May 27, 2011 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Ordinary Pastors
Part 7 in a 12-part series. For the series intro and index, click here.
So how does a pastor cultivate complete patience with those entrusted to his care over a period of many years? Here are a few suggestions.
When I am impatient with others, I have temporarily lost sight of God’s patience with me. At the root of my impatience is self-righteousness and pride. Daily remembering God’s patience with me protects my soul from sinful impatience with others.
I love this reminder from J.I. Packer:
Appreciate the patience of God. Think how he has borne with you, and still bears with you, when so much in your life is unworthy of him and you have so richly deserved his rejection. Learn to marvel at his patience, and seek grace to imitate it in your dealings with others; and try not to try his patience any more.*
“Think how has borne with you, and still bears with you, when so much in your life is unworthy of him.” When you’re 56, you appreciate a statement like this more than when you were 25. I appreciated God’s patience then; I just appreciate it more now. He has patiently borne with me for 31 more years. My wife, my children, and the men I serve with in ministry know how true it is: there is so much of my life that is unworthy of him.
“Learn to marvel at his patience.” You have got to marvel before you imitate. Have you marveled at it recently? If you haven’t, that is an early warning sign. Learn to marvel at his patience, and seek grace to imitate that patience in your dealings with others.
“And try not to try his patience anymore.” I love that little parting appeal from Dr. Packer. Immediately I think, “Ok, I will try. I am not sure how that is going to go, but I will try.”
Aren’t you grateful that, as Psalm 103 proclaims, God does not treat us as our sins deserve? As you contemplate God’s patience with you, your soul will be humbled, and you will begin to treat others with “complete patience” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Trust God’s Timetable
You may have noticed that the most common biblical metaphors for ministry are drawn from the world of agriculture: sowing, watering, harvesting. Agriculture is slow. God is patient. Most of the time, he works out his purposes gradually. He is comfortable with seasons, years, and generations. For me, a month is a long time. My time frame is days, minutes, seconds. I don’t like to be patient.
My pastoral ministry can be more informed by the world of technology than by the world of agriculture. I turn on my iPhone and I want a signal now. If I count one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi and there’s no signal, I want to know what is taking so long! But if I look up from my iPhone and bring that attitude to a conversation with a church member, someone for whom Jesus died, I am being unfaithful to the pastoral charge. My pastoral ministry cannot be informed by the world of technology; it must be informed by the world of agriculture.
God won’t be rushed.
So how about you? Does the way God normally works shape your view of your church? Are you completely patient? Here’s a recommendation: Don’t assume you are sufficiently patient. Ask around. Ask your wife, ask your children, ask your staff, ask your elders. Say to them, “I want to have an unhurried time when we can evaluate my soul in this area. I don’t just want my preaching evaluated; I want my heart evaluated. Am I pastoring you with complete patience?”
When I am impatient with others, I have usually lost sight of God’s patience with me. I have forgotten that sanctification is a process. I need to be reminded of God’s timetable.
So what is Paul’s charge—God’s charge—to ordinary pastors like you and me? Preach the gospel faithfully, in season and out of season, with pastoral discernment and complete patience (2 Timothy 4:1–2).
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
* J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 20th anniversary ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 165–166.
Part 6 in a 12-part series. For the series intro and index, click here.
I am brought up short every time I read the phrase “with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Every time. Pastoral ministry requires not just patience, but “complete patience.” “Complete patience” emphasizes the extent to which this quality must be present in our preaching and in our entire ministry. And it is essential, not optional.
Yes, we must be theologically accurate and exegetically precise. But if we fail to be patient with those we are addressing, we aren’t being faithful to fulfill this charge.
I’d argue that pastoral patience is more difficult than theological precision. For most of us, it’s easier to prepare and preach a sermon than to be patient with people. I think this is the most difficult challenge in this passage: “with complete patience.”
Every day of your pastoral ministry, you will face temptations to be impatient with people—or opportunities to cultivate patience with people. There is that guy you have counseled for months, possibly years, who just doesn’t seem to get it. He is sincere, but consistent growth in godliness seems to be lacking from his life. Counseling session after counseling session doesn’t seem to yield any noticeable change.
