“The Sweet Dropper” Part 3

BRUISED REEDS AND SMOKING FLAXES

In “To The General Reader,” at the beginning of The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax, Sibbes begins to lay out his agenda for the following pages of his work.  His main concern is for those people “the chief ground of whose trouble was the want of considering the gracious nature and office of Christ.”[1]  The problem in his mind with many people is that they do not understand how gracious and merciful a Savior Jesus Christ really is.  Furthermore, he adds, “God hath laid up all grace and comfort in Christ for us, and planted a wonderful sweetness of pity and love in his heart towards us.”[2]  From the beginning of this work, Sibbes points his readers to the source of all true comfort, Jesus Christ.  Here is the place God has appointed for sinners to draw near and have their hearts strengthened with grace. 

Sibbes insightfully points out that it is Satan’s goal to skew one’s understanding of Christ.  He says of those so assaulted by the evil one, “These are abused by false presentations of Christ.”[3]  Satan’s aim is to present people with a Christ to whom they will not want to draw near, an angry-judging Christ, but Sibbes would remind them that Christ is gracious and humble. 

God also “setteth himself in the covenant of grace to triumph in Christ over the greatest enemies and evils we fear…that there are heights, and depths, and breaths of mercy in him above all the depths of our sin and misery.”[4]  Christ is not one to whom sinners cannot flee, but one who must triumph by the decree of his father in the covenant of grace.  He must not cast out those who come to him, but display mercy and raise them up on the last day.  There is no depth of sin that can keep us from him or drive his love away from us.  This is how Sibbes introduces his subject.

In the opening of The Bruised Reed, Sibbes divides the text (Matthew 11:20) into two parts: 1) the calling of Jesus and 2) the execution of his calling.  Sibbes says that Jesus came with a mission and he did everything by commission of the father.[5]  Regarding this calling Sibbes says,

“wherein we may see the sweet love of God to us, that counts the work of our salvation by Christ his greatest service; and that he will put his only beloved Son to that service.  He might well prefix Behold, to raise up our thoughts to the highest pitch of attention and admiration.  In the time of temptation, misgiving consciences look so much at the present trouble they are in, that they need be roused up to behold him in whom him in whom they find rest for their distressed souls.  In temptations it is safest to behold nothing, but Christ.”[6]        

Jesus has answered the call of his father to be a servant, to seek and save the lost.  He did so by becoming a sacrifice for sin on the cross.  This work was effectual in that it actually paid the price for the sin of those given to Christ by the Father.  Here Sibbes says we are to fix the eyes of our hearts.  It is to Christ we are to go in times of temptation to behold his love to us.  However, Sibbes’ main point in this collection of sermons is not to focus upon the calling of Christ in the covenant of grace, but rather the execution of this calling.  He comments about this execution saying, “And his coming was so modest, so it was mild, which is set down in these words: The bruised reed shall he not break.”[7]  Jesus coming and fulfillment of his father’s mission was not to rub shoulders with the elite, but to associate with the humble and poor in spirit.  From this division of Matthew 11:20, Sibbes makes three observations, which are three main points of his sermons.  They have already been listed in the introduction.[8]   

Now to begin analyzing the first of these three main points, which is “the condition of men whom he was to deal withal is, that they were bruised reeds.”[9]  Sibbes points out that God uses the illustration of bruised reeds and smoking wicks to describe the type of people Jesus works with.  Sometimes this bruising happens before conversion to humble the sinner’s heart and to bring them to Christ, but then often times afterwards as well to further point the Christian to the gospel that saved them.  In his own words, Sibbes clarifies, “for usually he empties such of themselves, and makes them nothing, before he will use them in any great service.”[10] 

Additionally, what is the purpose of this bruising for the converted?  Sibbes says that after conversion we are in need of bruising.  His reason for this is “(1) reeds may know themselves to be reeds, and not oaks; even reeds need bruising, by reason of the remainder of pride in our nature…(2) that weaker Christians may not be to much discouraged when they see stronger shaken and bruised.”[11]  This is the first of the three focuses of Sibbes; that Christians would know how low and humble the ministry of Christ does reach. 

