Thomas Brooks “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Remedies”

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Rod Culbertson

PRIORITY:

Beloved in our dearest Lord, Christ: the Scripture, your own hearts, and Satan’s devices, are the four prime things that should be first and most studied and searched.  If any cast off the study of these, they cannot be safe here, nor happy hereafter.  It is my work as a Christian, but much more as I am a Watchman, to do my best do discover the fullness of Christ, the emptiness of the creature, and the snares of the great deceiver. – 15

SATAN’S TACTICS:

Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the devil will help forward. – 16

He hath several devices to destroy the great and honourable, the wise and learned, the blind and ignorant, the rich and the poor, the real and the nominal saints. One while he will restrain from tempting, that we may think ourselves secure, and neglect our watch; another while he will seem to fly, that he may make us proud of the victory; one while he will fix men’s eyes on others’ sins that their own, that he may puff them up; another while he may fix their eyes more on others’ grace than their own, that he may overwhelm them.  – 16-17

PERSPECTIVE IN THE BATTLE

…remember this, that your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure; therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and he shall make amends for all.  – 20

ON MEDITATION AND USEFULNESS 

First, Thou must know that every man cannot be excellent, that yet may be useful.  An iron key may unlock the door of a golden treasure, yea, iron can do some things that gold cannot.  Secondly, Remember, it is not hasty reading, but serious meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that make them prove sweet and profitable to the soul.  It is not the bee’s touching of the flower that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon the flower that draws out the sweet.  It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian.   – 22

ON CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY

God loves, saith Luther, curistas, not queristas, the runner, not the questioner – 22

EXPERIENCING GRACE BRINGS GRIEF FOR THE GRACELESS

Gracious souls use to mourn for other men’s sins as well as their own, and for their souls and sins who make a mock of sin, and a jest of damning their own souls. Guilt or grief is all that gracious souls get by communion with vain souls (Ps. 119. 136, 158). – 25

THE JOY OF MOURNING OVER ONE’S SIN

It was a sweet saying of Jerome, ‘Let a man grieve for his sin, and then joy for his grief. -25

BERNARD ON TEMPORAL HAPPINESS AND ITS PERIL

Men had need pray with Bernard, “Grant us, Lord, that we may so partake of temporal felicity, that we may not lose eternal.”  – 30

RELATIONSHIP TO THE DEVIL

“Men must not think to dance and dine with the devil, and then sup with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” – 32

THE MAGNITUDE OF CHRIST’S PAYMENT OF SINS, SINS THAT SATAN PAINTS AS REASONABLE TO COMMIT

Remedy (4).  Seriously to consider, That even those very sins that Satan paints, and puts new names and colours upon, cost the best blood, the noblest blood, the life-blood, the heart-blood of the Lord Jesus.  That Christ should come from the eternal bosom of his Father to a region of sorrow and death; that God should be manifested in the flesh, the Creator made a creature; that he that was clothed with glory should be wrapped with rags of flesh; he that filled heaven and earth with his glory should be cradled in a manger; that the power of God should fly from weak man, the God of Israel into Egypt; that the God of the law should be subject to the law, the God of circumcision circumcised, the God that made the heavens working at Joseph’s homely trade; that he that binds the devils in chains should be tempted; that he, whose is the world, and the fullness thereof, should hunger and thirst; that the God of strength should be weary, the judge of all flesh condemned, the God of life put to death; that he that is one with his Father should cry out of misery, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27.46); that he that had the keys of hell and death at his girdle should lie imprisoned in the sepulchre of another, having in his lifetime nowhere to lay his head, nor after death to lay his body; that that head, before which the angels do cast down their crowns, should be crowned with thorns, and those eyes, purer than the sun, put out by the darkness of death; those ears, which hear nothing but hellelujahs of saints and angels, to hear the blasphemies of the multitude; that face, that was fairer than the sons of men, to be spit on by those beastly wretched Jews; that mouth and tongue, that spake as never man spake, accused for blaspheme; those hands, that feely swayed the scepter of heaven, nailed to the cross; those feeT, ‘like unto fine brass,’ nailed to the cross for man’s sins; each sense annoyed: his feeling or touching, with a spear and nails; his smell, with stinking flavor, being crucified about Golgotha, the place of skulls; his taste, with vinegar and gall; his hearing, with reproaches, and sight of his mother and disciples bemoaning him; his soul, comfortless and forsaken; and all this for those very sins that Satan paints and puts fine colours upon!  Oh!  How should the consideration of this stir up the soul against it, and work the soul to fly from it, and to use all holy means whereby sin may be subdued and destroyed!  -36- 37

‘Never let go out of your minds the thoughts of a crucified Christ.’ – 38

It is an excellent saying of Bernard , “Quanto pro nobis vilior, tanot nobis charior.  The more vile Christ made himself for us, the more dear he ought to be to us.”  – 38

THE REALITY OF OUR SIN, IF WE SEE IT AS IT IS

The least sin will press and sink the stoutest sinner as low as hell, when God shall open the eyes of a sinner, and make him see the horrid filthiness and abominable vileness that is in sin.  – 44

…others, that have had some unworthy thought of God, have been so frightened, amazed, and terrified for those sins, which are small in men’s account, that they have wished they had never been; that they could not take no delight in any earthly comfort, that they have been put to their wits’ end, ready to make away themselves, wishing themselves annihilated.  – 44

BELIEVERS’ NEW RELATIONSHIP TO SIN: GRACE DOES NOT LEAD TO SIN AND INCLUDES REPENTANCE

The saints cannot sin with a whole will, but, as it were, with a half will, an unwillingness; not with a full consent, but with a dissenting consent.  – 47

There is a nothing in the world that can so notoriously cross the grand end of God’s recording of the sins of his saints, than for any from thence to take encouragement to sin; and wherever you find such a soul, you may write him Christless, graceless, a soul cast off by God, a soul that Satan hath by the hand, and the eternal God knows whither he will lead him. – 49-50

Do anything with me, lay what burden thou wilt upon me, so thou dost not give me up to the ways of my own heart. -51

A me, me salva Domine; Deliver me, O Lord, from that evil man myself (Augustine). – 51

Rom 6.1,2:  There is nothing in the world that renders a man more unlike to a saint, and more like to Satan, than to argue from mercy to sinful liberty; from divine goodness to licentiousness.  This is the devil’s logic, and in whomsoever you find it, you may write ‘This soul is lost.’  – 55

The heart must be changed from the state and power of sin, the life from the acts of sin, but both unto God; the heart to be under his power in a state of grace, the life to be under his rule in all new obedience. – 57

Repentance for sin is nothing worth without repentance from sin.  – 57

…repentance doth include turning form the most darling sin.  – 58

He that turns not from every sin, turns not aright from any one sin.  – 58

…repentance is not only a turning from all sin, but also turning to all good; to a love of all good, to a prizing of all good, and to a following after all good. – 58

…true repentance doth include sorrow for sin, contrition of heart.  It breaks the heart with sighs, and sobs, and groans, for that a loving God and Father is by sin offended, a blessed Saviour afresh crucified, and the sweet Comforter, the Spirit, grieved and vexed.

…Repentance doth include, not only a loathing of sin, but also a loathing of ourselves for sin. – 59

Joseph was famous for all the four cardinal virtues, if ever any were.  In this one temptation (Potiphor’s wife) you may see his fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence….    – 68

This is wickedness at the height, for a man to be very bad, because God is very good.  A worse spirit than this is not in hell.

To render good for evil is divine, to render good for good is human, to render evil for evil is brutish; but to render evil for good is devilish; and form this evil deliver my soul, O God.

Woe, woe to that soul that God will not spend a rod upon!  This is the saddest stroke of all, when God refused to strike it all.

Freedom from punishment is the mother of security, the step-mother of virtue, the poison of religion, the moth of holiness, and the introducer of wickedness.

THE PERILS OF PROSPERITY

Prosperity hath been a stumbling-block, at which millions have stumbled and fallen, and broke the neck of their souls forever. – 73

Religion brought forth riches, and the daughter soon devoured the mother, said Augustine.  -73

It was a good speech of an emperor: ‘You, said he, ‘gaze on my purple robe and golden crown, but did you know what cares are under it, you would not take it up from the ground to have it. – 75

PRAYER FOR “LOW-NESS”

O Lord, I humbly crave that thou wilt let me be little in this world, that I may be great in another world; and low here, that I may be high for ever hereafter.  Let me be low, and feed low, and live low, so I may live with thee for ever; let me now be clothed with rags, so thou wilt clothe me at last with thy robes; let me now be set upon a dunghill, so I may at last be advanced to sit with thee upon thy throne.  Lord, make me rather gracious than great, inwardly holy than outwardly happy, and rather turn me into my first nothing, yeah, make me worse than nothing, rather than set me up for a time, that thou mayest  bring me low for ever. – 77

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Men’s actions are all in print in heaven, and God will, in the day of account, read them aloud in the ears of all the world, that they may all say Amen to that righteous sentence that he shall pass upon all despisers and abusers of mercy. – 79

Jerome still thought that voice was in his ears.  “Arise ye dead, and come to judgment.’ As oft as I think on that day, how doth my whole body quake, and my heart within me tremble.  -79

As in heaven one is more glorious than another, so in hell one shall be more miserable another (Augustine) – 90

It was a good saying of Chrysostom, speaking of helL: Let us not seek where it is, but how we shall escape it.  – 91

