Sin

Confess your sins to one another (part 3)

Tony Reinke Community, Confessing sin, Puritans, Richard Sibbes, Sin, Sin in the church

No man is more ready to charge the church
than she is to confess her infirmities.
She never hideth them,
she never justifieth them;
she is black,
she hath afflictions,
she kept not her own vine,
she wants [lacks]
knowledge,
affection,
discretion,
love.
She never denies it,
but confesses all freely from her heart;
she hides not her sin,
but tells what she is,
what she hath done,
that so she may give glory to the Lord God of Israel.
And indeed, it makes much for the honor of Christ,
and commends his grace,
that he, such a king,
will set his heart and his eye
upon such a deformed slut as the world deems her to be.
It makes for the comfort of her poor children,
and much stayeth [sustains] them,
when they shall hear the church in all ages,
and in her Abraham, David, and Paul, saying,
‘I am black,’
I have affliction,
corruption,
as well as others.
It makes for the silencing of all saucy [flippant] daughters
that will upbraid her;
an ingenuous confession,
stops their mouths,
and puts them all to silence.
It much quickens her to the use of the means,
and maketh her cry,
‘Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest.’
And to seek her comfort in Christ Jesus.
Oh it doth her good to receive the sentence of
death,
shame,
poverty,
damnation,
in herself,
that so she may be found in Christ,
arrayed with the rich robes of his righteousness.
Hence her plain-hearted openness in her confession.
Let us do the like,
and leave it to the harlot and whore of Babylon
to say herself is a queen, she is glorious, she cannot err.
But let us say with the church, we are black;
yea, let us see it,
let us speak it
with sorrow,
with shame,
as the saints have done,
and be so affected with our estate,
that it may truly humble us,
and cause us to say,
‘It is the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.’
And let us so confess it in ourselves,
that we pity others,
and bear with them,
though full of sins and miseries;
so confess it,
that we stir up others thereby to run,
as Paul did,
and use the ordinances with all diligence,
to pray much,
to read much,
to hear,
to confer,
to advise,
and be humble
and sincere.
A verbal confession of frailties,
without humility,
mercy,
diligence,
without the use of the means,
is hypocrisy.
If we will speak with the church,
we must feel what we say,
and so well understand ourselves and our estate,
that we may gain
humility,
mercy,
and watchfulness
by it.

– Richard Sibbes, Works 7:97-98

Confess your sins to one another (part 2)

Tony Reinke Community, Confessing sin, Richard Sibbes, Sin

We may observe the ingeniousness of the church in laying open her own state. It is the disposition of God’s people to be ingenious in opening their state to God, as in David, Nehemiah, Ezra, etc.

The reason is thus:

(1.) By a free and full confession we give God the honor of his wisdom in knowing of our own condition, secret and open. We give him the honor of mercy that will not take advantage against us, the honor of power and authority over us, if he should show his strength against us [in judgment]. We yield unto him the glory of all his chief prerogatives; whereupon Joshua moved Achan to a free confession, ‘My son, give gory to God,’ Joshua 7:19.

(2.) We shame Satan, who first takes away shame of sinning, and then takes away shame for sin. He tempts us not to be ashamed to do that we are ashamed to confess, so we, by silence, keep Satan’s council against our own souls. If we accuse ourselves, we put him out of office who is the ‘accuser of the brethren,’ Rev. 12:10.

(3.) We prevent, likewise, malicious imputations from the world. Augustine answered roundly and well when he was upbraided with the sins of his former age: ‘What thou,’ saith he, ‘findest fault with, I have condemned myself before.’

(4.) This ingenious dealing eases the soul, giving vent to the grief of it. While the arrow’s head sticks in the wound, it will not heal. Sin unconfessed is like a broken piece of rusty iron in the body. It must be gotten out, or else it will, by ranking and festering, cause more danger. It is like poison in the stomach, if it be not presently cast up it will infect the whole body. Is it not better to take shame to ourselves now, than to be shamed hereafter before angels, devils, and men?

