Mount Barker Presbyterian Church

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Christian Living

Humility: The Beauty of Holiness

by

Andrew Murray

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

This is essentially the only personal trait of the Lord Jesus that He ever draws significant attention to; and what is unfathomably amazing, He opens His heart to us, and invites us in.

South African born Rev Murray early makes the case that “pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil.” And so, “our one need is to study and know and trust the life that has been revealed in Christ as the life that is now ours, and waits for our consent to gain possession and mastery of our whole being.”

While the local book shop, op-shop, and Christian book shop, are brimming with self-help books that promise that “you are enough just the way you are”, and “you are the person you are looking for”, etc … humility, sanctification, and becoming more Christ-like are not aspects of personal development that are often valued in our prideful and selfish generation. Thankfully though, the Lord has blessed our age with many resources from times past, and we can look back over a century, to find that this book simply and succinctly points us back to the true beauty of humility.

Rev Murray’s challenge still stands:
Is it any wonder that the Christian life is so often feeble and fruitless, when the very root of the Christ life is neglected, is unknown? Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so
little felt, when that in which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought?

“Until a humility which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self; which gives up all the honour of men as Jesus did, to seek the honour that comes from God alone; which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that the Lord alone may be exalted—until such a humility be what we seek in Christ above our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world.”

This is an incredibly beneficial and easy read (of only 82 pages), though the affordable reprint from Merchant Books is sadly missing the Notes chapter at the back. I have created a pdf of the Notes chapter that you can print as a booklet using Adobe, and tuck into the back of the book.

Alternatively, you can read the whole book online for free thanks to Project Gutenberg.

Humility The Beauty of Holiness by Andrew Murray

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life

by

Michael Horton

“Who exactly is the mysterious third person of the Trinity? Why does he seem to possess less reality or at least fewer descriptive features than the Father and the Son? Is this only a problem in popular culture and, by implication, in the churches that have helped to shape it? Or is the Spirit’s profile blurry in the broader faith and practice of mainstream Christianity?”

These are some of the questions the Dr Michael Horton answers in this careful work on Pneumatology (Doctrine of the Holy Spirit).

In our day and age, there seems to be several pitfalls when it comes to a biblical understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit, from forgetting Him almost altogether to overemphasising a focus on Him, and at the extreme to the heresies of Arianism, modalism, and partialism. This book goes a long way to correcting many misunderstandings of the Trinity and would highly recommend this to all.

Please note: This is a good example of where we need to be careful of reacting too hastily due to our theological differences:

Michael Horton insight is valuable in this area of theology, however he is seen by many as sitting generally on the liberal end of the conservative church. While I appreciate this particular work, his radical two kingdoms (R2K) theology was on display a little, especially in the later chapters.

At the end of a video series (Christianity & Islam) on the White Horse Inn, Michael said:

“… it’s a good thing that we no longer live in an era where Christianity is a culture.”

I do not agree with that statement, but it does make me ponder what sincere beliefs I hold and defend, that are also sincerely wrong.

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit by Michael Horton

Pilgrim’s Progress

by

John Bunyan

“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend:
The difficulty will not me offend,
For I perceive the way to life lies here:
Come, pluck up, heart, let’s neither faint nor fear!
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”

This is one of my favourite little books, and was a gateway into the rich world of Puritan literature. I first read a child’s version in my early years, but quickly came to prefer the complete and unabridged versions. Behind the Bible, this is my most read book.

We can learn much through this simple allegory of the Christian life, of being a pilgrim and stranger in this world, possessing no continuing city here, but seeking the city which is to come (Heb 13:14).

Charles Spurgeon also loved Pilgrim’s Progress, and opens his Pictures From Pilgrim’s Progress – a Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan’s Immortal Allegory with these words: “Next to the Bible, the book that I value most is John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. I believe I have read it through at least a hundred times. It is a volume of which I never seem to tire; and the secret of its freshness is that it is so largely compiled from the Scriptures. It is Biblical teaching put into the form of a simple yet very striking allegory.”

As Spurgeon said elsewhere, he loved Bunyan because Bunyan bled Bibline.

While Bunyan’s Pilgrim describes the lived experience of many, placing the Slough of Despond and Wicket Gate before the Cross, it must be noted that this is not the ideal path for a Christian. Instead, flee to the Cross first, for it is much easier to journey on the way without a burden on your back.

“Thus far did I come laden with my sin,
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither. What a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss!
Must here the burden fall from off my back!
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack!
Blest cross! Blest sepulchre! Blest rather be
The man that there was put to shame for me!”

This Christian classic is available in many versions from rewritten for children, to abridged, and modernised English, as well as the complete and unabridged. It has even been translated into more than 200 languages.

This is essential reading for all, and should be in every Christian’s library!

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Puritan: All of Life to the Glory of God

by

Albert Mohler; Conrad Mbewe; Geoff Thomas; Gloria Furman; Ian Hamilton; Jeremy Walker; J I Packer; Joel R Beeke; John MacArthur; John Piper; John Snyder; Kevin DeYoung; Leland Ryken; Ligon Duncan; Mark Dever; Michael Reeves; Rosaria Butterfield; Sinclair Ferguson; Stephen Nichols; Steven Lawson

The Puritans differed sometimes on their understanding of a range of issues, yet their agreement and depth of seriousness across the vast expanses of truth and experience is striking. 

In our Christian Fellowship Group we are currently following the workbook and DVD teaching series: Puritan: All of Life to the Glory of God to explore the lives and theology of a range of Puritan thinkers both in England and abroad. The Puritan approach to life is worth our attention, because they viewed all of human experience in light of Scripture. Henry Smith said,

“We should set the Word of God always before us like a rule, and believe nothing but that which it teacheth, love nothing but that which it prescribeth, hate nothing but that which it forbidden, do nothing but that which it commandeth.”

We believe that this is a great lesson for all of us!

Embracing this conviction, our church congregation regularly gathers every other Friday evening to sing hymns, and to explore the lives and theological perspectives of the Puritans, and we follow our study with fellowship, and the important matter of tea and cake.

As this is in a private members home, we invite you to join us by filling out the Contact Us page to get in touch with one of our church elders.

Puritan: All of Life to the Glory of God