Category Archives: Books

Posted on

Reductionistic Doctrinal Preaching

Over the last decade or so, Christ-centered, biblical-theological, moralistic-averse preaching has made a resurgence of sorts in the evangelical world. One consequence, if we have ears to hear, is that such preaching can often press the mute button when it comes to Scripture’s imperatives.

He Puts It So Well

Earlier today, I read through part of John Piper’s latest book Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching and Worship. In chapter 12, Piper points out “two mistakes to avoid” when preaching a command. The first is mere moralism—”Just do it.” The second is “reductionistic doctrinal preaching.” Piper says on this mistake,

The second mistake (“You can’t do it; but Christ did it perfectly, so turn away from your doing to his doing, and enjoy justification by imputed righteousness”) minimizes the seriousness of the command, diverts attention from the real necessity of the imperative, leads to a kind of preaching that oversimplifies the urgency and complexity of Christian obedience, and turns every sermon into a predictable soteriological crescendo that trains the people to tune out and start putting their coats on. It silences the specific riches of the text by preempting them with unwarranted applications of right doctrine.”

To which I wrote in the margin, “Amen.”

Gratefully, Piper doesn’t only diagnose the problem; he offers a proposed solution. But you’ll have to take up the book and read it to find out what that answer is. Tolle lege!

Posted on

The First Rule

“[The pastor] must maintain regular habits of communion with God, in prayer. The lettered Christian is more liable to neglect this duty and privilege than the unlettered, because his mind is constantly conversant with divine truth, and he is exposed to the temptation of substituting this for the direct expression of desires and wants. But in order to grow in religion, it is not enough for him to meditate upon the divine character and religious doctrines; he must actually address God in supplication.” — Shedd, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, 289–90.

Posted on

Eminent Piety

Gospel ministers are meant to be models of holiness. Paul commands us to “set an example” (1 Tim. 4:12). One commentator says on this passage, “The word picture it paints is not so much Timothy is an example that others can emulate but that he is a mold that should be pressed into the lives of others so that they attain the same shape.” Just like a cookie cutter molds the dough into its shape, so is the pastor’s character to shape the lives of his people.

But where can we find encouragement when we realize our mold is not as sharp as it should be?

Noticeable Progress Please

For a variety of different reasons, I’ve been in a three-month-long process of introspection to start 2018. Many things are coming to an end in my life. The dissertation is done. After having our sixth child in December, we are likely done having children. I’m in the midst of a new pastorate and so have reflected on past ministerial experiences in an attempt to discover where I must grow. I’m asking questions about trajectory in pastoral labor, seeking to find areas that need attention.

The self-examination has brought several points of encouragement. But, on the whole, I’ve found myself dissatisfied with my progress in godliness. My life has no small number of places in which I have to grow to be faithful in the gospel ministry: prayer, kindness, trust, and hope for eternity. As M’Cheyne said, “I earnestly long for more grace and personal holiness, and more usefulness.”

My convictions on these matters only increased as I reread a section from W. G. T. Shedd’s Homiletics and Pastoral Ministry.

Eminent Spirituality Demanded

I discovered Shedd’s volume in 2016. Rarely does a week go by without something from his work popping into my mind. Most often, it is his three fundamental properties of sermon style—plainness, force, and beauty. I also remember regularly his chapter titled, “Religious Character and Habits of the Clergyman.”

Let me see if I can encapsulate his argument for you.

Shedd begins with a declaration: “The foundation of influence in parochial life is in the clergyman’s character, and the root of clerical character is piety.” A congregation’s maturity rarely, if ever, exceeds that of its minister(s). Therefore, the pastor’s primary preoccupation is enlarging his soul’s love for Christ. As Shedd says,

The calling and profession of the clergyman demand eminent spirituality. An ordinary excellence is not sufficient. The Christian minister, by his very vocation, is the sacred man in society.