Or the people who are consistently critical about a minor point in your sermon, or who always notify you about what you failed to address. One time after I finished preaching, a guy approached me and said one thing: “You mispronounced a word.” That’s all he said—without any greeting or small talk. Now, I grew up reading MAD magazine, so I have all kind of snappy answers for what I think are stupid statements. That guy had no idea how evident the power of the Holy Spirit was in my life when I restrained myself from responding.
I was reading an article by a pastor who regularly received anonymous critical letters from someone who signed each note, “The Thorn.” Attached to the first note was an explanation that since the Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh, this writer felt that his pastor should have one, too. So he had appointed himself “The Thorn.” This pastor wanted to find out who The Thorn was and send him an anonymous letter signed, “The Hedge Trimmer.”
Or there’s the person who just wants to talk with you after the sermon and update you on his life—an update that is unrelated to your sermon. He just wants to talk, and it’s as if he didn’t even hear your sermon. You’ve finished preaching, you’re stepping down from the pulpit, you’re tired, and you can see him waiting for you.
I could give you a list of temptations. Your temptation is probably whomever you are thinking about right now.
If you don’t cultivate patience with those you serve and lead, your irritation and frustration will eventually surface. It will become evident in the tone and content of your sermons, your counseling, your conversation after a Sunday meeting. And when you no longer have faith that God is working in your people, and instead find yourself frustrated with your people, your soul will become weary.
In an article in Fast Company magazine, bestselling authors Dan Heath and Chip Heath reported on a surprising study of kids who dropped out of high school. Some Johns Hopkins University researchers discovered that they could predict which students wouldn’t graduate—as early as eighth grade. According to the article, “the school district could identify more than half of the students who would be likely to drop out before they even set foot in high school.”* I read that and immediately thought: what if you could identify the early warning signs of a weary and discouraged pastor?
Well, you can. One of the early warning signs is increasing frustration with people—the absence of complete patience.
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
* Dan Heath and Chip Heath, “Business Advice from Van Halen,” March 1, 2010, FastCompany.com.
Part 5 in a 12-part series. For the series intro and index, click here.
Faithfulness to “preach the word” requires that you persevere in prosperity and adversity. Paul writes, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).
It’s not clear whether “in season and out of season” refers to Timothy and his varying temptations to timidity and fear, or to his audience, who could be either receptive or antagonistic. The smart guys who serve us with their commentaries differ on this. I’m persuaded by those who think it’s a reference to the audience, because verses 3 and 4 describe hearers who “will not endure sound teaching.”
Faithful preaching of the gospel isn’t broadly appealing. And when the message isn’t appealing, you can be tempted to compromise. John Stott writes, “Whenever the biblical faith becomes unpopular, ministers are sorely tempted to mute those elements which give the most offence.”*
But whatever the demographics and disposition of your locale, and regardless of numerical growth or lack thereof, your charge is to be faithful to preach the gospel in season and out of season. You must preach this word, whether your hearers are receptive, indifferent, or even antagonistic.
Being faithful to the message requires more than exegetical precision and homiletical skill. Faithfulness to the message requires pastoral wisdom and discernment: “reprove, rebuke and exhort” (2 Timothy 4:2).
We aren’t proclaiming a message in a vacuum. We are preaching the gospel to specific congregations, to people with names and faces. In these words—“reprove, rebuke, and exhort”—these people are in view. Each Sunday you preach to a group of hearers with varying perspectives, temptations, and levels of maturity. And pastoral discernment is required so you don’t rebuke someone you should exhort, or exhort someone you should reprove.
To reprove is to confront or to expose. As Timothy was to confront false teaching, we are to confront false ideas. To rebuke is to humbly and boldly address those who are not listening or responding to God’s Word, who have hard, proud hearts. To exhort is to encourage those who are teachable, attentive, and responsive, to explain to them how to live in light of the gospel. And any of these people could be in your church every Sunday.
Familiarity with the text is required, but not sufficient. We must also be familiar with our church. A pastor must spend time with those he serves. He must get to know them so he can wisely, appropriately, compassionately, and skillfully address them from the text, both through his preaching and in private conversation. Someone once said, “The pastor doesn’t get his message from his people, but he does get his message with his people.” There is wisdom in that. Don’t think you can craft effective sermons while isolated from those you serve.
