Truth is ancient; it's grey hairs may make it venerable;
it comes from Him who is the ancient of days. --Thomas Watson

 

21 October, 2005   comments: (0) Church History   Still Relevant: John Owen's Pursuit of Holiness 1683 marked the end of the earthly life of an English pastor named of John Owen. He was buried in London where five years later, his friend John Bunyan would be buried near him. John Owen was a pastor, but many also regard him as England's greatest theologian. J.I. Packer called him "the tallest of the redwoods". So what's the most important thing that we should learn from the life of John Owen today? According to John Piper, the answer may be this pastor's personal pursuit of holiness. Piper believes that the reason it's so urgent for us to learn from John Owen today, is not only that there is a holiness without which we will not see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14), but that there seems to be a shortage of church leaders today who make the quest for holiness as central as the quest for church growth. What follows is a John Piper excerpt on Owen's pursuit of holiness, and the impact it had on his ministry and the whole of England: I think the words of [John Owen's] which come closest to giving us the heart and aim of his life are found in the preface to the little book: Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers which was based on sermons that he preached to the students and academic community at Oxford: I hope I may own in sincerity that my heart's desire unto God, and the chief design of my life ... are, that mortification, and universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God, that so the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things. That was 1656. Owen was 40 years old. Twenty-five years later he was still sounding the same note in his preaching and writing. In 1681 he published The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded. Sinclair Ferguson is probably right when he says, "Everything he wrote for his contemporaries had a practical and pastoral aim in view - the promotion of true Christian living" - in other words the mortification of sin and the advancement of holiness. This was his burden not only for the churches but also for the University when he was there. Peter Toon says, "Owen's special emphasis was to insist that the whole academic curriculum be submerged in preaching and catechizing and prayer. He wanted the graduates of Oxford not only to be proficient in the Arts and Sciences but also to aspire after godliness". Even in his political messages - the sermons to Parliament - the theme was repeatedly holiness. He based this on the Old Testament patter - that "the people of Israel were at the height of their fortunes when their leaders were godly". So the key issue for him was that the legislature be made up of holy people. His concern that the gospel spread and be adorned with holiness was not just a burden for his English homeland. When he came back from Ireland in 1650 where he had seen the English forces, under Cromwell, decimate the Irish, he preached to Parliament and pleaded for another kind of warfare: "How is it that Jesus Christ is in Ireland only as a lion staining all his garments with the blood of his enemies; and none to hold him out as a Lamb sprinkled with his own blood to his friends? ... Is this to deal fairly with the Lord Jesus? - call him out to do battle and then keep away his crown? God hath been faithful in doing great things for you; be faithful in this one - do your utmost for the preaching of the Gospel in Ireland". From his writings and from the testimony of others, it seems fair to say that the aim of personal holiness in all of life, and the mortifying of all known sin really was the labor not only of his teaching but of his own personal life. David Clarkson, his pastoral associate in the later years of Owen's ministry, gave his funeral address. In it he said, A great light is fallen; one of eminency for holiness, learning, parts and abilities; a pastor, a scholar, a divine of the first magnitude; holiness gave a divine lustre to his other accomplishments, it shined in his whole course, and was diffused through his whole conversation. John Stoughton said, "His piety equaled his [knowledge]". Thomas Chalmers of Scotland commented on On the Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalence of Indwelling Sin in Believers, "It is most important to be instructed on this subject by one who had reached such lofty attainments in holiness, and whose profound and experimental acquaintance with the spiritual life so well fitted him for expounding its nature and operations". Read more of John Piper's look at the life of John Owen, or download Piper's 90 minute audio on John Owen by CLICKING HERE, from Unchained Radio. Please note that the audio file is a large (40MB MP3) file, so it may take a few minutes to download. It's worth the wait however. Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.83   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism