Spirit of Holiness

Description

What does Biblical spirituality look like?What does it mean to be "spiritual"? What priorities and practices inspire one to live the Christian life well? While there are a multitude of answers to these questions, very rarely are they both clear and profound. As a result, Christians can be left feeling lost and confused.In The Spirit of Holiness, Terry Delaney and Roger Duke have collected a variety of reflections on spirituality that are shaped by the Bible, theology, and the voices and examples of those who have come before us.With authors like Al Mohler, Michael Haykin, and Steve Lawson covering topics such as perseverance, depression, friendship, choice, and faith, The Spirit of Holiness encourages and directs Christians to a healthy biblical spirituality informed by their forebears of the faith.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology
• Theology
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 23 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683593256
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE SPIRIT
of
HOLINESS
REFLECTIONS
on
BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY
Edited by
TERRY DELANEY
&
ROGER D. DUKE
The Spirit of Holiness: Reflections on Spiritual Formation
Copyright 2020 Terry Delaney and Roger D. Duke
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
LexhamPress.com
You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail] .
Scripture quotations marked ( ESV ) are from ESV® Bible ( The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® ), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ( KJV ) are from the King James Version. Public domain.
Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked ( NIV ) are from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Print ISBN 9781683593249
Digital ISBN 9781683593256
Library of Congress Control Number 2020941133
Lexham Editorial: Todd Hains, Danielle Thevenaz, Abigail Stocker
Cover Design: George Siler
CONTENTS
PREFACE
ABBREVIATIONS
THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN PURITAN DEVOTIONAL WRITINGS
JOE HARROD
THE GREAT FUEL OF FAITH
Meditation in the Piety of Thomas Manton
STEPHEN YUILLE
“A PATIENT WEARING OF CHRIST’S CROSS”
Hercules Collins and a Baptist Theology of Persecution
STEVE WEAVER
THE SIXTH SENSE OF JONATHAN EDWARDS
TOM J. NETTLES
“FREE AND FRIENDLY COMMUNICATION OF OUR THOUGHTS”
The Friendship of Andrew Fuller and Thomas Steevens
MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN
“AN OLD ENEMY OF MINE”
Charles Spurgeon’s Spirituality of the Word during His Depression
BRIAN ALBERT
RESCUED BY THEOLOGY
Recovering a Genuinely Biblical, Genuinely Protestant Spirituality
R. ALBERT MOHLER JR.
THE SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGES OF FAITH IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 28
JOEL R. BEEKE
FREEDOM OF INCLINATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHRISTIAN’S GROWTH IN SANCTIFICATION
BRUCE A. WARE
PRESSING ON
Remaining Steadfast in the Pursuit of Christ
STEVEN J. LAWSON
THE INTEGRITY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH
JIM ELLIFF
PREFACE
S pirituality is a buzzword on the current church scene in North America. A plethora of books exist that one could read in order to be enlightened in the methods of becoming more “spiritual” but not necessarily more Christlike. Sadly, many of these methods are less about Christianity than about spirituality. From labyrinth walking to mind-emptying meditation, these methods recall that telling biblical text in Judges: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg 21:25b).
Since first publishing his work Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life , Donald S. Whitney has sought to redeem this field of spirituality—in some ways a menagerie!—by elucidating the classical spiritual disciplines. Instead of using any and every means one might be able to think of, Don instead has sought to limit the means of grace to the word of God. To that point, he has made fashionable the phrase “biblical spirituality” through his writings, his seminary-level courses at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his itinerant conference and preaching ministry in local churches.
In so doing, Don has managed to bring the academic study of spirituality to bear upon the daily lives of countless Christians through the ministry of the local church. Whereas many Christians look upon higher theological education as suspect, Don’s academic writing offers a sweet balm to hurting souls who want to know how they can walk closer with the Lord. They want to do more than merely read their Bible; they want to become more like Christ, and they have come to realize that this will require discipline (Rom 12:2). But more often than not, they do not know where to begin. That is where Don’s ministry has aided the most. He helps Christians to look to the word of God and seek to discipline themselves for the purpose of godliness. And at the very heart of all of this is Don’s ultimate aim to glorify God.
