Heart Soul and Might

My next door neighbor, John, holds a PhD in Biblical Languages from Harvard and when he found out the reading focus for my sabbatical was Church History, he slipped his copy of Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther - in the back of my car just before we left. Following Athanasius and Augustine, my intent was to fast forward past the Reformation to next read the biography on Jonathan Edwards I picked up from amazon.com. But holding the biography of he who started the Reformation, it makes more sense to read Luther before Edwards, so I’m going for it. Thanks, John. This book is incredible. He told me its the definitive work on Luther, and I can see why.

It’s interesting to see how Luther never intended to be the Father of the Reformation… In fact, he didn’t intend any fanfare on posting his 95 Theses… his intent was to spur some spirited intellectual debate… until someone combined his paper with the printing press and started distributing copies! One thing led to another and he found himself debating truth to save his life.

The timing of his strong and principled beliefs, eloquent writing and speaking styles and growing widespread frustration with abuses within the Catholic Church were the ingredients necessary for a Reformation. There were many teachings he had a problem with, not the least of which were the infallibility of the Pope, the infallibility of the Catholic Church, indulgences, and most importantly, placing the word of the Church and Pope over and above Scripture. The bottom line is he saw that the Church was professing a false gospel, and he was fed up. His writings were getting him in trouble (obviously) with the powers that be, and he was being asked to recant his protests when he boldly said the following:

You are not a bad Christian if you deny the decretal [of the Pope]. But if you deny the gospel, you are a heretic. I damn and detest this decretal. The Apostolic Legate opposed me with the thunder of his majesty and told me to recant. I told him the pope abused Scripture. I will honor the sanctity of the Pope, but I will adore the sanctity of Christ and the truth. I do not deny this new monarchy of the Roman Church which has arisen in our generation, but I deny that you cannot be a Christian without being subject to the decrees of the Roman pontiff. As for the decretal, I deny that the merits of Christ are a treasure of indulgences because his merits convey grace apart from the pope. The merits of Christ take away sins and increase merits. Indulgences take away merits and leave sins. These adulators put the pope above Scripture and say that he cannot err. In that case, Scripture perishes, and nothing is left in the Church save the word of man. I resist those who in the name of the Roman Church wish to institute Babylon.

Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, p. 75.

What I most admire about Luther, as exemplified in this quote, is that he doggedly held to what he believed to be true even in the face of serious and damaging consequences - in his case, excommunication and possibly even death. He was going up against the most powerful people in both Church and government during this time. But he held his ground. He held to his convictions concerning the authority of Scripture. It wasn’t popular to oppose the pope, but he did - in the name of truth and the gospel. Yes, he was uncouth at times, and later came to regret some things he said (haven’t we all?), but he stood for principle. He stood for truth. He stood for Scripture. He stood for the gospel.

Father, may I have the same boldness and confidence in the face of persecution for the sake of the gospel and for Your glory.

I finished Garry Wills’ well-done biography of Augustine today. There are many rich thoughts and subjects worth noting, but I wanted to highlight a memorable quote as he reflected on the “carnality of the incarnation.” Augustine says of Christ:

“Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at his mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.”

Gary Wills, Saint Augustine, pp. 139-140.

What insight from one of the most influential and important founders of our faith. Augustine obviously meditated often and deeply on the person and work of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. We would do well to do the same.

I highly recommend reading on and studying the history of the Church even for your own personal devotion. I’ve been ministered to richly as I’ve spent much time this year focusing on Church History - especially biographies of some of the men who laid the foundation on which we stand today. It is an important part of our heritage and can be a very devotional exercise to reflect on (and express gratitude for) the work that some very faithful men and women did on behalf of the Church in the last 2000 years.

I’m on sabbatical for a few weeks and am continuing my 2006 reading focus in Church History - what a rich treasure-trove of inspiration! In addition to continuing to read through a couple books dedicated to a summary of Church History, I’ve also brought along biographies of Augustine, Athanasius and Jonathan Edwards. I’m just about finished with Augustine, and while not a long book by any stretch, I’ve placed a comma there and read Saint Athanasius in a day. WOW. What an amazing and faithful man of God. Man of resolve. Patience. Steadfastness. Persistence. Resilience.

I was inspired to read his biography after listening to John Piper give a message on the life of Athanasius at the 2006 Passion conference in Nashville. Every year, Piper focuses biographically on one figure from Church History in his teaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Athanasius was his chosen subject last year. You can read the entirety of Piper’s article entitled “Contending For Our All: The Life and Ministry of Athanasius” here.

Here is the introduction to give you an entry point into his life:

Athanasius was born in AD 298 in Egypt and became the bishop of Alexandria on June 8, 328 at the age of 30. The people of Egypt viewed him as their bishop until he died on May 2, 373 at the age of 75.¹ I say he was “viewed” by the people as their bishop during these years because Athanasius was driven out of his church and office five times by the powers of the Roman empire. Seventeen of his 45 years as bishop were spent in exile. But the people never acknowledged the validity of the other bishops sent to take his place. He was always bishop in exile as far as his flock was concerned.

