Warfield on the necessity of ministers being both learned AND godly (this fits in nicely with what Carson said in the DG blog I posted recently):
"Say what you will, do what you will, the ministry is a "learned profession"; and the man without learning, no matter with what other gifts he may be endowed, is unfit for its duties. But learning, though indispensable, is not the most indispensable thing for a minister. "Apt to teach"—yes, the ministry must be "apt to teach"; and observe that what I say—or rather what Paul says—is "apt to teach." Not apt merely to exhort, to beseech, to appeal, to entreat; nor even merely, to testify, to bear witness; but to teach. And teaching implies knowledge: he who teaches must know. Paul, in other words, requires of you, as we are perhaps learning not very felicitously to phrase it, "instructional," not merely "inspirational," service. But aptness to teach alone does not make a minster; not is it his primary qualification. It is only one of a long list of requirements which Paul lays down as necessary to meet in him who aspires to this high office. And all the rest concern, not his intellectual, but his spiritual fitness. A minister must be learned, on pain of being utterly incompetent for his work. But before and above being learned, a minister must be godly.
Nothing could be more fatal, however, than to set these two things over against one another. Recruiting officers do not dispute whether it is better for soldiers to have a right leg or a left leg: soldiers should have both legs. Sometimes we hear it said that ten minutes on your knees will give you a truer, deeper, more operative knowledge of God than ten hours over your books. "What!" is the appropriate response, "than ten hours over your books, on your knees?" Why should you turn from God when you turn to your books, or feel that you must turn from your books in order to turn to God?"
Read the whole thing here:
http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/bb_warfield/bb_warfield.religiouslifestudents.html
Be careful Mr. Counselor, with what books will you spend ten hours on your knees with? The ratio of your time spent, on your knees, IN the Word of God as opposed to IN some man's mere commentary on the Word of God defines the real source and the ultimate effectiveness of your counsel.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post, GErnest. You raise a good question in terms of our "diet" as Christians: what will we be feeding on to nourish our souls and develop our ministries? You are right to emphasize the Word of God.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if I may push back gently (and kindly!), is there not a good and healthy place in our spiritual "diet" for reading what men and women throughout the ages have brought forth from the Bible and in faithfulness to it (I will not tackle here the issue of reading other writings that don't fit into these categories)? Surely we must use discretion in terms of what we read and what place we assign it in our overall reading habits, but I would not want to describe a faithful commentary as "opposed" to the Word of God. It itself is not the Word of God, and is subordinate to it, but it can be helpful. In the end, I think Warfield's main point (and mine) is that ALL of our study is to be directed toward God in devotion, not only that which we typically label as "devotional."
Thanks again,
aaron