Shedd is careful to tell that a minister is not a member of a sacred caste, but he nonetheless belongs to a sacred profession. His character must reflect his calling:

He is the marked and peculiarly religious man, in the community. His very position and vocation, therefore, make it incumbent upon him to be eminently spiritual.

I’ve found that many pastors today find such demands for holiness grating or even unreasonable. To contemporary minds, Shedd’s assertions may sound inauthentic or sacerdotal. One brother told me that such a view of pastoral godliness tends to promote legalism. Another said it creates a yoke that pastors cannot possibly bear.

Eminent Spirituality Produced

Shedd, however, is more optimistic. My bother pastor, read the following paragraph slowly and be edified:

Not only does the ministerial calling and profession require eminent piety, but it tends to produce it. By his very position, the clergyman is greatly assisted in attaining to a superior grade of Christian character, and if, therefore, he is a worldly and unspiritual man, he is deeply culpable. For, so far as his active life is concerned, his proper professional business is religious. The daily labor of the clergyman is as truly and exclusively religious, as that of the farmer is agricultural, or that of the merchant is mercantile. This is highly favorable to spirituality. Ought not one to grow in grace, whose daily avocations bring him into communication with the anxious, the thoughtful, the convicted soul, the rejoicing heart, the bereaved, the sick, and the dying? Ought not that man to advance in the love and knowledge of God, whose regular occupation from day to day it is, to become acquainted with the strictly Religious wants, and condition of the community, and to minister to them? If the daily avocations of the mechanic have a natural tendency to make him ingenious, and inventive, if the daily avocations of the merchant tend to make him enterprising, and adventurous, do not the daily avocations of the clergyman tend to make him devout? The influence of active life upon character is, in its own place and manner, as great as that of contemplative life. A man is unconsciously moulded and formed by his daily routine of duties, as really as by the books he reads, or the sciences he studies. Hence, a faithful performance of clerical duties contributes directly to spirituality.

Surely Shedd is right to say the gospel ministry is uniquely conducive to noticeable growth in grace. Faithful ministers trade in and thrive on the means of grace. Should grace not tend to flourish in our lives? As the professor also says, “The studies of the theologian and preacher work directly towards the growth of piety.”

The Progress Will Come

Maybe you’re like me; you examine your growth in godliness and find it wanting. Find hope today! Christ has commissioned you as a servant in his house (1 Tim. 4:6). He indwells you through the Spirit—the Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4). He’s handed you a job description that requires you to immerse yourself in the means of grace “so that all may see your progress” (1 Tim. 4:15).

Steadfast service for the King will bring increasing conformity to His image (Col. 3:9–10). Let us repent of our failings and rise assured that the grace which forgives is the grace that empowers.

Posted on

Coming Soon: A Book from Beeke

I remember sitting in a doctoral seminar on the Puritans a few years back and one of the students asked, “Are there any contemporary preachers that embody the Puritans’ practice of preaching? Seeing no one give an answer, I said, “Joel Beeke.”

Beeke has long been one of my favorite preachers. In every way, he represents the Puritan ideal of doctrinal, experiential, and evangelical preaching. I’m thus delighted to discover that he’s set to publish a work on preaching with Crossway later this year titled, Reformed Preaching: Proclaiming God’s Word from the Heart of the Preacher to the Heart of His People.

You’ll want to keep an eye out for this one.

Here are the details from Crossway.

Publisher’s Description

Some preaching is like the winter sun: it brightly illuminates the mind but leaves the heart cold. Other sermons are like cotton candy: they taste sweet but contain no substantial nutrients. Biblical sermons, however, need both heat and substance—a conviction at the core of the great Reformed tradition of experiential preaching. Reformed experiential preaching not only informs minds, but also engages hearts and transforms the conduct of hearers. This robust treatment of Reformed experiential preaching by Joel Beeke—a pastor and professor of preaching with over 4 decades of experience—explores the heart of Reformed preaching, examining sermons by preachers from the Reformation and bridging the historical gap by showing pastors what the preaching of this life-transforming truth looks like today.

