man, but of God.”

      I dare not turn away from this part of my subject, however painful it may be. Anxious as I am to commend heart-religion to every one who reads this paper, I will not try to conceal what heart-religion entails. I will not gain a recruit for my Master’s army under false pretenses. I will not promise anything which the Scripture does not warrant. The words of Paul are clear and unmistakable. Heart-religion is a religion whose “praise is not from men, but from God” (Romans 2:29).

      God’s truth and Scriptural Christianity are never really popular. They never have been. They never will be as long as the world stands. No one can calmly consider what human nature is, as described in the Bible, and reasonably expect anything else. As long as man is what man is, the majority of mankind will always like a religion of form far better than a religion of heart.

      Formal religion just suits an unenlightened conscience. Man must have some religion. Atheism and downright unbelief, as a general rule, are never very popular. But a man must have a religion which does not require very much–trouble his heart very much–interfere with his sins very much. Formal Christianity satisfies him. It seems to be the thing that he wants.

      Formal religion gratifies the secret self-righteousness of man. All of us, more or less, are Pharisees. We all naturally cling to the idea that the way to be saved is to do so many things, and go through so many religious observances, and that as a result we will get to heaven. Formalism meets us here. It seems to show us a way by which we can make our own peace with God.

      Formal religion pleases the natural laziness of man. It attaches an excessive importance to that which is the easiest part of Christianity–the shell and the form. Man likes this. He hates exertion in religion. He wants something which will not meddle with his conscience and inner life. Only leave his conscience alone, and, it will want to do works or actions. Formalism seems to open a wider gate, and a more easy way to heaven.

      Facts speak louder than assertions. Facts are stubborn things. Look over the history of religion in every age of the world, and observe what has always been popular. Look at the history of Israel from the beginning of Exodus to the end of the Acts of the Apostles, and see what has always found favor. Formalism was one main sin against which the Old Testament prophets were continually protesting. Formalism was the great plague which had overcome the Jews, when our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world. Look at the history of the Church of Christ after the days of the apostles. How soon formalism ate out the life and vitality of the primitive Christians! Look at the middle ages, as they are called. Formalism so completely covered the face of Christendom that the Gospel laid there as one does when they are dead. Look, lastly, at the history of Protestant Churches in the last three centuries. How few are the places where religion is a living thing! How many are the countries where Protestantism is nothing more than a form! There is no getting past these things. They speak with a voice of thunder. They all show that formal religion is a popular thing. It has the praise of man.

      But why should we look at facts in history? Why shouldn’t we look at the facts under our own eyes, and by our own doors? Can any one deny that a mere outward religion, a religion of downright formalism, is the religion which is popular today? Is it for nothing that John says of certain false teachers, “They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them” (1 John 4:5). Only say your prayers, and go to church regularly, and receive the Lord’s Supper occasionally, read your Bible occasionally, and the vast majority of our nation will call you a good Christian person. “What more would you have to do?” they say: “If this is not Christianity, what is?” To require more of anyone is thought to be unfair, fanaticism and to be too enthusiastic! To insinuate that such a man as this may not go to heaven is called unloving! It is vain to deny that formal religion is popular. It is popular. It always was popular. It always will be popular till Christ comes again. It always has had and always will have the “praise of man.”

      Turn now to the religion of the heart, and you will hear a very different report. As a general rule it has never been liked by mankind. It has brought upon its professors laughter, ridicule, scorn, contempt, seclusion, imprisonment and even death. Its lovers have been faithful and zealous–but they have always been few in number.

      It has never had, comparatively, “the praise of man.”

      Heart-religion is too humbling to be popular. It leaves natural man no room to boast. It tells him that he is a guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinner, and that he must flee to Christ for salvation. It tells him that he is dead, and must be made alive again, and born of the Spirit. The pride of man rebels against such words as these. He hates to be told that he is that bad.

      Heart-religion is too holy to be popular. It will not leave natural man alone. It interferes with his worldliness and his sins. It requires of him things that he hates and despises–conversion, faith, repentance, spiritual-mindedness, Bible-reading, and prayer. It commands him to give up what he loves and clings to, and refuses to lay aside. It would be strange indeed if he liked it. It crosses his path as a kill-joy and a troublemaker, and it is absurd to expect that he will be pleased with it.

      Was heart-religion popular in Old Testament times? We find David complaining: “Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards” (Psalm 69:12). We find the prophets persecuted and ill-treated because they preached against sin, and required men to give their hearts to God. Elijah, Micaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, are all cases in point. To formalism and ceremonialism the Jews never seem to have made objection. What they disliked was serving God with their hearts.

      Was heart-religion popular in New Testament times? The whole history of our Lord Jesus Christ’s ministry and the lives of His apostles are a sufficient answer. The scribes and Pharisees would have willingly received a Messiah who encouraged formalism, and a Gospel which exalted ceremonialism. But they could not tolerate a religion of which the first principals were humiliation and sanctification of the heart.

      Has heart-religion ever been popular in the professing Church of Christ during the last eighteen centuries? Hardly ever, except in the early centuries when the primitive Church had not left her first love. Soon, very soon, the men who protested against formalism and sacramentalism were fiercely denounced as “troublers of Israel.” Long before the Reformation, things came to this, that anyone who preached heart-holiness and condemned formalism was treated as a common enemy. He was either silenced, excommunicated, imprisoned, or put to death like John Huss. In the time of the Reformation itself, the work of Luther and his companions was carried on under an incessant storm of defamation and slander. And what was the cause? It was because they protested against formalism, ceremonialism, the false Roman Catholic Priesthood, monks, and taught the necessity of heart-religion.

      Has heart-religion ever been popular in our own country in the past? Never, excepting for a little season. It was not popular in the days of Queen Mary, when Latimer and his fellow-martyrs were burned at the stake. It was not popular in the days, when to be a Puritan was worse than to be a drunkard or a blasphemer. It was not popular in the middle of last century, when Wesley and Whitfield were shut out of the established Church. The cause of our martyred Reformers, of the early Puritans, and of the Methodists, was essentially one and the same. They were all hated because they preached the uselessness of formalism, and the impossibility of salvation without repentance, faith, regeneration, spiritual-mindedness, and holiness of heart.

      Is heart-religion popular in our country today? I answer sorrowfully that I do not believe it is. Look at the followers of it among the congregations. They are always comparatively few in number. They stand alone in their respective congregations. They have put up with many difficult things, harsh words, censure, harsh treatment, laughter, ridicule, slander, and petty persecution. This is not popularity! Look at the teachers of heart-religion in the pulpit. They are loved and liked, no doubt, by the few hearers who agree with them. They are sometimes admired for their talents and eloquence by the many who do not agree with them. They are even called “popular preachers,” because of the crowds who listen to their preaching. But none know so well as the faithful teachers of heart-religion that few really like them. Few really help them. Few sympathize with them. Few stand by them in any time of need. They find, like their Divine Master, that they must work almost alone. I write these things with sorrow, but I believe they are true. Real heart-religion today, no less than in days gone by, does not have “the praise of’ man.”

      But after all it is not important what man thinks, and what man praises. He that judges us is the Lord. Man will not judge us at the last day. Man will not sit on the great white throne, examine our religion, and pronounce our eternal sentence. Those only whom God commends will be commended at the judgment seat of Christ. Here lies the value and glory of heart-religion. It may not have the praise of man, but it has “the praise of God.”

