Theology

20 Quotes from Dane Ortlund's New Book "Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinner and Sufferers"

This book is awesome. This is incredible Christology with heart-warming devotion. This is a book that anyone can read. I can’t say enough about it.

Let me tell you, these 20 quotes were hard to choose. I’ve underlined over 50% of the book with many times writing “wow”, “good”, or “stunning” beside something underlined. I’ll let these 20 quotes say more than I can:

  1. “Meek. Humble. Gentle. Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.” p.19

  2. “The point in saying that Jesus is lowly is that he is accessible. For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ.” p.20

  3. “If we are asked to say only one thing about who Jesus is, we would be honoring Jesus’s own teaching if our answer is, gentle and lowly.” p.21

  4. “What helium does to a balloon, Jesus’s yoke does to his followers. We are buoyed along in life by his endless gentleness and supremely accessible loneliness. He doesn’t simply meet us at our place of need; he lives in our place of need. He never tires of sweeping us into his tender embrace. It is his very heart. It is what gets him out of bed in the morning.” p.23

  5. “Time and again it is the morally disgusting, the socially reviled, the inexcusable and undeserving, who do not simply receive Christ’s mercy but to whom Christ most naturally gravitates.” p.27

  6. “When we are speaking of Christ’s heart, we are not so much speaking of one attribute alongside others. We are asking who he most deeply is. What pours out of him most naturally?” p.29

  7. “It is impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be overcelebrated, made too much of, exaggerated. It cannot be plumbed. But it is easily neglected, forgotten. We draw too little strength from it. We are not leaving behind the harsher side to Jesus as we speak of his very heart. Our sole aim is to follow the Bible’s own testimony as we tunnel in to who Jesus most surprisingly is.” p.29

  8. “The same Christ who wept at the tomb of Lazarus weeps with us in our lonely despair. The same one who reached out and touched lepers puts his arm around us today when we feel misunderstood and sidelined. The Jesus who reached out and cleansed messy sinners reaches into our souls and answers our half-hearted plea for mercy with the mighty invincible cleansing of one who cannot bear to do otherwise.” p.32

  9. “He does not get flustered and frustrated when we come to him for fresh forgiveness, for renewed pardon, with distress and need and emptiness. That’s the whole point. It’s what he came to heal. He went down into the horror of death and plunged out through the other side in order to provide a limitless supply of mercy and grace to his people.” p.37

  10. “When you come to Christ for mercy and love and help in your anguish and perplexity and sinfulness, you are going with the flow of his own deepest wishes, not against them.” p.38

  11. “Our difficulties draw out a depth of feeling in Christ beyond what we know.” p.49

  12. “He doesn’t handle us roughly. He doesn’t scowl and scold. He doesn’t lash out, the way many of our parents did. And all this restraint on his part is not because he has a diluted view of our sinfulness. He knows our sinfulness far more deeply than we do. Indeed, we are aware of just the tip of the iceberg of our depravity, even in our most searching moments of self-knowledge. His restraint simply flows from his tender heart for his people.” p.54

  13. “Jesus can no more bring himself to stiff-arm you than the loving father of a crying newborn can bring himself to stiff-arm his dear child. Jesus’s heart is drawn out to you. Nothing can chain his affections to heaven; his heart is too swollen with endearing love.” p.55

  14. “Look to Christ. He deals gently with you. It’s the only way he knows how to be. He is the high priest to end all high priests. As long as you fix your attention on your sin, you will fail to see how you can be safe. But as long as you look to this high priest, you will fail to see how you can be in danger. Looking inside ourselves, we can anticipate only harshness from heaven. Looking out to Christ, we can anticipate only gentleness.” p.57

  15. “Fallen, anxious sinners are limitless in their capacity to perceive reasons for Jesus to cast them out. We are factories of fresh resistances to Christ’s love. Even when we run out of tangible reasons to be cast out, such as specific sins or failures, we tend to retain a vague sense that, given enough time, Jesus will finally grow tired of us and hold us at arm’s length.” p.63

  16. “We cannot present a reason for Christ to finally close off his heart to his own sheep. No such reason exists. Every human friend has a limit. If we offend enough, if a relationship gets damaged enough, if we betray enough times, we are cast out. The walls go up. With Christ, our sins and weaknesses are the very resumé items that qualify us to approach him. Nothing but coming to him is required—first at conversion and a thousand times thereafter until w are with him upon death.” p.64

  17. “If you are part of Christ’s own body, your sins evoke his deepest heart, his compassion and pity. He takes ‘part with you’—that is, he’s on your side. He sides with you against your sin, not against you because of your sin. He hates sin. But he loves you. We understand this, says [Thomas] Goodwin, when we consider the hatred a father has against a terrible disease afflicting his child—the father hates the disease while loving the child. Indeed, at some level the presence of the disease draws out his to heart to his child all the more.” p.71

  18. “The sins of those who belong to God open the floodgates of his heart of compassion for us. The dam breaks. It is not our loveliness that wins his love. It is our unloveliness.” p.75

  19. “Christ’s heart is a steady reality flowing through time. It isn’t as if his heart throbbed for his people when he was on earth but has dissipated now that he is in heaven. It’s not that his heart was flowing forth in a burst of mercy that took him all the way to the cross but has now cooled down, settling back once more into kindly indifference. His heart is as drawn to his people now as ever it was in his incarnate state. And the present manifestation of his heart for his people is his constant interceding on their behalf.” p.79

  20. “He rises up and defends your case, based on the merits of his own sufferings and death. Your salvation is not merely a matter of a saving formula, but of a saving person. When you sin, his strength of resolve rises all the higher. When his brothers and sisters fail and stumble, he advocates on their behalf because it is who he is. He cannot bear to leave us alone to fend for ourselves.” p.91

For the Amazon link to the book, click here.

Here are some of the endorsements on the back of the book:

“I have read no book that more carefully, thoroughly, and tenderly displays Christ’s heart.” Paul Tripp

"Written with pastoral gentleness and quiet beauty, it teases out what twenty biblical texts contribute to this portrait of the heart of Christ, all of it brought together to bring comfort, strength, and rest to believers." D.A. Carson

"Dane Ortlund masterfully handles a treasure trove of Puritan wisdom and deftly presents it to the Christian reader." Rosaria Butterfield

“My life has been transformed by the beautiful, staggering truths in this book. Dane Ortlund lifts our eyes to see Christ’s compassion-filled heart for sinners and sufferers, proving that Jesus is no reluctant savior but one who delights in showing his mercy. For any feeling bruised, weary, or empty, this is the balm for you.” Michael Reeves

“Dane Ortlund writes about what seems too good to be true―the Lord delights to show mercy to you and to me―so he works very carefully through key texts and enlists the help of saints past. I was persuaded, and I look forward to being persuaded again and again.” Ed Welch

“Dane Ortlund helps us rediscover the heart of Jesus that is the very heart of the gospel. This delightful book opens up the sheer immensity of Jesus’s tender love for us. As you immerse yourself in Christ’s very heart, you’ll find your own heart warmed at the fire of the love of God. Ortlund opens up a neglected theme among the Puritans (in bite-sized chunks that won’t overwhelm you), where you’ll discover their grasp of the beauty of Jesus’s love. Your soul needs this book. I highly recommend it.” Paul E. Miller

Large Group Sermons on Romans

The One Thing You Must Do When You're Suffering

In his masterful devotional study, John Snyder says, “Israel’s measure of God was the measure of their hope—big God equals big hope.”

The context in which he is commenting comes after reading Isaiah 40. The book of Isaiah is divided into two major sections. Chapters 1-39 are written to God’s rebellious people who crave worldly security. Because of their rebellion, God tells them that exile is soon to come. Chapters 40-66 are prophecies about the later hope they will have amidst exile. Even though they will be in exile and under the dominion of Babylon there will nevertheless be a return to the land (a second Exodus).