– Richard Sibbes, Works 2:38-39

Confess your sins to one another (part 1)

Tony Reinke C.J. Mahaney, Community, Confessing sin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Fellowship, Kris Lundgaard, Sin, Sin in the church

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” – James 5:16

If he had the opportunity to revise his famous book (The Enemy Within), what would Kris Lundgaard add? At the final session of The Enemy Within conference in Omaha, he said he would add a chapter on sanctification within the community, specifically the importance of confessing sin to one another. (Listen to session 4 of the Lundgaard audio here).

He opened session four by reading large sections of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s parable, The Minister’s Black Veil, a story of a pastor who lives out the end of his life under a black veil seeking to hide his own personal sin from the rest of the church.

But I was especially interested in Lundgaard’s reference to a small book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer by the title, Life Together. I was not familiar with this book and so the following quotes hit me.

“Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation… This can happen even in the midst of a pious community. In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted. But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron (Ps. 107:16)…”

“The root of all sin is pride… I want to be my own law, I have a right to my self, my hatred and my desires, my life and my death. The mind and flesh of man are set on fire by pride; for it is precisely in his wickedness that man wants to be as God … In the confession of concrete sins the old man dies a painful, shameful death before the eyes of a brother. Because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to evade confessing to a brother. Our eyes are so blinded that they no longer see the promise and the glory in such abasement.”

“Since the confession of sin is made in the presence of a Christian brother, the last stronghold of self-justification is abandoned. The sinner surrenders; he gives up all his evil. He gives his heart to God, and he finds the forgiveness of all his sin in the fellowship of Jesus Christ and his brother… Now he stands in the fellowship of sinners who live by the grace of God in the Cross of Jesus Christ.”

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

These quotes remind me of C.J. Mahaney’s presentation at the Together for the Gospel 2006 conference where he encouraged pastors to be (discreetly) willing to confess sin from the pulpit in a way that builds honesty and openness with our hearers.

Likewise, it reminds me of the Psalmist. Asaph in Psalm 73 openly declared and confessed sins (sin that would otherwise remained hidden from sight). In fact he says, I almost went public with my confession (v. 15). But he didn’t. He was willing to lay his heart sins open and compose one of the most cherished of all the Psalms.

Asaph, Mahaney, Lundgaard and now Bonhoeffer have taught me much about the dynamics of Christian community. By hiding our sins under a black veil, our Christian lives are un-authentic and sin grows unhindered. We must work to be more open, to lay bare the heart, to confess “concrete sins,” build communion with our brothers and sisters, to be freed from the sinful pride that veils our personal sin. By the graciousness of God, if we can die to self here we will build a “fellowship of sinners who live by the grace of God in the Cross of Jesus Christ.”

O, that God, while seemingly blessing our age with great doctrine, will also open our hearts to bless our communities and pulpits with pride-killing honesty and humility.

New book: Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen, Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic

Tony Reinke John Owen, Justin Taylor, Mortification, New book alert!, Sin

New book alert!

Overcoming Sin and Temptation by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor is an excellent new book about to be released by Crossway. It’s an updated but unabridged version of volume 6 of John Owen’s works including Mortification of Sin, Of Temptation, and Indwelling Sin. These three works are classics in the Christian fight against sin.

The 450 page book is comprised of an excellent foreword by John Piper, a preface by Taylor (Reading John Owen: Why a New Edition?), introduction by Kapic (Life in the Midst of Battle: John Owen’s Approach to Sin, Temptation, and the Christian Life) overviews of each of the three books and then the text of the three books (Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It and Indwelling Sin).

The conclusion of the book includes 25 pages of very helpful outlines of each Owen book and a glossary of terms (helpful for reading any Puritan work). These helpful additions will assist any reader navigate the precious books by Owen. Highly recommended!

————————

Buy it: You can get a special discount and free shipping through Justin Taylor’s blog.

Related: Read our interview with Kris Lundgaard on John Owen and his works.

The Works of Thomas Goodwin (1892777916)

Tony Reinke BP > Reformation Heritage Books, Joel R. Beeke, Sin, Thomas Goodwin

Book review:

The Works of Thomas Goodwin

The complete works of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1679) have become quite rare and so I was encouraged to find that Reformation Heritage Books released the complete set this year.