      God approves and honors heart-religion in this life. He looks down from heaven, and reads the hearts of all the children of men. Wherever He sees heart-repentance for sin, heart-faith in Christ, heart-holiness of life, heart-love to His Son, His law, His will, and His Word–wherever God sees these things He is well pleased. He writes a book of remembrance for that man, however poor and uneducated he may be. He gives His angels special charge over Him. He maintains in him the work of grace, and gives Him daily supplies of peace, hope, and strength. He regards him as a member of His own dear Son, as one who is witnessing for the truth, as His Son did. Weak as the man’s heart may seem to himself, it is the living sacrifice which God loves, and the heart which He has solemnly declared He will not despise. Such praise is worth more than the praise of man!

      God will proclaim His approval of heart-religion before the assembled world at the last day. He will command His angels to gather together His saints, from every part of the globe, into one glorious company. He will raise the dead and change the living, and place them at the right hand of His beloved Son’s throne. Then all that have served Christ with the heart shall hear Him say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! You acknowledged me before men, and I will also acknowledge you before my Father and His angels. You are those who have stood by me in my trials, and I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me” (Matthew 25:21-34; Luke 22:8, 28-29; Revelation 3:5). These words will be addressed to none but those who have given Christ their hearts! They will not be addressed to the formalist, the hypocrite, the wicked, and the ungodly. They will, indeed, see the fruits of heart-religion, but they will not eat of them. We will never know the full value of heart-religion until the last day. Then, and only then, will we fully understand how much better it is to have the praise of God than the praise of man.

      If you take up heart-religion I cannot promise you the praise of man. Pardon, peace, hope, guidance, comfort, consolation, grace according to your need, strength according to your day, joy which the world can neither give nor take away–all this I can boldly promise to the man who comes to Christ, and serves Him with his heart. But I cannot promise him that his religion will be popular with man. I would rather warn him to expect mockery and ridicule, slander and unkindness, opposition and persecution. There is a cross belonging to heart-religion, and we must be content to carry it. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,”–“Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12). But if the world hates you, God will love you. If the world forsakes you, Christ has promised that He will never forsake and never fail. Whatever you may lose by heart-religion, be sure that the praise of God will make up for it.

      And now I close this paper with three plain words of application. I want it to strike and stick to the conscience of every one into whose hands it falls. May God make it a blessing to many a soul both in time and eternity!

      (1)   In the first place, Is your religion a matter of form and not of heart? Answer this question honestly, and as in the sight of God. If it is, “consider solemnly the immense danger in which you stand.”

      You have got nothing to comfort your soul in the day of trial, nothing to give you hope on your death-bed, nothing to save you at the last day. Formal religion never took any man to heaven. Like cheap metal, it will not stand the fire. Continuing in your present state you are in imminent danger of being lost forever.

      I earnestly beseech you this day to be aware of your danger, to open your eyes and repent. Whether you go to a fancy big city church or to a plain small church in the country, if you are a Christian in name only, and possess a form of godliness without the power, awake and repent. Awake, above all, if you are an Evangelical formalist. “There is no devil,” said the quaint old Puritans, “like a white devil.” There is no formalism so dangerous as Evangelical formalism.

      I can only warn you. I do so with all affection. God alone can apply the warning to your soul. Oh, that you would see the folly as well as the danger of a heartless Christianity! It was sound advice which a dying man once gave to his son: “Son,” he said, “whatever religion you have, never be content with wearing a cloak.”

      (2)   In the second place, if your heart condemns you, and you wish to know what to do, “consider seriously the only course that you can safely take.”

      Cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ without delay, and spread before Him the state of your soul. Confess before Him your formalism of the past, and ask Him to forgive it. Seek from Him the promised grace of the Holy Spirit, and beg Him to quicken and renew your inward man.

      The Lord Jesus is appointed and commissioned to be the Physician of man’s soul. There is no case too hard for Him. There is no condition of soul that He cannot cure. There is no devil He cannot cast out. Seared and hardened as the heart of a formalist may be, there is medicine which can heal him, and a Physician who is mighty to save. Go and call on the Lord Jesus Christ this very day. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).

      (3)   In the last place, if your heart does not condemn you, and you have real well-grounded confidence towards God, “consider seriously the many responsibilities of your position.”

      Praise Him daily who has called you out of darkness into light, and made you to be different. Praise Him daily, and ask Him never to forsake the work of His own hands.

      Watch with a jealous watchfulness every part of your inward man. Formalism is ever ready to come in upon us, like the Egyptian plague of frogs, which even went into the king’s bedroom. Watch and be on your guard. Watch over your Bible-reading, your praying, your temper and your tongue, your family life and your Sunday religion. There is nothing so good and spiritual that we may not fall into formal habits about it. There is no one so spiritual that cannot fall into formalism. Watch, therefore, and be on your guard.

      Look forward, finally, and hope for the coming of the Lord. Your best things are yet to come. The second coming of Christ will soon be here. The time of temptation will soon be past and gone. The judgment and reward of the saints shall soon make amends for everything. Rest in the hope of that day. Work, watch, and look forward–One thing, at any rate, that day will make abundantly clear. It will show that there was never an hour in our lives in which we had our hearts too thoroughly focused on Christ.

Not all godly people get married?

Posted on by Nate

“Not all godly people get married.”1

She stated a fact. The statement is true.

However, she presents it from the minority side, the exception to the rule.

From the normative side, the rule, we could write: “The overwhelming majority of godly people get married.”

What’s implicit in the fact stated from the abnormal side? Promotion of the abnormal side as not abnormal; elevation of the exception over the rule.

That’s how you lie with facts.
That’s how you deceive with truths.

And rest of the statement goes too far:

The truth is, not all godly people get married. We need to embrace this, preach this, and celebrate this! God’s best for many will include a life without a spouse and biological children.

To pause quickly, I do notice that the preferred term is “singleness,” and not what Scripture specifically states: celibacy. They are NOT the same thing. More on that later.

Here there is a confusion of what is with what ought to be. “Not all godly people get married.” Does this mean “God’s best for many” is life-long singleness and no children? Is that God’s revealed will? No. “God’s best” is the general rule stated in Scripture, for all mankind—marry and multiply. “But if they do not have self-control, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” (1 Cor. 7:9)

Many Christians do reject marriage, but not because God has granted them the self-control to do live celibate til death. Perhaps they indulge in sexual immorality. Or they refuse to accept what God has prescribed, to pursue the ideals of pagan society instead. They value many other goals over marriage and family. Perhaps they bought the “career-woman” fantasy.

The Westminster divine William Gouge addressed this:

That men might avoid fornication and possess their vessels in holiness and honor (1 Cor. 7:2). Regarding that tendency which is in man’s corrupt nature to lust, this end adds much to the honor of marriage. It shows that marriage is a haven to those who are in jeopardy of their salvation through the gusts of temptations to lust. No sin is more hereditary, there is none of which more children of Adam do partake, than this. Well might Christ say “all men receive not this saying” (Matt. 19:11).

Of all the children of Adam that ever were, not one in a million of those that have come to maturity of years have been true eunuchs all their life time. Against this hereditary disease no remedy is so effective as this. For those that have not the gift of continence, this is the only authorized and sanctified remedy.

—William Gouge, Building a Godly Home volume 2: A Holy Vision for a Happy Marriage, 29–30

I immediately recalled this quote when I first saw the deceiving statement. “Not all godly people get married,” yeah, like not one in a million of the entire human race. It’s not “many.” It’s the few, the extreme minority. There may not even be one gifted celibate in your congregation.

And they are individuals whom God has given such self-control that they do not burn with passion and give into temptation. That ain’t bare “singleness.” The growing “single” population is never an indication of genuine celibate Christians.

Finally, there was the expected elevation of what is abnormal to normal; canceling out the rule with the exception:

We need to dethrone our idol of marriage and learn to define our identity the way God does. He views singleness and marriage as equally blessed gifts to be stewarded for his glory (1 Cor. 7:7). Do we share his vision?

A quick comment on the token “idol of marriage” boogeyman.

Sure, we have an “idol of marriage” problem, while fornication, divorce, and all flavors of sexual deviancy are rampantly promoted (even by the civil government), and the supposedly “conservative” and “complementarian” Christian para-church organizations promote “singleness” more than a Roman Catholic seminary. Thinking too highly of marriage must be our problem. “Idolatry” is easy name-calling against any zeal for what is good.

Anyway. It’s simply preposterous to consider singleness and marriage as equal conditions. Does Paul say that?

I want to ward off the implication that singleness and marriage are equal options that each Christian has the liberty of choosing. Paul’s instruction was if you don’t have self-control, you must marry. Jesus corrected his disciples about refraining from marriage, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.” (Matt. 19:11).

Unless you have this “gift of celibacy” (called a gift because you don’t choose it, God gives it to you), meaning you can successfully avoid lust and fornication, then you are under the divine command to pursue marriage. Unless you are a “eunuch” in either of the senses mentioned by Christ, you don’t have the option of the single life. To deny this is to court sexual sin and the damnation of your soul.

So, is it true that God “views singleness and marriage as equally blessed gifts”? That’s a real hard sell. Is the unmarried state a “blessing,” equal to the married state? No, far from it. It’s generally true that singleness is affliction. These silly challenges to the rule are nothing new. Even Gouge back in his day (1575—1653) answered this one (including the proof text!), under the heading “Marriage and Single Life Compared Together.”

Let now the admirers and praisers of a single state bring forth all their reasons, and put them in the other scale against marriage. If these two be duly poised and rightly weighed, we shall find single life too light to be compared with honest marriage. All that can be said for the single state is grounded upon accidental occasions. Paul, who of all the writers of Holy Scripture has spoken most for it, draws all his commendations to the head of expediency, and restrains all to present necessity (1 Cor. 7:26).

Objection: He uses these words, “good” (1 Cor. 7:1) and “better” (v. 38).
Answer: Those words relate not to virtue, but to expediency; neither are they spoken in opposition to vice and sin, for then would it follow that to marry (which is God’s ordinance, and honorable in all) were evil and sinful. This is to revive that ancient heresy, that marriage is of the devil. Of old they who have called lawful marriage a defilement, have been said to have the apostate dragon dwelling in them. But the apostle calls that good, which is profitable, and that better which is more expedient, and yet not more expedient simply, but to some persons at some times. If any have not the gift of continence, it is not only profitable or more expedient that they marry, but also absolutely necessary. They are commanded so to do (1 Cor. 7:9). Yet on the other side, if any have the gift of continence, they are not simply bound from marriage; there are other occasions besides avoiding fornication, to move them to marry.

—Ibid., 31–32

To tie back to an earlier point, God won’t “bless” your choice to remain single if he has not given you the ability. This is why the popish vow of celibacy is superstitious and sinful, because a man promises that “which is not in his own power, and for the performance whereof he hath no promise or ability from God.” (Westminster Confession of Faith 22.7)

The evangelical trend of promoting a “life of singleness” is not far from that. It’s biblically false and dangerous. For men and women in general, marriage will be absolutely necessary.

Here’s the bottom line for all the dialectic, associative-thinking, emotional-reasoning readers out there: To praise and promote the biblical rule, what is normative, what is true of the generality of mankind, is just that. And we must, because it is what God has established. “Marriage is to be held in honor among all” (Hebrews 13:4). It does not imply disrespect to the biblically defined exception to the rule, the abnormal state, which after all is not sinful. Affirming the one is not dismissing the other. Affirming the other is not even needed.

The answer is never to normalize the abnormal, to elevate the exception against the rule. Any legitimate mistreatment of unmarried people is not to elevate the single state to the level of marriage, or pretend they will be just as satisfied in life. That would be lying. That’s setting people up for cataclysmic disappointment. There are many ways to help these people. Most of them need to pursue marriage because they do passionately desire it, but have been frustrated in some way.

Let’s listen to the Bible. And when we have trouble understanding it, or have emotional trouble accepting it, I suggest we look to our betters in church history, from a time before the evangelicalism imbibed feminism and egalitarianism.

  1. Elizabeth Woodson, “4 Popular Lies About Singleness” The Gospel Coalition, May 3, 2019 ↩︎

Best of 2023

Posted on by Nate

Just a couple weeks ago I decided to finalize my annual best books, audio, and video post. To my shock I could not find a draft for 2023. My practice every year is to start a draft for this post when I finish the first good book of the year (maybe January). But for some reason, I didn’t this year. The whole year went by without me writing down any favorites.

I concluded that 2023 must have been unremarkable, as far as books were concerned. But upon going on a scavenger hunt through my posts and quotes over the year, I realized that wasn’t true. In fact, I learned what a long year it has been—there were quite a lot, actually. I thought some of the best books and videos were from last year, not this one. I didn’t even remember the book studies that I led.

Without further delay, here we go: the best books, video, and audio from 2023.

As always, several resources are free. All links are included.

Best Books

Duties of Christian Fellowship by John Owen

Squeaking in at the beginning of the year (January 30) is this little book by John Owen. In it he provides biblical rules for the congregation’s duty to pastors, and congregants duties toward each other.

This was a rich book lecture series. For such a small and concise book, you could really spend a lot of time reflecting and applying each part. The range of topics covered is remarkable. We often engaged in prolonged discussions, because many of us had experienced unhealthy evangelical church culture.

One feature of it can hardly escape the reader’s attention—John Owen is here, for once, a master in the art of concise writing.

—William H. Goold 1850

This Banner of Truth “Puritan Paperback” is modernized and with questions added for discussion. It will serve as a great Sunday school series for a congregation. Get the original in ebook formats for free.

Believers must strive and fight with determination, in every legitimate way, by their actions and sufferings, for the purity of the ordinances, for the honour, liberty and privileges of the congregation, and in order to help others in the face of all opponents and adversaries.

(40)

“Separation without a proper cause from churches that are established on true scriptural grounds (though perhaps failing in practice in matters of small concern) is no small sin; but separation from sinful practices and disorderly ways, and false unwarranted methods of worship, is a fulfilling of the command not to take part in other men’s sins. To delight in the company, fellowship, society and conversation of dubious and headstrong people manifests a spirit that is not committed to Christ.”

(49–50)

Building a Godly Home: A Holy Vision for Family Life by William Gouge (eds. Scott Brown & Joel Beeke)

Oh, what can be said other than William Gouge is the best you can read on marriage and family. The original title of his single-volume was Of Domestical Duties. Joel Beeke and Scott Brown have done the work of modernizing the English and dividing the massive tome into three more digestible volumes. This past year, we worked our way through volume 1. We’ll be starting volume 2 in January.

I pitched the book lecture series in this way:

  • If you are a minister or elder (or aspire), this book will help equip you for counseling and shepherding.
  • Need marriage counseling? (Yes, you do) This is a good start.
  • You want a home economics conference? This is the extended edition.
  • Enjoy the recent sermons through Ephesians’ household code? This is the deep dive into that text.
  • If you’re married, I exhort you in the strongest terms to buy a copy, pay the small registration fee, and join the study together with your spouse.
  • The elders of course must set the example. They will diligently attend with their wives, for the good of themselves and the church.
  • You who plan on marriage, I strongly advise it.

One regrettable edit in this RHB edition is removing Gouge’s treatment of the third part of the household code: masters and slaves. I understand that this isn’t applicable to the United States. But there are many societies in the world where it is, such as ours. We’ll just have to read the original edition for that. The original one-volume, old-English edition is free as an ebook.

It has pleased God to call everyone to two vocations. One vocation is general, in which certain common duties are to be performed by all men (as knowledge, faith, obedience, repentance, love, mercy, justice, truth, etc.). The other is particular, in which certain specific duties are required of individual people, according to those distinct places where divine providence has set them in the nation, church, and family.
“Therefore God’s ministers ought to be careful in instructing God’s people in both kinds of duties; both those which concern their general calling and those which concern their particular calling. Accordingly Paul, who, like Moses, was faithful in all the house of God (Num. 12:7), after he had sufficiently instructed God’s church in the general duties that belong to all Christians, regardless of sex, state, degree, or condition (Eph. 4:1–5:21), proceeds to lay down certain particular duties, which apply to particular callings and conditions (Eph. 5:22–6:9). Among these particular duties, he notes those which God has established in a family. (1)

Two of our sessions were so good that I had to post them for public viewing. Here they are:

Living in a Godly Marriage by Joel Beeke & James La Belle

I bought the ebook edition almost on a whim during a massive RHB sale. I’m thankful that I did. When I started pre-marriage counseling, I turned to this book for some material, and realized what a goldmine I had. Now, Gouge is the absolute best work on marriage, and I think the Puritan on the subject. But if I could recommend a single-volume on the subject, it would hands-down be this one. You want the distillation of Puritan thought on marriage? It’s this book. It’s full of William Gouge, of course, as well as Richard Baxter. It’s so good that several pre-marriage counseling session came straight from the chapters on duties of husbands and wives. I highly recommend it.

Thoughts for Young Men by J.C. Ryle (Introduction by Michael Foster)

How had I not read this book until now? Ryle is my favorite author. And when this audiobook became available on Canon+, I decided our family would listen in the car. The Intro by Foster is excellent, and I determined to buy a hardcopy just for that.

“Ryle was manly. Pulpits have long been attractive to soft men seeking an easy life. This is not the reality of the job, because there is nothing soft about being a shepherd in a land of wolves.”
—Michael Foster

In this book I found some of the most popular Ryle quotes that circulate online. It’s dense, despite being brief. It may be short (2 hours), but does it pack a punch, right in the nose. If Ryle isn’t the guy to slap you and make you motivated to walk the path of righteousness, all at the same time.

I’m glad it’s brief, so it’s an easy recommendation to men. I hope to read this in a group, someday. My dudes: read this little book. Get the free ebook.

Masculine Christianity by Zachary Garris

This book right here is stupendous. I just might read this every year, it’s so good.

This isn’t the “masculinity” book you’re used to, written by an evangelical “complementarian” who is secretly an egalitarian, and isn’t willing to consistently grant male headship in the civil sphere. No, sir. “Christianity is Patriarchal” (Ch. 4).

Unlike most, he gives attention—all of chapter 9—to the “women should keep silent in church” passage in 1 Corinthians 14:34–35. He also takes you through the objections to hierarchy and authority. I didn’t realize there were so many bad explanations of key passages.

The Pastor and Counseling by Jeremy Pierre & Deepak Reju

This was such a page-turner. I was in Cebu for a whole day and read this whole book at a coffee shop. I whole-heartedly agree with this recommendation:

This is the best primer for pastoral counseling I’ve read—and I’ve read many. Frankly, reading it is the equivalent of at least two excellent seminary courses on pastoral counseling. Read it, apply it, and be equipped for the personal ministry of the Word to God’s people in your church.

—Bob Kellemen, Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Counseling, Faith Bible Seminary; author, Grief: Walking with Jesus

The Toxic War on Masculinity by Nancy Pearcey

I was privileged to be on the launch team for this book. Here’s my recommendation:

Nearly everything falls apart without masculinity functioning has God intends

In her usual fashion, she has engaged in extensive research in order to assemble considerable data—this time to show how men have been devalued and the resulting crisis of manhood in society.

I was shocked to learn that the modern savage rhetoric against masculinity today is not too different than what has been published in the past couple centuries. A couple examples:

The language used to malign the male character was almost as inflammatory as anything we hear today. For example, Sarah Hale blamed men for the world’s entire history of war and bloodshed: “Man the Murderer, Woman the Mourner!” Astonishingly, Hale even believed that women were not as affected as men by the fall into sin: “Man, by the ‘fall,’ was rendered incapable of cultivating, by his own unassisted efforts, any good propensity or quality of his nature. . . . But woman was not thus cast down.”

The early feminist leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton used equally censorious language to condemn men. In a speech titled “The Destructive Male” (1868), she said,

The male element is a destructive force, stern, selfish, aggrandizing, loving war, violence, conquest, acquisition, breeding in the material and moral world alike discord, disorder, disease, and death. See what a record of blood and cruelty the pages of history reveal!

What America needs, Stanton concluded, is “a new evangel of womanhood, to exalt purity, virtue, morality, true religion, to lift man up into the higher realms of thought and action.” The word evangel means “gospel,” so Stanton was preaching a religion of feminism.

—Nancy R. Pearcey. The Toxic War on Masculinity (Kindle Locations 2466-2477). Kindle Edition.

The results are in! Nearly everything falls apart without masculinity functioning has God intends—as men, as husbands, as fathers.

I suggest you purchase this book, read it, and consider what God has made men to be. And pass some on to other men in your life.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

A modern classic. I read it the week before I preached Psalm 23. What an uplifting little book. You’ll really appreciate the shepherd imagery by hearing from a shepherd.

Sheep do not “just take care of themselves” as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.

It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep. The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways . . . Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance.

(7)

In a sense the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd’s staff. It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep—and only sheep. It will not do for cattle, horses or hogs. It is designed, shaped and adapted especially to the needs of sheep. And it is used only for their benefit. 

The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their comfort.

Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word “staff” speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind.

(92)

Slaying Leviathan: Limited Government and Resistance in the Christian Tradition by Glenn Sunshine

This was most informative. I would enjoy listening through it a second time. It’s especially helpful to think through these issues, since 2020.

2000 Years of Christ’s Power Volume 3: Renaissance and Reformation by Nick Needham

A church history book that’s a pleasure to read. I like the organization of the book by region, rather than chronology. I learned about reformation movements in other parts of Europe, the areas that we never hear about.