SUFFERING

The more saints are beaten with the hammer of afflictions, the more they are made the trumpets of God’s praises, and the more are their graces revived and quickened. – 84

When Athanasius’s friends came to bewail him, because of his misery and banishment, he said, “It is but a little cloud, and will quickly be gone.’  It will be but as a day before God will give his afflicted ones beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness for the spirit of heaviness; before he will turn all your sighing into singing, all your lamentations into consolations, your sack-cloth into silks, ashes into ointments, and your fasts into everlasting feasts. -85

GODLY DISCIPLINE

God had one Son without corruption, but no son without correction. – 86

PRAYER ABOUT HELL

O Lord, let me not go to hell, where the wicked are: for Lord, thou knowest I never loved their company here, said a gracious gentlewoman, when she was to die, being in much trouble of conscience. – 101

VANITY

Chrysostom once said, That if he were the fittest in the world to preach a sermon to the whole world, gathered together in one congregation, and had some high mountain for his pulpit, from whence he might have a prospect of all the world in his view, and were furnished with a voice of brass, a voice as loud as the trumpets of the archangel, that all the world might hear him, he would choose to preach upon no other text than that in the Psalms, O mortal men, how long will yet love vanity, and follow after learning (Ps. 4.2) – 104

NO VIEW OF ETERNITY AND HEAVEN

King Henry the Fourth (of France) asked the Duke of Alva if he had observed the great eclipse of the sun, which had lately happened.  No, said the duke, I have so much to do on earth, that I have no leisure to look up to heaven.  Ah, that this were not true of most professors in these days!  It is very sad to think, how their hearts and time is so much taken up with earthly things, that they have scarce any leisure to look up to heaven, or to look after Christ, and the things that belong to their everlasting peace.  – 107

TREASURES OF THE BELIEVER

The treasures of the saint are the presence of God, the favour of God, union and communion with God, the pardon of sin, the joy of the Spirit, the peace of conscience, which are jewels that none can give but Christ, nor none can take away but Christ. – 113

WHEN GOD SENDS TROUBLES, HE SAVES FROM TROUBLES

That God knows how to deliver from troubles by troubles, from afflictions by afflictions, from dangers by dangers.  God, by lesser troubles and afflictions, doth often-times deliver his people from greater, so that they shall say, We had perished, if we had not perished; we had been undone, if we had not been undone; we had been in danger, if we had not been in danger.  – 115

Though the cross be bitter, yet it is but short; a little storm, as one said of Julian’s persecution, and eternal calm follows. – 117

THE NEED FOR MEETING WITH GOD

If meeting with God, who is goodness itself, beauty itself, strength itself, glory itself, will not sweeten his service to thy soul, nothing in heaven or earth will. -118

PERSECUTION OF THE SAINTS

It is not fit, since the Head was crowned with thorns, that the members should be crowned with rosebuds, saith Zanchius – 119

Though the work be hard, yet the wages is great.  Heaven will make amends for all.  Ay, one hour’s being in heaven will abundantly recompense you for cleaving to the Lord and his ways in the face of all difficulties. – 121

Godfrey of Bullen, Crusader King of Jerusalem (1099), refused to be crowned with a  crown of gold, saying, it became not a Christian there to wear a crown of gold, where Christ for our salvation had sometime worn a crown of thorns.  – 120

Christians that would hold on in the service of the Lord, must look more upon the crown than upon the cross, more upon their future glory that their present misery, more upon their encouragements than upon their discouragements. – 121

HAPPINESS IN CHRIST’S WORK BRINGS HOLINESS

Device 4 – By working them to make false inferences from those blessed and glorious things that Christ hath done. As that Jesus Christ hath done all for us, therefore there is nothing for us to do but joy and rejoice.  He hath perfectly justified us, and fulfilled the law, and satisfied divine justice, and pacified his Father’s wrath, and is gone to heaven to prepare a place for us, and in the mean time to intercede for us; and therefore away with praying, and mourning, and hearing.  Ah!  What a world of professors hath Satan drawn in these days from religious services, by working them to make such sad, wild, and strange inferences from the sweet and excellent things that the Lord Jesus hath done for his beloved ones. – 122

This I am sure of that all man’s happiness here is his holiness, and his holiness shall hereafter be his happiness.  -124

Certainly Satan hath got the upper hand of those souls that do argue thus – Christ hath done such and such glorious things for us, therefore we need not make any care and conscience of doing such and such religions services as men say the Word calls for.  If this logic be not from hell, what is?  Ah, were the holy prophets and apostles alive to hear such logic come out of the mouths of such as profess themselves to be interested in the great and glorious things that Jesus Christ hath done for his chosen ones, how would they blush to look upon such souls!  And how would their hearts grieve and break within them to hear the language and to observe the actings of such souls!  – 125

He that talks, but doeth not the will of God, is like him that gazed upon the moon, but fell into the pit.  – 125

WALKING WITH “THE CROWD”

They that walk with the most shall perish with the most.  They that do as the most shall ere long suffer with the most.  They that live as the most, must die with the most, and to hell with the most.  – 133

The way to hell is broad and well beaten.  The way to be undone for ever is to do as the most do.  The multitude is the weakest and worst argument, saith Seneca.  – 133

Satan doth so dog and follow my soul, and is still a-casting in such a multitude of vain thoughts concerning God, the world, and my own soul, that I even tremble to think of waiting upon God in any religious service.  Oh!  The vain thoughts that Satan casts in do so distaste my soul, and so grieve, vex, perplex, and distract my soul, that they even make me weary of holy duties, yea, of my very life.  Oh!  I cannot be so raised and ravished, so heated and melted, so quickened and enlarged, so comforted and refreshed, as I should be, as I might, and as I would be in religious services, by reason that multitude of vain thoughts, that Satan is injecting or casting into my soul.

OVERCOME THOUGHTS OF DISCOURAGEMENT BY THOUGHTS OF GOD’S GREATNESS

Remedy (1) – the first remedy against this device of Satan is, To have your hearts strongly affected with the greatness, holiness, majesty, and glory of that God before whom you stand, and with whom your souls do converse in religious services, and with whom your souls do converse in religious services.  Oh!  Let your souls be greatly affected with the presence, purity, and majesty of that God before whom thou standest.  A man would be afraid of playing with a feather, when he is speaking with a king.

…There is nothing that will contribute so much to the keeping out of vain thoughts, as to look upon God as an omniscient God, and omnipresent God, an omnipotent God, a God full of all glorious perfections, a God whose majesty, purity, and glory will not suffer him to behold the least iniquity. – 135

SERVING GOD WHEN DOUBTING

Remedy (2) – To be peremptory in religious services, notwithstanding all those wandering thoughts the soul is troubled with.  This will be a sweet help against them: for the soul to be resolute in waiting on God, whether it be troubled with vain thoughts or not; to say, Well I will pray still, and hear still, and meditate still, and keep fellowship with the saints still. – 136

Remedy (3) – That those vain and trifling thoughts that are cast into our souls, when we are waiting upon God in this or that religious service, if they be not cherished and indulged, but abhorred, resisted, and disclaimed, they are not sins upon our souls, though they may be troubles to our minds; they shall not be put upon our accounts, not keep mercies and blessings from being enjoyed by us.  When a soul in uprightness can look God in the face, and say, Lord, when I approach near unto thee, there be a world of vain thoughts crowd in upon me, that do disturb my soul, and weaken my faith, and lessen my comfort and spiritual strength.  Oh, these are my clog, my burden, my torment, my hell!  Oh, do justice upon thee, free me from these, that I may serve thee with more freeness, singleness, spiritualness, and sweetness of spirit.  These thoughts may vex that soul, but they shall not harm that soul, nor keep a blessing from that soul.  If vain thoughts resisted and lamented could stop the current of mercy, and render a soul unhappy, there would be none on earth that should ever taste of mercy, or be everlasting happy.  – 136-137

THE THOUGHT LIFE

Thoughts are first-born, the blossoms of the soul, the beginning of our strength, whether for good or evil, and they are the greatest evidences for or against a man that can be.  – 137

The several devices that Satan hath to keep souls in a sad, doubting, questioning, and uncomfortable condition. Though he can never rob a believer of his crown, yet such is his malice and envy, that he will leave no stone unturned, no means unattempted, to rob them of their comfort and peace, to make their life a burden and a hell unto them, to cause them to spend their days in sorrow and mourning, in sighing and complaining, in doubting and questioning.  Surely we have no interest in Christ; our graces are not true, our hopes are the hopes of hypocrites; our confidence is our presumption, our enjoyments are our delusions.  – 142

 THE BELIEVER IS NOT CONDEMNED

The law cannot condemn a believer, for Christ hath fulfilled it for him; divine justice cannot condemn him, for that Christ hath satisfied; his sins cannot condemn him, for they in the blood of Christ are pardoned; and his own conscience, upon righteous grounds, cannot condemn him, because Christ, that is greater than his conscience, hat acquitted him.  – 143

SIN HAS NO DOMINION OVER THE BELIEVER

Thou sayest that sin doth so molest and vex thee, that thou canst not think of God, nor go to God, nor speak with God.  Oh!  But remember it is one thing for sin to molest and vex thee, and another thing for sin to reign and have dominion over thee.  – 143