Goodwin was a very gifted bible scholar and experiential preacher. He and John Owen (1616-1683) team-preached on Sundays at Oxford between 1652-1657. According to scholars, much of the content in those precious volumes on the mortification sin and the glory of Christ were preached by Owen during these years. The bar was set high, and Owen was certainly more gifted, but Goodwin was an able counterpart. For me, Goodwin seems a bit easier to read than Owen, although that hardly makes Goodwin an easy read.

Owen may have been more prolific, but Goodwin was much more handsome and fashionable, incorporating hip stocking caps at formal occasions. Though differing in style, Owen (who favored a more kippot cap) and Goodwin were united by common passions. Both exalted the glory of Christ and encouraged believers to fight personal sin. And seeing that both men majored on these important topics makes me long to have been an Oxford student between 1652-1657.

The Glory of Christ

My first contact with Goodwin’s works came a few years ago when I purchased volume 5 (Christ the Mediator). In this volume Goodwin consumes 436 pages to relish in Christ’s fitness and work as our Mediator. He shows evidence upon evidence that Christ is the only hope for humanity. No angel or fallen man can save us – we sinners are helpless and hopeless of redemption without Christ. But here is the kicker: Christ’s fitness for the work does not make Him our Savior.

Christ, being perfectly suited for the work and able to fulfill the demands of the Father, still needs to freely choose the work for Himself. I was moved by Goodwin’s description of Christ’s willingness to freely lay His own life down for sinners. That nobody took His life, but He chose to give it (in a transaction made in eternity past) is a truth I will never fully consume or digest. It is a great truth that moves my affections and mortifies my sin.

When it comes to the glory of Christ, Owen and Goodwin are the power-hitting duo for the Puritans, what Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were to baseball. No duo matches Owen and Goodwin in overwhelming me with the glory of Christ.

Indexes

For a preacher or writer who needs to navigate Puritan literature efficiently and timely, the index at the end of these works is a real treat. The topical index alone is 89 pages long. The text index contains over 10,200 biblical references and takes up 95 double-column pages. These two indexes make every one of the 6,600 pages easily accessible.

Example

As I was recently reading, the following example struck me. In volume three Goodwin preaches a sermon titled, The Trial of Christian Growth (on John 15:1-2). We grow when we are pruned and we are pruned because we, as believers, are still sinful.

In the sermon, one question naturally arises: How do we know that sin resides in the heart of the believer? And for the next few pages Goodwin sets out to answer this important question. The following is a good example of Goodwin’s thought.

Of course sin resides in the believer because they are pruned. But then, Goodwin argues that we know sin resides in our hearts due to the nature of our justified righteousness in Christ.

“When the Apostle, long after his first conversion, was in the midst of that great and famous battle, chronicled in that 7th chapter of Romans, wherein he was led ‘captive to a law,’ and an army of sin within him, ‘warring against the law of his mind,’ presently upon that woeful exclamation and outcry there mentioned, ‘O miserable man that I am,’ &c., he falls admiring the grace of justification through Christ,–they are his first words after the battle ended,–‘Now,’ says he, ‘there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ.’ Mark that word now; that now, after such bloody wounds and gashes, there should yet be no condemnation, this exceedingly exalts this grace; for if ever, thought he, I was in danger of condemnation, it was upon the rising and rebelling of these my corruptions, which, when they had carried me captive, I might well have expected the sentence of condemnation to have followed; but I find, says he, that God still pardons me, and accepts me as much as ever upon my returning to him, and therefore I do proclaim with wonder to all the world, that God’s justifying grace in Christ is exceeding large and rich. And though there may be many corruptions in those that are in Christ, yet there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ, that walk after the Spirit, though flesh be in them.” (3:448 )

Then on to the next idea… Sin resides in the heart of the believer, otherwise God’s preserving grace of His children would be no special thing.

