Burrough's on "Christian Contentment"

Burroughs on Christian Contentment

In his book "The Rare Jewell of Christian Contentment", Jeremy Burrough's, a member of the Westminster Assembly, defined Christian contentment as the following:

"...Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition." (p. 19 - all references from Banner of Truth's Puritan Paperbacks edition).

When I first read this sentence I stopped dead in my tracks. I began to read it over, this time more slowly...as if I were trying to soak up each word. This was it! This was the definition of contentment, and Burrough's nailed it 350 years ago! Contenment is essential an inward quality, not a behavorial quality. It is a state of being, and not a state of doing. It is nothing I can do, but is something I must be.

But before we can become content, we must determine if we even want to be so. On page 23, Burroughs writes, "A gracious heart so esteems its union with Christ and the work that God sets it about that it will not willingly suffer anything to come in and choke it or deaden it." Am I this zealous regarding my union with Christ? Am I willing, as Burroughs commends, "to spend [myself] and to be spent in discharging" service to the Lord (p 23). Do I continually stand willing to cut out from me anything that compromises my committment to Christ? Do I truly hate my sin?

In other words, do I even want to be a disciple? In an of myself the answer is clearly "no". Whatever faith I possess, it is not the wonderful faith that was the center of Burrough's heart and life. But...I want this kind of faith, and I will only find it as I lay myself before the cross of Christ.

"Father, it is only be your great mercy that I can have the faith to be completely content in you. Teach my to walk in your ways. Convict me of my sin, even as you lead me into the center of your heart. Amen".

Spurgeon's 'Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats''

Note: I personally think Spurgeon goes too far in his reaction against "entertainment". It seems the Scriptural record legitimizes all expressions of emotion. Our churches should be places where people experience profound joy. Also, while fellowship should not be equated with "fun", should it not be one of the elements of true fellowhship? Perhaps Spurgeon could have lightened up a little, but I firmly believe his criticism needs to be heard. Joy is needed today. But I am afraid we have settled for mindless & lifeless "happiness" instead of the profound and life-changing joy offered through Christ. Perhaps Spurgeon can point the way forward.

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?
by C. H. Spurgeon

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years, it has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.
From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough. So it would have been if he had added, “and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel.” No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.

Then again, “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers ... for the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? “Ye are the salt” (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy—something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22). He was in awful earnestness!

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of his teaching. I do not hear him say, “Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow.” Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.

In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of the gospel of amusement. Their message is, “Come out, keep out, keep clean out!” Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, “Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are.” If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

Reprinted from New Horizons, March 2001.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was the best-known preacher in Victorian England. In 1854, at the age of 20, he became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the Baptist theologian John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000. In 1861 the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.

On the reading of many books

Recently I dusted off my copy of C.S. Lewis' book "An Experiment in Criticism". For many years I have loved Lewis, beginning no doubt in late adolescents when I discovered the Chronicles of Naria (being the product of a Fundamentalist home there certainly was no exposure to Lewis at an earlier age). From there, I began to grab his other fictional writings and finally (years later) made the transition to his truly good stuff. But even when I was fully engulfed in Lewis-mania, I viewed "An Experiment in Criticism" as a horribly dry and lifeless book. Of course, at that time I hadn't read it but the title certainly wasn't very appealing.

Oddly enough, higher education does change a man. Subjects like "Hermeneutics" and "Literary Criticism" began to arrest my attention. So at some point I began to rethink my earlier pre-judgment on Lewis' "Experiment" and decided to give it a try.

It was simply amazing. Below is one quote among many of my favorites. The tone seems harsh and unloving to our "unliterary" friends, but if you know Lewis I think you will understand he is not looking down on them (at least I hope this to be the case). With that said, I probably would have written this paragraph a little differently. Yet as always, Lewis conveys a message in a way I never could, and it is a message that touches my very soul. He writes:

“Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I regret that the brutes cannot write books. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or a bee; more gladly still would I perceive the olfactory world charged with all the information and emotion it carries for a dog.”"Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality….But in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself….Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism," pp.140-141)

Why do I read the great spiritual writers of the past (not just Puritans by the way, and not just within the Calvinistic tradition)? Because I then can see the world through their eyes. I can appreciate their point of view. Even more importantly, I can manage to free myself (a little anyway) from the prison called "self" (more on this in a coming post). But most importantly, I can approach God through their eyes. God is too precious and too important to only see with my own eyes. I must learn to appreciate Him as other faithful men and women have. Through their view of the Savior I have come to see His beauty and magnificence through a wider lense.