For Luther himself, the pilgrimage to “holy Rome” was profoundly disenchanting. He never forgot the cynical attitude to religion that he found there, or the obsession with money. He was later fond of repeating the Italian proverb, “If there is a hell, Rome is built over it.”

The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes

It’s a classic for good reason. I hadn’t even finished it before I knew it needed to be on my annual re-read list. Thankfully, the ebook is free.

God seeth it fit we should taste of that cup of which his Son drank so deep, that we might feel a little what sin is, and what his Son’s love was; but our comfort is, that Christ drank the dregs of the cup for us, and will succour us, that our spirits utterly fail not under that little taste of his displeasure which we may feel. He became not only a man, but a curse, a man of sorrows for us. He was broken, that we should not be broken; he was troubled, that we should not be desperately troubled; he became a curse, that we should not be accursed. Whatsoever may be wished for in an all-sufficient comforter, is all to be found in Christ,

  1. Authority from the Father, all power was given him,’ Matt. 28:18.
  2. Strength in himself, as having his name the mighty God, Isa. 9:6.
  3. Wisdom, and that from his own experience, how and when to help.
  4. Willingness, as being flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone, Isa. 9:6.”
—Richard Sibbes. Bruised Reed (Kindle Locations 948-955). Kindle Edition.

In the House of Tom Bombadil by C.R. Wiley

“Tom is nobody’s fool and nobody’s tool.”

If you loved The Household and the War for the Cosmos then you’ll love this, too. And if you haven’t read either yet, shame on you and get going! You’ll be glad you did.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs

The most convicting book I’ve read all year. And longer. An ebook edition is free.

I have spent many sermons over this lesson of contentment, but I am afraid that you will be longer in learning it than I have been preaching of it; it is a harder thing to learn it than it is to preach or speak of it.

Fidelity: How to Be a One-Woman Man by Douglas Wilson

Most of this book I found to be solid. A few things were new and unusual to me.

Don’t miss this vital book for men. The need for wisdom in sexuality from coaches to pastors to congressmen has hardly disappeared since this book was first published 13 years ago. An integral part of the best-selling Family Series, the new revised edition of Fidelity includes two all-new chapters and updates throughout. 

Fidelity: How to Be a One-Woman Man hits hard, offering pointed help to Christian males everywhere. Leaders are tempted to gloss over sexual issues, but Wilson uses clear language to confront specific sins with specific solutions. He shows how effeminate slackness leads to pornography, how being seduced is a failure to lead, why masturbation is lousy theology, and much more.

Grace-centered masculinity should be self-disciplined and strong, not compromising and hypocritical.

Single & Satisfied by Nancy Wilson

I wish all the unmarried ladies in my congregation could read this. It contains some advice that would spare from much disappointment and frustration. Like, what do you do when your pagan father doesn’t want to be involved at all in your engagement and marriage? I appreciate the author’s challenge to using the term “single,” at all.

In this helpful volume, Nancy Wilson provides straightforward counsel and encouragement for those struggling with “the wait.” She addresses practical concerns like building a career but focuses more specifically on important relational issues such as interacting with competitive women, respecting your parents even after you’ve left their home, establishing standards for male friends, and keeping the right outlook on your life. Whether a woman is called to singleness for just a short time or for her whole life, she is called to be fruitful in God’s kingdom.

This is the second and revised edition of Why Isn’t a Pretty Girl Like You Married?

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

This was the year I went through all of the Jungle Book stories. This was our family car ride audiobook, and the narrator is great.

The result? I absolutely hate the movie adaptations of The Jungle Book. Not even close, and so much less wholesome. Baloo is not a lazy bufoon! And Shere Khan is straight up bloodthirsty. There’s nothing noble about him. Read it for yourself to see how Mowgli deals with him.

This is actually a collection of stories, not just about Mowgli, but all of them about animals. I was surprised to find that one of my favorite stories growing up was included: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi! There are many good lessons in this short story. Don’t let the snake escape alive.

This collection is excellent reading for families, and will teach important masculine virtues to young boys, especially.

The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson

The classic book on the Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson, part of the Contours of Christian Theology series. I finally had the opportunity to read it. I think this will benefit Pentecostals and Charismatics, or those who have come out of that.

Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell

Ironically, I listened to Chapell’s class at Covenant Seminary way back in 2012-13ish. I had never read the book until now. It’s as good as the class was, and even better in its 3rd edition.

There are some great little gems in here that a preacher can appreciate, regardless of how many homiletics books have been read or sermons delivered.

Sexual Intimacy in Marriage by William Cutrer, MD and Sandra Glahn, PhD

“The Sex Book.”

With several marriages approaching, and the weight of pastoral responsibility encroaching, I speed-read two books about sexual intimacy in marriage, in the week of June 16. This book won out over the other not just because of content, but because it’s really funny. And you have to have a sense of humor when you’re talking about this. Otherwise, it’s just painfully awkward.

Sexual intimacy in marriage is absolutely vital. You can argue that it’s a major part of the Christian life. Simply because it’s normal for Christian adults to get married, and most of their life will be lived in marriage. And sex is a big part of marriage. It’s in fact a duty. Any Christian submitted to Scripture will obey God’s commands to not deprive their spouse. One is not submitted to Christ if they are disobedient about this. God made man and woman as sexual beings, he instituted marriage, and his law regulates our sexual relations. It’s so important. To ignore it, depreciate it, and pretend that it’s not that big of a deal is to court disaster.

This book, now in its fourth edition, has helped many Christians. That application for pastors: be ready to deal in this area. And you’ll likely need help, which is what this book is for.

Best Video

W. Robert Godfrey: A Pillar and Buttress of the Truth

So many good points in one address. It’s really packed and worth re-watching.

First Timothy 3:15 tells us that the church is “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” The church is entrusted with the task of holding up the truth of God before the watching world. In this message, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey looks at the importance of the church and the means of grace in making disciples who will stand firm, stressing that we cannot live a healthy Christian life without corporate worship and fellowship, the preached Word, the sacraments, and prayer.

This message is from Stand Firm, our 2023 National Conference.

Masculine Christianity | Zach Garris

Man Rampant. “Let’s talk about masculine Christianity, shall we? The Christian faith is undeniably masculine when it comes to Her leadership – that’s right, “her.” This male leadership is over the Bride of Christ. So how are we to reconcile that? How do you reconcile the overwhelmingly masculine leadership in the church with the fact that She is Christ’s Bride?

“Let’s talk about masculine Christianity, shall we? The Christian faith is undeniably masculine when it comes to Her leadership – that’s right, “her.” This male leadership is over the Bride of Christ. So how are we to reconcile that? How do you reconcile the overwhelmingly masculine leadership in the church with the fact that She is Christ’s Bride?” Here’s one of the best parts:

I think it’s important here that we understand preaching to be a masculine task, just the way God has designed it. It’s exhortation. And so, it’s fitting that men do this. But not just men, but courageous, masculine men. It really is tied up with God’s design for man. A sermon should not be just a talk. We often hear these words today, it’s a “talk” or a “message.” It is a message, but it’s a Divine message, and it’s carrying God’s authority—it’s an authoritative message. And if we understand preaching in that way, I think it makes sense why God has given this task only to men, and not all men of course, but some men.

—Zach Garris

Also see this episode of the Canon+ Book Club | Masculine Christianity with Zachary Garris

Puritan: All of Life to the Glory of God

This documentary is wonderful. The full interviews were good too. “Steelbook box that includes the complete film and over five hours of never-before-released extended interviews with MacArthur, Mbewe, and others.”

It’s Good to Be a Man: A Map to Manhood

A great documentary that summarizes key points from Michael Foster’s great book by the same title.

Men don’t know how to be a man anymore. Some are comfortable being effeminate, but many are looking for guides like Jordan Peterson and Jocko Willink. They get angry because ‘I won’t be able to have what my father, what my grandfather had.’ That rage is not going to fix anything. Yeah, you had a bad deal, and these things aren’t all your fault, but you’re still responsible for your response to the time that God has put you in. It’s your job to stop being a victim even if you’ve been victimized.

Christianity & Liberalism

A great series in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen.

In 1923, J. Gresham Machen wrote his classic work Christianity and Liberalism. Machen understood that he lived in a time that needed answers. People needed to know the fundamental doctrinal convictions of Christianity in an age of compromise. Modernism was threatening the church, and liberals within the church were seeking to accommodate it, calling into question bedrock doctrines of the faith. In this teaching series, Dr. Stephen J. Nichols reminds us of who Machen was, why his book is still important, and how it teaches us that there is only one true, uncompromising Christian faith.

Time For an Intervention? | Doug Wilson & Friends (w/ ND Wilson, Rachel Jankovic, & Rebekah Merkle)

Fresh from No Quarter November, the Wilson kids’ intervention with their father was full of good, wholesome content on family and child-rearing. And it’s pretty hilarious throughout.

Dragons Abounding: The Great Errors Confronting the Church | Dr. Voddie Baucham

An address about manhood, womanhood, marriage, and family at a missions conference? Absolutely. Didn’t expect patriarchy to be a vital issue for missions, did you? Well, I learned this the hard way. The biggest clashes I have experienced, and the most heated opposition in the ministry, has been over matters of gender and marriage. I appreciate this message because Voddie Baucham articulates so well what myself and our church continue to experience. Several of us watched it together, and it resonated with us all.

“When talking about missions and the threat to our mission, a lot of these errors sort of culminate in errors about manhood, womanhood, marriage, and the family. So many of them center there. . .”

“I think it’s very important for us to look at this in terms of missions. Because, often times when we talk about missions, when we talk about the establishment of the Lord’s church, when we talk about advancing the Lord’s church, especially when we talk about breaking new ground with the Lord’s church, one of the things that we often fail to keep in mind is that when the Gospel breaks forth in cultures . . . inevitably we talk about dealing with family structures in the midst of broken, sinful, pagan cultures, that find this as foreign as the Gospel. And so this is important ground to cover.”

The Essential Church

This takes the cake for this year. This documentary had to be made. There is a reckoning to be had for how the state and church behaved from 2020 onward.

The most surprising—and moving—part of this documentary was the account of the Covenanters and their standing firm to the death for keeping pure and entire the public worship of God.

Over the last few years, far too many who claim to be their spiritual descendants shut down worship altogether, under just a fraction of the hostility. Every one needs to watch this film. More Christians need to be willing to throw their stools at those who threaten or alter divine worship.

Best Audio

“Roast What You Kill: Becoming a Man Who Follows Through”

“Incomplete”

“Men, how many tasks have you started strong and finished weak (or not at all)? How many deer have we killed but never tasted? How much nourishment has laziness robbed from our souls, our families, our churches, our world?

“I think this spirit of so-far-and-no-farther plagues our generation. We recreate at life; we rarely commit. Manhood seems less tethered to follow-through, to roasting the meat we hunt. Consider just a few examples.”

  • Relationships: date, but never marry.
  • Church: attend, but never join.
  • Work: labor, but for appearances.

Voddie Baucham on Home Education

Delivered at the 2012 Texas Home School Coalition Convention.

Westminster Seminary Press podcast

The Christianity & Liberalism series was great, but the episodes with Rosaria Butterfield were gold. She nails the typical evangelical posture of cowardly accommodation, making peace with idols. You must suffer for the truth, like Machen did. Her two interviews:

It’s about time I transcribe that killer line about offending people for God’s glory:

We’ve failed to distinguish between friends and enemies. We don’t want to love our enemies, we want to make believe that our enemies are our friends. You can’t be a soft presence anymore in the world. If you try to be a soft presence in the world, what you’ll end up, at best, is being “righteous Lot.”

So, and then everybody’s like “Well, aren’t we supposed to be Christians in the world but not of the world?”

Yes, are you strong enough? Because If you’re strong enough, then you’re going to go have an intervention.

See, to be a Christian in the world right now, means you get up every morning and what you say, “Lord, may all the people I offend today be offended to your glory, and if I lose my job please protect my family.”

So, that’s what it means to be in the world—are you up for that?

—Rosaria Butterfield, Episode 2: “Reinvention”

After that, the podcast transitioned to Things Unseen by J. Gresham Machen. This is the collection of Machen’s radio broadcasts on Christian doctrine. I have the hardcopy of the book, but I do like being able to listen to whole chapters while driving. So I appreciate that.

If you regard religion merely as a means to attain worldly ends, even the highest and noblest of worldly ends—if you regard religion, for example, merely as a means of meeting the present emergency in this world—then you have never begun to have even the slightest inkling of what the Christian religion means.

—Machen, “The Present Emergency” (Chapter 1)

Chapter 33 on the doctrine of sin was so refreshing. In it, Machen crushes the spirit/body dichotomy that’s endemic in evangelicalism.

As thus used, the word [flesh] does not designate a lower part of man’s nature as over against a higher part. It designates all of man’s nature, in its present sinful state, as over against the divine holiness. It does not designate the body of man as over against the spirit of man, but it designates the whole of man as over against the Spirit of God.

—Machen, “What is Sin?” (Chapter 33)

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Trilogy narrated by Andy Serkis

Since I had read them before when I was younger, and this was my first time with the Audible editions, I’ll throw this down here. I re-read The Lord of the Rings for the first time, this year. I have intended to make The Lord of the Rings an annual read, for some time. When these editions narrated by Andy Serkis (the voice of Golum) went on sale, I had to the get them. I had listened to a bit of his live-reading of The Hobbit when the lockdowns first began. He’s a superb narrator.

Permitted versus Proper

Posted on by Nate

Terry L. Johnson, Reformed Worship: Worship that is According to Scripture (Revised and Expanded), 14-17, 101

Permitted versus Proper

[T]he question we want to answer is not merely what may be permitted, or even what might one get away with and still be within the bounds of Scripture’s regulative requirements. Reformed worship may not be reduced to the regulative principle, particularly the regulative principle narrowly construed, any more than the Reformed faith can be reduced to “Five Points.” The regulative principle, interpreted merely as lists of approved and disapproved elements, does not address (when understood narrowly) a fundamental ingredient of worship: reverence. It does not address matters of decorum. It does not address words and actions appropriate to a reverential approach to God.8 No, our question is what ought to be done in public worship. It may be permissible for a church to begin its worship with the song “Deep and Wide,” then sing as its second hymn “Zaccheus Was a Wee Little Man,” and conclude the service with “The B-I-B-L-E.” “Scripture does not forbid it,” a strict biblicist might say. But such would be of doubtful propriety. We can even say that such ought not to be done under normal circumstances. Yet we say that, not because there is a Bible verse that forbids these children’s songs, but because of a more general sense of what is appropriate in light of the nature of the Sunday assembly as the church’s public service of worship. Not every question in worship or life can be answered by the direct application of a Bible verse. Indeed it is legalistic and fundamentalistic to expect to do so. Right living rarely consists of simply applying the Bible’s rules to circumstances. Rather, right living requires the illumination of the Holy Spirit and wisdom in applying general principles to daily choices. Pharisees limit the Bible’s application to the specific words—you shall not kill, commit murder, and so on, and ignore the broader application. Yet the broader application is where most of life is lived, and it is here that Jesus criticizes the hypocrites of His day (Matthew 5:21–48). Most of life is lived “between the lines” of explicit commands.

Consequently, the Apostles regularly appeal to what is “fitting” or “suitable” or “proper,” in light of Scripture’s explicit commands, and yet without spelling out exactly what these things mean. They expect that believers will apply wisdom and discern what is appropriate. We are urged to judge what is “proper” (Greek prepo = to be fitting, seemly, suitable) about hair length, even discerning such from nature (1 Corinthians 11:13–14). The Apostle Paul tells Titus to “speak the things which are fitting (Greek prepei) for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Women are to adorn themselves with “proper” (prepei) clothing (1 Timothy 2:9–10). Paul tells the Ephesians to avoid talk that is “not fitting” (prepei) (Ephesians 5:3–4). In the last two cases some of the details are fleshed out. Women are to dress “modestly” and “discreetly.” They are to avoid ostentatious display by not braiding hair or wearing gold or pearls or costly garments. “Silly talk” and “coarse jesting” are listed among the unfitting words. But in these and all other cases the precise point at which one crosses the line from modesty to immodesty, from discreet to indiscreet, from fitting to silly or vulgar, is not and cannot be spelled out. We only know that [sic] the difference through Spirit-given wisdom. When is a dress too short? At some point it is, and the sin of immodesty has been committed, objectively and actually. The determining of such is a subjective judgment. Yet, the failure of subjective judgment leads to objective sin. Nearly all behavioral judgments (e.g. love, modesty, frugality, integrity) are arrived at in this way, in applying wisdom in realms beyond the direct application of specific commands.

In worship the same sort of judgments are required. We are not merely to ask what is permissible, but what is appropriate, proper, and fitting. For example, we are commanded to worship with “reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). There are ways of singing, praying, and preaching that are irreverent. There are extraneous words and actions that, given the nature of God, the nature of the assembly, and the practical requirements of reverence, are inappropriate, improper, and unsuitable. Yet in any given case this may be discerned to be so, not because there is a verse that specifically says, for example, “Thou shalt not begin worship by dribbling a basketball down the center aisle” (as did one Presbyterian pastor belonging to a conservative denomination), any more than a verse may be found to specify that skirts may be 1 inch above the knee, but not 1 ½ inches. A television preacher recently led his congregation to respond enthusiastically to a beautiful solo by saying, “And all God’s children said,” at which point they joined him in saying, “Wow!!” No single verse forbids “wow” as a liturgical response. These sorts of things are only discerned by wisdom. The Bible expects and demands that we move beyond narrow, legalistic, fundamentalistic constructions of what is permissible in worship, and ask instead what ought to be done when the church assembles for worship. “All things are lawful,” says the Apostle, “but not all things are profitable” (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23).

8. We are leaving aside for the time being the question of whether or not the regulative principle should be narrowly construed. Since the regulative principle appeals to the third commandment for support, we see reverence and related matters as being contained within its framework.

Be Very Careful in Your Choice of Friends

Posted on by Nate

J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men (Kindle Locations 490-524). Kindle Edition.

Never make an intimate friend of anyone who is not a friend of God.

Understand me, I do not speak of acquaintances. I do not mean that you ought to have nothing to do with anyone but true Christians. To take such a line is neither possible nor desirable in this world. Christianity requires no man to be discourteous.

But I do advise you to be very careful in your choice of friends. Do not open all your heart to a man merely because he is clever, agreeable, good-natured, and kind. These things are all very well in their way, but they are not everything. Never be satisfied with the friendship of any one who will not be useful to your soul.

Believe me, the importance of this advice cannot be overrated. There is no telling the harm that is done by associating with godless companions and friends. The devil has few better helps in ruining a man’s soul. Grant him this help, and he cares little for all the armor with which you may be armed against him. Good education, early habits of morality, sermons, books, all, he knows well, will avail you little, if you will only cling to ungodly friends. You may resist many open temptations, refuse many plain snares; but once you take up a bad companion, and he is content. That awful chapter which describes Amnon’s wicked conduct about Tamar, almost begins with these words, “Now Amnon had a friend, a very shrewd man” (2 Samuel 13:3).

You must remember, we are all creatures of imitation: precept may teach us, but it is example that draws us. There is that in us all, that we are always disposed to catch the ways of those with whom we live; and the more we like them, the stronger does the disposition grow. Without our being aware of it, they influence our tastes and opinions; we gradually give up what they dislike, and take up what they like, in order to become closer friends with them. And, worst of all, we catch their ways in things that are wrong far quicker than in things that are right. Health, unhappily, is not contagious, but disease is. It is far more easy to catch a chill than to impart a warmth; and to make each other’s religion dwindle away, than grow and prosper.

Young men, I ask you to take these things to heart. Before you let any one become your constant companion, before you get into the habit of telling him everything, and going to him with all your troubles and all your pleasures–before you do this, just think of what I have been saying; ask yourself, “Will this be a useful friendship to me or not?”

“Bad company” does indeed “corrupt good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). I wish that text were written in the hearts of all young men. Good friends are among our greatest blessings; they may keep us away from much evil, remind us of our course, speak an appropriate word at the right time, draw us upward, and draw us on. But a bad friend is a burden, a weight continually dragging, us down, and chaining us to earth. Keep company with an unsaved man, and it is more than probable you will in the end become like him. that is the general consequence of all such friendships. The good go down to the bad, and the bad do not come up to the good. The world’s proverb is only too correct: “Clothes and company tell true tales about character.” “Show me who a man lives with and I will show you what he is.”

I dwell upon this point, because it has more to do with your prospects in life than first appears. If you ever marry, it is more than probable you will choose a wife from among your circle of friends or their acquaintances. If Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram had not formed a friendship with Ahab’s family, he would most likely not have married Ahab’s daughter. And who can estimate the importance of a right choice in marriage? It is a step which, according, to the old saying, “either makes a man or ruins him.” Your happiness in both lives may depend on it. Your wife must either help your soul or harm it. She will either fan the flame of Christianity in your heart, or throw cold water upon it, and make it burn low. She will either be, wings or handcuffs, an encouragement or an hindrance to your Christianity, according to her character. He that finds a good wife does indeed “finds a good thing;” so if you have the desire to find one, be very careful how you choose your friends.

Do you ask me what kind of friends you should choose? Choose friends who will benefit your soul, friends whom you can really respect, friends whom you would like to have near you on your deathbed, friends who love the Bible, and are not afraid to speak to you about it, friends that you would not be ashamed of having at the coming of Christ, and the day of judgment. Follow the example that David sets for you: he says, “I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts” (Psalm 119:63). Remember the words of Solomon: “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20). But depend on it, bad company in this life, is the sure way to procure worse company in the life to come.

Fear of Man’s Opinion

Posted on by Nate

From J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men (Kindle Locations 319-348). Kindle Edition.

Another danger to young men is the FEAR OF MAN’S OPINION.

“The fear of man” will indeed “prove to be a snare” (Proverbs 29:25). It is terrible to observe the power which it has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide: what others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.

The thought, “What will my friends say or think of me?” nips many a good inclination in the bud. The fear of being looked at, laughed at, ridiculed, prevents many a good habit from being taken up. There are Bibles that would be read this very day, if the owners dared. They know they ought to read them, but they are afraid: “What will people say?” There are knees that would be bent in prayer this very night, but the fear of man forbids it: “What would my wife, my brother, my friend, my companion say, if they saw me praying?” Oh, what wretched slavery this is, and yet how common! “I was afraid of the people and so I gave into them,” Saul said to Samuel, “and so he violated the Lord’s command” (1 Samuel 15:24). “I am afraid of the Jews,” said Zedekiah, the graceless king of Judah: and so he disobeyed the advice which Jeremiah gave him (Jeremiah 38:19). Herod was afraid of what his guests would think of him: so he did that which made him “greatly distressed,” he beheaded John the Baptist. Pilate feared offending the Jews: so he did that which he knew in his conscience was unjust–he delivered up Jesus to be crucified. If this is not slavery, what is?

Young men, I want you all to be free from this bondage. I want each of you to care nothing about man’s opinion, when the path of duty is clear. Believe me, it is a great thing to be able to say “No!” Here was good King Jehoshaphat’s weak point–he was too easy and yielding in his dealings with Ahab, and therefore caused many of his troubles (1 Kings 22:4). Learn to say “No!” Don’t let the fear of not seeming good-natured make you unable to do it. When sinners entice you, be able to say decidedly, “I will not give in to them” (Proverbs 1:10).

Consider how unreasonable this fear of man is. How short lived is man’s hostility, and how little harm he can do you! “Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth?” (Isaiah 51:12-13). And how thankless is this fear! No one will really think better of you for it. The world always respects those the most, who act boldly for God. Oh, break these bonds, and cast these chains from you! Never be ashamed of letting men see that you want to go to heaven. Do not think it a disgrace to show that you are a servant of God. Never be afraid of doing what is right.

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Try only to please God, and He will soon make others pleased with you. “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7). Young men, be of good courage. Don’t worry what the world says or thinks: you will not always be with the world. Can man save your soul? No. Will man be your judge in the great and dreadful day of judgment? No. Can man give you a good conscience in this life, a good hope in death, a good answer in the morning of resurrection? No! no! no! Man can do nothing of the sort. Then “Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool” (Isaiah 51:7-8). Call to mind the saying of Gardiner: “I fear God, and therefore I have no one else to fear.” Go and be like him.

Exempt from Biblical Discernment

Posted on by Nate

So certain people or congregations were instrumental in your conversion or sanctification. You have since “grown out” and moved on doctrinally. Great. It is right to recognize that God sovereignly used them. It is right to be grateful. Give credit to whom it is due, and glory to God.

But does being used by God earn anyone a “life-time exemption from biblical discernment” card?

Too many Christians fall all over themselves to excuse or dismiss error, sometimes serious error, because of a past contribution to their spiritual walk.

You are capable of making distinctions. “I was converted there, praise God. But I grew and had to move on, because the church wasn’t sound doctrinally or practically.” More recent issues develop, and you are able to say, “I was blessed by God through them before, but this is not right.”

By all means, defend against unfair criticism. But don’t ever defend error. Don’t blindly defend individuals or churches in spite of more recent error, though they helped you in the past. “They can do no wrong, because I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for them!”

Loyalty, respect, appreciation, grattitued, truth, righteousness, fairness, and discernment must work in harmony. To blindly jump up and block all negative criticism simply because God used them in your life—in spite of their weaknesses and errors—regardless of the facts of the matter, is just spiritual “utang na loob.”

To use a biblical term, it’s the sin of partiality. You exempt them from biblical discernment simply because of what they did for you. You refuse to hold them to God’s universal standard of truth and righteousness, out of “gratitude.” NO.

Be fair. Examine all things. Error is error, no matter who says it. Unrighteousness is unrighteousness, no matter who commits it.

Call it like it is, with love. Give credit to whom it is due, but don’t whitewash. Be thankful, but don’t lie.

Choosing Righteousness before Convenience

Posted on by Nate

Choosing Righteousness before Convenience

From this order we may further gather that justice and good conscience ought to move us to do our duty more than our own profit and the benefit that returns to us. If there should come such an opposition between these that they could not both stand together, but that for doing that which is right, and which God has commanded, our prosperity must be hindered and life shortened, we should stick with what is right and commanded of God, even though prosperity, life and all be let go. All the exhortations in Scripture tend to this purpose, to forsake goods, lands, life, and everything else for righteousness’ sake. So clear is this point, that the pagans discerned it by the glimpse of that light of nature which they had, for they could say that that which is honest and right is to be chosen above that which is convenient and profitable.

There is no comparison between justice and convenience, right and profit. The one is absolutely necessary for attaining to eternal salvation, the other gives but a little quiet and contentment in this world. Nay, if profit is without right, it can give no true contentment or quiet at all.

Therefore, those who so wholly and only aim at their outward profit and prosperity, that they do not regard what is right and what God has commanded, are unworthy of the name of Christians. If by obeying God, and doing that which is right they may reap some benefit to themselves, they can be content to yield to it, but if not, farewell all right, farewell all God’s commandments. Though they think everything that is profitable to be good, be it right or wrong, yet God’s Word counts nothing good but that which is right. Such therefore can look for no blessing from the Lord.

—William Gouge. Building a Godly Home Vol. 1: A Holy Vision for Family Life (Kindle Locations 2667-2679). Kindle Edition.

Only Outward Glory

Posted on by Nate

Therefore, only those that are arrayed with righteousness are glorious in His eyes.

This I have noted against the opinion of our adversaries, who place all the glory of the church in outward magnificence. To this end their Pope, whom they make head of the church, and in a special way the spouse of Christ, must have his triple crown, his scarlet robes, his throne advanced above kings. Men must be his horses to bear him, and kings and nobles must be his men to wait on him. Their priests also must be arrayed with glorious capes of the best gold craftsmanship. Their temples must be decked with artistic, carved, gilded images. Their host2 is carried about in manner of a triumph. Their people are all sprinkled with water. Their superstitious houses must be the fairest building in a kingdom, and have the greatest revenues of a kingdom belonging to them, and so on.

Is this glory fit for Christ’s spouse? Perhaps then Christ has carnal eyes and ears, and is delighted with those things with which the world is delighted. The wiser among the pagans scoffed at such worthless ideas which their people had of their gods. Shall Christians think more cheaply of Christ than the heathen of their gods? Most people are so infatuated with outward worldly glory that they neglect true righteousness.

—William Gouge. Building a Godly Home Vol.1 (Kindle Locations 1354-1364).