“It serves exceedingly to illustrate the grace of perseverance, and the power of God therein; for unto the power of God is our perseverance wholly attributed. 1 Peter 1:5, ‘Ye are kept,’ as with a garrison, as the word signifies, ‘through the power of God unto salvation,’ And were there not a great and apparent danger of miscarrying, such a mighty guard needed not. There is nothing which puts us into any danger but our corruptions that still remain in us, which ‘fight against the soul,’ and endeavor to overcome and destroy us.” (3:448-449)

Then on to the devil. Satan can only be motivated towards tripping and tempting believers if they have opportunity for sin. He writes,

“Neither would the confusion of the devil in the end be so great, and the victory so glorious, if all sin at first conversion were expelled. For by this means the devil hath in his assaults against us the more advantages, fair play, as I may so speak, fair hopes of overcoming, having a great faction in us, as ready to sin as he is greedy to tempt; and yet God strongly carries on his own work begun, though slowly, and by degrees, backs and maintains a small party of graces within us to his confusion.” (3:449)

Sin in the believer’s heart humbles us and makes certain we do not think of ourselves too highly. Notice Goodwin’s humor.

“But sanctification being a work wrought in us, we are apt to dote on that, as too much upon excellency in ourselves. How much ado have poor believers to keep their hearts off from doting upon their own righteousness, and from pouring on it, when it is, God wot [knows], a very little! They must therefore have something within them to pull down their spirits…” (3:450)

But Goodwin continues. We know sin resides in the believer’s heart to exalt post-conversion grace and again to humble us.

“It is not the sins of a fore-past unregenerate estate that will be enough to do this thoroughly; for they might be looked upon as past and gone… God would have us humbled by seeing our dependence upon him for inherent grace. And how soon are we apt to forget we have received it, and that in our natures no good dwells! We would not remember that our nature were a step-mother to grace, and a natural mother to lusts, but that we see weeds still grow naturally of themselves.” (3:450)

And Goodwin continues. Further, we know sin resides in the heart of the Christian because how else could God call believers to a life of self-denial?

“As thus to humble them, so that they might have occasion to deny themselves; which to do is more acceptable to God than much more service without it, and therefore the great promise of ‘having a hundred-fold’ is made to that grace. It was the great grace which of all other Christ exercised. Now, if we had no corruption to entice and seduce us, what opportunities were there for us thus of denying ourselves? Christ indeed had an infinite deal of glory to lay down, not so we. Unless there be a self in us to solicit us, and another self to deny those solicitations, we should have no occasions of self-denial or the exercise of any such grace.” (3:450)

But Goodwin hasn’t even arrived at the application! In application he reminds us (1) we must be humbled towards other Christians who fall into sin, and (2) we must fight to ever purge sin from our acts and hearts.

“If thou hast prevailed against the outward act, rest not, but get the rising of the lust mortified, and that rolling of it in thy fancy; get thy heart deaded towards it also; and it must not only be ‘crucified with Christ,’ but ‘buried’ also, and so rot.” (3:451)

I find his argument for sin in the life of the Christian to be compelling, humorous, experiential and very valuable. These four little pages held my attention for a few hours as I reflected upon them. I find this a common response to Goodwin’s sermons.

Contents

The first two volumes are largely comprised of sermons through Ephesians 1:1-2:11. The first volume also contains a helpful biography and strategy for reading Goodwin, written by Joel R. Beeke. Volume one contains 36 sermons through the first chapter of Ephesians and volume two contains 24 sermons on the second chapter of Ephesians. It has been said that, “Not even Luther on Galatians is such an expositor of Paul’s mind and heart as is Goodwin on the Ephesians.” Volume two concludes with four sermons on various other sections of Ephesians and a short book on James 1:1-5.

Volume three contains an exposition on various passages from Revelation 4-16. A 120-page book titled, A Child of Light Walking in Darkness, covers the darkest periods of the Christian life. An 80-page book follows on the topic of noting answered prayers. A 70-page book, The Trial of a Christian’s Growth, considers the God who prunes His children for more usefulness. A powerful 20-page sermon on The Vanity of Thoughts concludes this valuable volume. Volumes four and five are loaded with Christ-exalting books and sermons including Christ the Mediator (a personal favorite), Christ Set Forth and the Supereminence of Christ.