Table of Contents

Foreword (Sinclair B. Ferguson)

Part One: Reformed Experiential Preaching Defined and Described

  1. What Is Reformed Experiential Preaching?

  2. Preaching from Head to Heart

  3. Major Elements of Reformed Experiential Preaching

  4. The Experiential Preacher

Part Two: Reformed Experiential Preaching Illustrated

  1. Reformation Preachers: Zwingli, Bullinger, and Oecolampadius

  2. Reformation Preachers: Calvin

  3. Reformation Preachers: Beza

  4. Introduction to Puritan Preaching

  5. Puritan Preachers: Perkins

  6. Puritan Preachers: Rogers, Sibbes, and Preston

  7. The Westminster Directory and Preaching

  8. Puritan Preachers: Goodwin and Shepard

  9. Puritan Preachers: Bunyan

  10. Introduction to the Dutch Further Reformation

  11. Dutch Preachers: Teellinck, Lodenstein, and à Brakel

  12. Dutch Reformed Preaching in America: Frelinghuysen

  13. Eighteenth-Century Preachers: Halyburton, Edwards, and Davies

  14. Nineteenth-Century Preachers: Alexander, M’Cheyne, and Ryle

  15. Twentieth-Century Preachers: Wisse and Lloyd-Jones

Part Three: Preaching Experientially Today

  1. Preaching with Balance

  2. Application Starts with the Preacher

  3. Effective Preaching about God and Man

  4. Preaching the Gospel to the Heart

  5. Preaching for Holiness

Posted on

7 Implications from Puritan Preaching

In his latest book, Some Pastors and Teachers: Reflecting a Biblical Vision of What Every Minister is Called to Be, Sinclair Ferguson has a wonderful chapter on the Puritans and ministers of God’s word. Near the end, he offers seven implications for preaching from their example.

  1. A commitment to the hard work of studying, meditating on, and appyling to oneself the truth of Scritpure.
  2. A concern to speak God’s truth to all of God’s people, however simply they may be. The great Puritans were well-educated and highly intelligent ministers; but they knew that the concealment of art is also an art.
  3. Preaching the whole counsel of God, for the conversion of men and women, for the glory of God alone in whose presence both great and obscure must be exposed as sinners.
  4. Manifesting wisdom in teaching and applying the word of God, as well as the grace of God, in the very spiritof the preaching without “passion or bitterness.”
  5. Doing so with a sense of the gravitas which ought to characterize a servant of God. This influenced the minister’s physical demeanor and even the use of his voice. The preacher is neither joker nor trifler. He is not sent by God to entertain and amuse, for life is more of a tragedy than a comedy. Message and manner must harmonize or the message itself will be trivialized. Emotions and affections in preaching must be consistent with and expressive of the very substance of the text which is being expounded.
  6. Neither is the minister to be lugubrious and censorious, but rather filled with a loving affection for those to whom he ministers and preaches. Nothing is better calculated to win hearers than their knowledge that their minister has “a hearty desire to do them good.” The Puritans recognized that people will take a great deal from such a man.
  7. All this is to be backed up by a life which is consistent both in private and public with the message that is preached.
Posted on

10 Marks of a Grace-Alone Church

Zondervan wants to help us celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. So, they’ve published the “5 Solas Series,” edited by Michael Barrett. “We need these solas just as much today as the Reformers needed them in the sixteenth century,” Barret argues. He is undoubtedly right.

My favorite entry in the series is Carl Trueman’s Grace Alone: Salvation as a Gift of God. Trueman begins by surveying the Bible’s teaching on grace. He critiques modern conceptions of grace as something like a divine sentiment, showing that God’s word consistently connects grace to Christ. Ever the consummate church historian, Trueman then ably traces the doctrine through the ages before coming to the Reformers central arguments on sola gratia (his primary discussion partners are Augustine, Thomas, Luther, and Calvin).