...pick up and read, my friend. Pick up and read.

Bunyan's 'Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners'

Some reflections on Bunyan's great work, with a brief into of the man himself:

Historical Data:
John Bunyan was born in 1628 in Bedford, England. His father was a tinker and Bunyan hyperbolically describes his family as being “the most despised of all the families in the land”.[1] Bunyan served in the Parliamentary army during its 1644-1647 victorious campaign against Charles I. After the war ended, Bunyan returned home to carry on his father’s business. It was during this time that Bunyan underwent a severe spiritual crisis. In 1653 he joined a local Independent church and eventually assumed a preaching role within this assembly. When Charles II assumed the English throne in 1661 he ushered in a series of reforms aimed at breaking the independent church and puritan movement. Bunyan was arrested during this period and spent most of the next twelve years of his life in jail. Upon his release from prison Bunyan returned to Bedford and spent the remainder of his life as a pastor and writer. During his time in prison Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and began to write Pilgrim Progress, which was eventually completed in 1684. He wrote numerous other works until his death in 1688.[2]

Introduction to the Document
The document this paper will discuss is one of the books Bunyan wrote while in prison. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners is essentially Bunyan’s spiritual autobiography. It offers first hand testimony of his personal quest for spiritual meaning, hope and joy. The work is highly theological, as it is meant to demonstrate how one man began to slowly grasp and apply key doctrinal truths to his own life. One must remember that this document is set amongst the struggle to understand issues such as predestination, election, free will of man and the assurance of salvation. Bunyan shares his personal insights and experience as they relate to these theological issues.
The final form of this work also has elements of an epistle. He addresses his letter to his children and at the end of the work bids a brief farewell to his readers. The tone of the work obviously is intended to be “a drop of honey” to encourage and uplift his audience.

Summary of the Document
Attempting to outline this document is an incredibly difficult and subjective task. As noted above, the work is primarily theological, albeit a theology applied to personal experience. Thus, the narrative flow of the work cannot be separated from its theological message, as each helps form the other. This author proposes the outlined show below as being a faithful representation of the theological and narrative movement of the text. It demonstrates the movement of John Bunyan from a person of spiritual ignorance to a person of true wisdom.

Preface
1a. Condition of Ignorance (sections 1-3)
2a. Openly Rebellious (4-26)
3a. Secretly Rebellious, but convicted (26-36)
4a. Unintentionally Rebellious (37-88)
4b. Unwittingly Faithful (89-113)
3b. Secretly Faithful, but confused (114-212)
2b. Openly Faithful (212-236)
1b. Condition of Wisdom (236-264)
A Brief Account of the Author’s Call to the Work of the Ministry
Conclusion