GOD USES OUR SINFUL WEAKNESS FOR HIS OWN PURPOSES

Of the reasons why the Lord is pleased to have his people exercised, troubled, and vexed with the operations of sinful corruptions; and they are these: partly to keep them humble and low in their own eyes; and partly to put them upon the use of all divine helps, whereby sin may be subdued and mortified; and partly, that they may live upon Christ for the perfecting the work of sanctification; and partly, to wean them from things below, and to make them heartsick of their absence from Christ, and to maintain in them bowels of compassion towards others that are subject to the same infirmities with them; and that they may distinguish between a state of grace and a state of glory, and that heave may be more sweet to them in the close.  – 147

AUGUSTINE ON HUMILITY

Augustine saith, that the first, second, and third virtue of a Christian is humility. -146

REPENT OF YOUR DISCOURAGEMENT OVER YOUR SIN

That believers must repent for their being discouraged by their sins.  Their being discouraged by their sins will cost them many a prayer, many a tear, and many a groan; and that because their discouragements under sin flow from ignorance and unbelief.  It springs form their ignorance of the richness, freeness, fullness, and everlastingness of God’s love; and from their ignorance of the power, glory, sufficiency, and efficacy of the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ; and from their ignorance of the worth, glory, fullness, largeness, completeness of the righteousness of Jesus Christ; and from their ignorance of that real, close, spiritual, glorious, and inseperable union that is between Christ and their precious souls.  Ah!  Did precious souls know and believer the truth of these things as they should, they would not sit down dejected and overwhelmed under the sense and operation of sin. – 147

God never gave a believer a new heart that it should always lie a-bleeding, and that it should always be rent and torn in pieces with discouragements.  – 147

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION ISN’T EVERYTHING

That there may be true faith, yea, great measures of faith, where there is no assurance.-149

There may be true faith where there is much doubting. – 150

Though assurance be a precious flower in the garden of a saint, and is more infinitely sweet and delightful to the soul than all outward comforts and contents; yet it is but a flower that is subject to fade, and to lose it freshness and beauty, as saints by sad experienced find. Again, a man must first have faith before he can have assurance, therefore assurance is not faith. – 151

The difference betwixt renewing grace and restraining grace, betwixt sanctifying and temporary grace:

(1) True grace makes all glorious within and without; True grace makes the understanding glorious, the affections glorious.It makes men look gloriously, and speak gloriously, and walk and act gloriously, so that vain souls shall be forced to say that these are they that h ave seen Jesus. – 155 True grace changes the very nature of a man…so temporary graces restrain many men from this and that wickedness, but it doth not change and turn their hearts from wickedness.  But now true grace, that turns a lion into a lamb. The objects of true grace are supernatural.  True grace is conversant about the choicest and the highest objects. – 156

(2) The objects of temporary grace are low and poor, and always within the compass of reason’s reach. – 156

(3) True grace enables a Christian, when he is himself, to do spiritual actions with real pleasure and delight.  To souls truly gracious, Christ’s yoke is easy, and his burden is light. -156 To souls that have but temporary grace, but moral virtues, religious services are a toil, not a pleasure; a burden, and not a delight. – 157

(4) True grace makes a man most careful, and most fearful of his own heart. …temporary grace, moral virtues, make men more mindful and careful of other, to instruct them and counsel them, and stir up them, and watch over them. But temporary grace will not bear up the soul against all oppositions and discouragments in the ways of God, as is clear by their apostasy in John 6:6, 66, and by the stony ground hearers falling away. – 157

(5) Grace will work a man’s heart to love and cleave to the strictest and holiest ways and things of God, for their purity and sanctify, in the face of all dangers and hardships. – 157

(6) True grace will enable a man to step over the world’s crown, to take up Christ’s cross; to prefer the cross of Christ above the glory of this world. Temporary grace cannot work the soul to prefer Christ’s cross above the world’s crown; but when these two meet, a temporary Christian steps over Christ’s cross to take up, and keep up, the world’s crown.-158

(7) Sanctifying grace…doth constrain the soul to wait on God, and to act for God. – 158 The good looks, the good words, the blessed love-letters, the glorious kisses, and the sweet embraces that gracious souls have had form Christ in his service, do provoke and move them to wait upon him in holy duties…temporary grace, puts men upon religious duties only from external motives, as the care of the creature, the eye of the creature, the rewards of the creature, and the keeping up of the name among the creatures, and a thousand such like considerations… – 159

(8) Saving grace, renewing grace will cause a man to follow the Lord fully in the desertion of all sin, and in the observation of all God’s precepts. …restraining grace, temporary grace, cannot enable a man to follow the Lord fully. – 159  True grace works the heart to the hatred of all sin, and to the love of all truth; it works a man to the hatred of those sins that for his blood he cannot conquer, and to loathe those sins that he would give all the world to overcome…Though there be no one sin mortified and subdued in me, as it should, and as I would, yet every sin is hated and loathed by me. – 160

It is an excellent speech of Bernard; Good art thou, O Lord, to the soul that seek thee, what art thou then to the soul that finds thee? – 159

THIS IS SOME QUOTE!

“I had rather go to hell pure from sin, than to heaven polluted with that filth.” Anselm.  (159)

GOD’S COMMANDS

I dearly prize and greatly love those commands that I cannot obey; though there may be many commands that I cannot in a strict sense fulfill, yet there is no command I would not fulfill, that I do not exceedingly love. – 160

True grace leads the soul to rest in Christ, as in his sumum bonum, chiefest good. – 160

(9) True grace is a beam of Christ, and where it is, it will naturally lead the soul to rest in Christ.  …restraining grace, temporary grace, works the soul to centre and rest in things below Christ. – 160

CHRIST, ALL THAT I NEED

(10) True grace will enable a soul to sit down satisfied and contented with the naked enjoyments of Christ. – 160  It is enough that Christ is, that he reigns, conquers, and triumphs. Temporary grace…cannot sit down satisfied and contented, under the want of outward comforts. But a soul truly gracious can say: In having nothing I have all things, because I have Christ; having therefore all things in him, I seek no other reward, for he is the universal reward. – 161 I prize my Christ above all, I would enjoy my Christ above all other things in the world; – 162 We have all things in Christ, and Christ is all things to a Christian.  If we be sick, he is a physician; if we thirst, he is a fountain; if our sin trouble us, he is righteousness; if we stand in need of help, he is mighty to save; if we fear death, he is life; if we be in darkness, he is light; if we be weak, he is strength; if we be in poverty, he is plenty; if we desire heaven, he is the way.  The soul cannot say, this I would have, and that I would have; but saith Christ, it is in me, it is in me eminently, perfectly, eternally. – 162

Luther said, he had rather be in hell with Christ, than in heaven without him. – 162

It was good saying of Augustine, Domine, libera me a malo homine, me ipso, Lord, deliver me from an evil man, myself. – 162

The conflict that is in a saint, against sin, is maintained by several arguments: by arguments drawn from the love of God, the honour of God, the sweetness and communion with God, and from the spiritual and heavenly blessings and privileges that are conferred upon them by God, and from arguments drawn from the blood of Christ, the glory of Christ, the eye of Christ, the kisses of Christ, and the intercession of Christ, and from arguments drawn from the earnest of the Spirit, the seal of the Spirit, the witness of the Spirit, the comforts of the Spirit.  Oh!  – 164

When one objected to Faninus’s cheerfulness to Christ’s agony and sadness, he answered, Christ was sad, that I might be merry; he had my sins, and I have this righteousness. – 164

SATAN ATTACKS US WHEN WE SIN

By suggesting to the soul his often relapses into the same sin…

Saith Satan, Thy heart is not right with God; surely thy estate is not good; thou dost not flatter thyself to think that ever God will eternally own and embrace such a one as thou art, who complainest against sin, and yet relapsest into the same sin; who with tears and groans confesses thy sin, and yet ever and anon art fallen into the same sin. ….Ah! How do relapses lay men open to the greatest afflictions and worst temptations!  How do they make the wound to bleed afresh!  How do they darken and cloud former assurances and evidences for heaven!  – 171

Though by grace they are freed from the dominion of sin, and from the damnatory power of every sin, and from the love of all sin, yet grace doth not free them from the seed of any one sin; and therefore it is possible for a soul to fall again and again into the same sin.  If the fire be not wholly put out, who would think it impossible that is should catch and burn again and again?  – 172

Involuntary relapses are, when the resolution and full bent of the heart is against sin, when the soul strives with all its might against sin, by sighs and groans, by prayers and tears, and yet out of weakness is forced to fall back into sin, because there is not spiritual strength enough to overcome.  – 174

Voluntary relapses are, when the soul longs and loves to ‘return to the flesh-pots of Egypt’ (Exod. 16.3); when it is a pleasure and a pastime to a man to return to his old courses, such voluntary relapses speak out the man blinded, hardened, and ripened for ruin.  – 175

That those that have been best and most beloved, have been most tempted by Satan.  Thou Satan can never rob a Christian of his crown, yet such is his malice, that he will therefore tempt, that he may spoil them of their comforts. – 176

All the temptations that befall the saints shall be sanctified to them by a hand of love. – 177

Temptation is God’s school, wherein he gives his people the clearest and sweetest discoveries of his love; a school wherein God teaches his people to be more frequent and fervent in duty…a school wherein God teaches his people to be more tender, meek, and compassionated to other poor, tempted souls than ever; a school wherein God teaches his people to see a greater evil in sin than ever, and a greater emptiness in the creature than ever, and a greater need of Christ and free grace than ever; a school wherein God will teach his people that all temptations are but his goldsmiths, by which he will try and refine, and make his people more bright and glorious. – 178