The whole work is valuable and would be useful for small group discussion. The conclusion itself is well worth your money. There Trueman offers ten “hints as to the identity of a sola-gratia church.” Let me try to whet your literary appetite by giving you those hints with a choice quote or two.

What Marks a Grace-Alone Church?

  1. A grace-alone church takes sin seriously. “A proper understanding of grace depends on a prior, proper understanding of sin and the human predicament.”
  2. A grace-alone church takes Christ seriously. “If we speak of grace without speaking in the name of Christ, we are not speaking biblically of grace. In the Bible, grace is so intimately connected with Christ that Christless talk is graceless talk.”
  3. A grace-alone church takes God’s priority in personal salvation seriously. “A grace-alone church will be one that unashamedly declares God’s sovereign priority over all of creation and his sovereign priority over the church and her people.”
  4. A grace-alone church takes assurance seriously. “The church which takes grace seriously will constantly point her people to [the truth of God’s sovereign in Christ] with the aim of reassuring them that, whatever comes to pass, God is both sovereign and gracious.”
  5. A grace-alone church takes the corporate gathering of the visible church seriously. “A church which takes grace alone seriously knows that . . . the primary reason we go to church is to receive God’s grace through the word and sacraments.”
  6. A grace-alone church takes the Bible seriously. “The Bible is God’s revelation of the history and identity of his people and supremely of his purposes for them as they culminate in Jesus Christ. Given this, we may need to spend time reflecting on how the Bible functions in our churches.”
  7. A grace-alone church takes preaching seriously. “Preaching was central to the Reformation because of how the Reformers understood grace . . . The word brings grace.”
  8. A grace-alone church takes baptism seriously. “Baptism is part of God’s gracious economy, to be taken seriously by all Christians . . . As Paul would point people back to the fact that they were baptized as the basis for pressing home their new identity in Christ and the great imperatives of the Christian life, so we should do the same.”
  9. A grace-alone church takes the Lord’s Supper seriously. “The Lord’s Supper gives us Christ—in a different form from the word, but gives us Christ nonetheless, and a church that believes in grace alone will be a church where the Lord’s Supper is considered to be important.”
  10. A grace-alone church takes prayer seriously. “A church that takes grace seriously knows that she exists only in complete and total dependence on the Lord who bought her. Such a church will know that it is vitally important to call out to the Lord for all things, that conversions, Christian growth, discipleship, and worship all depend on God himself.”
Posted on

A Short, Yet Serious Series

Count me among the many Christians who find unique inspiration from biographies. Maybe it’s because we are imitators by nature. As image bearers, we reflect the character and nature of Him who created us (Gen. 1:27). God also commands us to imitate the apostles’ example (1 Cor. 11:1) and the model of any who keeps to their pattern (Phil. 3:20). In his book, Discipling, Mark Dever says, “Discipling is inviting [others] to imitate you, making your trust in Christ an example to be followed. It requires you to be willing to be watched, and then folding people into your life so that they actually do watch . . . All of us, in turn, should be able to say to the other Christians in our lives, as Paul did, ‘Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.’ Maybe this is why Christian biographies are so useful.”

A Wonderful Place to Start

One reason why many faithful Christians struggle to profit from Christian biographies is that the best ones are typically long, some even very long. Does Arnold Dallimore’s magisterial work on George Whitefield ring a bell?

Evangelical Press has thus done us a favor with their “Bitesize Biography” series, which flies too far under the radar. I’d love to see every Christian and church profit from these volumes. Each entry is compact, yet full of impact for our faith and life. EP has put out twenty-seven (!) volumes so far, many focus on famous figures and many highlight lesser known paragons. Click on any of the titles below to get your copy. Tolle lege!

 

Posted on

Some Help on Teaching Theology

A few years ago, I listened to a panel discussion in which someone asked Joel Beeke, “If you could take one set of books with you to a deserted island, what would you choose?” He said, without hesitation, “The Christian’s Reasonable Service by Wilhelmus à Brakel.” And I asked myself, “What? By whom?”