In other words, chapter 40 is a word of hope amidst the turmoil, trial, and temptation to doubt God. What would give them hope to persevere? What would give them hope that God would never forget them? What would give them hope of deliverance? Verse 9 says, “Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’”

That is why Snyder says, “Israel’s measure of God was the measure of their hope—big God equals big hope.” Is this your hope as well? The one thing you must do when you’re suffering is to behold your God. The size of your hope is directly correlated to the “size” of your God.

What does it look like to “behold your God” amidst suffering?

  1. Study Him
    Suffering is the time to lean into your Bible reading. Suffering is the time to pick up a Systematic Theology or a doctrinal book. Why do we think that theology is only for seminarians and those who teach seminarians? Who came up with that suggestion? Suffering is the time to read authors who teach you the most about God. We need to study who God is and what God has done so that we can better interpret our suffering.

    Now, you can choose books that aren’t always helpful at the right time. It’s not always helpful to open up Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics (all 4 volumes!) when you're in the depths of suffering. But, sometimes it is! Different books work better at different times. The point is this: Don’t be satisfied with the shallow stuff. Don’t be satisfied with the OK stuff. Immerse yourself in the resources that saints of old have immersed themselves in.

    Much of what passes for “devotional” literature isn’t devotional at all. It is theology that truly transforms our thinking. We need to study God and seek to learn new things about God so that we can think, live, and feel differently. One of the best things I have done is read about the attributes of God during a tough period of suffering. I remember reading a book on the Trinity in a season of suffering. A God who is untameable is of great comfort. A God who I know everything about brings no hope.

    If our hope correlates to our view of God then we must strive to expand our view of God. We need help from modern and past saints. We need to read from those who have beheld God. But, we must be sure that we are not piggy-backing off their beholding. We must behold God for ourselves. Suffering is the time to make God our own. We must not rely on someone else’s words or experiences but rather we must meet the Lover of our souls for ourselves. What if God brought you into this particular suffering for you to know Him intimately.

    Suggested Reading:

    1. Confessing the Faith by Chad Van Dixhoorn

    2. Knowing God by J.I. Packer

    3. Reformed Dogmatics (in One Volume) by Herman Bavinck

    4. The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

  2. Study Suffering
    This might sound strange but it is necessary. What is your doctrine of suffering? Are you suffering more because your doctrine of suffering isn’t accurate? For instance, are you angry because you don’t feel like you should be going through this? Are you depressed because you never thought you would have to hurt this way? Are you upset because you feel entitled to have inner peace all the time? We need to have a right theology of suffering. Our Lord was a man of sorrows (Is. 53). Jesus told us that we will suffer because He suffered (Mt. 10:22, Jn. 15:21). Paul told us that we will suffer (Ph. 1:29). Suffering is a temporary tool that God uses to rid us of our earthly treasures.
    Suggested Reading:

    1. Embodied Hope by Kelly Kapic

    2. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop

    3. Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

  3. Find Help From Others

    It is not enough to be alone and read books. The only suggestion here is to find a group of trusted people you can be vulnerable with. We are too trapped in our minds when we are only dealing with suffering by ourselves. We need other voices. We need others to speak truth to us. Who are the people who have suffered similarly and met God in their suffering? Who are the people that can show you your story in light of God’s Story? Who are the people that know when to speak and when to listen? We behold God in community. God requires us to have a personal relationship with Him but not a personal church. In other words, the church is not only you. You must be in the thick of God’s people. If God is a community in Himself (The Trinity) then you can be sure that you (made in the image of God) need community.

How Can I Know The Will Of God?

One of the most frequent questions a Christian can ask themselves is: What is the will of God in this situation?

We have all been there many times. Over the years, I have read several books and talked with numerous mentors about finding the answer to this question in many particular situations. Whether you are thinking about going to a certain school, taking a job, dating/marrying someone, moving to a certain city, or whatever else, this topic is for you. As I write this, I will most likely write as if I am counseling someone who is choosing a certain job or school since that is what I find myself doing most in this area. Nevertheless, you can insert yourself and your situation into all of these. Without any more delay, these are some of the “rules” that I have accumulated and what I pass on to others.

  1. Are you holding back anything from God?
    This first searching question has more to do with our living in holiness towards God (1 Pet. 1:16). If we are habitually stiff-arming God from an area in our lives then we need to first repent before we can have a clearer answer to His will. Our sinful desires can certainly lead us astray. Just because that certain job looks attractive, the pay is great, and the city is trending doesn’t mean you should take that job. For all we know, it could just be another way to idolize our job performance rather than grow in godliness. This means that our first reflection should be to look at our lives. To be sure, we wake up every day in a Romans 7 struggle against sin. We will not be perfect until Glory but we can check our lives to see if we are habitually living a godless life in certain areas.

  2. Do you have the opportunity?
    Just because I have a passion for something and even some general skill in that same area doesn’t mean I have opportunity to do it (which is totally contrary to most of the worldly wisdom today). Part of God’s will is when He opens up and closes doors for us (Col. 4:3). If an opportunity is closed then we can be sure (and we must be patient!) that it’s not God’s will for us right now. We need to repent of the “giraffe syndrome” where we constantly are holding our heads high looking for greener grass. We certainly can pray for God to open up the opportunity if we do have the passion and the ability for such a opportunity but if the door is not open yet then we must remain patient. For all we know, maybe God is saving us from something in the future. “But”, you say, “what if there are multiple doors open?” Then by all means proceed to the next question!

  3. Do you have the ability?
    The next part is to test our gifts, skills, and abilities. God has gifted each of us in a particular way for a particular time among a particular people. We have all seen people who are striving to do something (more than merely having it as a hobby) and yet they don’t have the ability to get the job done day in and day out. You know what? This is fine! We don’t have to pridefully look around at others doubting us and then put our heads down to become a slave to such an opportunity and then when we have finally “made it” to turn back to all our doubters or “haters” and rub it in their face. Maybe in our pursuit of such an opportunity we have run over many people trying to do that. We need to notice how God has made us and what abilities we have. It’s no shame to lack a certain ability for an opportunity. When we realize that life is more than our school and job then we can be content (and more wise) wherever God has us and whatever abilities and inabilities we have. What if God wants you at a mid-level position at a mid-level company so that you can learn to depend more on Him, witness to those around you, and to keep you from idols? If I don’t have the ability to be the CEO of a company then I think it’s safe to say that pursuing that opportunity is not God’s will. Another aspect to see is that God gives us different abilities in different seasons of our lives. BUT just because God might be growing my desire and ability to cook doesn’t mean I’m called to be a chef. This all takes discernment and prayer.

  4. Do you have the passion?
    You might have the opportunity and the ability but maybe you dread the idea of going to do such a thing. If you are walking with God and daily repenting then God is shaping your desires more and more to His (Ps. 37:4). BUT we also need to tap the brakes on the modern idea that we need to always be pursuing our dreams and passions. Much modern thought is that we must absolutely love what we’re doing and if we’re not then we need to change things up. This actually mistakes “love” for “like”. Love sticks around even when you’re not as passionate but “like” always follows the emotions. Maybe this opportunity that you have is a good one that’s healthy for you and your family, gives you long-term sustainability, puts you in a good place to live where good solid churches are, and is probably a place where the Lord would use you…but, it’s not necessarily the top on your list. That’s fine! To be sure, I’m not saying go to the place that you dread the most. There are few moments in life where God treats us like Jonah and tells us to go to Nineveh for work or school. There are many times where a place or a circumstance has to “grow on us” before we are passionate about it. This is different for marriage. You better be passionate about that person. End of story. Passion can ebb and flow and passion is certainly NOT puppy love where you always have to be holding hands. But, if you’re not passionate about being with that person for life then you might want to take some time. Does this mean that when you married and lose passion for your spouse that you might be “called” to a divorce? Absolutely not! Once again, that is not true love but only a “like”. Love stays even when passion fades. Love is a commitment through thick and thin (even really thin!!!). But when it comes to a school, job, or move then make sure you have a healthy desire for it even though it might not be at the top of your list.

