Vintage Pastor and People: Iain Murray’s Advice to Pastors

(This post was originally published July 9, 2007.  I thought it pertinent to resurrect this wonderful post for the benefit of all pastors.)

About two years ago I began a fruitful correspondence with Iain Murray. Iain Hamish Murray (b. 1931; Lancashire, England) was educated in the Isle of Man and at the University of Durham. He entered the Christian ministry in 1murray.jpg955. He served as assistant to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel (1956-59) and subsequently at Grove Chapel, London (1961-69) and St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Sydney, Australia, (1981-84). In intervening periods he has worked full-time with the Reformed publishing house called the Banner of Truth Trust, of which organization he was the co-founder (with Jack Cullum) in 1957 and remains the Editorial Director. Iain now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. I wrote him, the first time, just to see if he would answer. Since that time I have enjoyed many encouraging words and much sound advice from his pen.

I had written to Iain the beginning of June to ask his thoughts regarding a new pastoral charge. I received a wonderful letter from 30 June 2007 outlining some advice and counsel in that area. He says about the pastorate, “It is the best work in the world, but not only the hardest – it is quite beyond our own resources…Distrust of self and childlike trust in Him are our lifelong needs.” He then proceeds to give a few thoughts with a new pastorate in view:

1. If God calls you to a people, he will put some special regard for them in your heart. For you have to express His love and concern for them. Love to Christ and love to the people is the foundation and always to be kept first.
2. Be slow in forming assessments of individuals. Some of whom you at first expect much may turn out to be disappointing; others you scarcely noticed at first prove to be your best helpers. Try to avoid special friendship in the congregation. Remember the people who seem to want your time, maybe not the persons who need it most.
3. Be careful never to promise anything without fulfilling it. (You should probably therefore keep a record of everything you promise.)
4. You need to gain the affection of the people and at the same time avoid trying to be popular. Divine grace is needed here as elsewhere.
5. Follow as much as you can all the current usages and practices – don’t hurry to change anything. If there is something serious that you cannot accept you will hopefully see it before you accept the call and can discuss it beforehand with the deacons/calling committee.
6. Do not be too tied to theories on what you must preach; how long your sermons should be etc, etc. You need to study the people’s needs. Jesus spoke “as they were able to bear it.” Better sermons be too short than too long. Love for the people will dictate much you do or do not do.
7. In my experience the people most needing attention in a congregation are usually those on the fringe of things – the half-committed maybe.
8. Concluding, he warns of our cunning adversary the devil who will attack personally as well as the ministry we participate in. He says to make regular prayer times and reading of the Scripture a daily habit.

This is probably the most sound and practical advice I have ever heard from anyone. Someone I have never meet, from Edinburgh, Scotland has proved to be a wonderful mentor and friend – Thank the Lord for his faithful servant, Iain H. Murray.

Filed under: Iain Murray, Ministry, Pastors

Top 10 Preachers of 2007

While magazines and newspapers are publishing their top ten “everything” of 2007 I though I would publish my top 10 Preachers of 2007. Those preachers and pastors who have made the list have greatly impacted my life in 2007 by their sermons and writings. These men of God have pointed me to the cross of Christ and the glory of God in 2007 by explaining God’s Word. Thank you to all who made the list. If one of these men has impacted your life in some way in 2007 please let me know.

1. John MacArthur
I suppose John MacArthur would make any top 10 list of preachers. Widely known for his thorough, candid approach to teaching God’s Word, John MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker, and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969. I have had in 2007, as a companion, the John MacArthur Study Bible in my daily Bible reading. Dr. MacArthur is a frequent visitor to my mailbox through his mailing list. I am greatly indebted to Dr. MacArthur for showing me how to be a pastor, preacher and man of God, thank you.

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2. Alistair Begg
Alistair Begg has been in pastoral ministry for 32 years. Following graduation from The London School of Theology he served eight years in Scotland at both Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church. Since 1983, he has been the senior pastor at Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio. Upon my morning commute, Alistair Begg comes into my car through my radio showing me, through the Word of God, the beauty, simplicity and sheer grandeur of our great and holy God.

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3. Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was England’s best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London’s famed New Park Street Church. The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In 1861 the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle. I spoke with Spurgeon every day in 2007 through his timeless and classic devotional, Morning and Evening.

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4. R.C. Sproul
Dr. Sproul is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries and senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel both based in Orlando, Florida. He is also featured daily on Renewing Your Mind, an international radio broadcast. Dr. Sproul has come into my home 12 times in 2007 through the monthly magazine, Tabletalk, a publication of Ligonier Ministries. I feed on his timely articles and thoroughly enjoy his daily teaching on Renewing Your Mind.