Central to Don’s ministry has always been the word of God. If a particular spiritual discipline is not found in the Bible, then it is, by default, not a biblical spiritual discipline. When he writes of various spiritual disciplines, he only writes of those that are found explicitly in Scripture. And when a discipline is found in the Bible, he reasons, it will be found throughout the history of the church. He has sought to learn from giants of the faith like David Brainerd (on journaling), Jonathan Edwards (on meditation), George Muller (on prayer), and Charles Spurgeon (on Bible reading), to name only four, who have modeled biblical spirituality. Don is compelled to learn from those who in the past sought spiritual counsel from the word of God and handed down a biblically informed tradition of spiritual disciplines.
Don’s second major focus has been simplicity. A spiritual walk should never be so difficult that it is beyond the abilities of a child of God who has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is true that discipline requires a level of commitment sometimes beyond the reach of young children who have professed faith, but they can pray. They can read a Bible or have a Bible read to them. They can sing hymns and psalms and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). They can begin to cultivate methods of meditation so that they learn from an early age to bring every thought captive to the Lord (2 Cor 10:5).
The essays collected in The Spirit of Holiness have all been written in honor of this distinct ministry of Donald S. Whitney. The reader will find a set of essays that, first, articulate how specific saints from the halls of church history the Puritans, Thomas Manton, Hercules Collins, Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Fuller, Thomas Steevens, American evangelicals during the Civil War, and C. H. Spurgeon—practiced the classical spiritual disciplines and how we can imitate their faith. R. Albert Mohler’s essay provides a transition to the second set of essays, which are more practice-oriented: he shares how Don’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life helped him to recover a genuine Protestant spiritual discipline. In the second set of essays, the subjects of providence, sanctification, perseverance, and the local church as the locus of spirituality help the reader to see how spirituality applies to everyday life.
It was a distinct joy to work with each author, all of whom were delighted to contribute an essay for this volume. All of them cleared their schedules in order to make it happen in a timely manner. One writer exclaimed, “I would be glad to do this for my good friend, Don.” It is our prayer that these essays, written in honor of our friend and mentor in spirituality, Dr. Donald S. Whitney, be received as gladly by you, the reader, as they were written by the writers. To God be the glory!
Terry Delaney
Roger D. Duke
ABBREVIATIONS
BQ
Baptist Quarterly
CL
Collins, Hercules. Counsel for the Living, Occasioned from the Dead: Or, A Discourse on Job III. 17,18. Arising from the Deaths of Mr. Fran. Bampfield and Mr. Zach. Ralphson . London: George Larkin, 1684 .
CWTM
Manton, Thomas. The Complete Works of Thomas Manton . London: James Nisbet, 1870–75; repr., Birmingham: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2008 .
FW
Edwards, Jonathan. Freedom of the Will . In WJE vol. 1 .
JER
Smith, John E., Harry S. Stout, and Kenneth P. Minkema, eds. A Jonathan Edwards Reader . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995 .
MTP
Spurgeon, Charles. Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit . Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1970–2006 .
NPSP
Spurgeon, Charles. New Park Street Pulpit . Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1970–2006 .
SJE
Kimnach, Wilson H., Kenneth P. Minkema, and Douglas A. Sweeney. Sermons of Jonathan Edwards . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999 .
TD
Spurgeon, Charles. The Treasury of David . New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1887 .
VP
Collins, Hercules. A Voice from the Prison. Or, Meditations on Revelations III. XI. Tending To the Establishment of Gods Little Flock, In an Hour of Temptation . London, 1684 .
WJE
Edwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards . 26 vols. Edited by Perry Miller, John Smith, Harry Stout, Kenneth Minkema, et al. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957–2008 .
THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN PURITAN DEVOTIONAL WRITINGS
JOE HARROD
Yet this hope is left unto forlorn men, that there is a way to
heaven and happiness.… A way that men may securely and
safely walk in, a way in which Christ will guide the[m] ,
God the father will keep them, and the Holy Ghost lead them
by the hand, and direct them in all the passages thereof .
— Nicholas Byfield , The Marrow of the Oracles of God

INTRODUCTION
T his paper began as a question: How did the Puritan clergy teach the laity under their pastoral care to think devotionally about the Trinity? 1 That the Puritans strove to articulate and defend the doctrine of the Trinity during the long seventeenth century is indisputable, as Joel Beeke and Mark Jones have outlined in their substantive overview of Puritan Trinitarian thought. 2 Significant treatises by equally significant mid- to late seventeenth-century Puritan writers include those of Francis Cheynell (1608–65), Stephen Charnock (1628–80), and John Owen (1616–83), among others. 3 The works these men produced are spiritually rich and demonstrate significant depth of theological engagement with Scripture, patristic theology, Reformed dogmatics, and contemporary theological debates. In this chapter, however, I want to focus on a different set of authors and a different type of literature, namely the “affectionate pra