Faithfulness to the message requires pastoral wisdom and discernment, which you gain by taking the time to know your people. The more you know them, the more skillfully and effectively you can reprove, rebuke, and exhort your church.
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
* Stott, The Message of 2 Timothy, 112.
May 24, 2011 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Ordinary Pastors
Part 4 in a 12-part series. For the series intro and index, click here.
Here’s something I’ve discovered: faithful proclamation of the message requires an unwavering commitment to unoriginality.
In his book Pastoral Theology, Thomas Oden writes this at the outset: “I hope this work will be as unoriginal as possible. This is the first time I have attempted to write an entire text with an absolutely clear commitment to unoriginality.”* Pastors, every sermon we preach must reflect the same thing: an absolutely clear commitment to unoriginality.
You see, if you don’t resolve to be unoriginal, you’ll be enamored by all that is new, trendy, popular, and supposedly original. If you don’t resolve to be unoriginal, you’ll be easily distracted by matters of secondary importance. Church structure and administration will trump gospel preaching. Your intelligence, rhetorical skill, or personality will take precedence over your faithfulness to the message of the gospel. If you don’t resolve to be unoriginal, you will lose sight of what matters the most.
So my friends, let’s maintain “an absolutely clear commitment to unoriginality.” Let’s be faithful to the charge to preach the gospel.
And here’s the thing: this is good news for ordinary pastors. You and I are ordinary, but by God’s grace we can do this!
Spurgeon once said, “Whitefield and Wesley might preach the gospel better than I do, but they could not preach a better gospel.”** Ligon Duncan and Mark Dever can preach the gospel better than I can, but they cannot preach a better gospel.
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
* Thomas C. Oden, Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry (New York: HarperCollins, 1983), 7–8.
** Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Exceeding Riches of Grace,” sermon preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, June 18, 1882, in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 28, 1882 (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1973, reprint), 339.
May 20, 2011 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Ordinary Pastors
Part 3 in a 12-part series. For the series intro and index, click here.
Paul’s first charge is this: “Preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2).
As pastors, we are called to be faithful to preach—and not to preach just anything; the content of our preaching is “the word.”
Timothy would recognize this as yet another reference to Scripture in general (3:16–17) and the gospel in particular (1 Timothy 1:15; 2 Timothy 2:8). Paul does not need to further specify or clarify for Timothy. The “deposit,” “sound teaching,” “the truth,” or “the faith”—these are all references to the gospel: “the trustworthy saying, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
The charge is be faithful to preach the gospel. The content of our teaching, of each sermon, should be informed by this specific charge.
- We must never assume that those in our churches have sufficient knowledge of the gospel, or have exhausted their need for the gospel.
- We must never address a topic isolated from the gospel.
- We must never exhort anyone to obedience apart from the gospel.
- We must never preach more passionately about any topic other than the gospel.
You and I have been entrusted with the old, old story. We must not alter, adjust, or add to that story. Instead, we must faithfully proclaim it.
You will be tempted to stray from this story.
If you haven’t been tempted already, you will before long. Straying from this story is sometimes an effective way to gain applause, or win personal approval, or satisfy those Paul describes in verses 3–4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
But regardless of the temptations, you must be faithful to preach the Word!
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
May 19, 2011 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Ordinary Pastors
Part 2 in a 12-part series. For the series intro and index, click here.
I want to interrupt our tendency to unfavorable comparison, unattainable aspirations, and the resulting discouragement of soul. I want to ask a question: Why are we discouraged?
Often we are vulnerable to discouragement because we have forgotten what pastoral ministry truly is. We measure ourselves against unattainable standards, and inevitably we do not measure up.
So if you find yourself discouraged, you’re not alone. I’m familiar with this state of soul. And the most effective way I can encourage you is to remind you of the definition of genuine pastoral ministry, as revealed in Scripture.