The first three sections briefly deal with Bunyan’s early life. He paints himself as the son of a poor, despised tinker. He also briefly relates his level of ignorance in school, as well as religious matters. Though this section is brief, it is important for understanding the transition that Bunyan was about to experience.
Bunyan’s lifestyle quickly degrades to hedonism, as he describes himself as a man “without God” (sec 4). For some time he continued in a life style of open rebellion to God, engaging in all manners of vices and wickedness. Yet even during this time Bunyan felt horrible pains of guilt as he indulged himself in sin. Eventually, the feelings of guilt subsided as he became more and more accustomed to his rebellion. The reigns to his lusts were set loose and he became “the ring-leader of all the youth that keep [him] company, into all manner of vice and ungodliness” (sec 8). Even though his conscious was dulled, it was never defeated. In section 11 he recalls feeling hurt and confused when he would hear a righteous man engage in wickedness. Even though he himself was the “ring-leader” of the wicked, there was something that seemed unnatural to him when a righteous man acted this way. Growing increasingly uneasy about the lifestyle he was leading, he records that he felt God speaking to him, urging him to be freed from his lifestyle of sin (sec. 21).
Shortly after this experience Bunyan was sharply rebuked for his wicked lifestyle. This came a quite a shock and penetrated him to his very heart. Searching for answers, he turned to the scriptures and to human counsel, determined to live righteously in the eyes of his fellow man. Bunyan systematically began a radical lifestyle change that did not go unnoticed by his friends and neighbors. He was held in awe as a man who had turned his life around, leaving his sin behind and embracing righteousness. However, as Bunyan notes in section 32, his “righteousness” was meant to please only those around him, with little thought of pleasing the one above him. Thus, Bunyan continued to live in a secret rebellion against God.
Another life transformation is recorded in section 38. While walking the streets of Bedford he happened about a few women sitting around talking about the gifts and joy of Christ. It was at this moment that Bunyan realized that despite his attempts at religious purity, he had never once sought after the new birth through Christ. This marks the beginning of Bunyan’s painful recognition of his own sin and unrighteousness. The intense spiritual anguish Bunyan experience is best recorded in the following quote: “I cannot now express with what longings and breakings in my soul, I cried to Christ to call me. Thus I continued for a time all on a flame to be converted to Christ.{} Gold! Could it have been had for gold what I wouldn’t have given!” (Sec. 73). Bunyan desperately wanted to become a member of God’s redeemed people but had no real emotional or cognitive understanding of how to bring this about. Although he was still in rebellion, it was his intention and hopes to be in communion with the Lord.
In section 89 Bunyan’s “time of confronting” had come. He heard a message on Christ love that anchored itself to his very soul. The phrase “Thou are my love”, taken from Song of Solomon, was repeated by Bunyan over and over as he came to realize the importance of this wonderful truth. The joy Bunyan experienced was soon sort lived as a wave of severe doubts and self-describes “blasphemies” against the Lord. Section 106 states that Bunyan was so confused and shattered by these new doubts and insecurities that he refused to join other believers in the Lord Table, which was the mark of a true believer. Bunyan considered himself faithless for his doubts, but in reality this is a normative step towards a deeper maturity in faith. While anguishing over his doubts and confusion, Bunyan was actually providing evidence that his faith in Christ had taken hold – though it was still young and foundationless, like a wave being tossed in the wind.
Bunyan’s faith did eventually form a solid foundation. He at last realized that he did have a genuine love for Christ; despite the numerous temptations he had experiences (113). He finally realized the truth that those in Christ are His forever (134). However, the greatest temptation of Bunyan’s life raised its ugly head in the life of this new believer. Convincing himself that he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (135, 148ff), he felt that he had been judged and excluded from a relationship with Christ. Bunyan’s spiritual life now entered the stage of Secret Faithfulness. Confusion and despair still gripped him, perhaps worse now than at any moment prior. He was certain that he would be caste into hell, yet he firmly held on to his desire and love for God. Unable to be a bold witness for Christ, his faith was wounded and hampered, but it existed in his heart, mind and soul.
Still in confusion and despair, Bunyan read the account of the cities of refuge and his heart was given comfort (218). Those who had committed a grave offense in the Old Testament could run to these cities and be redeemed of the crimes against them. Bunyan clung to this hope, viewing God as his holy city of refuge, through which he could be spiritually renewed. Shortly after this Bunyan writes that the chains of temptation and affliction fell off his legs (230). He came to this conclusion when he realized that his righteousness was found only through the person of Christ. He finally understood that not only was Christ his God, but that he was joined to Christ. The righteousness of Christ was considered as the righteousness of Bunyan (233). Bunyan was now free to openly declare to himself and those around him that he was a confident child of God.
Sections 236-264 mark a solid contrast to the first section of the outline above. After recording his spiritual journey, the mature Bunyan now looks back and reflects theologically on that journey. His prior condition of complete ignorance is now overshadowed by his newfound condition of wisdom. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners ends with a brief record of his call into ministry and with a conclusion.

Significance of the Document:
As indicated in the outline above, Bunyan’s moment of conversation was quite early on. His persistent search for truth and a relationship with God, despite the trial and temptations, clearly evidence a man whom the Lord has effectually called – whether or not that man realizes it at the time. His “unintentional faith” was a product of this effectual calling.
Bunyan main spiritual problem was his lack of a proper understanding of theology. He was a wave being tossed back and forth by every wind of deceit and temptation. In section 79 Bunyan notes that those who tried to console him simply recited to him the promises of God, without helping him to understand God’s plan and process for redeeming mankind. The Westminster Catechism defines effectual calling, in part, as the enlightening of our minds in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. However, Westminster emphasis on the duty of mankind perhaps played a role in the dilemma of Bunyan. Bunyan viewed a relationship to mean that he would faithfully uphold his duty of service to God without doubt or temptation. He possessed a great love and devotion to Christ, yet he could not understand, initially, that it was this very devotion that demonstrated that he was a child of God. Scripture boldly declares that no one seeks after God. Those who do “seek” God in reality have been drawn to Him through his effectual calling.
[1] John Bunyan. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. (New York: Penguin, 1987) 7
[2] Most of this introductory material was taken directly the historical preface in the above footnoted work.

This is a test. It is only a test. Those expecting profound content will be greatly disappointed. This is about as interesting as a High school math test.