Volume six is comprised of one long book on the work of the Holy Spirit in our salvation. Volume seven contains several books covering the perfection of original created order, a call to gospel holiness in the Christian life, the three stages of Christian maturity (babes, men, fathers), the glory of the saints after death, man’s restoration by grace and a book on repentance. Volume eight is one long book titled, The Object and Acts of Justifying Faith, and clearly defines the object, act and properties of personal faith.

Volume nine is given almost wholly to defining the doctrine of election except for a sermon on thankfulness due to God for His blessings to us. Volume ten is one long indictment towards the unregenerate and their guiltiness before God. Volume eleven contains Goodwin’s argument for congregational church government over a Presbyterian form. The final volume is the shortest. It contains five sermons on various topics, a collection of quaint sayings of Goodwin and some extracts of sermon notes taken by hearers. The volume includes with those two incredibly helpful indexes to navigate the complete works.

Conclusion

Goodwin was mighty in the scriptures and a scholar of the human heart. He was balanced in topics and so provides help for the preacher on various themes. He was never content with the superficial, but dove to the depths of divine wisdom.

His complete works provide us a lifetime of learning into the sin-killing glories of Calvary. It is a set worth planning your library around.

Binding: paperback
Volumes: 12
Pages: 6,600
Dust jackets: no
Binding: glue
Paper: normal
Text: facsimile of 1861-66 version (Nichol’s Standard Divines)
Topical Index: yes (excellent; end of vol. 12)
Textual index: yes (excellent; end of vol. 12)
Biography: yes (Joel R. Beeke; vol. 1)
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books (Grand Rapids, MI)
Price USD: $350/$240 at RHB, Inc.
Indexed: yes, in both Martin and PCA
ISBNs: 1892777916, 9781892777911

9781892777904, 9781892777829, 9781892777805, 9781892777898, 9781892777874, 9781892777843, 9781892777850, 9781892777867, 9781892777881, 9781892777836, 9781892777799, 9781892777812, 9781892777911

Interview with author Kris Lundgaard

Tony Reinke Book reviews, Books, BR > Banner of Truth, BR > P&R, BR > Soli Deo Gloria Pub., Fighting sin, Great Quotes, Interviews, J.I. Packer, John Owen, Kris Lundgaard, Mortification, Sin

tsslogo.jpgKris Lundgaard is the author of two excellent books, ‘The Enemy Within‘ and ‘Through the Looking Glass‘. Both of these books are adaptations of works by English Puritan John Owen [1616-1683]. Someone has suggested these books should be subtitled: “John Owen for Dummies” (not to be confused with John Owen’s original works that simply make most of us feel like dummies). On Saturday, October 14th Mr. Lundgaard will be speaking at Omaha Bible Church in Omaha, NE. He joins us today on The Shepherd’s Scrapbook to talk about John Owen, the battle with sin, and his new endeavors in the mission field.

—————–

TSS: It is wonderful to dialogue with you after having used your books for a number of years. The first question I must ask: How were you introduced to John Owen?

KL: In 1985 a friend in Little Rock gave me several volumes of the Banner of Truth edition of Owen’s Works. I thanked him and displayed them proudly on my shelf, not having any idea of their value. When I was in seminary a few years later, Dr. Douglas Kelly recommended Owen highly, but warned us that he was no easy read. His theory was that Owen must have thought in Latin, because his sentence construction was more Latin-like than English-like. J. I. Packer also came to RTS to teach a week-long course on the English Puritans, and he whetted my appetite further—but still I was unwilling to make the effort.

But around 1996 I got fed up with my own lack of progress against my flesh. I picked up Volume 6 of Owen out of desperation. I found out that the warnings were no idle threats—I could cover maybe eight pages in 45 minutes. I had to read with a dictionary in one hand and Owen in the other, and until I got the hang of his style I had to read many sentences several times over. But the value of Owen had been undersold: I was underlining more than half of every page. In his works on Temptation, Indwelling Sin, and Mortification, my heart was being laid bare. How did he know me so well?

