Augustine Quote (The Episcopate)

"'He that desireth the episcopate desireth a good work.' The episcopate is the title of a work, not of an honour. He that loves to govern rather than to do good is no bishop. It is unseemly to covet the high position requisite for governing the people, even though that position be held and that government be administered in a seemly manner" (Augustine The City of God Bk. 19:19).

Priestcraft in the Protestant Church?

Under the old covenant it was necessary that a priest mediate between the lay people of God and God. The work of the priest, however, did not altogether preclude personal, experiential, and communal relations between the individual believer and God, though there were certain restrictions of a very complex nature. The old covenant people were loved of God, loved God, had faith in God, walked with God, prayed to God, sinned before God, repented before God, and lived morally before God, just as do new covenant believers. However, in this early dispensation of time in redemptive history there were certain outward means by which grace was dispensed, sins were covered, and atonement was made. The old covenant priesthood was ordained and sovereignly instituted by God whereby the priest was entrusted with certain ceremonial rites and rituals pertaining to private and corporate worship that was theirs alone to administer on behalf of the people of God. These many functions of the priest that ministered the required sacrifices, offerings, and observances for the people were all types that foreshadowed what was to come in the person and work of Christ, who by taking on the role of our great high priest tore down the wall that once in this sense separated the people from God. What the old covenant priest did in their sacrificial ministrations were successive being repetitive until Jesus came and made a singular, once for all, final, and most ultimate sacrifice for sin-that being the nature of his very own death-which having been as a substitution on behalf of his elect people from all ages, and out of all races, saves those that believe in him. Since this monolithic event we are no longer in need of a priest to mediate the various graces of God to us, but we may now boldly approach him as if we are priests ourselves (Hebrews, the whole book; 1Pet.2:9).

There is one God and one faith and based on the works of Christ there is free access to him (Eph. 4:4-6). Ultimately we do not have to answer to anyone but God as we will all stand before him to give an account of our selves and not that of another (Rom. 14:12). This is not to say that we do not have certain authorities that we are to submit to such as pertains to familial relations, pastors, and government (Heb. 13:17). Nevertheless, there is a tendency among certain people who by way of sinful regression drift back to a quasi old covenant way of thinking and fall victim to a type of priestcraft that rears the ugly head of prideful superiority above those that they perceive to not be as skilled in scriptural knowledge and doctrine, nor schooled by experience, or having gone through the same refining fires as they themselves. It is a great feat of self deception to think that one has cornered the market on wisdom and monopolized truth. "The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know" (1 Cor.8:2). God is God to all. His word is for all to share in. The wisdom that comes from knowing him and his word is there for all who ask and he gives liberally (James: 1:5). The word of God makes foolish the wisdom of the world (1 Cor. 3:19). In this sense there is superiority in that God awards the most simple minded a knowledge above all other secular knowledge. To know God is to know everything that is of eternal importance. It is to know the truth that gives the soul liberation and which enlightens the mind out of the darkness of falsehood and bondage to sin (Jn. 8:32). This is how the psalmist made such a high minded claim that he understood more than his teachers (Ps. 119:99). It is the almighty that gives understanding (Proverbs, the whole book Job 32:8).

It is the job of the minister to preach himself out of a job in a certain sense by way of equipping the saints to do ministry Eph. 4:11). But this is not always the attitude of many pastors today who come across more as spiritual gurus rather than preachers equipping the saints to do ministry. To point this out to these well meaning preachers would be nothing less than insulting to them, a notion being repugnant, and terribly horrifying to them. This is a very slippery problem in that many are not even aware of it. Nevertheless, they continue own in their blindness never allowing anyone to have a voice without being overwhelmingly compelled to qualify everything a brother or sister may have by way of contribution, whether in voice or deed; as they are considered inferior in their bible knowledge and expertise, and all the while they are calling for such things as action to ministry from their parishioners; though in their minds it is really not you in particular they have in mind and want, but somebody that is more qualified for the job. We no longer "hire" within the local church but go without. And to attempt to do any ministry in the church that is not their idea, or the idea of someone influential, is futile at best. Friends this ought not to be found in our churches. No one has the right to behave in this manner. The word of God is not exclusive in this way. No one owns the rights to biblical interpretation. But let us not go to the other extreme either, where as it has been observed that a bible study is nothing more than a pooling together of collective ignorance. So let us yield to one another as we minister the Gospel to one another in love and humility knowing that we are all part of the body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-6) with various gifts, one not more dominant or important than the other, but all being such that if faithfully worked out are equally important and carry equal weight in the kingdom as service done to one another and to the one God of us all.
"Your truth does not belong to me nor to anyone else, but to us all whom you call to share it as a public possession. With terrifying words you warn against regarding it as a private possession, or we may lose it (Matt. 25:14-30). Anyone who claims for his own property what you offer for all to enjoy, and wishes to have exclusive rights to what belongs to everyone, is driven from the common truth to his own private ideas, that is from truth to a lie" (Augustine Confessions Ch. XII (34).

