Mount Barker Presbyterian Church

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Theological Study

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

The Sovereignty of God

by

A W Pink

“To say that God is sovereign is to declare that whatever takes place in time is but the outworking of that which He decreed in eternity.”

“Present day conditions”, writes the author, “call loudly for a new examination and new presentation of God’s omnipotence, God’s sufficiency, God’s sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns. Faith is now in the crucible; it is being tested by fire, and there is no fixed and sufficient resting-place for the heart and mind but in the throne of God. What is needed now, as never before, is a full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God.”

This is an outstanding book. It is a fairly short and easy read,  so great for older teenagers. (Don’t leave your teen years behind without reading it through once: it’s free online!) 

Arthur Pink was a deep thinker who met a variety of personal challenges and underwent a significant theological metamorphosis over the course of his 66 years, so if you detect a pessimistic eschatological allusion or two in this book, do not be surprised. Also, try to avoid the Banner of Truth edition: it’s missing 1/3 of the content.

Pink wrote this inspiring and thoughtful discussion on the Sovereignty of God with an approachable style, considering the application of this central doctrine to creation, salvation, reprobation, the human will, and prayer.

Make The Sovereignty of God your next read! 

Refuting Compromise

by

Jonathan Safarti

Sometimes, from where we sit in the Twenty-First Century, we might be tempted to imagine that some form of Evolutionism is a viable way to explain God’s mechanism for creating the world.

Thinking this way, though is a fad of the modern church. Far more intelligent men than ourselves throughout history have considered the plain reading of the Word of God to be the most reliable source of information on the origin of the universe, and as this book by Jonathan Sarfari shows, the physical evidence is in their favour.

This readable but scientific paperback offers insights into the historical interpretation of Genesis 1-11, as well as Astronomy, the Created Kinds, the Global Flood, and a solid of refutation ‘Biblical’ Old-Age Arguments. Compromise with Evolutionism may be a current fad of the church in the West, but it is not one that can last for long.

Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Safarti

What do Presbyterians Believe

by

Gordon H Clark

Presbyterianism stands for unshakable convictions about the absolute sovereignty of Almighty God, the ultimate authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ in salvation, but many Christians are unaware of the history behind Presbyterianism’s commitment to the truths of the Reformed Faith.

In July of 1643 a group of spiritual giants from all over the British Isles gathered in London to write a summary of Biblical doctrine for the use of the churches. ‘Church historians agree that this was one of the most learned bodies ever assembled on the earth for the formulation and promulgation of Christian truth’. The document that emerged after five years, six months, and twenty-two days of prayerful and thoughtful activity was the Westminster Confession of Faith.

This book by Gordon H. Clark is a delightful and insightful explanation of the Confession, written in a conversational style. Because it was originally penned in 1956, the book has a slightly dated feel, but this didn’t deter our then -sixteen-year-old son from wanting a copy of his own after we used it in our homeschool!

Highly recommended.

What do Presbyterians Believe by Gordon H Clark

By This Standard: The Authority of God’s Law Today

by

Greg L Bahnsen

In John 17:17, our Lord clearly said that God’s ‘Word is truth’. He didn’t say that it is true, but that it is truth itself: it is the very definition or standard by which all other truth claims are to be measured. Based on this, then, it seems obvious that Christians should value all that God values, and judge what is good by the standard of what God says is good. And God says that His Law is good!

New Testament Christians talk about the Law of God, and we know that the Old Testament Ceremonial and Civil Laws have passed away, but what about God’s Moral Law? He morality changed over the course of human history? Has God changed His mind?

We serve a loving God Who has equipped us with everything we need to live happy and fulfilling lives. In this book, Greg Bahnsen argues convincingly that part of this requires society to choose to obey God. It is a choice between God’s Law and chaos, God’s Law and tyranny, and a choice between God’s Law and God’s Judgement.

By This Standard: The Authority of God’s Law Today by Greg L Bahnsen