Gregory of Nazianzus (330-389) gave a memorial sermon in Constantinople seven years after the death of Athanasius and described the affections of the Egyptian people for their bishop. At the end of the third exile from his homeland, when Athanasius returned in 364 after six years away, Gregory tells us:

amid such delight of the people of the city and of almost all Egypt, that they ran together from every side, from the furthest limits of the country, simply to hear the voice of Athanasius, or feast their eyes upon the sight of him.²

From their standpoint none of the foreign appointments to the office of bishop in Alexandria for 45 years was valid but one, Athanasius. This devotion was owing to the kind of man Athanasius was. Gregory remembered him like this:

Let one praise him in his fastings and prayers . . . , another his unweariedness and zeal for vigils and psalmody, another his patronage of the needy, another his dauntlessness towards the powerful, or his condescension to the lowly. . . . [He was to] the unfortunate their consolation, the hoary-headed their staff, youths their instructor, the poor their resource, the wealthy their steward. Even the widows will . . . praise their protector, even the orphans their father, even the poor their benefactor, strangers their entertainer, brethren the man of brotherly love, the sick their physician.³

One of the things that makes that kind of praise from a contemporary the more credible is that, unlike many ancient saints, Athanasius is not recorded as having done any miracles. Archibald Robertson, who edited Athanasius’ works for the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, said, “He is . . . surrounded by an atmosphere of truth. Not a single miracle of any kind is related of him. . . . The saintly reputation of Athanasius rested on his life and character alone, without the aid of any reputation for miraculous power.”⁴ Then he goes on with his own praise of Athanasius:

In the whole of our minute knowledge of his life there is a total lack of self-interest. The glory of God and the welfare of the Church absorbed him fully at all times. . . . The Emperors recognized him as a political force of the first order . . . but on no occasion does he yield to the temptation of using the arm of flesh. Almost unconscious of his own power . . . his humility is the more real for never being conspicuously paraded. . . . Courage, self-sacrifice, steadiness of purpose, versatility and resourcefulness, width of ready sympathy, were all harmonized by deep reverence and the discipline of a single-minded lover of Christ.⁵

Father of Orthodoxy

This single-minded love for Jesus Christ expressed itself in a lifelong battle to explain and defend Christ’s deity and to worship Christ as Lord and God. This is what Athanasius is best known for. There were times when it seemed the whole world had abandoned orthodoxy. That is why the phrase “Athanasius contra Mundum” (against the world) arose. He stood steadfast against overwhelming defection from orthodoxy, and only at the end of his life could he see the dawn of triumph.

Athanasius’ main (and life-long) battle for truth was with the Arians - originally led by their namesake, Arius - whose teaching lived on in the belief that Jesus was not God, but was instead created by God. In their view, Jesus was not the Creator, but instead was a creature. It was against this heresy that the Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicea  in A.D. 325. Athanasius and Arius were invited to attend by Constantine, although not as Bishops, but as onlooking contributors to the debate.

Piper draws seven conclusions from this study of the life of Athanasius that I think are very helpful to apply to our lives as believers today:

1. Defending and explaining doctrine is for the sake of the gospel of Christ’s glory and our everlasting joy.

2. Joyful courage is the calling of a faithful shepherd.

3. Loving Christ includes loving true propositions about Christ.

4. The truth of biblical language must be vigorously protected with non-biblical language.

5. A widespread and long-held doctrinal difference among Christians does not mean that the difference is insignificant or that we should not seek to persuade toward the truth and seek agreement.

6. Don’t aim to preach only in categories of thought that can be readily understood by this generation. Aim at creating biblical categories of thought that are not present.

7. Finally, we must not assume that old books, which say some startling things, are necessarily wrong, but may in fact have something glorious to teach us that we never dreamed.⁴³

Rather than expounding on each of these principles, I will simply encourage you to read the entire article on the Desiring God website here. There are many ways in which we can apply these truths to our lives and especially in light of the “generous orthodoxy” and moving target of truth we find in many “emerging” discussions, what Athanasius lived and fought for is as applicable today as it was in the 4th century.

HT: DesiringGod Ministries 

I picked up a biography on Saint Augustine at a used bookstore the other day and I’m fascinated by his life. Here is a quote showing how Augustine forged a bond with his community as he taught and interacted with them. This is why it is good to teach (with intentionality)!

“If it becomes boring to repeat the same things to beginners, we should put ourselves in their affectionate brother’s place, or their mother’s or father’s. Then such will be our empathy with what they are feeling that what is said will become new to us again. The effect of this sympathy is so great that when listeners are moved as we speak, we enter into each other’s reactions, as the hearers speak in us and we learn in them what we were teaching. Isn’t that what happens when we show others beautiful scenes which we have often gone past with a careless glance, but which give us fresh joy as we share others’ joy on first seeing them? And the intensity of this experience is the greater, the closer we are to each other. The more, by the bond of love, we enter into each other’s mind, the more even old things become new for us again.” (Instruction 17)

from Saint Augustine, Garry Wills, p. 72.