Make strong and constant resistance against Satan’s temptations.  Make resistance against temptations by arguments drawn from the honour of God, the love of God, your union and communion with God; and from the blood of Christ, the death of Christ, the kindness of Christ, the intercession of Christ, and the glory of Christ; and from the voice of the Spirit, the counsel of the Spirit, the comforts of the Spirit, the presence of the Spirit, the seal of the Spirit, the whisperings of the Spirit, the commands of the Spirit, the assistance of the Spirit, the witness of the Spirit, and from the glory of heaven, the excellency of grace, the beauty of holiness, the worth of the soul, and the vileness or bitterness and evil of sin, the least sin being a greater evil than the greatest temptation in the world. – 180-181

That self is a great let to divine things; therefore the prophets and apostles were usually carried out of themselves, when they had the clearest, choicest, highest, and most glorious visions.  Self-seeking blinds the soul that it cannot see a beauty of Christ, nor an excellency in holiness; it distempers the palate, that a man cannot taste sweetness in the word of God, nor in the ways of God, nor in the society of the people of God.  It shuts the hand against all the soul-enriching offers of Christ; it hardens the heart against all the knocks and entreaties of Christ; it makes the soul as an empty vine, and as a barren wilderness.  – 189

GOD USES THE WEAK AND SMALL THROUGH HIS GRACE

There may be, and often are, great parts and abilities, where there is but little grace, yea, no grace; and there may, and often is, a great deal of grace, where there is but weak parts and abilities.  You may be higher than others in gifts of knowledge, utterance, and learning, and those very souls may be higher than you in their communion with God, in their delighting in God, in their dependence upon God, in their affections to God, and in their humble, holy, and unblameable walking before God.   – 196

And is it not madness and folly with a witness…when that those very persons that they make light and slight of have a thousand times more grace than they?  Judas and the scribes and Pharisees had great parts, but no grace.  The disciples had grace, but weak parts.  – -196

KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT FRUIT

Becanus saith, that the tree of knowledge bears many leaves, and little fruit. – 197

UNITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST AND HUMILITY

And as you are all fellow-members, so you are fellow soldiers under the same Captain of Salvation, the Lord Jesus, fighting against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  And as you are all fellow soldiers, so you are all fellow-soldiers under the same enemies, the devil and the world.  And as you are all fellow-sufferers, so are you fellow-travellers towards the land of Canaan, ‘the new Jerusalem that is above.’ ‘Here we have no abiding city, but we look for one to come.’ The heirs of heaven are strangers on earth.  And as you are all fellow-travellers, so are you all fellow-heirs of the same crown and inheritance. – 204

Remember this, the disagreement of Christians is the devil’s triumph; and what a sad thing is this, that Christians should give Satan cause to triumph. – 205

Labour to be clothed with humility.  Humility makes a man peaceable among brethren, fruitful in well-doing, cheerful in suffering, and constant in holy walking (1 Pet 5:5).  Humility fits for the highest services we owe to Christ, and yet will not neglect the lowest service to the meanest saint. – 209

An humble soul always finds three things on this side of heaven: the soul to be empty, Christ to be full, and every mercy and duty to be sweet wherein God is enjoyed.  Humility can weep over other men’s weaknesses, and joy and rejoice over their graces.  Humility will make a man quiet and contented in the meanest condition, and it will preserve a man from envying other men’s prosperous condition.  Humility honours those that are strong in grace, and puts two hands under those that are weak in grace.  Humility makes a man richer than other men, and it makes a man judge himself the poorest among men.  Humility will see much good abroad, when it can see but little at home.  Ah, Christian! Though faith be the champion of grace, and love the nurse of grace, yet humility is the beautifier of grace; it casts a general glory upon all the graces in the soul.  – 210

Humility will make a man have high thoughts of others and low thoughts of man’s self; it will make a man see much glory and excellency in others, and much baseness and sinfulness in a man’s self; it will make a man see other’s rich, and himself poor; others strong, and himself weak; others wise, and himself foolish.  Humility will make a man excellent at covering others’ infirmities, and at recording their gracious services, and at delighting in their graces; it makes a man joy in every light that outshines his own, and every wind that blows others good.  – 210

The humble soul is like the violet, ‘which grows low, hangs the head downwards, and hides itself with its own leaves; and were it not that fragrant smell of his many virtues discovered him to the world, he would choose to live and die in his self-contenting.  – 210 fn 60

THE FLAWS OF IGNORANCE

Ignorance is the mother of mistake, the cause of trouble, error, and of terror; it is the highway to hell, and it makes a man both a prisoner and a slave to the devil at once.  Ignorance unmans a man; it makes a man a beast, yea, makes him more miserable than the beast that perisheth.  There are none so easily nor so frequently taken in Satan’s snares as ignorant souls.  They are easily drawn to dance with the devil all day, and to dream of supping with Christ at night.  – 211

Ignorant ones have this advantage, they have a cooler hell.  – 211

Jansenius….saith, it is very observable that our Saviour after his resurrection first appeared to Mary Magdalene and Peter, that had been grievous sinners; that even the worst of sinners may be comforted and encouraged to come to Christ, to believer in Christ, to rest and stay their souls upon Christ, for mercy here and glory hereafter. – 216

Sin always dies most where faith lives most.  The most believing soul is the most mortified soul. – 220

FAITH

That as there is nothing in Christ to discourage the greatest sinners from believing in him, so there is everything in Christ that may encourage the greatest sinners to believe on him, to rest and lean upon him for all happiness and blessedness. – 220-221

GOT CHRIST?

Christ is the greatest good, the choicest good, the chiefest good, the most suitable good, the most necessary good.  He is pure good, a real good, a total good, an eternal good, and a soul-satisfying good.  Sinners, are you poor?  Christ hath gold to enrich you.  Are you naked?  Christ had royal robes, he hath white raiment to clothe you.  Are you blind?  Christ hath eye-salve to enlighten you.  Are you hungry Christ will be manna to feed you.  Are you thirsty?  He will be a well of living water to refresh you.  Are you wounded?  He hath a balm under his wings to heal you.  Are you sick?  He is a physician to cure you.  Are you prisoners?  He hath laid down a ransom for you.  Ah, sinners!  Tell me, tell me, is there anything in Christ to keep you off from believing?  No!  is there not everything in Christ that may encourage you to believe in him?  Yes!  Oh, then, believe in him, and then, ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ (Is 1.18). – 221

EVANGELISM AND CONVERSION

God brings in some by the sweet and still voice of the gospel, and usually such that are thus brought into Christ are the sweetest, humblest, choicest, and fruitfullest Christians.  God is a free agent to work by law or gospel, by smiles or frowns, by presenting hell or heaven to sinners’ souls.  God thunders from mount Sinai upon some souls, and conquers them by thundering.  God speaks to others in a still voice, and by that conquers them.  You that are brought to Christ by the law, do not you judge and condemn them that are brought to Christ by the gospel; and you that are brought to Christ by the gospel, do not you despise those that are brought to Christ by the law.  Some are brought to Christ by fire, storms, and tempests, others by more easy and gentle gales of the Spirit.  The Spirit is free in the works of conversion, and as the win, it blows when, where, and how it pleases.  Thrice happy are those souls that are brought to Christ, whether it be in a winter’s night or in a summer’s day.  – 225

OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AS FILTHY RAGS

“Till men have faith in Christ, their best services are but glorious sins.” – 227

PROOF THAT JESUS SAVES!

That sea of sin, that sea of wrath, that sea of trouble, that sea of blood that Jesus Christ waded through, that sinners might be pardoned, justified, reconciled, and saved, doth strongly evidence his willingness to save sinners. – 228

It is not spitting at Satan’s name, nor crossing yourselves, nor leaning to your own resolutions, that will get you the victory.  – 239

If Satan hath such a world of devices and stratagems to ensnare and undo the souls of men, then, instead of wondering that so few are saved, sit down and wonder that any are saved, that any escape the snares of this cunning fowler, who spreads his nets and casts forth his baits in all places, in all cases and companies. – 243

…some special rules and helps against all his devices:

The first help.  If you would not be taken by any of Satan’s devices, then walk by rule.  – 243 When men thrown off the Word, then God throws off them, and then Satan takes them by the hand, and leads them into snares at his pleasure.  – 243

The second help…take heed of vexing and grieving of the Holy Spirit of God.  – 243

The third help…labour for more heavenly wisdom. Heavenly wisdom makes a man delight to fly high; and the higher any man flies, the more he is out of the reach of Satan’s snares.  – 244

The fourth help…make present resistance against Satan’s first motions. He that will play with Satan’s bait, will quickly be taken with Satan’s hook.  The promise of conquest is made over to resisting, not to disputing: ‘Resisting the devil, and he will fly from you’ (James 4.7). – 244

The fifth help…labour to be filled with the Spirit. It is not enough that you have the Spirit, but you must be filled with the Spirit, or else Satan, that evil spirit, will be too hard for you, and his plots will prosper against you. – 245

The sixth help…keep humble. – 246

The seventh help…keep a strong, close, and constant watch.  A secure soul is already an ensnared soul. -246  Satan watches all opportunities to break our peace, to wound our consciences, to lessen our comforts, to impair our graces, to slur our evidences, and to damp our assurances. – 247

The eighth help…keep up your communion with God. – 248  A soul high in communion with God may be tempted, but will not easily be conquered.  Such a soul will fight it out to the death. Communion is a reciprocal exchange between Christ and a gracious soul.  – 248

The ninth help…engage not against Satan in your own strength, but be every day drawing new virtue and strength from the Lord Jesus.  – 249

The tenth help…be much in prayer.

“David’s heart was oft more out of tune than his harp.”  – 250

Ah!  Christians, remember that the greatest part of the world, yea, the greatest part of professors, are taken in Satan’s snares.  Can you think seriously of this, and not blush to be unthankful?  What are you better than others?  And what have ye deserved of God, or done for God more than others, that you should by the help of a divine hand escape the snares, when others are taken and held in the snares of the devil to their eternal overthrow?  – 251

Oh!  Long to be in the bosom Christ!  Long to be in the land of Canaan!  – 252

THE END OF MANY QUOTES FROM THOMAS BROOKS’ PRECIOUS REMEDIES AGAINST SATAN’S DEVICES

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CULBERTSON CHRISTMAS 2011

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Rod Culbertson

CULBERTSON CHRISTMAS 2011

“When Heaven came down Angels’ sweet sound Filled the night sky Over Bethlehem Shepherds quaking An infant awaking  to a world that He once made Oh the glory This Wondrous story Ancient and yet it Remains forever new When Heaven came down God’s Promise came true”   

– Dr. Mike Milton, Chancellor-Elect/RTS  

Merry Christmas from all of the Culbertson’s to our friends, family and loved ones! It is indeed time for that annual update on all of us – and some of the news is BIG!

First of all, if you didn’t know, Helen got married to Steven Hale this past June 11 in Washington, DC (Old Alexandria, VA actually). We all had a blast and the outdoor ceremony held in the hotel courtyard was fabulous, especially since the rain held off until the last minute. The dancing was furious, the food good and the in-law’s were a blessing to meet (they are missionaries in Thailand). Helen and Steve are living in Arlington, VA not too far from the Pentagon. Prior to the wedding (not that morning), Steve gave us an insider’s tour of the Pentagon; I have no photos, but it did have 5 sides like they say.

Graham and Hilary happily left Pittsburgh, where Hilary earned a Masters degree in Art History from the University of Pittsburgh. It’s a pretty neat city, but the winters are long and cold. They returned to Chapel Hill, where Graham received a full fellows scholarship in order to complete his dissertation, which is entitled, “Urban Spaces, Social Places: Naturalism, Progressivism and the American City.” You’ll need to rush out and buy 10 copies for you and your friends when it gets published. Send me $10 as a down payment and I’ll horde a few copies for you. On the sad side, their long time cat, Binx, passed away in the fall. That event was a painful loss.

Hunter continues in Chapel Hill, working on his final year of a Masters degree in Sports Administration. His degree entails working for the UNC Athletic Department (Athletic Operations Intern) for which he is well suited. And it’s fun! Speaking of tours, he gave us a tour of the security area and the press conference room at the Keenan Stadium, the home of the Tar Heels’ football team. 2011 has been a year of some really good tours! He is also working on his Masters’ Thesis, “Current Practices in Division One Basketball Event Staff Management.” So, if you’re thinking of opening up a college basketball arena, be sure to get  a copy of this to help you manage the games. Hunter and his girlfriend, Devin, spend a lot of time together and they’re very happy about it. Devin is also in the Masters of Sport Administration program and is also interning with the UNC Athletic Department in the area of Student-Athlete Development.

Our other big news is that Tyler both graduated from UNC Wilmington and in July went to Uganda in order to work with a Christian ministry known as Street Child Project. He was planning to stay for 6 months; however, he had a terrible reaction to the malaria medicine and had to return home early. We thank the Lord that he’s doing much better now, living with us in Charlotte, working part time and very involved with our new church home  (a church plant) here in southwest Charlotte, Cross Park Church (http://www.crossparkchurch.org/). It’s a special place to us.

Cathy and I continue to age gracefully. She plays tennis for three or more teams when she is not working as a nurse for OrthoCarolina. She also got some braces on her teeth this year. I figure since she played college tennis at age 50 and got braces at age 55, she will probably return to elementary school by age 60 and try to learn how to write in legible cursive script. I have enjoyed playing baseball with the Charlotte Christian baseball team (practices only), working added responsibilities with RTS (www.rts.edu), doing some development for and spending time with a couple of very enjoyable young men from Brookstone Schools of Charlotte http://www.brookstoneschools.org/, as well as teaching with the Charlotte Fellows program http://www.charlottefellows.org/. I also have done some writing, working on my website www.areUserious.org and writing a pamphlet, So You Want to Go to Seminary? http://www.rts.edu/SharedResources/Documents/Atlanta/General/ChoosingSeminary.pdf. It’s been a busy and yet profitable year. Over the summer Cathy and I fell in love with Hendersonville, NC, a quaint city in the NC mountains, so that means we are definitely getting old. We’re still younger than most of the residents there though.

Arrow, our Basset Hound, is still alive at age 12; she moves slowly, is mostly blind, doesn’t hear well and can’t smell like she used to. However, my brother, John, recently visited and says she definitely still smells. 

I was impacted by the line in Dr. Milton’s song above: An infant awaking to a world that He once made. We believe that this truly is the Christmas story – the unbelievable thought that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who created the universe and yet came to earth as a sinless man to suffer and die for the sins of His people. Incomprehensible, unfathomable, amazing, yet believable by God’s grace. We trust that you might believe this awesome good news even now and be transformed by His wonder!

In His love and ours,

Rod and Cathy 

 

 

 

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Choosing a Seminary

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Rod Culbertson

“So, You Want to Go to Seminary?”
Choosing a Seminary and Preparing for the Seminary Experience
Dr. Rod Culbertson

As a faculty member at Reformed Theological Seminary and as the RTS dean of student development, I frequently meet potential seminary students. These prospective students pose many relevant questions, such as:

“What do I need to look for as I consider choosing a potential seminary?”
“What advice would you give me as I prepare for future enrollment in seminary?”
“What do I need to be doing prior to attending seminary?”

These questions should be upon every prospective seminary student’s mind, as I hope they are on yours. In answering these pertinent questions, here is some helpful advice.

1. Be a Student

That admonition means that prior to attending seminary, you should be studying, you should love to study, and you should seek to study. You should not just study books, but you should become a student of life. Of course, if you are still in college, you should continue to focus on your present major or field of study. Wherever you are, develop good study habits and be conscientious in all you do. But beyond that, fall in love with studying both God’s Word and God’s world. That means you should attempt to broaden your knowledge beyond your primary academic focus.

2. Read and Think

Read about life and think big about life. Recognize that you will be integrating a biblical world and life view into every arena of life and helping others to do so as well. Realize that in your ministry you will be dealing with people who themselves will be engaged in all sorts of diverse callings. It would be a great help to understand something about their professional pursuits. So study life from a mentality that flows from understanding that this is God’s world. Of course, you will always be limited in understanding God’s big world, but if you become a student of life, you will also be preparing to learn how to apply God’s Word to God’s world as well.

3. Focus on Theological and Biblical Studies

In addition to being a student of life, it would be crucial for you to begin focusing on topics that assist you in your own personal sanctification and growth in Christ. RTS provides a list of recommended reading in which you can engage prior to attending seminary. I always tell prospective students to consider reading the modern classic Knowing God by Dr. J. I. Packer. This book is a marvelous blend of biblically based theology written so that the reader is moved to love God more. If you can handle Packer’s thought-provoking style and depth of reasoning, you will be ready and eager for a seminary experience that gives you a greater love for the living, personal God you want to serve. Also, accessing and listening to courses on iTunesU is a great introduction to the seminary classroom environment.

These three suggestions deal primarily with “academic” preparation. Of course, as an academic institution, any seminary would expect an incoming student to want to study, so reading is an important prerequisite. However, you may wonder what else to do to prepare for the seminary experience.

An obvious, but sometimes overlooked, answer would be this: practice! That is, be sure to do ministry of some type. If you have not been or are not already involved in some type of ministry, find a place of service where you can be exposed to and grow in practical ministry. You might find this hands on ministry experience in your home church, the church you attend wherever you are presently located, or in a local parachurch ministry. Whatever and wherever, you need to be with people who need Jesus and His powerful gospel so as to share the love of Christ and the message of the gospel with them. And if, in the process, you can use speaking and teaching gifts, that would be a bonus.

Speak with your pastor or some other Christian leader to discover how you might volunteer (you probably won’t get paid, but that really isn’t the purpose). Seeing the reality of people as sinners in need of the gospel is a vital means of growing in your passion for more training. Over the years, I have learned that the most motivated seminary students are usually those already involved in ministry in some capacity. For these people, the need for seminary training becomes more relevant and precious as they learn and refine newly discovered skills.

On a personal level, the primary preparation for anyone planning to attend seminary is to seek Christ and the Christian character that follows from a daily walk with Him. Make your personal sanctification (Christ-likeness) your absolute priority. Spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. Study the Word, but be sure to reflect and meditate on the personal implications of Scripture in your life. Make time to seek Christ and to worship Him. Practice daily devotion with heartfelt passion. Your relationship with Christ must be your most focused relationship. It lasts forever, whether you attend seminary or not. A quote from St. Augustine best expresses this: “This Lord, our God, the Word of God, the Word made flesh, the Son of the Father, the Son of God, the Son of man, exalted that He might create us, humbled that He might recreate us, walking among men, suffering what is human, concealing what is divine. Let every sigh be a panting after Christ, let that most beautiful One, who loved even the ugly that He might make them beautiful, let Him be longed for. Hurry to Him alone, sigh for Him.” Oh, how we want to have students, professors, and staff members with a passion and a longing for knowing Christ Jesus!

