Don't Waste Your Life!

Good message! Good music (may or may not be your taste)! Good quality! Good video!

"God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives... But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life (John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life, pp.37&47).

Credit: diamy00

William Perkins' Preaching Ministry (Part 3)

William Perkins’ Precondition to Preaching Sermons

Precondition 1: Necessity of Scripture for Preaching

At the heart of William Perkins’ preaching is his adherence to 2 Tim 3:16. He adhered to the following:

"Touching the Author, the Scripture referreth it selfe vnto God. Therefore hee alone is the true and vndoubted author thereof and none but he… if God were not the author of Scripture, there would bee no one booke in the earth so fabulous and so full of errorur as it: which is to say, is blaspheme. For it speakes such things, as neuer any could speake, but God… if it were not the booke of God, then all Gods will should be hidden, and God should neuer yet have reuealed his will to man… it if had not beene the word of God, the falsehood thereof would haue been detected long agone. For there hath beene nothing falsly said of God at any time, which hee himselfe hath not at sometime or other, opened and reuealed. Euen as hee did detect and discover the falshood of the false prophet… Gods heavy hand, no doubt, would long since haue been vpon the Ministers and preachers of this word…"

The following deduction can be made from this quotation: (a) Since Perkins clearly observes that Scripture testifies to its authorship by God, and (b) Since Perkins fully believes that Scripture is authored by God, therefore, (c) Perkins confidently preached the Scriptures that he observes and believes is authored by God. Otherwise, by his own admission, God’s “heavy hand” would have ensued already. Perkins preached the word because he believed it is of God!

Perkins also place emphasis on the nature of Scripture, namely, its sufficiency, purity, and eternality. Sufficiency of Scripture for Perkins means that its completeness forbids the addition of any new revelation and deduction of already given revelation (Deut 12:32; Ps 19:7; Rev 22:18-19). Purity of Scripture means that its completeness precludes both deception and error (Ps 12:6). The eternality of Scripture refers to its quality of inviolability, that its commands cannot pass away until they are all accomplished (Matt 5:18).

Perkins believes that this sufficient, pure, and eternal nature of Scripture makes it a powerful tool of the Holy Spirit in preaching. In The Christian Doctrine or The Foundation of Christian Living Gathered Into Six Principles Necessarie for Every Man to Learn, which reads like a catechism, Perkins insists the following:

"Q. What outward mean must we use to obtain faith, and all blessings which comes by faith?
A: The preaching of God’s Word, and the administration of sacraments, and Prayer.
Q: Where is the Word of God to be found?
A: The whole Word of God, needful for salvation, is set down in the holy Scriptures.
Q: How do you know that the Scriptures are the Word of God, and not mens policies?
A: I am assured of it: first, the holy Ghost perswadeth the conscience that it is so. Secondly, I see it by experience: for the preaching of Scriptures have the power of God in them to humble a man, when they are preached, and cast him down to hell, and afterward to restore and raise him up again.
Q: What is the use of the Word of God preached?
A: First, it breedeth, and then increaseth faith in them which are chosen to salvation: but unto them that perish, it is by reason of their corruption, an occasion of their further damnation.
Q: How must we hear Gods Word that it may be effectual to our salvation?
A: We must come unto it with hunger-bitten hearts, having an appetite to the Word, we must mark it by faith, submit out selves unto it with fear and trembling, even then when our faults are reproved: lastly, we must hide it in the corners of our hearts, that we may frame our lives and conversation by it."

It is garnered from here that Perkins deems the preaching of Scripture to be effective in at least five ways: (1) it humbles the unbelievers, (2) it casts “down to hell” the unbelievers, (3) it restores and renews the humbled unbelievers, (4) it increases the faith of the “chosen to salvation” (i.e. believers) and/or (5) it further damns the unbelievers.

Furthermore, Perkins espouses a thoroughly Christocentric emphasis on Scripture. He lays out the sum and substance of its message with the following syllogism:

"Major Premise: The true Messiah shall be both God and man, from the seed of David. He shall be born of his heavenly Father’s bosom. He shall satisfy the law. He shall offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the faithful. He shall conquer death by dying and rising again. He shall ascend into heaven. In due time he shall return for judgment.
Minor Premise: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary, meets all of these requirements.
Conclusion: Therefore Jesus is the true Messiah."

Perkins argues that the major premise is drawn from the OT composed by the prophets and the minor premise from the NT composed by the apostles and evangelists. He sees a union between the former and the latter conveying a single message with one covenant of grace, given as a promise in the Old and fulfillment in the New. And so, Perkins’ holds that Scripture is unmistakably God-authored, sufficient, posses penetrating power, and presents Jesus Christ as its explicit theme. It is with this stance on Scripture that Perkins views that one should exercise the art of preaching.

Where Are the Faithful?

Very well said! I feel spiritually small!

William Perkins' Preaching Ministry (Part 2)

WILLIAM PERKINS’ PERCEPTION OF PREACHING

William Perkins in his preface to The Art of Prophesying makes the following illustrative statement regarding preaching: “The dignity of the gift of preaching is like that of a lady helped into and carried along in a chariot, while other gifts of speech and learning stand by like maidservants, conscious of her superiority.” He avers that this incomparably dignified spiritual exercise has dual value: (1) it is a divinely ordained instrument in assembling the church and drawing together all the elect people of God; (2) it is a divinely ordained instrument to drive away the spiritual wolves from amongst the sheepfold of God. He also views that it is magnetic in that it is “the allurer of the soul, by which our self-willed minds are subdued and changed from an ungodly and pagan life-style to a life of Christian faith and repentance.” He even views it as a vicious weapon in that it shakes “the foundations of ancient heresies, and also, more recently cut to pieces the sinews of the Antichrist.” Hence, Perkins is fully convinced that prophesying stood as the “most excellent” spiritual gift available to man from God.

Moreover, Perkins perceives that the highest level of mental commitment is essential for studying and acquiring the ability to correctly execute this “most excellent” gift. Consequently, it ceaselessly mandates a tremendous responsibility on the part of the preacher in preparation. He doubts that there is a more difficult challenge in the theological disciplines than the art of preaching. Furthermore, he views preaching as a solemn utterance by the prophet of God and as relating to the worship of God. It is this earnest preacher’s sermon methodology that is be explored and evaluated in this paper.

Perkins interchangeably used the words “preaching” and “prophesying.” Thus, such prophesying for Perkins was not about receiving new revelations from God but about accurately handling the perfectly revealed word of God given by inspiration through the penning of both prophets and apostles. The word “prophesying” was an Elizabethan adopted terminology for preaching that was distinctively penetrating, doctrinally sound, convicting of sin, and glorifying God’s sovereign grace (Schaefer, 39, 42).

Notes:

• Perkins in his The Art of Prophesying argues that preaching has a dual value (p.3) but then adds that it is also “the allurer of the soul” and a “weapon.” Hence, it can be argued that Perkins actually viewed preaching as possessing a fourfold value.
• William Perkins, The Art of Prophesying (1595; trans. 1606; reprint, Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 2002), 3.
• Ibid., 3.
• Ibid., 3.
• Ibid., 5.
  

William Perkins' Preaching Ministry (Part 1)

Having concluded my modest effort to make William Perkins more known via my particular attention given to his life and ministry, I will now continue on with that same effort via emphasis given to his preaching ministry. Please note again that while there are some misspelled words by modern English standards, they are accurate quotations of the seventeenth-century English resources utilized. Enjoy!

William Perkins Preaching MinistrY

Synopsis of the Preacher

As influential a minister, scholar, and writer as Perkins was, his forte was undeniably his God-given ability to preach from the scriptures. His preaching was biblical, expository, lucid, practical, and very powerful. It is said of his preaching that they were all law and all Gospel. All law to expose the sinner’s sin and all Gospel to offer God’s free pardon for that same sin. Moreover, he was quite successful at it. Hence, his preaching was an awakening ministry that aroused sinners to perceive the certainty of their eternal damnation and its only solution through God’s gracious salvation.

Perkins was a sought after preacher. Clark notes that upon the discovery that he preached to the prisoners in Cambridge, which brought about the spiritual renovation of numerous convicts, “many resorted to that place out of the neighbor-Parishes to hear him.” Subsequently, he was chosen as the lecturer/preacher to Great St. Andrew’s parish church in Cambridge, a place of prominent pulpit ministry, where he preached for the remaining years of his life.

Perkins was also an effective soul-caring preacher. His preaching was not so plain that the erudite could not admire them. Yet, they were not so complex that the unlearned could not profit from them. He excelled at ministering to broken souls and those battling with doubtful and troubling consciences. Hence, it was common that “the afflicted in spirit came far and near to him, and received much satisfaction, and comfort by him.” His preaching was truly multifarious in that sense.

Perkins’ extraordinary eloquence was palpable ever since his earliest preaching years. Those familiar with Perkins probably came across the following notation by Fuller: “He would pronounce the word Damne with such an emphasis as left a dolefull Echo in his auditours eares a good while after. And when Catechist of Christ Colledge, in expounding the Commandments, applied them to home, able almost to make his hearers hearts fall down, and haires to stand upright.” Yet, as ingenuous as this report may be, it is actually an inexact representation of Perkins’ the preacher in entirety. Fuller adds that as this ardent young preacher seasoned and matured, “he altered his voice, and remitted much of his former rigidnesse, often professing that to preach mercy was that proper office of the Ministers of the Gospel.” So, his progressing effectiveness as a preacher was more owing to his attention to substance rather than his style.

Perkins was also a preacher who set his heart to practice the scriptures and not only to study and preach/teach the scriptures (cf. Ezra 7:10). In other words, he was a pious preacher—one who perseveringly paid close attention to his life and doctrine (cf. 1 Tim 4:16). Fuller points out that “Amongst those his many vertues worthy our imitation, his humility was eminent, in condescending to the capacity of his meanest Auditors.” Clark states that “his life was so pious, and spotlesse, that Malice was afraid to bite his credit into which he knew that her teeth could not enter.” Even when his friend prayed for the alleviation of pain caused by his deleterious kidney stones, Perkins requested, “Pray not for an ease of my Torment, but for an encrease of my Patience."

Perkins piety fused with his penetrating preaching influenced the ensuing generations of Puritan preachers. Schaefer writes that “William Haller, who, along with Perry Miller and M.M. Knappen, helped bring Puritan studies out of scholarly obsolescence, coined the phrase, ‘the spiritual brotherhood’ for this younger generation of preachers who absorbed the instruction of those like Chaderton and his pupil Perkins.” Moreover, a series of “Puritan worthies” also developed because of Perkins’s ministry. For instance, Perkins' ministry was instrumental in the spiritual conversion of Paul Baynes, his successor at St. Andrews. Baynes in turn was instrumental in the spiritual conversion of the famous Puritan Richard Sibbes, considered the second William Perkins due to his influence upon the rising generation of his contemporary Puritans. Sibbes was instrumental in the spiritual conversion of John Cotton. Cotton was instrumental in the spiritual conversion of John Preston. Preston was instrumental in the spiritual conversion of both Thomas Shephard and Thomas Goodwin. Peter Lewis writes that it was through Perkins’ “thorough and typically Puritan standards of expository preaching and strict and pious living, the younger generation of Puritans was immeasurably influenced by ‘Perkins our wonder.'"

Notes (see William Perkins' Life & Ministry posts for a fuller bibliography for some of the sources listed below):

• Peter Lewis, The Genius of Puritanism (Hayward Heath: Carey Publications, 1975), 20-21.
• Hulse, 44.
• Clark, 415.
• Ibid., 415.
• Ibid., 415.
• Fuller, The Holy State and the Profane State, 82.
• Ibid., 82.
• Clark, 417.
• Schaefer, 41.
• Ibid., 41.
• Lewis, 24.
• Schaefer, 41.
• Lewis, p.21.

Unfortunately True!

Can you disagree with what they're saying?

Woe to You!

I think myself and those in "my camp" need to hear this, repeatedly. I can't think of anyone else in greater danger of becoming like the Pharisees.