Overly-Zealous Young Men Need a Dose of Richard Sibbes

As part of my internship at West Highland Baptist Church this summer, I have the opportunity to teach a few College & Career Sunday School classes. The theme we've picked is Faith Transformed by History, and it is an attempt to strengthen the weak areas of our modern Christianity with the powerful insights and lives of saints in the past. So for example, I want to deepen our doctrine of sin and the flesh, so we are going to look at the writings of John Owen. The following paragraphs are the result of thinking about what contribution the writings of Richard Sibbes (especially The Bruised Reed) have to offer us.

I have come across a number of young men at Bible College who are oozing with passion and extremely committed to radical living. Their own personal standards are set very high, and they discipline themselves rigorously in order to live up to it. In one sense, you can't say anything bad about that! These guys are examples to us, they put some of us to shame with their zeal. And yet, I often come away from being with them with a strange sense that something is missing, that something is a little off. But then I always feel like that is probably just my laziness trying to excuse itself from being rebuked by their example. And that's probably at least partially right. But that being said, I do think that there are some dangers that come with being so driven.

First, there can be a ceaseless striving, and it is very easy to start to find one's identity, or worth, in the mightiness of one's striving, instead of in Christ. This is immediately revealed if we are self-righteous and look down on those who are not as disciplined or passionate as we are. This shows that we do not see that our current state is the result of God's grace, but think that it is the result of our own efforts.

Secondly, ceaseless striving can lead to neglecting times of sabbath, and of needed rest. Aside from the biblical principles of sabbath-keeping, Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God." Literally translated, it says "Cease striving and know that I am God." It is important to know something of that rest and stillness in one's life.

Thirdly, I think that the biggest dangers come when such people offer advice or counsel to others. They make this tragic assumption: They assume that everyone could be like them if they just tried harder. I categorically reject this notion. Some people are not able. What a cruel thing to hold this standard over the heads of weaker people who are not able to live up to it. While we should all have a profound sense of inadequacy before the Lord, we should also have an even more profound sense of acceptance with him! Yet some of us (and those in ministry are especially susceptible to this) live with a constant undercurrent of inadequacy and failure and guilt because we do not live up to the great saints of the past or to the most zealous saints of our day. I really appreciate what John Piper said to a group of thousands of pastors, when he was teaching on the life of Jonathan Edwards.

"Not a one of us in this room will be a Jonathan Edwards. He is in a class almost by himself. To think any thought like that would result in nothing but discouragement. We must be ourselves. Write 1 Corinthians 15:10 over every book and conference and seminar - "By the grace of God I am what I am." I could wish to have the strategic genius of a Ralph Winter or the theological precision and insight of a J.I. Packer, but I will not be them nor Jonathan Edwards. But we can learn and we can be inspired to press on, perhaps far beyond our present attainments, in understanding and holiness and faithfulness. We can be good for each other as long as we don't try to mimic. The eye of the body is not the ear and the foot is not the hand."

Yes, we can all learn from each other, but we are not all the same. There are some who for various reasons are weaker vessels. We all know people who are simply naturally strong, who can do well with less sleep and who are blessed with brimming confidence, courage, and sky-high energy levels. Others are from weaker genes and naturally cannot handle too much strain or pressure or stress. Or maybe illness has weakened them. Maybe they are naturally timid, shy, and insecure, and need more sleep to be able to function. And not only does God love these weak ones just as much as the rest of his children, but those who think themselves strong often have much to learn from their weaker brothers and sisters.

And doesn't it make sense that it would be like this? God's kingdom is the kingdom of great reversals. The lowly are exalted, the first will be last, the last will be first, the poor are blessed. Now I'm not trying to let anyone off the hook. We all have great strides to make in zeal, courage, and God-confidence, but what I am saying is that we do not all start at the same place. We do not all have the same size plate, so to speak. A God-glorifying effort by a weaker person to live for and serve the Lord may actually look less impressive than the life a naturally stronger person who is coasting on their gifts and not exerting any real effort to live up to their potential.

The bottom line is that only God knows each person and their situation perfectly, and he will reward each of us according to our lives with perfect justice and righteousness on that last day.

What I think those passionate young guys lack is a kind of brokenness and humility produced by the bumps, downs, and rough spots of life. There is a lack of an appreciation for the frailty and fragility of people; of the profound and lifelong brokenness that sin sometimes produces; of the pervasiveness and depth of the effects of sin; of the limp that, like Jacob, many saints carry from their sanctifying encounters with God; and of how unusually blessed they are with the gifts, abilities, and circumstances they have.

One week in the life of a depressed, bi-polar, or burned-out person would probably cure them rather quickly of their ignorance. But seeing as that is not really possible, a more probable remedy would be to read The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes. Here is just a small sample.

"After conversion we need bruising so that reeds may know themselves to be reeds, and not oaks".(The Bruised Reed, p.5)

"The consciousness of the church's weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hid herself under his wing". (p.10)

"We must beware of false reasoning, such as: because our fire does not blaze out as others, therefore we have no fire at all." (p.35)

"We must look to grace in the spark as well as in the flame. All have not the like strong, though they have the like precious, faith." (p.36)

He writes that in many ways, "we are debtors to the weak." (ch. 5)

"Let us not be cruel to ourselves when Christ is thus gracious."

"Therefore, if there be any bruised reed, let him not make an exception of himself, when Christ does not make an exception of him." (p.61)

"God's children are strengthened by their falls; they learn to stand by their falls. Like tall cedars the more they are blown the deeper will they be rooted. That which men think is the overthrow of God's children does but root them the deeper, so that after all outward storms and inward declensions this is the issue, "They take root downward and bear fruit upward" for the Lord restoreth their souls."

You really need to read large sections to appreciate the cumulative effect of his thoughts. It is really quite powerful, especially to anyone who is feeling weak, tired, and struggling.