 

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[1] Sibbes, “The Bruised Reed,” 38.   

[2] Ibid., 38.  

[3] Ibid., 38.  

[4] Ibid, 38.   

[5] Ibid., 42.   

[6] Ibid., 42.   

[7] Ibid., 43.   

[8] See p.7.   

[9] Sibbes, “The Bruised Reed,” 43.   

[10] Ibid., 43.   

[11] Ibid., 44.

 

Closeted Calvin

I thought that I had officially developed a new word “closeted.” However, because of curiosity, I went to Wikapedia only to have my hopes crushed, seeing the word had already been coined! The actual meaning of closeted in the more general sense is “any behavior that is potentially embarrassing or controversial, and thus kept hidden.”

Now, what in the name of all that is good does this have to do with this post? Well, I have been on this journey of discovery over the past 9 years of learning about the doctrines of a man called John Calvin. I did not begin this journey at college or seminary, but a few months after Jesus saved me, a friend who discipledme, introduced me to the “dreadful” Calvinism. He was pro Calvinism, that is he agreed with this teaching. However, I did not know what to make of it and set out on a journey to see what the Bible said concerning TULIP and what other people had to say about it.  

My conclusion after 9 years is that Calvin has been so controversial, because of his teaching on salvation that few souls have known his life and what the man actually did. Knowing his life, makes him more than an ivory tower theologian! He was a Christian, a Husband, a Pastor, a Church-Planter, a Missionary-Advocate, a Teacher, ect.      

My point is not to convince you of Calvinism, but to show you that Calvin has been “closeted.” His teaching on salvation, which is usually singled out from all his other doctrine, as if he invented this idea (Augustine), has created so much debate that his life has been “closeted.”  Calvin’s life has been “kept hidden” to many people.

 Before graduating, a professor at seminary told our class, “One year at a major meeting (ETS) of evangelical pastors and theologians, there was a survey given, which asked, ‘what author and book have most influenced you?’ The overwhelming majority said, ’Calvin and Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion.” With this encouragement and the fact that 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth, I have made it a goal to read about his life and to read The Institutes of Christian Religion.

I have recently read John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine & Doxology (This book is a great read and was written by many fine pastors and scholars), which has shown me even more clearly that Calvin’s life has been kept hidden. I have talked with Christians from all kinds of different backgrounds and denominations about this topic and have heard some say pretty outrageous things about Calvin and Calvinism. I have heard them call him a heretic, which means he was worthy to be damned to hell for not preaching the gospel! I have heard people say that calvinists don’t and can’t share the gospel.

Well, if this helps to “uncloset” (A new word?) some calvinist and Calvin himself here goes. I want to mention a chapter in John Calvin (book above),  called “The Churchman of the Reformation.” In this chapter, the author Harry L. Reeder provides some great insights into Calvin’s life as a Teacer and Writer, but I want to focus on his section on Calvin as Pastor/Evangelist/Missionary. For instance, Reeder says, “The blessing of God upon the missionary endevours of Calvin and the Geneva churches from 1555 to 1562 was extraordinary-more than one hundred underground churches were planted in France by 1560.” This fact alone is stagerring! 5 years=100 churches! However, Reeder goes to unload even more numbers, saying, “By 1562, the number had increased to 2,150, producing more than three million members. Some of these churches had congregations numbering in the thousands.” Reeder quotes several pastors at these churches whose membership was 5 t0 6 thousand and 8 to 9 thousand. These numbers are humbling! They show us the depth of his labor to see that the gospel would advance and that people would be rescued from Satan and sin through Jesus Christ. Reeder doesn’t stop here. He writes about Calvin’s missionary work beyond the borders of France. Reeder says, “Geneva trained missionaries planted churches in Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Germany, England, Scotland, and the independent states of Rhineland. Even more astonishing was an initiative that sent missionaries to Brazil.”