But he didn’t just cut me up and leave me to pick up the pieces. He offered help, strong medicine—lots of strong medicine. And by God’s grace things began to change for me. I’ll always be grateful to Owen for that—I hope to tell him so when I see him.

TSS: Why does John Owen especially strike you as interesting?

KL: Owen’s ability to exegete my heart overwhelms me. He exposes my flesh’s defense strategies, which leaves me vulnerable—vulnerable to the gospel. He doesn’t just tear down; he builds up. And he helps me to see Christ more clearly, so that I may adore him more fully.

TSS: I find it very interesting that you were driven to John Owen out of desperation. There are probably readers out there who are not familiar with the Puritans, so they don’t know what types of desperate situations would warrant turning to the Puritans like John Owen. I know we all desperately need biblical wisdom but if you could exegete the heart, what types of heart conditions really “desperately” need to read Puritans like Owen?

KL: The desperation I have in mind is born out of the distance I feel between my desire to love God with all my heart and to love my neighbor as myself, and the feebleness of my actual love. I know there are others like me, whether or not they share the same weaknesses. Someone may be trapped and mastered by scandalous sexual sin, or the by seemingly unbreakable habit of offending people with a sharp, sarcastic wit. I don’t think there is a particular class of sinner that can only be helped by Puritans, or that the usefulness of the Puritan writings is limited to certain sinners. We all need help. Many will find the Puritans helpful.

TSS: Many readers today, I fear, will get buried when starting Owen’s full works. I get emails often from people who decided they wanted to read the full Owen books and want suggestions how to continue on past page 3. You have mentioned going slowly and using a dictionary. What type of dictionary? Do you have any suggestions to help people who are stuck or are people pretty much in over their heads?

KL: Any time we approach a writer from another era or another culture we have work to do. Shakespeare, for example, is hard going for high school sophomores—but those who are willing to stay with him, to read repeatedly, to learn his vocabulary in its Elizabethan context, to feel the rhythm of his poetry—those are the people who will discover the richness of his imagination. They will be rewarded their whole lives by rereading Hamlet and Macbeth and Julius Caesar. But I doubt anyone can hang with Shakespeare without help: movies, plays, and CDs of the plays help, as well as good footnotes and an enthusiastic (and skilled) teacher.

Of course there are no movies or plays of Owen’s works, and there are few footnotes in the reprints available; unless you go to seminary you are unlikely to find an enthusiastic (and skilled) teacher of Owen. But there are helps. There are some fine abridgments published by Banner of Truth that are a great place to start—and for many people they will be a great place to end. Sinclair Ferguson has written some introductory material to Owen (John Owen on the Christian Life), and even if you never read a Puritan you will be helped by J. I. Packer’s A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life.

TSS: Those are some excellent insights. Thank you… I think what makes your books so powerful is your candidness about your own personal sin. You have already shared a little but I wanted to ask you: You have been familiar with Owen’s works on sin now for a decade. How does the fight against sin change as the years go by? Easier? More joyful? More subtle? More Christ-centered?

KL: Your comment about my candidness about my own sin surprises me: although I opened The Enemy Within with a personal illustration from my own failure, I believe it’s the only such personal reference in the book. I never intended the book to be about me, though I wanted readers to know that the ideas I stole from Owen were as much for me as for anyone.

I suspect that everyone will find that his struggle with sin changes over time as he grows in wisdom. For me growth has been painfully slow, and it’s only when I stop and look carefully back over decades that I can see changes that remind me that God is at work. I wouldn’t say that anything has become easier, but I like your phrase “more joyful”—for it is increasingly so. The joy comes in times when I am less interested in figuring out how much I love God, and more delighted in the too-good-to-be-true truth that God loves me. And what has stirred me lately is that my increasing assurance of God’s love—built on more frequent reflection on the depths of the gospel of grace—steels me against temptation more than any fasting or self-discipline ever did.