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5. Iain Murray
Iain H. Murray was born (of Scottish parents) in Lancashire, England, April 19, 1931, and educated at King William’s College, Isle of Man, and the University of Durham. He helped found The Banner of Truth Trust, was assistant to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and pastor for numerous years. Dr. Murray authored several books that were influencial to me in 2007 including, Revival and Revivalism, The Old Evangelicalism and Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography (which I try to read each year). Thank you Iain for your kind letters, pastoral advice and mentorship through the years!

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6. Derek Prime
Derek Prime is an itinerant minister and writer. A former president of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, Mr. Prime has served as a pastor for more than 30 years, the last 18 as minister of Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh. Derek Prime continually filled my mind and heart with 3 sermons I heard him preach at Parkside Church (Alistair Begg’s church) entitled, On Being a Pastor. These three sermons caused me to reflect on my life and future ministry as a pastor. I probably heard these sermons 10 times each in 2007. Thank you Derek.

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7. Eric Alexander
Dr. Alexander was born and educated in Glasgow, where he earned degrees history, philosophy and theology at the University of Glasgow. After 15 years in a rural parish in Ayrshire, Scotland, he spent 20 years at historic St. George’s-Tron Church in the city center of Glasgow, retiring at the end of 1997. Every time I could hear or get my hands on a sermon my Eric Alexander in 2007 I downloaded, purchased, bought or read it. He is a phenomenal preacher and man of God.

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8. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Martyn Lloyd-Jones was possibly the greatest British preacher of the twentieth century. His ministry at Westminster Chapel and his writings earned him respect and affection throughout the world. He had a decisive influence on many individuals and on evangelicalism as a whole. Dr. Lloyd-Jones lifted me often in 2007 into the throne room of grace through his numerous published sermons.

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9. John Piper
John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. John is the author of more than 30 books and is founder of Desiring God Ministries. Dr. Piper influenced me greatly in 2007 mainly through his writing. He lifts my heart to God in each sentence putting on display the glory of God in a way that is marvelous and joyous. He points me to the joy-giver, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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10. Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards was born into a Puritan evangelical household on October 5, 1703, in East Windsor, Connecticut. He was the fifth of eleven children born to the Rev. Timothy and Esther Edwards. In 1726, Edwards succeeded his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, as the pastor of the church in Northampton, Massachusetts, the largest and most influential church outside of Boston. He is the author of numerous works, many of which are spoken of on Pastor and People. I read many of these marvelous works in 2007. In 2007 Edwards taught me how to be a disciplined man of God creating in my heart a desire for holiness in my personal and public life. He continues to be and will always be one of my favorite preachers of all time.

All of these preachers, and many more have made huge impacts in my life in 2007. I owe a great debt of gratitude to all of these men and hope to thank them all in Heaven one day. Again, if any of these men have impacted your life in 2007 I would very much like to hear from you.

Filed under: Charles Spurgeon, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Derek Prime, Iain Murray, John MacArthur, John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, Pastors, Preaching, R.C. Sproul

The Importance of Justification on Our Death Bed

About a hundred years ago Alexander Whyte, as a pastor in Edinburgh, visited one of his elders who was dying. A book was close to the man’s hand and, recognizing that it was not the Bible, Whyte looked on the open page to see what it might be. There his eyes fell on the words, ‘Chapter 11 – Of Justification’:

Those whom God effectually calleth he also freely justifieth; not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, to them as their righteousness, but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.

We too will die, and when that day comes there will be no truth we shall value more than the doctrine thus stated in the Westminster Confession of Faith. We know what it meant to David Sandeman, a Scottish missionary who ended his work in China at the age of thirty two. As he lay dying in the midst of an epidemic of cholera, a friend asked how he was. He answered, ‘I am head-to-foot righteousness.’ Our responsibility is both to be able to say that of ourselves and so to aid our hearers that they will bear the same testimony.

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This is an excerpt from The Old Evangelicalism by Iain Murray, pg. 73

Filed under: Iain Murray, Justification, Salvation

Preaching to the Conscience, pt. 3

Continuing our series on Iain Murray’s book, The Old Evangelicalism, we come to number three in our look on why it is necessary to preach to the consciences:

3. By the Law Men learn Their Helplessness
Murray says, “Where there is an absence of this knowledge there is a fundamental obstacle to salvation.” In other words, unless a certain mind-set is corrected Christ’s work cannot be understood. Those who do not know that they are bound and prisoners, have no desire for the ‘redemption’ that sets free from the power of captivity of sin. Those who do not recognize themselves as law-breakers will see no need to look to the One who has honored that law in the place of sinners.