  5. Are you making this decision in community?
    This does not mean that you need to post a poll on Facebook or Instagram to ask the world their decision. What I mean is that big decisions like this takes more than just you. Are you married? Talk to your spouse. Are you living at home? Talk with your parents. Do you have mentors? Ask them what they think about it. We can often acquire “tunnel vision” when making such decisions when others close to us can help us see more clearly. Big decisions shouldn’t be made quickly, lightly, or alone. Have you asked your pastor? Have your asked your community group? Have you asked your friends and family? Do they think it’s wise? Do they think you could do well there? Are there any “red flags” that stand out to them? Listen to these various verses in Proverbs. “With those who take advice is wisdom” (13:10b). “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (15:22).

  6. Where does church fit into your decision?
    This is the most neglected of all of these. This question isn’t last because of priority but rather it is last because it ties a nice bow around the whole situation. If we ignore the most central aspect of our lives (worshiping God not merely in all of life but also in the local church) in our decisions then we are evaluating the situation foolishly. We must begin and end all our discerning of God’s will with God. If our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever and if God has called us to be apart of the local church (not just casually attend or just “date” the church) then we can be sure that this is a major factor to our decision. There have been several people who I have talked with who could’ve cared less about what churches or ministries were in the area. Their minds were on the flesh (Rom. 8:5-8). We need to do some research about what churches are in the area. Once again, we need to guard against the extreme that says that we must find the most relevant church that has a massive community with an incredible preacher and thriving ministries and unless there is that then I’m not going there. Maybe God wants you in a smaller, less relevant church where there is a faithful pastor who preaches the Word in season and out of season and, frankly, a church that needs you! Not just pastors are called to a local church. Another caveat is this: You might be forced to go somewhere where there isn’t a thriving church. This primarily refers to when you have the opportunity to wrestle with staying or leaving. But, let’s be sure that we’re not just saying we were “forced to” so that we can ignore the church question.

Why Study God?

Next week, we will be wrapping up our Youth Ministry Large Group sermon series in the Book of Exodus with a sermon on chapter 34 which is primarily about the attributes of God. In preparation for this sermon, I was reminded of one of the best books on the subject of the attributes of God. In J.I. Packer’s Knowing God, one is confronted with a God who is far beyond all eyes can see and minds can imagine. Packer has sold millions of copies of this book and for good reason. There are few books that explore the depths of the God of the Bible with so much simplicity. Packer begins his most famous book Knowing God with one of the best openings of any book ever although the opening is not his own words but rather someone else’s. Here is how the book begins:

[Packer begins] On January 7, 1855, the minister of New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, England, opened his morning sermon as follows:

“It has been said by someone that ‘the proper study of mankind is man.’ I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.

“There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, ‘Behold I am wise.’ But when we come to this master science, finding that our plumbline cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass’s colt; and with solemn exclamation, ‘I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.’ No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God….

“But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe….The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity.

“And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatory. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in its immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning.”

[Packer’s begins again] These words, spoken over a century ago by C.H. Spurgeon (at that time, incredibly, only twenty years old) were true then, and they are true now. They make a fitting preface to a series of studies on the nature and character of God.

Oh, may God raise up more Packers and Spurgeons who know a God like this and proclaim a God like this!

4 Ways RTS Jackson Has Shaped Me

Tomorrow night my wife and I will be attending an event hosted by RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) where they have some students doing a panel discussion on their experiences at RTS Jackson. While thinking in anticipation for this, there have been many thoughts go through my mind about the different ways RTS has shaped me in my time there. Although I am not done until December, I have already seen several ways that my life has been changed because of my studies there. This list could be pages and pages long but I wanted to give just a few that might be helpful. Keep in mind, I transferred to RTS from another seminary because I knew that what RTS was doing at the moment was some of the best in the world and I could not afford to miss out on it.