Martin Luther Quote (The Preacher's Theme and the Christian's Preoccupation))

"...The great and important article of faith, called 'the forgiveness of sins'...is the one great and difficult art of a Christian, where he will have enough to learn as long as he lives, so that he need not look for anything new, higher or better. ...For this is, as has been said, the skill and the wisdom of the Christian, but it is so high and great that even all the beloved Apostles could not speak enough of it; and yet it meets the painful misfortune that no art is mastered as soon as this. There is no greater theme for a preacher than the grace of God and the forgiveness of sin, yet we are such wicked people, that, when we have once heard or read it, we think we know it, are immediately masters and doctors, keep looking for something greater, as though we had done everything , and thus we made new factions and divisions. I have now been teaching and studying this subject with all diligence for many years (more than any one of those who imagine they know it all), in preaching, writing, and reading, yet I cannot boast of having mastered it and am glad that I still remain a pupil with those who are just beginning to learn" (Luther The Righteousness of the World and of the Christian, and the Power on Earth to Forgive Sins Sermon Points 1, 12, 13).

Memory Verse (Romans 2:21)

"Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself" (Rom. 2:21a)?

Advice for Pastors

There are three pursuits that one in spiritual leadership must take on wholeheartedly in order to know God more closely and minister more effectively. To be a pastor is to be a theologian. Out of all of scripture the study of the covenant is the most rewarding of all topics in the bible (second to this is the Kingdom of God). Indeed knowledge of the covenant of God is central to having a proper theology. So (1) be a covenant theologian. (2)Make christian fellowship and exhortation a reality. (3) Make yourself available to the people. Granted, there are times for the closet and withdrawing for spiritual replenishment, but do not fail to neglect the tending of your sheep. When pastors become so important that they cannot do ministry what are we to think of them? They have soared above their congregations and live with their heads in the clouds being able to reach none, but themselves, because of their lofty position. Come back down to earth you important pastors and minister to your people! In conclusion, in the working out of these three principles one will find that you know God more fully and intimately, his people are known by you, and you are known by both God and his people. Consider these scriptures:(Heb. 3:13; Lk. 24:28,29; Ps. 25:14).

Augustine Quote

"Fine style does not make something true, nor has a man a wise soul because he has a handsome face and well chosen eloquence...He seemed to them prudent and wise because he charmed them by the way he talked. ...None other than you is teacher of the truth, wherever and from whatever source it is manifest. ...Nothing is true merely because it is eloquently said, nor false because the signs coming from the lips make sounds deficient in a sense of style...Whether the words are ornate or not does not decide the issue.

Augustine Quote

"I was interested not in the decoration of the vessel in which his discourse was served up but in the knowledge put before me to eat" (Augustine Confessions Bk. v 73).

Jeremiah Burroughs Quote

"It is enough that you may wrangle together when you are among your equals, but know that, though the man who speaks it may be your equal, the Word of God is above you."

Jeremiah Burrroughs Quote

"You must not think ill of a minister who preaches things that seem dreadful to you, whereas he only preaches against such things you should account as your enemies" (Gospel Fear Pg. 40).

Thomas Watson Quote (Heaven Taken by Storm)

"John did not so much preach to please as to profit; he chose rather to discover men's sins than to show his own eloquence....That preaching is to be preferred that makes the truest discovery of men's sins and shows them their hearts. John the Baptist was a burning and shining light; he burned in his doctrine and shined in his life; and therefore men pressed into heaven" (Thomas Watson, Heaven Taken by Storm Pg.3).

Spurgeon Quote

"Better nail your heart to the cross than your ears to the pulpit."
"That is to say, true love to Jesus is better than slavishly following any human preacher, and accepting all that he may say" (Spurgeon, Salt Cellars Pg.93).

Joseph Alleine Quote

"I am not baiting my hook with rhetoric, nor fishing for your applause, but for your souls. My work is not to please you, but to save you" (Joseph Alleine, A Sure Guide to Heaven Pg.16).