TSS: I think the reason you appear so candid in my mind is how clearly you present your own sin in the opening of The Enemy Within. It was clear from those early pages that this was not a book about Owen, or about Owen’s book, not even just a book about sin, but the testimony of a man using Owen and his book to personally fight sin. There is a very personal aspect to both of your books, which comes from a sense of their sincerity, as though they are written to mentor the reader. The personal link between author and reader you build is quite rare…I like that you say you are still growing in grace. This gives me much to look forward to.

Speaking of John Owen, the Works of John Owen are accessible to pretty much anyone who wants them today. There are full versions, abridged versions and updated versions. You decided to completely re-write Owen’s works. Please explain how you ‘translated’ and why you were compelled to do so.

KL: When I discovered the value of Owen’s expositions of the scriptures and my heart, I wanted others to read him. And I didn’t want only pastors and antiquarians to read him—nor did I want only reformed Christians to read him. So I set out to find a way to strip away everything that would distract most readers today: Because it would wear most readers out, I reduced his redundancy; because it would divert attention from the main mission of battling the flesh, I eliminated his attacks against Roman Catholicism; because his vocabulary was elevated and antiquated (quick: tell me what “commination” is), I brought it down to earth and up to date; and because theological buzz-words tend to carry a lot of baggage with people, which would again distract from the mission, I avoided (where possible) highly charged words and stuck to biblical terminology (without compromising the theology).

Once I had done that, I decided I might as well just go all the way and completely repackage his ideas. In essence, I pretended his expositions were mine, and I figured out how I would try to get my (er, his) points across to my readers today. So I added my own illustrations and worked to express the kernel of his thoughts in the fewest words. Then I tried it out on real people to see what they thought, and from their comments I revised the manuscript.

TSS: So you have written books on the subjects on both the Glory of Christ (Through the Looking Glass) and the battle with sin (Enemy Within). Which work receives more attention?

KL: The Enemy Within has been more broadly received than I ever imagined, and Through the Looking Glass less.

TSS: Why do you think this is the case?

KL: I don’t have a clue. I find Owen’s meditations on the glory of Christ to be even more helpful against the flesh than his works on sin. I hope the reason is that there are other, far better works on Christ available—such as John Piper’s.

TSS: I’m uncertain of the ratio, but I would guess in the past 10 years there have been many more books printed on fighting sin (counseling, self-help, etc.) compared to those on the beauty of Christ… But you bring up an interesting point about the fight against sin. What particularly makes Owen’s work on the Glory of Christ “more helpful” in the fight against sin?

KL: His thesis is that we become what we worship (see Psalm 115:4-8 and 1 John 3:2). We all experience this—our lives are often shaped by the people and ideas that we admire and adore, whether or not we are conscious of the effects. Owen is able to linger over the beauty of Christ for hundreds of pages—and by so doing he trains me to reflect more fully on our dear Lord.

TSS: What other books and authors have most helped you meditate upon the beauty of Christ?

KL: I’m most stirred by the poetry of George Herbert [1593-1633]. I know that people don’t read much poetry these days—to their loss. For example, Herbert portrays his soul entering heaven as a conversation between a weary traveler and a gracious innkeeper whose name is Love. The pilgrim is burdened—especially with the sense that he is unworthy to approach Love and to rest. Love meets and overcomes every objection with a tenderness that is perfectly human, yet beyond anything we experience. In the final exchange the pilgrim finally agrees to come in, but only if he can serve. Love will have none of it—he insists that the traveler sit at the table and taste Love’s meat. Isn’t this what Jesus is like? The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve….

TSS: That does sound like an incredible poem. Thank you. … Your books were especially helpful for me when I directed a college ministry in Omaha. Both of them are easy to read, fun (at times) and biblically sound. I found them to be excellent books for group studies. What advice do you have for pastors or ministry leaders who want to use your books with others? In what situations have they been most blessed?

KL: Thank you for your kind comments—it always encourages me to hear that the books have helped someone.