Murray brings up a good point when he says, “Where the gospel is presented solely as forgiveness, only as a change of status before God, it may appeal to the self-interest of the unregenerate. A person may ‘believe’ that message and still be content to live an unchanged life; he becomes a ‘Christian’ and yet knows no moral, ethical revolution. But where the conscience is more thoroughly dealt with by the law of God, a larger need comes into view and one which forgiveness alone would not answer.” All my life I have seen preachers present the gospel as a get-out-of-jail-free card. With no commands, the gospel is presented as to what appeals to the self-interest of the mind. “Say this little prayer, repeat after me, walk forward, come to the front” and on and on is the litany of persuasion techniques used to woo people into the kingdom. However, there must be a change of nature, a deliverance from self, a new life. The desire of a true convert is that he may never sin again; such a person will pray as William Wilberforce once prayed, ‘O God, deliver me from myself!’

We have departed from the preaching of the law in our modern pulpits. We have forsaken the commands of Christ in our gospel presentation. The result has been ‘converts’ who never knew that ‘the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom’ (Psa. 111:10), and who never learned to say, ‘Oh, how I love Your law!’ (Psa. 119:97). As a result of watered down preaching the church became little different in life from the world.

The words of Richard Sibbes provide a good summary. He wrote:

The Spirit that testifies to a man that his sins are pardoned him, doth it first by convincing a man of his sins. Now, you know there is more in conviction than bare discovery…It makes a man to see there is no sweetness in sin; it makes a man to find that sin is the greatest burden, the greatest misery, of this life. For that which makes a man delight in sin, is because it is presented to him in false shapes; but now when the Spirit of God comes to manifest sin, and makes a man to look upon it in its own shape and nature, then he finds it to be the most unprofitable burden he ever bore in his life…Sin, being discovered thus to a man, he comes to seek, above all things in the world, to be rid and eased of it.

Filed under: Iain Murray, Preaching, Salvation, Sin

Preaching to the Conscience, pt. 2

As we continue our discussion of The Old Evangelicalism by Iain Murray I want to bring your attention to the second point of preaching to the conscience.

2. Under Conviction Individuals Commonly Endeavour a Change of Behavior
Murray says, “All men possess a conscience, and when the conscience is awakened it demands a reversal in Behavior: ‘By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil’ (Prov. 16:6).” He continues, “This brings us to a subject on which the old evangelism differs markedly from the modern. Today it is often assumed that because the witness of conscience cannot save, it has no part in the work of conversion. To alarm and direct the conscience is not seen as part of evangelistic teaching, and if anyone shows any sign of trouble of conscience the direction is at once given that there is no need for concern, the person’s only responsibility is to believe on Christ. This teaching is so common that any alternative procedure is almost unthinkable.”

The preacher should join with conscience, and press home its witness, by insisting on obedience to all that God commands. An awakened person’s sense of obligation to change his life-style is right. There is a reversal of conduct required, and the individual needs to be told so, as John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul told their hearers (Luke 3:8-14; Acts 24:25). But that is not enough, says Murray, “the repentance God demands is no partial change, no temporary feeling of sorrow, but an entire change of life.” Perhaps it is thought by the individual that he can forsake one sin and seek forgiveness in connection with that one sin. That is not enough. The command is that he must stop sinning – sins of life, heart and thought: ‘Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts’ (Isa. 55:7). ‘Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!’ (Ezek. 18:31). In short the duty God requires is to be holy as he is holy, and to love him above all. Therefore he that does not hate his own life, says Christ, ‘cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:26). ‘Strive to enter thought the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able’ (Luke 13:24).

This was indeed ‘law preaching,’ but the purpose of thus summoning a man to full obedience was not to qualify him for salvation, it was rather to prove to him just how far he was from it. The preaching of holiness and the law to the unregenerate – to natural men and women – if rightly done, does not lead them to a dependence on their own works. It does the very opposite. In the words of Jonathan Edwards:

Such earnestness and thoroughness of endeavors, is the ordinary means that God makes use of to bring people into an acquaintance with themselves, to a sight of their own hearts, to a sense of their own helplessness, and to a despair in their own strength and righteousness…It is experience of ourselves, and finding what we are, that God commonly makes use of as the means of bringing us off all dependence on ourselves…It is therefore quite wrong notion that some entertain, that the more they do, the more they shall depend on it. Whereas the reverse is true; the more they do, or the more thorough they are in seeking, the less will they be likely to rest in their doings, and the sooner they see the vanity of all that they do.

Filed under: Iain Murray, Jonathan Edwards, Preaching, Salvation, Sin