  1. Big God Theology
    There is no replacement for sitting under teaching for four years while soaking in theology that drowns you (and I’m not talking about theology that you can’t understand because the terms are strange and the wording is complicated but rather the theology that a child can read but an adult is overwhelmed by). True theology “happens” not when people write or teach in a complicated way where only the academic elites understand but rather when they write and teach in an overly simple, relevant, and applicable way but the truth of it is so weighty that it knocks you on your spiritual back. We live in an overly man-centered age of the Church and RTS has battled against that by showing us a God who cannot tamed. If the foundation of sin is built upon pride then the best way to combat against sin is to look to an infinitely glorious God. RTS certainly done that. I cannot tell you how many days I have walked away from class thinking, “I know nothing. I am so small.” Hopefully, you’ll laugh at that thought because we have all been prideful in our thoughts about God and need to be humbled by how “big” He really is. Two of the professors I have to thank for this first reason are Derek Thomas and Bruce Baugus.

  2. Preaching a Big God in a Simple, Clear, and Applicable Style
    What good is it to know all the theology in the world if you can’t help others understand it? Christ has commanded that all Christians live on mission (shoutout to Dr. Elias Medeiros) and that means to present the gospel in word and deed. RTS has shown us that the depths of theology are for the Church. Theology is not left for the academic elites while the rest of the Church just focuses on “Christian living”. If salvation is to know God (John 17:3) and if the entirety of the Word is what sanctifies us (John 17:17) then that means that every Christian needs to understand the depths of theology. The primary way this happens is when a man learns to preach a “big” God in simple ways. One of the best pieces of advice I have gotten came from Reverend Patrick Curles (Associate Minister at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, AL) when he told me, “If you can’t preach the gospel to the elementary kids then you can’t preach the gospel to adults.” His point was that if you don’t know the depths of the gospel so clearly that you cannot present it simply to those who can’t read then you don’t really know how to preach the gospel. RTS has put a big emphasis on this. There is no such thing as good preaching if it cannot be understood. There is also no such thing as preaching if you only explain the text. The Bible jumps out at us and redefines all of life and if the preacher does not “apply” the text to the real lives of his congregation then he is not preaching. I am very indebted to Dr. Charlie Wingard for giving us straightforward feedback on the seven sermons that we preach in front of him (and that he graciously sits through). I am also greatly indebted to Dr. Sean Michael Lucas for showing me what it was to proclaim Christ all the time.

  3. We Must Be Pastor-Scholars
    There is an unnecessary division between a pastor and a scholar. I believe it was Sinclair Ferguson who once said that this has only been a recent development in Church History. Through much of the church’s history the pastor has been the scholar and the scholar has been the pastor. RTS has sought to develop pastor-scholars rather than either/or. We make a wrong division when we say that the pastor shouldn’t be someone who studies more for the sake of shepherding the people or that the scholar shouldn’t be someone who relates his studies to the people. The pastor is the “local theologian” for the people and where the pastor is not a theologian then the people tend to be ignorant. Again, RTS has done a superb job of not just teaching us the truth but lighting a fire in us to keep pursuing a greater knowledge of the truth that applies to our people. My father is a long-time veterinarian in Montgomery and he told me once, “Vet school does make someone a veterinarian; it only gives someone a license to learn how to be a veterinarian.” In the same way, seminary doesn’t make a pastor-scholar. Seminary only gives someone the license to learn how to pursue to being a pastor-scholar. The pastor is someone who must always been studying and always learning. For this, I have a massive amount of thanks for Dr. Benjamin Gladd, Dr. Guy Waters, Dr. Miles Van Pelt, and Dr. Mike McKelvey. These four men have not merely convinced me that lifelong study is necessary but also have lit a fire in me to do so.