Beeke’s subsequent explanation convinced me I should buy the four-volume set. I then worked through all four volumes in a year, reading seven pages a day. I found myself enjoying—dare I say it—The Christian’s Reasonable Service even more than Calvin’s Institutes. Calvin’s work is gloriously devotional; à Brakel improves on Calvin with his relentlessly warm application.

A Devotional Doctrine of Scripture

I remembered à Brakel’s skill in heart-searching application earlier this week as I prepared to teach a Sunday School class on the doctrine of Scripture. I glanced around the study and grabbed the usual Reformed suspects I dialogue with when preparing a lecture: Calvin, Dabney, Hodge, Bavinck, Vos, and Murray. I find these men leading me to drink at theology’s deep wells. But they don’t always invite you to jump in and swim. The Christian’s Reasonable Service, however, always summons you to a deep theological and doxological dive.

For example, in his chapter, “The Word of God,” à Brakel concludes by talking about six obligations we have to Scripture. For two and a half pages he cries out, “Oh, delight in God’s word! Read it ‘in prosperity, adversity, darkness, seasons of doubt, times of perplexity, and your entire walk.'” To ensure we do this well he rounds out his exhortation with several pages of “Guidelines for the Profitable Reading of Scripture.” In order to see how useful à Brakel is, here are his five encouragements for reflecting on Scripture.

“The reflection upon reading Scripture consists in”

  1. joyfully giving thanks that the Lord has permitted His Word to be recorded, that we may have it in our homes, that we can and were privileged to read it, and that it was applied to our heart;
  2. painstakingly striving to preserve this good spiritual frame which is obtained by reading God’s word;
  3. meditating while engaged in one’s occupation upon that which one has read, repeatedly seeking to focus his thought upon it;
  4. sharing with others what was read, whenever possible, and discussing it;
  5. especially striving to comply with what was read by bringing it into practice.

He then writes, “If the Holy Scriptures were used in such a fashion, what wondrous progress we would make in both knowledge and godliness! Children would soon become young men, and young men would soon become men in Jesus Christ.”

Doctrine that Lives

There’s something compelling to me in à Brakel. His a model of teaching worthy of emulation, I think. Each volume shows us what it means, as teachers, to be alive to God’s truth when teaching God’s truth. Let our doctrinal instruction pulse with Christ-exalting piety. Faithfully instructing others in the living word (Heb. 4:12) means teaching in a way that students, peers, and church members feel something of our flame of devotion. Wilhelmus à Brakel will help us all.

If you need any more encouragement to take up and read, consider Derek Thomas’ gushing praise:

No systematic theology compares to Wilhelmus à Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service for its explicit concern to weld the objective and subjective in theology. Emerging from the Dutch Further Reformation, à Brakel is without equal in exploring both the intricate details of the Reformed theological system whilst ensuring that at every turn theology is done in the interests of piety and the glory of God. In an era when the subjective has either been lost in a sea of postmodernity or viewed with suspicion for its apparent lack of academic integrity, only those who have never read this monumental treatise would dismiss it as guilty of either. An achievement to place alongside Calvin’s Institutes and the systematic theologies of Turretin, Hodge, and Berkhof.

You can grab a set at WTS or RHB.

Posted on

A (Short) Bibliography on Covenant Baptism

Baptism copy

I’ve received many questions about my theological pilgrimage from “Believer’s Baptism” (credobaptism) to “Covenant Baptism” (paedobaptism). But the most common has been: “What book changed your mind?”

I’m always tempted to say, “The Bible,” because my move across the confessional waters is indeed one of sola Scripture. God’s word alone gave—and continues to give—authoritative instruction on baptism. But, it would be wrong to say the journey was one of solo Scriptura. None of us exist in such a vacuum. God places His people in the church to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. He gives us teachers to guide us into and friends to help us hear the truth.