I think a leader who wants to use any book with a group should (as best he can) get to know his group well, and find out what’s going on in their lives. As he leads the discussion he should help people to avoid the trap of sticking to the abstract, safe zone. Groups need to get to where they can really help each other at their points of need, which demands a willingness to let others inside their hearts (at least a little) to see those unpleasant weaknesses. Of course, groups need to get to this point gradually, as they develop trust over time. Perhaps The Enemy Within isn’t a good book for a group to start with—because it naturally leads toward discussion that could be uncomfortable (or even unfair) among people who are not well acquainted.

TSS: A few questions about your ministry. Have you ever been a pastor? What has your role been in your church?

KL: I served as Associate Pastor of University Presbyterian Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from 1989 to 1997. Since then I’ve been a manager and program manager in the computer industry in Austin, Texas. My family and I worship and serve at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, where I teach and write.

TSS: On October 14th, you are coming to Omaha, Nebraska to lead a conference. How many conferences have you done?

KL: I have chosen not to do many—and this is the first in a long time.

TSS: We are certainly looking forward to this rare conference opportunity. Speaking of upcoming ministry… What’s next for Kris Lundgaard?

KL: My family and I were recently invited to join a mission team in Trnava, Slovakia. We have just started our training and raising support, and we are doing our best to learn a little Slovak with our two younger sons who will go to the field with us. We hope to be able to leave for Slovakia by the summer of 2007, God willing.

TSS: That seems like a big shift from a computer manager and Christian writer. What caused this change or have you always dreamed of missions work?

KL: I can’t say it’s always been a dream, even though I’ve had lots of delightful involvement in short-term missions in Eastern Europe since 1990. It’s really more a matter of God’s providence—as usual He’s weaving together loose threads that seem unconnected. In this case my loose threads are an undergraduate degree in English, seminary training and ministry experience, and management in the I/T industry.

Believe it or not, the team in Trnava is looking for just those skills. What the team probably doesn’t realize is that they’ll benefit even more from my wife’s overwhelming love and hard work. And I expect our two sons to make a powerful impact on their Slovak friends over the years.

TSS: How can our readers learn more about your missions efforts and how can we support your efforts financially?

KL: Anyone who is interested in the ministry in Slovakia could write to me—there are few things I’d rather talk about these days. You can reach me at barset@earthlink.net. If you write, please mention “Slovakia mission” in the subject line, so I’ll know to let you past the spam filter.

TSS: Excellent. We will be praying for your endeavors on the mission field. And we thank you for your diligence in writing. So many have been blessed on paper and I can imagine the same Lord will bless your ministry for the gospel in Slovakia. Thank you for your time and God bless!

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Kris Lundgaard will be in Omaha, NE at Omaha Bible Church on Saturday October 14th to lead a conference titled “The Enemy Within”. Registration is open for men, women, and families. Mr. Lundgaard is scheduled to preach at the church on Sunday morning as well. Again, Lundgaard is the author of two excellent books, The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin (P&R, 1998 ) and Through the Looking Glass: Reflections on Christ That Change Us (P&R, 2000).

Book recommendations

Today, we have also been referencing two books written by John Owen and both original works are published by The Banner of Truth Trust. The entire 16-volume set of Owen’s works are a real treasure. Volume one of Owen’s Works contains the book ‘Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ’ and volume six of the Works contains a number of books on the fight against sin. Volume six has been updated and will be released by Crossway in a few weeks under the title Overcoming Sin and Temptation.

A good introduction to Owen will be found in two other books — John Owen on the Christian Life by Sinclair B. Ferguson (BTT, 1987) and a more recent collection of essays titled John Owen: The Man and His Theology (P&R, 2003).

And as one final note: Mr. Lundgaard recommended that Christians should read good poetry. Soli Deo Gloria Publications has a volume of Puritan poetry that I enjoy and I think you may, too. The book is titled, Worthy is the Lamb: Puritan Poetry in Honor of the Savior (2004). Three of George Herbert’s poems appear in this book.

We close with the text of the poem Love (III) mentioned by Lundgaard…

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guiltie of dust and sinne.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack’d any thing.

A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I the unkinde, ungratefull? Ah my deare,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, sayes Love, who bore the blame?
My deare, then I will serve.
You must sit down, sayes Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.