I hope by writing this I have helped some of you see that Calvin wasn’t concerned about damning people with his pen in his ivory tower, but about the salvation of souls. This was his concern with his pastor training, writing, and missionary work. If you also get a chance, read Calvin, don’t just assume you know about him. I mean its his 500th birthday and all!

 

Sao Paulo

This Monday marks my 7th trip to Brazil. The last trip I took was after I graduated in May of 2004. Recently, me and my lovely bride were watching some videos  that I had filmed while on this first trip. What struck me was the date May 25th 2004. This is the exact date of our departure on Monday from Richamond. Also, interestingly I have just graduated again. This time from seminary. 7th trip, same date, and after graduatio…hmm…either I just look into things too much or God is up to something. I don’t know if any of this has any significance, but I am just so blessed to be able to go there again with my wife.

Please pray for us and the people of Sao Paulo!

 

“The Sweet Dropper” Part 2

Therefore, St. John’s for Sibbes, Dever says, “Must have been not simply a training ground in Reformed divinity, but in Reformed divinity exercised with political restraint.”[1]  With such pressure from inside and outside the church there is no wonder Dever would say that Sibbes learned political restraint.  His moderation or restraint would also show up later in his life, when it came to the question his own conformity.   

Sibbes was eventually elected to three of the most important positions at the college, Senior Dean and Lector Domesticus, senior fellow, which was the most important of the three, and Taxor.[2]  St. John’s was the place of his education and career, but most importantly the place of his conversion.  Dever says of Cambridge at this time, “Elizabethan Cambridge had many things to commend serious contemplation of religion, from regular sermons, to monthly communion, from required prayers.”[3]  He was converted during this time under the ministry of Paul Baynes.  Sibbes conversion does not seem to be dramatic, but one that was gradual. 

In 1608, Sibbes was ordained a deacon and priest in the Church of England.[4]  At this time, Sibbes would have subscribed to the Three Articles.  He then began preaching, of which Dever comments, “Sibbes quickly gained a reputation as a good preacher among the people of Cambridge.”[5]  He would have acquired this reputation from the public sermons he delivered at St. John’s chapel.

In 1610, Sibbes became lecturer at Holy Trinity Church.[6]  His sermons became so popular there that an extra gallery needed to be added to seat everyone.  John Cotton another noted Puritan was converted under the preaching of Sibbes at Holy Trinity.  He had been sitting under the preaching of William Perkins which troubled him, but “Sibbes’ more hopeful preaching encouraged him.”[7]  Thomas Goodwin was also converted under his preaching.  He would later come to be one of the main editor’s to the works of Richard Sibbes.[8] 

In 1616, he was elected preacher at Gray’s Inn, which was the largest of the Inns of Court and the most influential.  The Inns of Court were bases of operation for Puritan clergy and laymen.[9]  At Gray’s Inn, his salary was increased twice and there were editions added onto building as well to accommodate the parishioners.[10]  Among those who would have heard his sermons throughout the years were: John Milton, William Gouge, Charles Chauncey, Joseph Mede, Jeremy Taylor, George Herbert, Matthew Wren, Bacon, Boyle, Cromwell, Drake, Nevill, Sindey and Winthrop.[11]   

Sibbes remains a distinct figure from many of his Puritan contemporaries for the fact that he conformed to the constraints of the Church of England, while many of them left their pulpits.  He saw the Church of England as a true church, because it had “sound preaching of the Gospell, right dispensation of the Sacraments, Prayer religiously performed, evill persons justly punished…many spiritual children to the Lord.”[12]  Sibbes thought that “separation and emigration were needlessly negative responses.”[13]  Therefore, he said, “must we make a rent in the church for…circumstantial evils?  That were a remedy worse than the disease.”[14]  This was the mindset of the man, Richard Sibbes who remained loyal to that church in which he received Jesus Christ and found salvation for his soul.  His heart was convinced to make room for peace and gradual reformation within the Church of England.

Sibbes was a man concerned not only with the unity and peace of the church, but was also consumed with bringing comfort and peace to the people who heard him preach.  In Packer’s foreword to Dever’s Richard Sibbes, Packer says of Sibbes, “He was called the Sweet Dropper by reason of his encouraging sermons.”[15]  In a time, when Sibbes could have like many walked away from the church or chose to speak in a veiled bitter manner about the church and its people, he chose instead to drop anchor and preach a gospel of comfort.  Furthermore, Dever describes Sibbes’ preaching as being, “distinguished by its more pacific tone, more concerned with comfort than controversy.”[16]     

 

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[1] Ibid., 33.  

[5] Ibid., 36.  

[7] Ibid., 40. 

[10] Ibid., 75.  

[11] Rooy, Theology of Missions, 17.     

[12] Richard Sibbes, “Consolatory Letter to an Afflicted Conscience” in Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander B. Grosart.vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2001), cxvi.    

[13] Dever, Richard Sibbes, x.  

[15] Dever, Sibbes, ix.   

[16] Ibid., 1.  

[17] Richard Sibbes, “The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax” in Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander B. Grosart. vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2001), 43.

 

Men and Marriage

This video is a must see brothers. We all need a good open-handed smack every once in a awhile

more about "Men and Marriage ", posted with vodpod

 

“The Sweet Dropper” Part 1

SIBBES’ LIFE 

In 1577, Richard Sibbes was born to Paul and Joanne Sibbes in Tostock.  This was only five years after the death of John Knox and thirteen after John Calvin.[1]  His father Paul was known to be a strong Christian man, who worked hard at wheel making.[2]  When he was very young, his parents moved away from Tostock to Thurston. 

During his early schooling, Sibbes walked about a mile back and forth to school in Pakenham (North of Thurston).[3]  After going to school in Pakenham from around 1587, he walked to Edward VI Free School at St. Edmunds.  This school was over four miles from his home.  The work at the school was quite rigorous.  They were “to memorize and recite the creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments in English and Latin regularly.  Through recitation they learned Latin and Greek.”[4]  The only recreation the students were allowed was shooting arrows.  He later would use this imagery in his writings.  They went to school from 6:00 AM until 5:00pm.

Sibbes’ education did not cease at this point, but was furthered with help of some local men.  They noted his “predilection for study.”[5]  These local men, Leonard Graves and Mr. Rushbrooke, without the permission of Sibbes’ father, arranged a meeting for him at St, John’s College, Cambridge.  Among the people at this meeting, was the “Puritan Chief” John Knewstub.[6]  Here Sibbes met his first person of note.  Knewstub was the vicar of Cockfield.  With the help of these men, Sibbes attended St. John’s. 

During his time as a student, William Perkins was lecturing at St. Andrew the Great.  Of Perkins, Dever remarks, “Perkins was a popular lecturer among the students and had a wide influence among those in the generations immediately following him.”[7]  In the list of those students who listened to Perkins, were Sibbes, William Ames, and William Gouge (A good friend of Sibbes). 

When Sibbes entered the college during the mid 1590’s, it was without a doubt a place where students and scholars alike could hear different views of the protestant gospel.[8]  There was also much controversy about the doctrine of grace around the time in which Sibbes studied at St. John’s.  However, this showed that deep theological questions could be raised and discussed.  Sibbes enrolled at St. John’s in 1595 under the teaching of William Whitaker, who was a Calvinist.[9]  However, not very long after Sibbes arrived at St. John’s, Whitaker died.[10]  A month after Whitaker’s death, Cambridge hired Richard Clayton.  Commenting on this unstable time at St. John’s, Dever says,

“it is clear that Sibbes had entered a setting in which college sermons, divinity lectures, and conversations in the hallways must have revolved around conformity…the college that Sibbes entered was theologically turbulent and socially unruly.”[11]  