Many conversation partners joined me along the paedobaptist path. There were professors, mentors, fellow pastors, and ordinary church members. I also had a study full of books, many on the sacraments. I read every one I own on each position.

Maybe you are on a similar search for truth, or maybe you want simply to understand the covenant baptism position better. Here’s a short bibliography of what I think are the most helpful books representing the Reformed paedobaptist position.

Beginner

9781601781178Beeke, Joel R. Bringing the Gospel to Covenant Children. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010.

Christian parents need to see that their children are in the covenant. They should also understand that baptism is only the start of covenantal parenting. There’s much work to do. Beeke’s little book gives wise counsel for Spirit-dependent, earnestly-evangelistic leadership of covenant kids.

1596380586Chapell, Bryan. Why Do We Baptize Infants? Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2006.

Chapell’s booklet is most useful for those unaware of the reasons why a Reformed church would baptize covenant children. Incredibly pastoral.

9781935369127Hyde, Daniel R. Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptize Children. Grandville, MI: Reformed Fellowship, 2006.

An excellent and accessible defense of why Reformed churches baptize children.

087552429XSartelle, John P. Infant Baptism: What Christian Parents Should Know. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 1985.

Sartelle’s booklet is similar to Chapell’s, but it a bit more rigorous in its theology.

Intermediate

9781596382183Chaney, J. M, and Ronald Evans. William the Baptist: A Classic Story of a Man’s Journey to Understand Baptism. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2011.

I’m amazed so few mention Cheney’s work. Sure, he downplays the reality of baptism signifying union with Christ, but he’s useful on virtually every other matter. The greatest value in the book, however, is its format. William the Baptist is basically a novel, saturated with pastoral dialogue, about one 19th-century man’s path into confessing covenant baptism.

9781601782826Fesko, J. V. Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010.

If you are looking for a “One Stop Shop on Covenant Baptism,” this is it. Fesko deftly works through the historical, biblical, and theological issues.

0875523439Murray, John. Christian Baptism. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 1980.

The book short, but dense. Murray’s skill as an exegete shines through on every page.

Advanced

41asOgTGf-L._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_

Jeremias, Joachim. Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1960.

Jeremias’ goal is to “lay before the reader the historical material relating to the history of infant baptism in the first four centuries in as concrete and sober a manner as possible.” His study of the extra-Biblical evidence around the early church shows the historical rootedness of covenant baptism. He also makes valuable conclusions related to the issues of household baptisms and corporate solidarity.

MARCEBAPTIMarcel, Pierre Charles, trans. Philip E. Hughes. The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism: Sacrament of the Covenant of Grace. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002.

When it comes to the subject of baptism, Marcel’s work is one every scholar must consider. Not many of us are scholars, of course, but that doesn’t mean we can profit from his teaching.

If you want a longer bibliography that lists representative paedobaptist and credobaptist books, try this.

Save

Posted on

In Praise of Fussy Preaching

Yesterday, Stuart Olyott gave a useful answer to the question, “What is preaching?” I want to provide one more excerpt from his book Preaching: Pure and Simple. I hope it excites your interest enough to buy the book—it’s sound, simple, and satisfying.

41ZqPN9ZkLL._SX314_BO1,204,203,200_Sermons Need Clear Structure

Plain sermons are the best sermons. And plainness depends, to a large degree, on how easy the sermon is to follow and remember. So, what is one of plain preaching’s best friends? Olyott responds, “Our sermons will be both easy to follow and easy to remember if they always have a clear structure.” He then writes,

Preachers who love their people are fussy about the structure of their sermons. They know that the most ordinary person will never lose their way, as long as the sermon has unity, order and proportion. Unity means that the message holds together; it is not made up of several disconnected sermonettes. Order means that the sermon is made of distinct ideas which follow each other in a logical chain that leads up to a climax. Proportion means that each idea is given its proper place; unimportant things are not magnified, and important things are not played down. The worst preacher on earth will improve immediately if he remembers these three words.

Might your next sermon need some of this good ol’ fussiness?