In 2 Timothy 4:1–5, we find a biblical definition of ministry that will clarify our goals, purify our hearts, and liberate our souls. This passage can protect us from the temptation to compare ourselves with others. It can realign our motivations for ministry. It can protect ordinary pastors from discouragement. And it can sustain us through many years of joyful service to God’s people.
Paul writes to Timothy (and to all of us),
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Pastors, this is your definition of ministry.
Paul's Charge
Second Timothy 4:1–5 is more than a definition—it is a charge!
Paul, who is facing imminent execution, says to Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus” (v. 1). When reading it we should imagine Paul’s voice appropriately raised, infused with seriousness and urgency. In these words, Paul places Timothy—who, in comparison to the Apostle Paul, is an ordinary pastor—under a divinely inspired obligation.
And this divinely inspired letter is not just personal correspondence between Paul and Timothy. “These words,” John Stott writes, “are Paul’s legacy to the church….It is impossible to read them without being profoundly stirred.”* These words are Paul’s charge—and God’s—to every extraordinary pastor, and every ordinary one.
We all have differing gifts, influence, and even fruitfulness. Let’s be honest: I can’t match the gifting and influence of John Piper or Al Mohler. And neither can you. But regardless of our varying gifts, we all have the same charge: pastoral faithfulness.
Pastoral ministry that is pleasing to God is not ultimately about gifting, influence, or even fruitfulness. It is not about how many books you have written, which conferences invite you to speak, or how many of your sermons are downloaded on iTunes. It is not even about whether your church membership numbers grow or shrink. Pastoral ministry that is pleasing to God is about faithfulness to the charge of 2 Timothy 4. You and I are called to be faithful to this charge.
In the following posts we’ll look at the three areas in which Paul calls us to faithfulness:
- faithfulness to the message,
- faithfulness to the ministry, and
- faithfulness to the Savior.
As we examine this passage, let’s allow Paul’s pastoral charge to address our motivation for ministry, shape our aspirations, and protect us from discouragement.
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
* John Stott, The Message of 2 Timothy (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), 105.
May 18, 2011 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Ordinary Pastors
Some pastors are extraordinary gifts to the church—Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Lig Duncan, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, and Thabiti Anyabwile among them. It is a privilege to listen to and learn from these men. When I think about these men, I often think of the PGA tour motto: “These guys are good.” These guys are smart. These guys are unusually gifted. (Although that certainly isn’t how they see themselves.)
Chances are, if you’re a pastor, you think of yourself as somewhat ordinary.
If you are like me, you feel very ordinary indeed. Every so often I get the privilege of having lunch with Al, Mark, and Lig. At those meals the conversation is fast and furious, and I get dizzy trying to keep up with them. The discussion sweeps from century to century, dropping into a particular year then zooming out again, a whirlwind tour of history, philosophy, literature, theology, politics—everything except sports. They kindly assume I understand what they are talking about. I can assure you that most of the time I don’t.
These guys are smart. I am not. I am comforted, though, and here’s why: most of the smart guys I know have no athletic ability whatsoever. I’ve got an extraordinary jump shot, but I am an ordinary pastor.
Tom
I want to introduce you to another ordinary pastor. His name was Tom. Tom’s life began in 1911 and ended in 1992. During those 81 years, Tom was a faithful and loving husband, a kind and wise father, and the faithful pastor of a small church in Canada. I doubt you have heard of Tom Carson. If you have, it’s only because he had a remarkable son: Dr. Don Carson, the brilliant biblical scholar and prolific writer. Dr. Carson has written or edited more than 60 books, including one about his dad: Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson.
In his introduction, Don Carson explains the purpose for this memoir:
Some pastors, mightily endowed by God, are remarkable gifts to the church. They love their people, they handle Scripture well, they see many conversions, their ministries span generations, they understand their culture yet refuse to be domesticated by it, they are theologically robust and personally disciplined. I do not need to provide you with a list of names: you know some of these people, and you have been encouraged and challenged by them, as I have. Some of them, of course, carry enormous burdens that watching Christians do not readily see. Nevertheless, when we ourselves are not being tempted by the green-eyed monster, we thank God for such Christian leaders from the past and pray for the current ones.
Most of us, however, serve in more modest patches.…
Most of us—let us be frank—are ordinary pastors.