One final thought regarding preparation for seminary may be sensitive and awkward: If you are not already married, strongly consider finding a mate committed to ministry. Of course, this doesn’t need to happen prior to attending seminary, but I believe that a married person going into full-time ministry needs a spouse 100% committed to being a minister’s (or Christian worker’s) spouse. A minister’s wife, for instance, doesn’t have to be 100% committed to involvement in the life of the local church, but she should be committed to 100% support of her husband as he serves the church. Often a spouse who comes to seminary with her husband is reluctant to do so or is reticent toward entering the ministry with him (because of the fears or unrealistic expectations often placed on the spouse of a pastor).

I think this situation needs to be remedied in time; often it is solved during the seminary experience, as the vision for both the demands and the benefits of the ministry are realized and accepted by the previously unwilling spouse. From my vantage point, however, I only see problems for a graduating seminary student who heads into ministry with an unsupportive spouse. Ministry is a team effort. Of course, you may be called to minister as a single person, like the Apostle Paul, but if you desire to be married, I am simply attempting to provide wise counsel to a critical consideration in ministry. Ultimately, this is a matter for serious prayer.

(As an added, helpful resource, please see Learning at Jesus’ Feet, by Dr. John Frame.)

How to Discern Your Calling

If you are heading toward seminary or praying about that decision, I would assume you have perceived a personal sense of God’s calling in your life. If this is indeed the case, I believe we can hold these basic assumptions regarding your personal experience:

• You are a Christian — i.e., you know Christ personally and have entrusted yourself to Him for your own salvation.
• You are committed to Christ — i.e., you have demonstrated a desire to submit to Christ’s Lordship and God’s Word, and God is working in your life.
• You have a love for Christ’s bride: the church.

If these realities exist in your life, then the next question to consider is your calling to ministry.

Let’s begin with what is termed the internal call. The internal call is apparent when you can state that you personally sense a call from God – you know that God is working in your life and seems to be leading you to serve Him in full-time ministry. Just to clarify, I define a call to the ministry as “all of your time (full time, not part time), all of your life (you can do nothing else with your life), for the rest of your life.” In addition to this sense of calling, one aspect of the internal call is a realization that you have desires for ministry — i.e. inclinations and a magnetic draw to do something you quite possibly never thought you would want to do or be able to do. You have begun to see fruit from your ministry efforts; something seems to happen in other people’s lives whenever you find yourself in a place of service for the Lord. You also recognize capabilities in ministry settings – you are developing and discovering useful gifts.

And best of all, you realize it’s not about you; it’s about the Lord and His working through your life. You have learned to die to self, growing to value the “unworldly” attributes of servanthood and humility. You have discovered that leading is based upon serving, and serving is what you want to do with the rest of your life — something you never thought could be. But as you have learned to walk by faith, you are ready to trust God more than ever before for your future and your needs. You are learning to give your worries over to Him (this attitude will become very relevant in future ministry experience). The bottom line defining one’s sense of internal call is that you can’t see yourself doing anything else but ministry.

This brings us to the external call. The external call complements the internal call and confirms it. Simply stated, the external call describes the reality that others, those who know you and whom God has placed in your life, have also discerned your calling to ministry, observing gifts commensurate to this calling. These outside observers have seen fruit born in your ministry and believe that this fruit bearing is a work of God. These others are mature Christians – pastors, elders, deacons, church members or parachurch staff members – who, working closely with you, confirm your sense of calling to ministry.

One of the most significantly memorable statements I ever heard, a remark given prior to my third and final year of seminary, was made by my pastor, under whom I had served for three months as a summer intern. I was doing youth, college and some adult ministry, including preaching three of my earliest sermons (I’m sorry he and the church had to endure those trials). Although I was certain that the summer had been fruitful and had deepened my internal call to ministry, my pastor sat down with me at the end of the internship and said, “Well, it certainly appears you have a call to the ministry. I have observed that to be true this summer.” This pastor never knew how much that brief statement meant to me. Those words gave me a depth of reassurance – a confirmation from a credible outside source – that I should continue to pursue the call I believed God had placed in my heart. Confirmation of the external call of God on your life is wonderful, bringing a sense of settled peace in your soul.

When certain of your call, though, please beware of thinking that if you enter the ministry, you are called (and/or are able) to “save the world!” In reality, your calling to kingdom service is simply to faithfully proclaim the gospel wherever God plants you in ministry. So set your sights on walking humbly with Him and letting Him bless your work as He sees fit.

At this point you may wonder, “What is the place and role of seminary in pursuing or defining my call to ministry?” Simply stated, seminary often helps mature the internal call and confirm the external call. I have observed that at least half the students who attend seminary initially have some sense of calling to ministry, but upon entering seminary, are still quite uncertain about their calling (especially concerning preaching sermons and leading a congregation). Many students attend seminary still wondering if God is calling them to full-time Christian service. We might say they are exploring their calling.

Seminary is a great place to do such exploration. Your professors, classmates and (in a much greater way) pastor(s) can provide confirmation regarding your call to ministry. But I should mention that if your internal call has not been affirmed in some manner by an external call, you might be wise to wait before entering seminary. Also keep in mind that just because you attend seminary and complete a degree does not mean you should be in ministry or are called to ministry. A seminary degree does not necessarily validate calling to and giftedness for ministry. You might have the degree, but not the calling. But no matter what happens, you will have a biblically based education that will provide a foundation for life in God’s church and kingdom for the rest of your life, whether ordained or not.

(As an added, helpful resource, please read Discerning God’s Call on Your Life by Dr. Mike Milton and Studying Theology as a Servant of Jesus by Dr. John Frame.)

How to Choose a Seminary

There are a number of issues to contemplate when considering your specific choice of a seminary. This pamphlet is not designed to lead you directly to RTS. There are many wonderful seminaries throughout the United States and beyond, and you could be overwhelmed as you search them out. But as you look and weigh the choices, there are factors you should ponder.

First, but not necessarily foremost, is accreditation. RTS is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). The accreditation process, in essence, provides quality control for any institution that is a member of the association. Some seminaries are not accredited by ATS, which is not a purely evangelical association. I respect the decision of those seminaries, primarily because their rationale is usually that their work should be “approved by God,” not a man-made organization. However, ATS accreditation, although not flawless, does provide a checklist for some of the important academic standards we value at RTS. A good accreditation organization will ensure that a member school has high standards in some of the following areas:

• Quality of the faculty — i.e. the seminary’s faculty has the appropriate scholarly degrees for their field of instruction, ensuring quality academic standards and classroom instruction. For instance, if a seminary hires only its own graduates as classroom instructors (in an effort to maintain its specific tradition), students might receive a restricted or narrow perspective in their education. Accreditation prevents such a “pipeline” mentality in a given seminary, thus enhancing the breadth of the education experience.
• A quality library — accreditation associations demand that a library provides qualified library personnel, and both a high number and quality of research materials and books.
• High standards in student life and service, admissions, financial stability, etc.
• Many Ph.D. and Doctor of Ministry programs will not accept students who have attended non-accredited or improperly accredited seminaries. You don’t want to find that out on the back end of your degree. Sadly, I have met a number of students who were unable to enter desired programs because of study at a non-accredited or a poorly accredited institution.

Second, look very closely at the seminary’s biblical commitments. Directly ask the representatives, “What is your school’s view of Scripture?” Of course, almost every seminary will state that they have a high view of the Bible. But as the prospective student, you must probe more deeply into the initial answer. Ask questions like:

“What does ‘a high view of Scripture’ mean to your faculty?”
“What is your view of inerrancy, inspiration and infallibility?”
“What are your views of higher criticism?”
“What are your views of expository and/or Christ-centered preaching?”

You are attempting to discover the underlying presuppositions regarding Scripture that drive the curriculum and the classroom instruction. The seminary should have a clearly articulated statement of its view of the Bible, so carefully search the catalog and other materials, as well as ask the hard questions mentioned above, in order to discover where the seminary really stands.

Next, examine the seminary’s theological commitments. Find out where the school lands on the continuum between conservative (or even ultra-conservative) and liberal theology. The school’s position on Scripture often determines its place on the conservative-to-liberal continuum. The theological position most likely permeates the ethos of the school, its faculty and the classroom training you will receive. Also, if the school falls into a theological tradition, particularly one that will heavily impact the distinctive training of the institution, you will want to be aware of this influence. Various traditions might include Reformed, Arminian, dispensational, liberal, eschatological, etc.

Denominational seminaries almost always reflect the flavor of their particular tradition, so they could be permeated by their denominational perspective. If leaning toward entering a specific denomination, you would be wise to consider a seminary sponsored or supported by that denomination. You might find an advantage for future placement through the denominational label. An exception would be to choose an interdenominational or nondenominational seminary, or one that serves various denominational traditions. But be sure your denomination will accept graduates from the nondenominational seminary you choose to attend. Another question to ask yourself is, “Do I want to be identified with a particular denominational label for the rest of my ministerial career?” Some students desire a denominational affiliation, while others feel constrained or stereotyped by it. You’ll need to decide which is true for you.

