Torches of Truth in a Dark World
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
I now return to following A. W. Pink's commentary, which expounds upon the passage above as it applies to ministers of the gospel. There are two ways in which they are to be light to the world: by their teaching and by their actions.
Let's first consider their teaching. Faithful Christian preaching/teaching is made up of three parts, as Pink explains:
(1) It applies the Word of God "to the minds and consciences of men that they may be made to see their sins and their woeful wretchedness thereby."
(2) It brings "before them the remedy for their misery, which is the person and work of the Lord Jesus"
(3) It makes "plain that path of obedience in all good duties to God and men which He requires in the life of a Christian."
Yesterday, I commented on the deficiencies of today's preaching and I don't want to belabor the matter, though it is a very important one. So, at this point, I will only give the following brief comments: I believe that the first and third components above are almost entirely absent in modern preaching. Today's "gospel" offers God's love and forgiveness to all, but requires repentance and obedience from none.
But Pink makes another excellent point when he says, "preachers may display great homiletical skill and deliver flowery discourses, but only that is true preaching which conveys the light of spiritual knowledge to the heart and leads souls to God."
There are many who can give long and biblically accurate discourses on the attributes of God, the doctrines of grace, the Holy Trinity, justification by faith, etc. But filling men's heads with theological knowledge while failing to prick their hearts with a sin-convicting message of repentance, and neglecting to disciple them in the ways of holiness, is to leave them in a worse state than if they were ignorant of God's truth altogether. As Thomas Watson (1600's) said, "Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell." And if that be true, then much greater will be the punishment of those torch-bearers whose responsibility it is to light the way for others, but who fail to bring that light to bear in such a way that it reveals to men their own sinfulness.
Now, while Pink sees the passage at hand as being directed to those who preach and teach Christian doctrine, he does not neglect to mention the responsibility of those being taught. He explains that it is the duty of those who hear words of reproof to receive those words (though they be as salt poured into an open wound), to the end that a consciousness of their sin might work in them a mortification of the same.
"The hearer must give all diligence to be seasoned with this heavenly salt so that the thoughts of his heart, the words of his mouth, and the actions of his life may be acceptable to God. (Col 4:6) If we sit under the ministry of the Word (oral or written) and be not seasoned thereby our case is doubly evil."
"...it is incumbent upon all who hear them [faithful preachers] to raise the blinds of carnal prejudice and open the windows of their souls so that the illuminating message may receive due entrance.
Another responsibility of those under the ministry of the Word is to earnestly pray for those who labor to instruct them. Pink notes that there were a number of times when Paul required the churches under his care to pray for him and the success of his work. If the greatest of the apostles had need of it, then much more does the ordinary teacher need prayer. And no doubt that Pink is correct in saying that although he opposes every Christian, the Devil especially aims at ministers of the Word in order to cause them to fail in either teaching or conduct. If Satan is the adversary of every Christian, then it follows that he would most strongly oppose those who labor to make more Christians.
In returning to the passage as it applies to ministers of the gospel, Pink further expounds upon their duties. Teachers of the Word are to bear torches of truth in a dark world, and by the illumination of their teaching they are to expose ignorance, that they may turn men from "darkness to light." But they must always be diligent to couple faithful teaching with the example of a holy life. As Pink rightly says:
"These two things must never be separated: sound doctrine and holy deportment are ever to be conjoined in a minister." "God will have men learn His will in two ways: by hearing and seeing."
Of course, those who publicly proclaim the Word will always be open to the greater scrutiny of the world and a corresponding increase in abuse by it. Those who preach (verbally or in writing) ought not to think it strange if while testifying to the fact that the whole world lies in wickedness, they become a special object of that wickedness; and it should be no marvel to them that while being angels of light, they are particularly hated by those who only feign to be of the light.
But regardless of the cost, those who have been specially gifted to teach Christian doctrine must be diligent to put that gift to use -- it is a great sin to neglect it. This is to put a candle under a bushel and thereby extinguish the light when it should be used to illuminate all who are in the house. Pink names several ways in which men may be guilty of doing so:
"by refusing to humble themselves and speak in terms suited to the capacity of the most simple, by refusing to give out the Truth of God, by toning it down through the fear of man, or by flirting with the world and adopting its ways."
I have already said more than a few things about the infidelity of today's preachers, but I must add here that I believe today's preaching is greatly toned down due to the fear of man, and that the ways of the world are the ways of the overwhelming majority of professing Christendom.
Pink then comments on the ending of the passage, which is: "That they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven" He explains that good works are the means by which we give evidence of our homage to God. They are sincere tokens of gratitude that speak more than words. They show us to be true followers of God, who bids us to be holy as He is holy and to practically express love for our neighbors. And good works both enrich ourselves and our fellow men.
Therefore, the goal of the pastor/teacher should be to train men to lead holy lives and thereby give glory unto their God.
Lastly, Pink ends this chapter entitled "The Ministerial Office," which is a commentary on Mat. 5:13-16, by pointing out that although the unregenerate can perceive a pastor's failures, only true Christians are able to discern spiritual graces and the fruit of them, and only they will glorify the Father for those faithful ministers who have selflessly labored to use God's gifts for the betterment of their disciples.
He says: "Probably the Day to come will reveal that few things have evoked so much genuine praise to God as His people's returning thanks for the piety, integrity, and helpfulness of His servants, who untiringly sought their good."
Every Christian should entreat the Lord that He raise up a great number of gifted teachers and a multitude of people to give heed to them "that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God." (2 Cor. 4:15)
I now return to following A. W. Pink's commentary, which expounds upon the passage above as it applies to ministers of the gospel. There are two ways in which they are to be light to the world: by their teaching and by their actions.
