Is your gospel preaching primary and fundamental?

In speaking of the Lord's Supper as "an epitome of the gospel of redemption", Vos notes that he could not then (and perhaps we cannot now) say that "there is no need of such a witness of the sacrament because the ministry of the Word always and everywhere proclaims the central truth of the gospel with sufficient clearness and emphasis...I am sure that there are churches in which a great many other things can be heard, yet where one could listen in vain for the plain preaching of the cross as the God-appointed means for the salvation of sinners."

But he is at pains to point out that he is not suggesting that "in all such cases there need be the preaching of false doctrine which involves an open and direct denial of the evangelical truth." What is all too possible - and what is personally pertinent and searching - is that "there may be such a failure in the intelligent presentation of the gospel with the proper emphasis upon that which is primary and fundamental as to bring about a result almost equally deplorable as where the principles of the gospel are openly contradicted or denied. There can be a betrayal of the gospel of grace by silence." (my emphasis)

And so, he adds,

I sometimes feel as if what we need most is a sense of proportion in our presentation of the truth; a new sense of where the centre of gravity in the gospel lies; a return to the ideal of Paul who determined not to know anything among the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and him crucified. This does not mean that every sermon which we preach must necessarily be what is technically called an evangelistic sermon. There may be frequent occasions when to do that would be out of place and when a discourse on some ethical or apologetic or social topic is distinctly called for. But whatever topic you preach on and whatever text you choose, there ought not to be in your whole repertoire a single sermon in which from beginning to end you do not convey to your hearers the impression that what you want to impart to them, you do not think it possible to impart to them in any other way than as a correlate and consequence of the eternal salvation of their souls through the blood of Christ, because in your own conviction that alone is the remedy which you can honestly offer to a sinful world.

Grace and Glory, p.237f

Why the devotional may not be so much in evidence (Vos)

Are we sure that we feel with the frequency and intensity which our greater privileges demand the desire to meet with God? Or are we satisfied with that indirect relation to him which our service of him in his kingdom and our daily study of his Word leads us to sustain? I need not tell you that there is a tendency at the present day to make our religious life seek the surface, the periphery; to detach it more or less from its centre which lies in the direct face-to-face communion of the soul with God. The devotional is not so much in evidence as it has been another periods of the church's history... 

[One of the causes of this] lies in the stupendous multiplication of the out-going activities which the present practical age makes it incumbent upon every minister of the gospel to pursue. With all the centrifugal forces playing upon us, no wonder if sometimes the one centripetal force which ought to driver us to the heart of God for the cultivation of our own devotional life is less felt in our experience. And yet it is absolutely essential for us that we should not only have our seasons of communion with God, but that all the time we should carry with us into our outward and public work in some degree a living sense of our nearness to God and of his nearness to us, because in this way alone can we make our service in the Lord's Kingdom truly fruitful and spiritual. If the savour of this is wanting in our work, if we do not bring to the world when we come to it the unction and peace acquired in prayer, we cannot hope to impart any permanent blessing or to achieve any lasting results.

Geerhardus Vos, Grace and Glory, p.179f

Seeking God

It is certainly striking that these expressions of passionate desire to come into living fellowship with God are found in the Old Testament rather than in the New. Is it not possible that we, because we have the privilege of approaching God at all times without restrictions, are sometimes in danger of underestimating its value or even neglecting its exercise? Must not a David put us to shame when he cries in Psalm 63: 'O God, thou art my God, earnestly will I seek thee: my soul thirsts for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and weary land where no water is. Because thy loving-kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee'? If he longed like this for the less, how much more earnestly ought we to cultivate the greater?

Geerhardus Vos, Grace and Glory, p.173f

A rule of thumb for the new and the old (Leithart)

Paul's letter to the Galatians is an important text for reflecting on the continuities and discontinuities of redemptive history. On the one hand, Paul argues for a massive discontinuity between Israel and the church, insisting that the coming of Christ decisively undermines the division of Jew and Gentile (Gal. 2:11-16; 3:23-29). At the same time, Paul is at pains to show that this change is precisely in keeping with the purposes of God already expressed to Abraham (3:1-14), so that the "new thing" is inherently a very old thing, a thing older even than the law, which was added as a means for realising the Abrahamic promise (3:19). From Galatians, one might draw this rule of thumb: any "new thing" in the church that is not simultaneously the realisation of some "old thing" represents a false path.

Peter Leithart, 1&2 Kings (SCM Theological Commentary on the Bible), p.253

the poise and stability of the eternal

Commenting on the "peacefulness and serenity enveloping the figures of the patriarchs" (in the Genesis narratives), Geerhardus Vos reflects that,

There is something else here besides the idyllic charm of rural surroundings. What enviable freedom from the unrest, the impatience, the feverish excitement of the children of this world! Our modern Christian life so often lacks the poise and stability of the eternal. Religion has come so overmuch to occupy itself with the things of time that it catches the spirit of time. Its purposes turn fickle and unsteady; its methods become superficial and ephemeral; it alters its course so constantly; it borrows so readily from sources beneath itself, that it undermines its own prestige in matters pertaining to the eternal world. Where lies the remedy? It would be useless to seek it in withdrawal from the struggles of this present world. The true corrective lies in this, that we must learn again to carry a heaven-fed and heaven-centred spirit into our walk and work below.

