Pastor to Pastor: The Minister’s Treasure, Part 2
William Shishko
Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 6, no. 2 (April 1997)
Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52).
Octavius Winslow (1808-78) was descended from Edward Winslow, a Pilgrim leader who braved the Atlantic to come to the “New World” on the Mayflower in 1620. Though Octavius was born, raised, educated, and ordained to the Gospel ministry in New York (USA) he later moved to England where he became one of the most valued nonconformist ministers of the 19th century. He held pastorates in Leamington Spa, Bath, and Brighton, England. Well known for his earnest devotional ministry, he was distinguished as the preacher who was asked to give the opening address at Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861. The prolific author of over 40 books, Winslow devoted his life to promoting an experimental knowledge of Christ and the doctrines of the Word of God.
For some years Octavius Winslow was a stranger to me, though I was in possession of one of his few volumes then in print, Spiritual Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul (Banner of Truth Trust). I must confess that I feared the title! As a young Reformed minister why would I be concerned with personal spiritual declension?! In the late 1980s, however, I chose (for whatever reason) this mysterious book for my morning “pump priming.” Winslow has been one of my favorite “pastors in print” ever since. Here was a master student of Reformed soteriology and piety who was also a master at applying these powerful themes in such a way that the reader was alternately humbled before the majesty of God and the cross of Christ, and lifted up by the love, mercy, and grace of the Saviour. Probing chapters on declension in love, faith, and prayer and declension in connection with doctrinal error (a particularly thought-provoking section) were relieved by the balm of the closing chapters on The Lord, the Restorer of His People and The Lord, the Keeper of His People. What encouragement it was to know that my own spiritual warfare with its all-too-frequent defeats was hardly uncommon. Pastor Winslow reminded me that “there exists not a day that (every believer) stands not in need of the restorings of the Lord” – a statement that helped bring revival to both myself and my own ministry. What a rich introduction to the wealth of Octavius Winslow.
Soli Deo Gloria Publications, seeing the worth of this treasure of experimental divinity, republished two of Winslow’s gems in the early 1990s. The Precious Things of God was followed by The Glory of the Redeemer. I cannot give too much praise to these choice volumes, and especially for their use in conjunction with your early morning devotional readings or pump-priming times.
In the uniquely rich pages of The Precious Things of God Winslow unfolds the various things that God Himself regards as precious, and how they become practically precious to the believer in Christ. The preciousness of Christ (the obvious first chapter), the preciousness of faith, the preciousness of God’s thoughts, the preciousness of God’s children and eight other “precious things” called such in God’s Word were all treated in such a way that they became something far more than doctrinal truths buttressed with proof texts. Pastor Winslow made them live – the way pastors are meant to make these things live through their own ministries. How frequently I have made use of his material on the preciousness of trial, in a chapter which contains a magnificent summary and overview of the role of trial in the life of a Christian as it opens up I Peter 1:7, “The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes.”
“Trial is precious because it increases the preciousness of Christ... To know fully what Christ is we must know something of adversity. We must be tried, tempted, and oppressed – we must taste the bitterness of sorrow, feel the pressure of want, treat the path of solitude and often be brought to the end of our own strength and of human sympathy and counsel. Jesus shines the brightest to faith’s eye when all things are dark and dreary... Shrink not from , nor rebel against, that which makes you more intimately acquainted with your best Friend, your dearest Brother, the tender, sympathizing Beloved of your soul. You will know more of Jesus in one sanctified trial than in wading through a library of volumes or in listening to a lifetime of sermons.” (pps. 87f.)
Here is “preaching” that preaches to the preacher before he preaches to others. Here is theology that is truly “practical” and that engages the heart as truly as it transforms the will. Here is material that helps the pastor as he deals with the day in and day out challenges faced by his people and by himself. What a magnificent way to fill one’s personal storehouse with things old, and yet ever new.
The Glory of the Redeemer was, like all of Winslow’s work, invaluable in helping me to keep the riches of Christ dominant in all of my preaching. Themes like the nature of the new covenant, God’s glory in the pardon of sinners, the character of effectual calling, and the meaning of the mind of Christ were woven into ten superb chapters on themes like “The Pre-Existent Glory of the Redeemer,” “The Typical Glory of the Redeemer,” and “The Glory of the Redeemer in His People.” How rare it is to find a volume that opens up the objective realities of Christ’s person and work (the very ground of our salvation) with theological precision and devotional application at the same time. Here is a treasure to enrich our resources for the work of preaching Christ as we preach the Word:
“The Word of God is full of Christ. He is the sun of this Divine system, the fountain of its light and beauty... The Scriptures testify of Jesus. Every doctrine derives its substance from His person, every precept its force from His work, every promise its sweetness from His love. Is it not to be feared, that in the study of the Scriptures, it is a much forgotten truth, that they testify of Jesus? Are they not read, searched, and examined with a mind too little intent upon adding to its wealth, by an increased knowledge of His person, and character, and work? And thus it is that we lower the character of the Bible” (pp. 340f.).
I would suggest that material like this, wed to the insights of responsible biblical theology, would help our pastors avoid the twin errors of “applicatory preaching” that is not clearly rooted in the person and work of Christ and “redemptive-historical preaching” that becomes divorced from the practical realities of the Christian life. Would this not help us to be better householders, bringing out of our storehouses things old and things new? Cf. Matt. 13:52.
Other volumes by Octavius Winslow which also will richly reward their purchase and use (especially for those all-important early morning “pump priming” times!) are No Condemnation in Christ Jesus (Banner of Truth Trust), a verse-by-verse exposition of Romans 8 (a volume that many of the men within our own congregation have found immensely helpful), The Sympathy of Christ (Odom Publications), a thematic treatment of many of the emotions of Christ’s humanity, and The Work of the Holy Spirit (Banner of Truth Trust), one I have yet to treat myself to in the months ahead.
What a feast of expositions of our rich faith is offered in these pages and so many like them! Fellow ministers, elders, and deacons: Stir up your love of Christ and His word by making time to work through some of these volumes, and by indulging yourself in the spiritual food and drink they offer you. Your service in Christ’s Church will take on new life as you do!
I value your suggestions and questions in connection with this series of articles. You can email me at shishko.1@opc.org. In the next article I will offer some of my suggestions for Bible commentaries that I have found to be particularly valuable for enriching the storehouses of “scribes” who desire to be “instructed concerning the Kingdom.”
William Shishko is pastor of Franklin Square OPC, Franklin Square, New York.