Another consideration would be to understand how the school handles or addresses traditions other than its own. What breadth of exposure does the seminary provide to various church traditions and theologies? Does it treat traditions different from its own in a fair, gracious fashion? Does it highlight the positive contributions of traditions that are different from its own? Does the seminary enhance unity in the diverse body of Christ? You want to come out of seminary appreciating the vast, diverse body of Christ, not as someone overly critical and suspicious of others who truly claim the name of Christ in an orthodox manner. We at RTS strive to emphasize this as we serve the greater kingdom of God.

As you begin your adventure of looking at and inquiring into various seminaries, you will quickly discover that each school has its own unique purpose and distinguishing personality. You will ask, “For what is this seminary known?” Some are known for training missionaries, others have a reputation for training strong preachers, while still others may focus on pastoral ministry or leadership, evangelism, counseling, academics, etc. If you have a strong proclivity toward one of these areas, that inclination will probably guide you toward a particular seminary that reflects that particular emphasis in its personality.

Other significant factors, as you follow God’s leading in your search for the right seminary, include:

Programs Offered

Of course, the Master of Divinity is normally the linchpin degree for any seminary. The M.Div. degree is designed to train pastors and is normally a three-year degree program providing a heightened focus in biblical studies, systematic theology, church history, the biblical languages (Greek and Hebrew) and practical theology, including courses on Christian living and growth. Every seminary campus will include Master of Arts degrees in Bible or theology, since the courses for the M.A. degrees are the same as those offered in the M.Div. degree. The M.A. degree is a great means of preparation for someone wanting to become a Christian schoolteacher, serve on the mission field, or pursue other church positions that might complement a senior pastor. Normally, however, I advise students to strongly consider the M.Div. degree, no matter what their long-range goals are, since that degree opens up so many doors of opportunity in ministry and is respected around the world. The M.Div. is also great preparation for those interested in doing future Ph.D. work. You may also want to ask about how many courses or credit hours are required to graduate, how many years does the average student take to graduate, how many credits are required in comparison to other seminaries, and the value of a more extensive curriculum.

Other programs a seminary might offer include missions and/or intercultural studies, counseling, marriage and family therapy, a Master of Theology (Th.M.), Christian education, Christian leadership, urban studies, evangelism, Christian thought, archaeology, philosophy of religion, etc. Many degree programs include specializations or emphasis tracks in which you might be interested. An emphasis track is created either by using elective courses in an area of special interest or by swapping out some required courses for these specially designed electives. These specializations could include youth ministry, counseling, worship, missions, campus ministry, chaplain ministry, urban studies, leadership, exegesis and/or a focus in the use of languages. Specializations are only a small factor in choosing a seminary, as the bulk of the curriculum is the most crucial aspect of your training, but the long-range or life goal you have for your ministry, assuming you know it, could be a factor in your selection of a seminary.

Accessibility and Flexibility

Other questions you should try to answer are whether or not the courses offered by the seminary are accessible to you. For example, can you take the courses in a convenient manner? Is the course schedule conducive to a commuter? Is it sensitive to one who works part time or full time in ministry? Are there evening and/or weekend classes? Does the seminary have a quality virtual campus or multiple virtual courses, and how helpful and comprehensive are those virtual course offerings? Will those virtual courses fit into your chosen curriculum and thus help you fulfill degree completion? Is the curriculum flexible enough to enable you to take courses out of sequence if necessary?

Further Concerns

When looking at or visiting (which I highly recommend, if at all possible) a seminary campus, here are some other items for your discernment and reflection:

• The faculty — What are their credentials? Where did they study? What degrees have they earned? How do they reflect their love for the Lord? Are they a diverse group? What is their past experience in ministry? Have they written or published either scholarly or practical and/or helpful literature? Possibly most importantly, are they accessible to students? You will want to learn from the faculty in the classroom setting, but you also want informal, personal interaction and discussion with them about both theological and ministry issues and questions. Some faculty will hold small-group meetings or prayer meetings with students on campus, in their homes, or in other off-campus locations. These unstructured meetings provide valuable encounters for seminary students as they interact with faculty members on a deeper level outside the classroom.

• Mentoring opportunities – Try to inquire about the availability of faculty mentors or local mentors, influential people who become a part of your life while you attend seminary. Some seminaries require a matriculating student to have at least one pastoral mentor while journeying through the seminary experience. I know of at least one seminary that requires the student to have four mentors, most of whom they supply. Whether required or not, seek out a mentor. If the seminary is in a city filled with churches, you will likely find a local pastor to mentor you during your seminary years. The best mentor may be the local pastor who takes you under his wing and exposes you to all he knows about ministry.

• The Library – This is still one of the most important components of the seminary experience. Any premier seminary will require you to study, think, read, research, critique ideas and write quality academic papers. You will want to be confident that your seminary library has adequate resources for your research — books and scholarly journals, both in print and online. Inquire about an inter-campus library loan system or partnerships with other local libraries. A helpful, degreed librarian and library staff is also a very important asset to your seminary education, as they are trained to help you sift through the sea of information out there and find what is useful. Ask present students about their experiences with the seminary library. In addition, walk through it to see if it offers good places to study, as there is much to be said for studying in the same building where you find the resources you need.

• Tuition cost and financial aid – Education is expensive, no matter where you attend school. Graduate school is particularly pricey, and seminary is no different. All seminaries try to be competitive with tuition costs, truly wanting to assist those called to ministry, and their primary means of assistance is through financial aid or scholarships. Tuition can range from a low cost due to denominational help (usually assuming you belong to the denomination that sponsors the seminary) to a high cost due to geographic location (perhaps the seminary is located in an expensive city or area of the country). Realize that even expensive seminaries try to compensate for higher tuition by providing prorated scholarships.

Don’t let tuition expense hinder you in your choice of the seminary you prefer to attend. Ask the appropriate person (the admissions director or the financial aid director) for real help in the form of financial aid and/or scholarships. Also, be sure to ask your home or sending church to help you with the tuition costs. They may have some funds designated for seminary training on behalf of those called to the ministry from their congregation.

• Housing and facilities – Not all seminaries provide student housing, and those that do offer housing might only offer it for specific purposes. Some seminaries may have housing for married students and not much for single students, or vice versa. Usually seminary housing is going to be less expensive than other local, non-seminary-related housing options. Living on campus can be a blessing since it gives you access and proximity to campus life and classes. On-campus housing might also provide access to professors who live on or near campus, as well as foster seminary community (shared life you enjoy as you live and study with other students). However, living off campus might be less expensive if you come across a church or family that makes a spare bedroom or garage apartment available for a special rate. Another advantage to living off campus is potential interaction with unbelievers. Living “in the world” while not being “of the world” can be a fantastic asset as you learn to befriend, minister to and evangelize those outside of Christ’s kingdom while you engage in the growth that seminary training provides. In considering the campus facility (if you are able to visit), seek to observe or ask about the community on this campus among the students, places for people to eat together, student lounges, recreation areas or facilities, technologically modern and up-to-date classrooms.

• Church/ministry opportunities in the area – As mentioned earlier, involvement in a church while attending seminary is crucial. Seek out and join a local church body as quickly as you can. This search may take as long as one full semester of visiting various church possibilities and revisiting your top choices. But once you find the church to which you believe God is calling you to join while in seminary (possibly for three to five years), you should eventually find a place or role for service in that church. As you visit a potential seminary, find out how many churches that sympathize with the seminary’s vision, purpose and/or theology exist in the vicinity of the seminary, and if there are ministry opportunities (particularly seminary internships) available to the students in these local churches.

If there are a lot of churches in general proximity to the seminary (within a one-hour radius), you will have a greater opportunity to learn ministry “on the job” and in a real-life context. Whether or not paid internships are an option, meet with a member of the pastoral staff of your church, and volunteer to help serve in some area of ministry, particularly an area in which you have some interest or gifting (don’t volunteer to preach regularly, however!). A volunteer position could eventually become a paid position, even if only part time! The local church is where you often find the best context for personal growth, spiritual growth, personal and family support, and actual mentoring by a seasoned and caring pastor. Seminary professors can be effective mentors as well, but be sure to find a pastor who will know you well and prepare you for life and ministry in the local church. One word of caution about working or doing ministry while in seminary: it is wise to avoid working full time while taking classes full time. Something vital in your life will suffer, whether your health, your marriage, your ministry or your walk with the Lord. If you are working, take your time going through seminary if possible.

• Geographic location – The location of a seminary campus is an important factor in the choosing process. RTS has a unique perspective in this regard, since we have multiple campus locations. We have discovered that most of our graduates are hired within the general area or region in which the campus is located. This process is created by various factors: 1) You will probably join a church or come under care of a regional church body that will get to know you well for three-plus years. Your church or a nearby church might hire you because they have gotten to know you over the previous years. 2) Through your years of your seminary training, you will do a lot of networking, either through denominational connections or general Christian contacts in the area. Those local or regional contacts may be the means to your first full-time ministry position. 3) You may fall in love with or gain a greater vision for the city or region in which your seminary is located. The Lord may move your heart to minister there as you see the needs of the area. 4) Your professors may be very influential in their seminary locale and could provide a strong and respectable recommendation for you among the churches in the immediate area.

Obviously there are exceptions to this geographic consideration. Students may be connected to a distant city or church of origin. Or they may be led into foreign missions, church planting in another area of the country, campus ministry or the chaplaincy, all which may take them far away from their seminary location. But here at RTS, we’ve observed that a high percentage of graduates end up within a few hours of our respective campuses.