Grace and Glory, p.118f

Not by the power of resistance, nor heroic resignation...

Whether the call was to believe or to follow, to do or to bear, the obedience to it sprang not from any earth-fed sources but from the infinite reservoir of strength stored up in the mountain-land above. If Moses endured it was not due to the power of resistance in his human frame, but because the weakness in him was compensated by the vision of him who is invisible. If Abraham, who had gladly received the promises, offered up his only-begotten son, it was not because in heroic resignation he steeled himself to obedience, but because through faith he saw God as greater and stronger than the most inexorable physical law of nature...Through faith the powers of the higher world were placed at the disposal of those whom this world threatened to overwhelm, and so the miracle resulted that from weakness they were made strong.

Geerhardus Vos, Grace and Glory, pp.106f

Lovingly work the field

One of the ways to recognise narcissism within ourselves is to notice when we have not yet accepted the field, the sphere of action, that God has given us—the opportunities and the limits of life in this body, this community, this set of relationships … this place where we have been called by God to serve. Narcissistic leaders are always looking longingly at someone else’s field as somehow more worthy or more indicative of success. They are always pushing the limits of their situation rather than lovingly working the field they have been given. … Our unwillingness to live within limits—both personally and in community—is one of the deepest sources of depletion and eventual burnout. That’s the bad news.

(Ruth Haley Barton, quoted in Disappearing Church by Mark Sayers, p.136)

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...[and] mind your own business..." 1 Thess. 4:11

Why couldn't we drive it out?

The disciples' problem...has been a loss of the sense of dependence on Jesus unique exousia which had undergirded their earlier exorcistic success. They have become blasé and thought of themselves as now the natural experts in such a case and they must learn that in spiritual conflict there is no such automatic power. Their public humiliation has been a necessary part of their re-education to the principles of the kingdom of God.

R T France, commenting on Mark 9:29 in The Gospel of Mark (NIGTC), p.370

How to avoid parodies of pastoral work

If pastoral work is removed from its ground it loses...the strength to grapple with the complexities inherent in the work. Separation, by ignorance or forgetfulness, from the biblical pastoral traditions is responsible for two parodies of pastoral work: one, the naive attempt to help people on our own, as best we can, out of the natural compassion and concern we have for them; and two, the insensitive harangues from the pulpit, where, safe from the unmanageable ambiguities of bedroom and kitchen, shopping mall and workshop, corporate boardroom and legislative caucus, we confidently declaim the pure word of God to our confused flock. The Bible has the power to prevent either parody, either the naive humanist absorption into the world or the pseudo-spiritual aloofness from the world. The Bible's paradigmatic interchanges of divine and human reality inform and renew pastoral capabilities so that the work can be practiced among the commonplaces of sin with no loss of the extraordinariness of grace. But if that is to be done, the idea of quick achievement and instant exploitation must be abandoned in order to develop, painstakingly, lives in Christ that are coherent and many-dimensioned.

Eugene H. Peterson, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, p.7

Wisdom in the Bible

It is important...to recognise that "wisdom"...finds its home above all else in the poetical books - among metaphors, wordplay and more imaginative literature. Wisdom is not primarily interested in relating a list of theological truths, an account of history or a picture of the future. Wisdom is about the ways of things - how they are meant to exist and work - and so we find it popping up all over the Bible.

Bartholomew and O'Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom Literature, p.23

An alert and loving confrontation

Writing about the poets and others who have influenced her, and of the 'inherited responsibility' of being formed by exposure to their work, Mary Oliver says this:

I go nowhere, I arrive nowhere, without them. With them I live my life, with them I enter the event, I mold the meditation, I keep if I can some essence of the hour, even as it slips away. And I do not accomplish this alert and loving confrontation by myself and alone, but through terrifying and continual effort, and with this immeasurable, fortifying company, bright as stars in the heaven of my mind.

(Upstream, p.57f, my emphasis)

It strikes me that what she says is comparable, for those in ministry, to the great theological minds and writers we are blessed to have at our fingertips. And so, daily, to this alert and loving confrontation, with terrifying and continual effort.

31:15

In your hands - all my times,
all my hopes, all my fears;
holding my days, cupping my tears.
All my times are in your hands.

In your hands - pierced and torn;
all my sin, all my shame,
carried to the cross, borne away, buried,
by your hands, your feet, your side,
your heart.

How to be a Poet (Berry)

Wendell Berry says he wrote this to remind himself. It strikes me that it could easily be re-titled How to be a Preacher...

