The Blog of Hobbes

Some time ago I stumbled across a great article by Randall Zachman, called “Believing Is Seeing: Proclamation and Manifestation in the Reformed Tradition” hosted at the Institute for Reformed Theology. Inevitably, there are some points where I would differ, but that doesn’t diminish the value of digesting this article. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the article:

The works of God we are to contemplate in the universe set forth what Calvin calls the ‘powers’ of God, such as wisdom, mercy, righteousness, and goodness. Since these powers are all good things, expressing in a visible way the invisible nature of God, our contemplation of them should lead to our feeling them within ourselves, and ultimately to our enjoyment of them. ‘For the Lord manifests himself by his powers, the force of which we feel within ourselves and the benefits of which we enjoy’ (Inst. I.v.9). In light of the self-manifestation of God in God’s works, Calvin can say that ‘the most perfect way of seeking God, and the most suitable order, is . . . for us to contemplate him in his works whereby he renders himself near and familiar to us, and in some manner communicates himself’ (Inst. I.v.9). If the understanding of faith related to proclamation emphasizes hearing, reading, and applying the true doctrine drawn from Scripture, the understanding of the knowledge of God related to manifestation emphasizes seeing, contemplating, feeling, and enjoying the powers of God portrayed before our eyes, in the realization that by such means God gently invites and sweetly attracts us to Godself.

The manifestation of God in the universe needs the proclamation of the Word to be fruitful, and the proclamation of Christ crucified needs the manifestation of the glory of Christ to be fruitful. Both manifestation and proclamation lead us to the true knowledge of God, both in creation and in Christ. The loss of manifestation and contemplation in our understanding of the Reformed tradition today has deprived us of an essential element of the knowledge of God according to Calvin and those who followed him, and has led to an unfortunate impoverishment of the life of piety, the experience of worship, and our relationship with the natural world. In what follows, I will show how the self-manifestation of God in the universe is made fruitful by the teaching of God in the Word, and how the proclamation of Christ crucified is made fruitful by the manifestation of God in Christ, who is ‘God manifested in the flesh’ (1 Tim. 3:16).

I am very happy with the simple role of blowing the boredom out of people’s brains with long-forgotten, old-fashioned, faithful blasts of biblical truth.

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1278_John_Piper_Is_Not_an_Innovator/

Machen, speaking about choosing a pastor:

Such and such a man, it is said, is a brilliant preacher. But what is the content of his preaching? Is his preaching full of the gospel of Christ? The answer is often evasive. The preacher in question, it is said, is of good standing in the Church, and he has never denied the doctrines of grace. Therefore, it is urged, he should be called to the pastorate. But shall we be satisfied with such negative assurances? Shall we be satisfied with the preachers who merely “do not deny” the Cross of Christ? God grant that such satisfaction may be broken down! The people are perishing under the ministrations of those who “do not deny” the Cross of Christ. Surely something more than that is needed. God send us ministers who, instead of merely avoiding denial of the Cross shall be on fire with the Cross, whose whole life shall be one burning sacrifice of gratitude to the blessed Saviour who loved them and gave Himself for them!

J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism (Eerdmans, 1923), p176.

One of the lessons I have learned while seeking a new church is the importance of examining the theological foundations that underlie its life and practice. Towards this end, it is essential that we consider the “statement of faith” that should contain explicit statements either affirming or denying certain theological propositions, and which all members should affirm and protect.

Without a commitment to such a statement, the church will be exposed to all sorts of theological nonsense, and will have no basis for disciplining those who hold to false and heretical beliefs. And, as Machen says, merely “not denying” a key doctrine provides no assurance that that truth plays any role in the life and practice of the church. Therefore, such assurances are worthless.

I would be very concerned if I were forced to guess or infer the theological foundations of a particular church due to a lack of doctrinal clarity and commitment.