Dad was one of them. This little book is a modest attempt to let the voice and ministry of one ordinary pastor be heard, for such servants have much to teach us.*
Let’s be frank: most of us are ordinary pastors. We mean well. We work hard. But our sermons are average at best. Thousands of people all over the world are not downloading our sermons on iTunes. No, it’s just average stuff, with maybe an occasional good sermon in the mix (or so we think until we talk with a few church members and realize, yeah, maybe not). Most ordinary pastors will not write a bestselling book. Most ordinary pastors will not write a book at all.
Most of us are ordinary pastors. We are truly called, and we are genuinely gifted by God for our task, but we are not unusually gifted.
Too often ordinary pastors are discouraged pastors.
Discouraged Pastors
Tom Carson was an ordinary pastor, and often a discouraged one. His son Don Carson devotes an entire chapter to this (chapter 6: “Discouragement, Despair, and a Vow”). In that chapter we get a glimpse of Tom Carson’s private journals, entries like this one:
Sunday, Mar. 5, 1961
Rose 6:50 a.m. Prayer and study. Preached (poorly) from 2 Cor. 2. Twenty-four present.…Rested. Studied. Evening 19 present. Preached from Rom 1:1–17 (poorly).**
Tom Carson wasn’t writing this for anyone else. He had no idea this journal entry would one day be published. And he is obviously discouraged. His son Don Carson writes, “The reasons for such discouragement are many, but some of them, at least, overlap with Tom’s self-doubt, guilty conscience, sense of failure, long hours, and growing frustration with apparent fruitlessness.”***
Perhaps this describes you.
At some point in our lives, we can all relate to Tom Carson.
The “Ordinary Pastors” blog series is adapted from C.J.’s unpublished chapter by the same title and is scheduled to appear in the Together for the Gospel compilation book, The Unadjusted Gospel (Crossway, 2012). C.J. has contributed chapters in two other similar compilation titles: Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology (Crossway, 2009) and Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).
* D.A. Carson, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 9.
** Ibid., 82.
*** Ibid., 92.
We tend to overlook the “ordinary” things in life.
We don't watch a keynote speech live online to see the unveiling of a new model of an ordinary mobile phone.
We don't buy expensive stadium tickets to watch ordinary athletes compete.
And ordinary YouTube videos never “go viral.”
The common, the everyday, the routine, the uneventful, the garden-variety...none of it grabs headlines or our attention. We notice the extra-ordinary, and when it comes we will watch, buy, and spread it.
Yet the honest truth is that most pastors do not think of themselves as exceptional. Most pastors are ordinary pastors, and normally they are the first to admit it. These ordinary pastors often face particular struggles and temptations, especially the temptation to compare themselves unfavorably to extraordinarily gifted pastors and preachers.
In this series C.J. addresses some of the common temptations ordinary pastors experience and sets for them a realistic vision for successful pastoral ministry that honors God and faithfully proclaims the Savior.
The ultimate goal of the series is to encourage ordinary pastors, men who are laboring faithfully in their ordinary churches and who seek to honor the extraordinary Savior. In the words of an older mentor to a young pastor, “What is important at the end of the day is the church—ordinary churches trying to live faithfully in a rapidly changing society. Ordinary churches pastored by ordinary people like you and me, knowing that we cannot do everything, but trying to do what we can and seeking God's face for His presence and blessing so that His dear Son might be honored and His people strengthened.”*
May this 12-part series, Ordinary Pastors, play a small role to that end.
Series index:
- Called, Gifted, and Discouraged
- A Biblical Definition of Ministry
- Be Faithful to the Message
- Commitment to Unoriginality
- Be Ready in Season and out of Season
- With Complete Patience
- Remember God’s Patience With You
- Note to Self: Sanctification Is Slow
- Be Amazed They Came Back!
- Be Faithful to Your Ministry
- Be Faithful to the Savior
- “Well Done, Good and Faithful Ordinary Pastor”
* D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Letters Along the Way: A Novel of the Christian Life (Crossway, 1993), 226-227.