Sibbes finished his degree (B.A.) from St. John’s in 1599.  While he was there, the Lambeth articles produced a setting for Calvinistic doctrine, which the Church of England and the universities subscribed to.[12] 

In 1603, at the Hampton Court Conference, James VI decided that the Puritans should conform to the law of the Church of England.[13]  This conformity included the affirmation of the Three Articles of Canon 36, which espoused the supremacy of the king in the Church of England, the Book of Common Prayer and the ecclesiastical structure of the church were not in opposition to the word of God, the Book of Common Prayer must be used in its form in public worship and nothing else, and that the 39 articles were biblical.[14]  In 1607, Paul Baynes had to leave his fellowship because he refused to subscribe or conform.  William Ames, in 1610, was silenced for speaking out about the ills of the church.  He eventually left England and went to the Netherlands as a chaplain.[15] 

 

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[1] Sidney H. Rooy, The Theology of Missions in the Puritan Tradition: A Study of Representative Puritans: Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter, John Eliot, Cotton Mather & Jonathan Edwards (Laurel, MS: Audubon Press, 2006), 15.      

 

[2]  Mark E. Dever, Richard Sibbes: Puritanism and Calvinism in Late Elizabethan and Early Stuart England (Macon, GA: Macon University Press, 2000), 12.     

 

[3] Dever, Sibbes, 13.  

 

[4] Ibid., 14.

 

[5] Ibid., 16.  

 

[6] Ibid., 17. 

 

[7] Ibid., 18. 

 

[8] Ibid., 18.

 

[9] Ibid., 20. 

 

[10] Ibid., 21.  

 

[11] Ibid., 23. 

 

[12] Ibid., 26.  

 

[13] Ibid., 27.  

 

[14] Ibid., 28.  

 

[15] Ibid., 29.

 

Spurgeon-Missions

“Someone asked will the heathen who have never heard the gospel be saved? It is more a question with me wether we–who have the gospel and fail to give it to those who have not–can be saved.“

 

- Charles Spurgeon

 

Be A Freakin Man! – Mark Driscoll

 

 

Baby – What Are You Thinking?

Once again, I’m getting married March 28th and it is interesting to hear some of the questions that people ask me about this up and coming event. How is the wedding planning going? Where are you going to live? Is your wife going to work? How long was the engagement? And the list goes on, but there is one question that has been bothering me. Actually, it has got me quite angry to the point where I am going to punch the next person who asks it, even if its a girl, jk, not that angry. The question is “Are you going to use birth control?” Or some form of that question.

This question most often comes from Christians given the obvious assumption that the Bible teaches that sex before marriage is rebellion against the Creator. Those that ask the question know that sex will begin to happen when I get married, thank you Jesus! But they also know that when you have sex, you get babies, unless you do something to “control” God’s design. Well, if you’re wondering what me and my wonderful fiance, Audrey, are planning to do about this it is to control the birth by doing everything we can to make sure a birth occurs!

I have thought a lot about all this, more than most people “Christian” I think. I don’t mean that in a prideful way, but when I respond to them, they seem to look pretty foolish from my perspective. The other day I heard a great discussion about this topic on Dr. Albert Mohler’s Radio program. Dr. Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at Southern was filling in for him and the title of the show was “Encouraging the Blessing of Children.” Here is description of the show:

Do Christians view children and families as a blessing from the Lord? Or have we, like the culture around us, bought into the idea that children are just another ‘lifestyle option’ for married couples? On today’s program, guest host Russell Moore welcomes Steve Watters to the program. Steve and Candice Watters are the authors of Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies.

I would challenge you to listen to it, since both of the men on the program at one time did not see things they way they do now. They share some of their previous reasoning and shame. I would also love to know what you think about this issue. I’ll be honest I have been “warned” and encouraged not to have children right away by almost every Christian whom I have spoken with. Do you think I’m crazy too? Do you think I’m getting of the narrow path?

 

A Winter Paradise :)

Some pics from the big snow/ice storm this week in KY