Let's first consider their teaching. Faithful Christian preaching/teaching is made up of three parts, as Pink explains:
(1) It applies the Word of God "to the minds and consciences of men that they may be made to see their sins and their woeful wretchedness thereby."
(2) It brings "before them the remedy for their misery, which is the person and work of the Lord Jesus"
(3) It makes "plain that path of obedience in all good duties to God and men which He requires in the life of a Christian."
Yesterday, I commented on the deficiencies of today's preaching and I don't want to belabor the matter, though it is a very important one. So, at this point, I will only give the following brief comments: I believe that the first and third components above are almost entirely absent in modern preaching. Today's "gospel" offers God's love and forgiveness to all, but requires repentance and obedience from none.
But Pink makes another excellent point when he says, "preachers may display great homiletical skill and deliver flowery discourses, but only that is true preaching which conveys the light of spiritual knowledge to the heart and leads souls to God."
There are many who can give long and biblically accurate discourses on the attributes of God, the doctrines of grace, the Holy Trinity, justification by faith, etc. But filling men's heads with theological knowledge while failing to prick their hearts with a sin-convicting message of repentance, and neglecting to disciple them in the ways of holiness, is to leave them in a worse state than if they were ignorant of God's truth altogether. As Thomas Watson (1600's) said, "Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell." And if that be true, then much greater will be the punishment of those torch-bearers whose responsibility it is to light the way for others, but who fail to bring that light to bear in such a way that it reveals to men their own sinfulness.
Now, while Pink sees the passage at hand as being directed to those who preach and teach Christian doctrine, he does not neglect to mention the responsibility of those being taught. He explains that it is the duty of those who hear words of reproof to receive those words (though they be as salt poured into an open wound), to the end that a consciousness of their sin might work in them a mortification of the same.
"The hearer must give all diligence to be seasoned with this heavenly salt so that the thoughts of his heart, the words of his mouth, and the actions of his life may be acceptable to God. (Col 4:6) If we sit under the ministry of the Word (oral or written) and be not seasoned thereby our case is doubly evil."
"...it is incumbent upon all who hear them [faithful preachers] to raise the blinds of carnal prejudice and open the windows of their souls so that the illuminating message may receive due entrance.
Another responsibility of those under the ministry of the Word is to earnestly pray for those who labor to instruct them. Pink notes that there were a number of times when Paul required the churches under his care to pray for him and the success of his work. If the greatest of the apostles had need of it, then much more does the ordinary teacher need prayer. And no doubt that Pink is correct in saying that although he opposes every Christian, the Devil especially aims at ministers of the Word in order to cause them to fail in either teaching or conduct. If Satan is the adversary of every Christian, then it follows that he would most strongly oppose those who labor to make more Christians.
In returning to the passage as it applies to ministers of the gospel, Pink further expounds upon their duties. Teachers of the Word are to bear torches of truth in a dark world, and by the illumination of their teaching they are to expose ignorance, that they may turn men from "darkness to light." But they must always be diligent to couple faithful teaching with the example of a holy life. As Pink rightly says:
"These two things must never be separated: sound doctrine and holy deportment are ever to be conjoined in a minister." "God will have men learn His will in two ways: by hearing and seeing."
Of course, those who publicly proclaim the Word will always be open to the greater scrutiny of the world and a corresponding increase in abuse by it. Those who preach (verbally or in writing) ought not to think it strange if while testifying to the fact that the whole world lies in wickedness, they become a special object of that wickedness; and it should be no marvel to them that while being angels of light, they are particularly hated by those who only feign to be of the light.
But regardless of the cost, those who have been specially gifted to teach Christian doctrine must be diligent to put that gift to use -- it is a great sin to neglect it. This is to put a candle under a bushel and thereby extinguish the light when it should be used to illuminate all who are in the house. Pink names several ways in which men may be guilty of doing so:
"by refusing to humble themselves and speak in terms suited to the capacity of the most simple, by refusing to give out the Truth of God, by toning it down through the fear of man, or by flirting with the world and adopting its ways."
I have already said more than a few things about the infidelity of today's preachers, but I must add here that I believe today's preaching is greatly toned down due to the fear of man, and that the ways of the world are the ways of the overwhelming majority of professing Christendom.
Pink then comments on the ending of the passage, which is: "That they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven" He explains that good works are the means by which we give evidence of our homage to God. They are sincere tokens of gratitude that speak more than words. They show us to be true followers of God, who bids us to be holy as He is holy and to practically express love for our neighbors. And good works both enrich ourselves and our fellow men.
Therefore, the goal of the pastor/teacher should be to train men to lead holy lives and thereby give glory unto their God.
Lastly, Pink ends this chapter entitled "The Ministerial Office," which is a commentary on Mat. 5:13-16, by pointing out that although the unregenerate can perceive a pastor's failures, only true Christians are able to discern spiritual graces and the fruit of them, and only they will glorify the Father for those faithful ministers who have selflessly labored to use God's gifts for the betterment of their disciples.
He says: "Probably the Day to come will reveal that few things have evoked so much genuine praise to God as His people's returning thanks for the piety, integrity, and helpfulness of His servants, who untiringly sought their good."
Every Christian should entreat the Lord that He raise up a great number of gifted teachers and a multitude of people to give heed to them "that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God." (2 Cor. 4:15)
posted by Stuart DiNenno at 11/28/2004 11:10:00 PM
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