May 13, 2011 by Tony Reinke
Categories: Newton
John Newton went to prison in the fall of 1775. It wasn’t exactly a prison, more of a correctional institution for thieves and prostitutes. And he wasn’t sent there by force, he entered the facility voluntarily as a 50-year-old pastor.
The correctional facility in London was known as Westminster Bridewell. The inmates in the facility were subjected to hard labor and, in the spirit of behavior reform, to physical lashings for disobedience. Those floggings (of both men and women) were meted out in public and in full view of the good citizens of London. The social distance between the law-abiding citizens and the law-breaking miscreants was as obvious as the three-story prison walls.
Into Bridewell Newton entered with a Bible and a very personal story of God’s saving grace. He recounted his visit in a letter to a friend:
You would have liked to have been with me last Wednesday. I preached at Westminster Bridewell. It is a prison and house of correction. The bulk of my congregation were housebreakers [burglars], highwaymen [a highway robber on horseback], pickpockets, and poor unhappy women, such as infest the streets of this city, sunk in sin, and lost to shame [prostitutes]. I had a hundred or more of these before me.
I preached from 1 Timothy 1:15 [“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (KJV)]. I began with telling them my own story. This gained their attention more than I expected. I spoke to them near an hour and a half.
I shed many tears myself, and saw some of them shed tears likewise.
Ah! had you seen their present condition, and could you hear the history of some of them, it would make you sing, “O to grace how great a debtor!”
By nature they were no worse than the most sober and modest people; and there was doubtless a time when many of them little thought what they should live to do and suffer. I might have been, like them, in chains, and one of them have come to preach to me, had the Lord so pleased.*
The experience of prison life was striking to Newton. Given his pre-conversion life, it was not difficult for Newton to imagine a reversal of roles—himself wearing the chains, bearing public floggings, and needing another to proclaim to him the good news of the gospel.
By all accounts, the miscreants Newton addressed in the correctional facility were sinners. And they knew it. And the citizens of London knew it. Likely the surprise was in seeing a 50-year-old pastor walk into the prison to candidly share the story of his own sinfully wretched background.
In his visit two important points are clear.
First, Newton believed that the grace of God could reach anyone, no matter how dark or prevailing the sin.
Second, Newton found in 1 Timothy 1:15 a natural transition from his own life of sin to Paul’s claim of being the chief of sinners. Newton could make such a smooth transition because he genuinely believed that he was the worst sinner he knew—even in a room where he found himself encircled by 100 thieves and prostitutes.**
Tony Reinke serves as the editorial and research assistant to C.J. Mahaney. Reading Newton’s Mail is a series of blog posts reflecting on various published letters written by John Newton (1725–1807), the onetime captain of a slave trading ship—a self-described apostate, blasphemer, and infidel, who was eventually converted by grace. Newton is most famous for authoring the hymn “Amazing Grace,” or maybe for helping William Wilberforce put an end to the African slave trade in Britain. Less legendarily, Newton faithfully pastored two churches for 43 years, a fruitful period of his life when a majority of his letters were written. Reading Newton’s Mail is published on Fridays here on the Cheap Seats blog.
* John Newton, The Works of John Newton (London: 1820), 2:150.
** Newton explicitly refers to himself as the “chief of sinners” at several places in his writings (see for example his Works, 2:246, 5:570, and 6:58). And at one point in a sermon he explains the rationale behind his conviction: “It is probable, that all who are convinced and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, having a clearer knowledge of the nature, number, and aggravation of their own sins, than they can possibly have of those of any other person, account themselves among the chief of sinners, though many of them may have been preserved from gross enormities” (5:173).
May 4, 2011 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Music
Curtis Allen is a friend of mine and a much loved pastor. He graduated from the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and served as a pastoral intern at Covenant Life Church. He currently pastors at Solid Rock Church.
But as many of you already know, Curtis—a.k.a. Voice—is also a gifted songwriter and rapper. And just this week Christianity Today identified him as one of five notable reformed rap and hip-hop artists.
I appreciate each of these men—Curtis, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Shai Linne, and Flame—and I am grateful to God for their work in advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And if you haven’t heard them yet, be sure to check out Curtis’s raps about the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Catechism.