The responsibility of communicating God’s truth does not rest upon the preacher or teacher alone. Those who refuse to listen and respond in faith to faithful preaching and teaching will be held accountable - not the faithful preacher. Recently I re-read the following exhortation in an edition of John Owen’s “The Glory of Christ”, which expresses the need and nature of our response to God’s Word:

“The loss of a spiritual appetite to the food of our souls is an evidence of a decay in all these graces. Spiritual appetite consists in earnest desires, and a savoury relish; so it is described by the apostle, ‘As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious’ (1 Pet. 2:2-3). There is required to this spiritual appetite an earnest desire of the Word, grounded on an experience of the grace of God in it, to this end, that we may grow and thrive spiritually thereby. And this appetite will give us as just a measure of the state of grace in us as a natural appetite to wholesome food, with due digestion upon that, does give of a good state of health in the body.

This, therefore, we are to inquire into. Does it abide in us as formerly? We hear the Word preached as much as ever; but do we do it with the same desire and spiritual relish as before? Some hear to satisfy their convictions, some to please their fancies, and some to judge of the persons by whom it is dispensed. It is but in few that the necessary preparations for the due receiving of it is found.

‘The full soul loathes an honey-comb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’ (Prov. 27:7). Men being grown full of themselves, and of a good conceit of their own abilities, have lost their spiritual appetite to the Word of God; and this makes the Word lose its power and efficacy towards them. That Word, which the Psalmist says is ’sweeter than honey, or the honey-comb’ (Ps. 19:10), has little or no taste or relish in it to them. If they were hungry, they would find a sweetness in the bitterest of its reproofs, beyond what they can now find in the sweetest of its promises. They come to hear the Word with sick desires, and low expectations, as if they were invited to eat after a feast, being self-full before. But this loss of a spiritual appetite is an evidence of the decay of all other graces whatever.” (John Owen, The Glory of Christ, p269-70, Christian Focus Publications, 2004).

Oh, how true this is! How I wish someone would write a book on “annointed listening”, rather than publish another book annointed preaching! Jeremiah’s prophetic preaching was infallibly true and annointed, yet the people did not have ears to hear. This is true of Ezekiel as well. The writer of the Hebrews wrote:

“For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” (Heb. 4:2, ESV)

God has a passionate desire for godly, faithful and powerful preachers of his Word. But, he also desires godly, faithful and powerful listeners who respond to his Word with heart-felt joy. Both are a product of the sovereign grace of God, so we cannot advocate some of the man-made techniques designed to provoke “responses”. Only the “methods” found in Scripture are required: both faith-full preaching and faith-full listening.

Hunger pain is a blessing, so long as food is available. To not feel hunger is to die. It is tragic, therefore, to meet so many who are apparently unacquainted with a hunger for God. They do not realise that their soul is starving to death. Nor do they realise that “doing church” is not the food they need - it is simply the “utensil” that God uses to feed us with himself. John Piper eloquently expresses the need for preachers in this feeding process:

Christian preachers, more than all others, should know this truth - that people are starving for God. If anyone in all the world should be able to say, ‘I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory,’ it is the herald of God. And as we look out over the wasteland of our secular culture, must we preachers not ask, Who but us will say to this people, ‘Behold your God!’? Who will tell the people that God is great and greatly to be praised? Who will paint for them the landscape of God’s grandeur? Who will remind them with tales of wonder that God has triumphed over every foe? Who will cry out above every crisis, ‘Your God reigns!’? Who will labor to find words that can carry the ‘gospel of the glory of the blessed God’?

If God is not supreme in our preaching, where in this world will the people hear about the supremacy of God? If we do not spread a banquet of God’s beauty on Sunday morning, will not our people seek in vain to satisfy their inconsolable longing with the cotton candy pleasures of pastimes and religious hype? If the fountain of living water does not flow from the morning of God’s sovereign grace on Sunday morning, will not the people hew for themselves cisterns on Monday, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13)?

John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p107-9.