How to be a Poet

i 

Make a place to sit down. 
Sit down. Be quiet. 
You must depend upon 
affection, reading, knowledge, 
skill—more of each 
than you have—inspiration, 
work, growing older, patience, 
for patience joins time 
to eternity. Any readers 
who like your poems, 
doubt their judgment. 

ii 

Breathe with unconditional breath 
the unconditioned air. 
Shun electric wire. 
Communicate slowly. Live 
a three-dimensioned life; 
stay away from screens. 
Stay away from anything 
that obscures the place it is in. 
There are no unsacred places; 
there are only sacred places 
and desecrated places. 

iii 

Accept what comes from silence. 
Make the best you can of it. 
Of the little words that come 
out of the silence, like prayers 
prayed back to the one who prays, 
make a poem that does not disturb 
the silence from which it came.

Living in the (ministry) bubble

In a recent interview (here), Keeley Hawes said she didn't think her time in the limelight would last. “These are only very brief moments in our lives,..I don’t live in the bubble..I live in a world with three children and paying the mortgage, worrying about the world, my family, my friends. That’s the real bubble, your life."

Does the call to pastoral ministry mean that you do have to live inside the bubble? And that you take with you, inside its fragile, rainbow-tinged film, your wife and family and, ultimately, everything you have and all that you are?

Is any attempt to somehow live outside the bubble that is church and ministry a betrayal of 'the call' and its significance? Or is it necessary to retaining perspective and a truer service of the living God?

I think that's a complex but necessary discussion that needs to be had.

Jeremiah 30 in John 1

Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them.  (Jer 30:21)

"...He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." (Jn 1:11)

I will bring him near and he will come close to me— for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the Lord. (Jer 30:21)

"...No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." (Jn 1:18)

Instructing the church

Sometimes it can be hard to get your head around what needs to be said, to be prayed for and encouraged in the life of the church, gathered and scattered.

Here's a list of the instructions found in Peter's first letter, to scattered and diverse congregations, undergoing severe trials at the hands of an unbelieving world:

Set your hope on future grace - 1:13
Do not conform to previous evil desires - 1:14
Be holy, as God is holy - 1:15
Live your life in reverent fear - 1:17
Love one another from the heart - 1:22
Get rid of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy & slander - 2:1
Crave pure spiritual milk - 2:2
Abstain from sinful desires - 2:11
Live good lives among the pagans - 2:12
Submit to human authorities - 2:13
Live as free people, but not as a cover for evil - 2:16
Respect everyone - 2:17
Love believers - 2:17
Fear God - 2:17
Honour the King - 2:17
Slaves submit to masters - 2:18
Suffering for doing good & enduring it without retaliation - 2:20ff
Wives submit to husbands - 3:1
Husbands be considerate to your wives - 3:7
Be like-minded, sympathetic, loving one another, compassionate and humble - 3:8
Don't repay evil with evil but with blessing - 3:9
In your hearts, revere Christ as Lord - 3:15
Be ready to answer respectfully everyone who asks about your hope - 3:15
Arm yourself with readiness to suffer like Christ - 4:1
Because the end is near, be sober and alert so you can pray - 4:7
Above all, love each other deeply - 4:8
Offer hospitality without grumbling - 4:9
Use your gifts to serve each other, humbly & faithfully - 4:10f
Don't be surprised at suffering but rejoice you share in Christ's sufferings - 4:12f
If you suffer as a Christian, praise God you bear that name - 4:16
In suffering, commit yourself to your faithful Creator & keep doing good - 4:19
Elders: shepherd God's flock, humbly & willingly, without exploiting others - 5:2f
Younger ones: submit to your elders - 5:5
All of you: clothe yourselves with humility - 5:5
Humble yourselves under God's hand - 5:6
Cast all your anxiety on him - 5:7
Be alert & sober-minded - 5:8
Resist the devil - 5:9
Stand fast in God's grace - 5:12
Greet one another with a kiss of love - 5:14

Makes you think, eh.

too many to declare

Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds
they would be too many to declare. (Psalm 40:5)

Jesus did many other things as well.
If every one of them were written down,
I suppose that even the whole world would not have room
for the books that would be written. (John 21:25)

Monday

An unploughed field, with clear blue skies overhead. And then you start digging and there are stones buried just below the surface; there are unexpected clots of clay to shift; and then the sun goes behind clouds that appeared as if from nowhere and a chill falls and the rains begin...Yep, it's Monday.

(Metaphorically-speaking of course...)

Shoreline

Two men along the
shore;
one broken; one whole,
having been broken,
to pieces,
set in stone,
then breaking into
day.
Two men

talking along the
shore
of being broken,
of being loved
into being

whole.
Whole in love,
whole in peace,
whole in being

held
and led
and situated
along a

shoreline
of peace.

Horatius Bonar on the Lord's Table

We sit here as at our eastern window to watch the first rays of coming day; to see star after star fading from the heavens as the dawn approaches, and the sun prepares to rise, “the sun of a morning without clouds,” bringing in the splendour of the everlasting day.

Christ is All: The Piety of Horatius Bonar