• Student life and the student body – Another consideration would be the nature and makeup of the student body. Is it mostly male students (as typical of conservative seminaries)? If so, how many female students attend? What degree programs are the students in, and how do the numbers break down? Is there a diverse character to the student body? Are other ethnic groups represented? Are there international students? Are multiple denominations represented? Diverse ethnicities, nationalities and denominational backgrounds can help create a healthy, dynamic seminary environment, as the status quo may be challenged or at least properly questioned. They also expose students to the various needs of the world and the church. These distinctions become a daily reality in the seminary setting when international students are a vital part of the student body.

Additionally, you may ask about the average age or the generational makeup of the students. Are they mostly married or mostly single? How will you fit in, whatever demographic you fill? Is there a sense of community among the students (particularly if there is no housing on campus)? Do the students appear to enjoy each other and the seminary community? Does this campus look like a place where you can find friends, especially potential ministry friends you will keep for life? If you are a woman, you want to know if there is a ministry for women students on campus. If you have a spouse, you want to inquire about whether there is a seminary ministry for the spouses of the students.

• Consider the graduates – Lastly, you want to inquire about recent graduates of the seminary, and any overall patterns that might follow the graduates. Who are the graduates? Where do they serve? Are they serving primarily in a particular denomination? Are they mostly pastors, missionaries, campus ministers, chaplains, youth directors, etc.? Do the graduates reflect the personality of the seminary? Are there any significant leaders or authors who attended? Is the seminary known for producing solid, steady pastors who reflect longevity in the ministry? Is it known for producing preachers, and if so, do the graduates reflect a specific preaching style? Do all the graduates appear to do ministry and preach the same, demonstrating a “cookie cutter” style of training? Is there a narrow view of methods, philosophy of ministry, theological persuasion or preaching style? Is there narrow or highly critical thinking, or conversely a compromising spirit (extreme tolerance), among the graduates? Are the graduates mostly happy with the training they received from the seminary (beware the unreasonable critic who could be simply too hard to please)?

Find out if you can contact an alumnus or two, and then ask them about their impressions (strengths and weaknesses) of the school. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the placement process and placement success of the graduates, particularly the most recent graduates. Feel free to ask the placement director (if there is one) or the admissions director what the placement process is like, if the school will help in the process, and about the school’s placement percentage for the past couple of years.

In conclusion, I hope this quick excursion (OK, not so quick) has helped you as you choose a seminary to attend. Every seminary isn’t for everyone. You should pray for discernment of God’s will as you consider His calling in your life. Seminary training is a valuable asset to any ministry. When you begin to look at ministry leaders throughout the world, you will find (with some glaring exceptions, of course) that the men and women who lead in the kingdom of God usually have had some seminary education. This training has made them more effective leaders wherever the Lord has led them.

May the Lord bless you as you seek to humbly serve Him in His kingdom. He has promised to be with you always, even unto the end of the age. Be strong and courageous, and walk by faith, living secure in the finished work of Christ and in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

If I can assist you further in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me at rculbertson@rts.edu.

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Jonathan Edwards, “Religious Affections”

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Rod Culbertson

THE PLACE OF AFFECTION IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

The holy Scriptures do everywhere place religion very much in the affection; such as fear, hope, love, hatred, desire, joy, sorrow, gratitude, compassion, and zeal. – 20

From a vigorous affectionate, and fervent love to God will necessarily arise other religious affections; hence will arise an intense hatred and abhorrence of sin, fear of sin, and a dread of God’s displeasure, gratitude to God for his goodness; complacence and joy in God when God is graciously and sensibly present, and grief when He is absent, and a joyful hope when a future enjoyment of God is expected and fervent zeal for the glory of God. And in like manner, from a fervent love to men will arise all other virtuous affections towards men. – 23

Will any say that the saints in heaven, in beholding the face of their Father and the glory of their redeemer, and contemplating His wonderful works, and particularly His laying down His life for them, have their hearts nothing moved and affected by all which they behold or consider? – 27

For although to true religion there must indeed be something else besides affection, yet true religion consists so much in the affections that there can be no true religion without them. – 30

And let it considered, that they who have but little religious affections have certainty but little religion. And they who condemn others for their religious affections, have none themselves, have no religion. – 31

AFFECTION/EMOTION AND THE GOSPEL

And it seems to be the natural import of the word Gospel, glad tidings, that it is new of deliverance and salvation, after great fear and distress. There is also reason to suppose that God deals with particular believers as He dealt with His church, which he first made to hear His voice in the law, with terrible thunders and lightnings, and kept her under the schoolmaster to prepare her for Christ; and then comforted her with joyful sound of the gospel from Mount Zion. – 47

Convictions of conscious, through the influences of God’s Spirit, consist in conviction of sinfulness of heart and practice, and of the dreadfulness of sin as committed against a God of terrible majesty, infinite holiness and hatred of sin, and strict justice in punishing of it. – 48

Selfish proud man naturally calls that lovely that greatly contributes to his interest, and gratifies his ambition. – 91

But saints and angels behold that glory of God which consists in the beauty of His holiness; and it is this sight only that will melt and humble the hearts of men, wean them from the world, draw them to God, and effectually change them. – 101

The highest love that ever any attain in this life is poor, cold, exceedingly low, and not worthy to be named in comparison of what our obligations appear to be; and this will appear from the joint consideration of these two things… – 132

CHRISTIAN HUMILITY

The humble Christian is more apt to find fault with his own pride than with other men’s. He is apt to put the best construction on others’ words and behaviour, and to think that none are so proud as himself. – 138

A truly humble person, having such a mean opinion of his righteousness and holiness, is poor in spirit. For a person to be poor in spirit, is to be in his own sense and apprehension poor, as to what is in him, and to be of an answerable disposition…he is apt to yield to other, for he knows others are above him: he is not stiff and self-willed; he is patient with hard fare; he expects no other than to be despised, and takes it patiently; he does not take heinously that he is overlooked and but little regarded; he is prepared to be in a low place; he readily honours his superiors; he takes reproofs quietly; he readily honours others as above him; he easily yields to be taught, and does not claim much to his understanding and judgment; he is not over nice or humoursome, and has his spirit subdued to hard things; he is not assuming, nor apt to take much upon him, but it is natural for him to be subject to others…A that is very poor is a beggar; so is he that is poor in spirit. – 139

CONVERSION AND WALKING WITH GOD (THE NECESSITY OF CHANGE)

Conversion is a great and universal change of the man, turning him from sin to God. A man may be restrained from sin, before his is converted; but when he is converted, he is not only restrained from sin, his very heart and nature is turned from it unto holiness: so that thenceforward he becomes a holy person, and an enemy to sin…if he appears as selfish and carnal, as stupid and perverse, as unchristian and unsavoury as ever; it is greater evidence against him than the brightest story of experiences that ever was told is for him. – 141.

When men have been conversing with Christ in an extraordinary manner, there is sensible effect of it remaining upon them; there is something remarkable in their disposition and frame, which if we take knowledge of and trace to its cause, we shall find it is because they have been with Jesus, Acts 4:13. – 143

The more a true saint loves God with a gracious love, the more he desires to love Him, and the more uneasy is he at his want (lack) of love to Him; the more he hates sin, the more he desires to hate it, and laments that he has so much remaining love to it; the more he mourns for sin, the more he longs to mourn for sin; the more his heart is broke, the more he desires it should be broke: the more he thirsts and longs after God and holiness, the more he longs to long, and breathe out his very soul in longings after God. – 159

The scriptures everywhere represent the seeking, striving, and labour of a Christian, as being chiefly after his conversion, and his conversion as being but the beginning of his work. – 161

Slothfulness in the service of God in His professed servants is a damming as open rebellion; for the slothful servant is a wicked servant, and shall be cast into outer darkness among God’s open enemies, Matt 25:26, 30. That true faith, by which persons rely on the righteousness of Christ, and the work that He hath done for them, and truly feed and live upon Him, is evermore accompanied with a spirit of earnestness in the Christian work and course. – 163

Gracious affections arise from those operations and influences which are spiritual, and that the inward principle from whence they flow is something divine, a communication of God, a participation of the divine nature, Christ living in the heart, the Holy Spirit dwelling there in union with the faculties of the soul, as an internal vital principle, exerting His own proper nature in the exercise of those faculties… For in the heart where Christ savingly is, there He lives and exerts Himself after the power of that endless life that He received at his resurrection. – 164

SELF DENIAL

(Self-denial)…making a full choice of God as our only Lord and portion, forsaking all for him, and, in a full determination of the will for God and Christ, on counting the cost; in our hearts closing and complying with the religion of Jesus Christ, with all that belongs to it. Embracing it with all its difficulties, as it were hating our dearest earthly enjoyments and even our own lives, for Christ; giving up ourselves, with all that we have, wholly and forever, unto Christ, without keeping back anything, nor making any reserve; or, in one word; in the great duty of self-denial for Christ; or in denying, i.e., at it were, disowning and renouncing ourselves for Him, making ourselves nothing that He may be all. – 167-168

SELF DECEIT

It is therefore exceedingly absurd, and even ridiculous, for any to pretend that they have a good heart, while they live a wicked life, or do not bring forth the fruit of universal holiness in their practice. For it is proved in fact that such men do not love God above all. It is foolish to dispute against plain fact and experience. Men that live in ways of sin, and yet flatter themselves that they shall go to heaven, or expect to be received hereafter as holy persons without a holy life and practice, act as though they expected to make a fool of their judge. – 182

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Aldous Huxley on Meaninglessness in Life

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Rod Culbertson

Aldous Huxley: “I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently I assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.”

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