  4. No Other Way To Prepare Youth Workers
    Unfortunately, youth ministry is seen by many churches and pastors as a “practice round” for future pastors. Youth ministry is often treated as the “minor leagues” while the senior pastor is the “big leagues”. Here’s the problem: the students that I am leading today are the elders for tomorrow. The students I am preaching to tonight are the pastors and counselors for tomorrow. Working at Pear Orchard while pursuing my studies at RTS has been the best preparation for preaching to youth, counseling youth, and leading youth. The Church cannot afford to overlook youth ministry because where youth are neglected the Church is neglected. Our youth are growing up in a Church culture where there is much biblical illiteracy and this is greatly hurting not only the Church but the world. What we need now more than ever is better preaching to youth, better teaching to you, better counseling to youth (massive shoutout to Dr. John Kwasny—yes, the same John Kwasny who is at POPC!), and better discipling of youth. RTS has taught me that the big parts of theology are not left for the “big leagues” but rather they are of utmost necessity for the seventh grader who feels like they have no friends. The tenth grader who struggles with pornography doesn’t need just some web blockers or tips to not look at porn. What they need now more than ever is a “big” God who transforms their lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ. If our youth don’t have “big God preaching” then they will never be transformed. We have too many youth workers who give students fluff and lightweight lessons because they don’t think they can handle the more “weighty” matters of Scripture. I have seen from experience and word of others that when a “big” God is preached in simple, straightforward, relevant, and applicable ways that youth not only listen but are transformed by it. For this, I am forever indebted to RTS for training me in this way.

For all of this, I am forever grateful to Dr. Ligon Duncan for his leadership and passion for RTS and the training of future church leaders.

Life and Theology

What does it mean to know God? Would we say that it’s primarily knowing a certain set of facts or propositions about God? Does it mean “feeling good” Sunday morning during church? Is it the same as memorizing Bible verses? What if I said that knowing God involves all of the above, and yet a crucial part of knowing God is obedience? To know God is to obey God. That might sound like a strange statement, but I want us to see that it is well-grounded in the Scriptures.

During the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah, the Lord commissioned him to deliver this word of judgment against Shallum, the king of Judah: “Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:15-16). Notice in this passage that the Lord connects the obedience of the king with knowledge of the Lord.

We see another example in Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees. At the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus delivers His most withering attack against the supposed “God-knowers” of his day: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice” (Matthew 23:2-3). Later in this passage, Jesus calls the Pharisees “sons of hell” (23:15). The very people who were supposed to know God the most actually proved themselves to be sons of the devil (John 8:44). In this second example especially, we can see that there is a vast difference between knowing God and knowing about God. While the Pharisees knew the Scriptures backwards and forwards, their lack of obedience demonstrated that they knew the devil far more than they knew God.

We as Reformed Christians need to be reminded of this truth, because we can often equate the knowledge of God with knowledge about God, in ways that appear largely innocent. Perhaps one of the more common ways we do this is by thinking that if we are reading “theological books,” or even the Bible itself, we are automatically becoming more Christ-like. I do not want to discourage the reading of sound theological books, and I definitely don’t want to discourage us from reading our Bibles more. However, as Thabiti Anyabwile has noted, “Good theology does not mechanically lead to good living…We can stack our chips on theology, as though theology inexorably produces the social results we want with little to no attending effort.” This means that we do not become more holy by simply reading Christians books, or even by the bare reading of Scripture, as if by a “mystical osmosis” the words will produce right living. Rather, it is in striving to obey the Word, both in our “vertical” relationship with the Lord, as well as in our “horizontal” relationships with neighbors, that we gain a greater knowledge of God.

We must keep in mind, even as we educate ourselves and one another, that education is not our ultimate goal. Rather, it is “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). We should ask ourselves every now and again whether we’re truly growing in our knowledge of God. Perhaps we might be tempted to think that the only way to judge that is whether we’re reading our Bibles for longer periods of time, or whether we’re making it to church every Sunday. These indeed are essential barometers of spiritual growth, but along with these questions, let’s ask whether we are delighting in Jesus more, whether we are seeking justice for the oppressed and poor in our neighborhoods, whether the Bible is in fact coming “alive” in our words and deeds, through our love for Christ and others. While it takes time and effort for us to “connect the dots” between the word of God and the world in which his word is applied, it is well worth it! Let’s press on to know the Lord (Hosea 6:3).