Abandon the Soul-Murdering Way

This week I’ve been reading Thomas Boston’s classic, The Art of Man-Fishing. 

Boston was a Scottish Puritan in the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries. The book is basically his own meditations and personal exhortations to himself (he often addresses himself as, “O my soul”) on ministry. Particularly, Boston was concerned that he, as a preacher, would not forget our charge to be consistently preaching the Gospel even in our Sunday morning sermons. Boston understood that the Sunday gathering is not an evangelistic rally, but rather a time for the worship of God by the assembly of the redeemed and the edification of the saints for the work of the ministry. Nevertheless, he saw it as the preacher’s responsibility to not assume that all who come to church are already saved, and so he preached repentance from sin and faith in Christ every chance he had.

 

In Part Two of the book, Boston delineates the ways in which we are to “follow Christ” if we are to become “fishers of men” (Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17).  In one section that was particularly poignant for me, Boston insists on ministers aiming at God’s glory and not our own. Now of course we all know that, but we all ought also know that we need to keep a constant watch over our hearts so that we might not be foolishly lifted up by pride. Boston’s words were helpful to me, and I’d like to share that benefit with you. And though it’s primarily aimed at those in a regular preaching ministry, it has application to all Christians who are obediently involved in the ministry to the saints.    Continue at Mike Riccardi

"Don't Give me Doctrine, I Just Want to Follow Jesus"

When someone says, "Don't give me doctrine, I just want to follow Jesus", what they are really saying is "give me law, not gospel. Give me more imperatives and less indicatives. I just want something practical." But how is this any different than Mormons or theological liberals? Fact is, we need a Savior, not just a moral example.

You could not have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ without knowing its contents. You did not just follow a generic Jesus. To be saved you understood that you had no self righteousness of your own and you trusted in Christ's finished work... which included His living the life you should have lived and dying the death you deserved. This is doctrine. The idea of simply "following Jesus" is requiring more demands of the law because you are looking for Jesus to tell you something you can do. But you need the gospel, not merely law, to be saved or to grow in grace. Indeed following Jesus springs out of a renewed heart. As Christians we only follow Jesus when we know Who we are following and as such we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily.

The Spirit first first brings an elect soul face to face with God’s holy Law, for “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). It condemns and curses him because it demands perfect obedience in thought, word, and deed. Next, the Spirit brings before the soul the precious Gospel where the law's demands are perfectly met by Jesus Christ. The Spirit so works in his heart that He appears to him to be the most glorious object in the world; and so rests entirely upon His finished work.     Keep Reading...

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Intellectual Discipleship — Following Christ with Our Minds

The biblical master narrative serves as a framework for the cognitive principles that allow the formation of an authentically Christian worldview. Many Christians rush to develop what they will call a “Christian worldview” by arranging isolated Christian truths, doctrines, and convictions in order to create formulas for Christian thinking. No doubt, this is a better approach than is found among so many believers who have very little concern for Christian thinking at all, but it is not enough. 

 

A robust and rich model of Christian thinking—the quality of thinking that culminates in a God-centered worldview—requires that we see all truth as interconnected. Ultimately, the systematic wholeness of truth can be traced to the fact that God is himself the author of all truth. Christianity is not a set of doctrines in the sense that a mechanic operates with a set of tools. Instead, Christianity is a comprehensive worldview and way of life that grows out of Christian reflection on the Bible and the unfolding plan of God revealed in the unity of the Scriptures. Continue Reading>>>