Growing in Christ
William Gurnall
Sunday Gurnall – 2
02 years ago
This week Gurnall taught me how Satan has five strategies in managing his temptations for deceiving Christians into sin.
1. He hangs out false colours, and comes up to the Christian in the disguise of a friend, so that the gates are opened to him, and his motions received with applause, before either be discovered. (Note 2 Cor. 11:14) On this point, I find this line from Gurnall to be very insightful, “[Satan] decries and vilifies the Scripture, by magnifying faith” (75). Now, I’m not a terribly educated man, but that captures the entire Liberalism movement since Schleiermacher. In every age there have been those who attack the Bible (noting John Toland even back in the 17th century, more here). But what I find so insightful from Gurnall is his recognition that people will create this disjunction between “faith” and the Bible, and then lift their faith above Scripture so as to judge which aspects were truly “for faith”. Those who do this create a false dichotomy, and to the extent that they hate Scripture, they hate Jesus. Satan tempts people away from true faith and the real Jesus by wearing Christian cloths.
2. Is to get intelligence of the saint’s affairs. Gurnall points out that Satan has a long history of learning the ins and outs of the human heart, he knows what he’s doing. Gurnall calls this “heart-anatomy”. Satan’s aim is to learn our hearts and our weaknesses, our trials and temptations and seeks to lead us into “the wood of worldly employments, over head and ears in the desires and cares of this life…How easily, having first blown them up with vain hopes, doth he draw them into horrid sins.” Here he points to the story of Amnon and Tamar in 2 Samuel 13, and how Jonadab was readily available to give advice, leading Amnon into the snare of sin.
3. In his gradual approaches to the soul. Satan will come and ask a little temptation – only a little lust, only a “white lie”. While in logic, a slippery slope argument is a fallacy, in sin it is the logical consequence of any temptation. “Many have yielded to go a mile with Satan, that never intended to go two; but when once on the way, they have been allured farther and farther, till at last they know now how to leave his company…[W]hen the hem is worn, the whole garment will ravel out, if it not be mended by timely repentance” (77).
4. By his reserves. Satan no sooner is rejected in one offer of temptation that he has another close at hand. Here we need only look at the temptation of Christ in Matthew 4. “Now it requires some readiness in our postures, and skill at our weapons, to make our defense…And truly this is Satan’s way when he tempts the Christian to neglect of [the] duties of God’s worship” (78). On this note, how often do we complain of “not having time” or “having grown cold” to spiritual things when the reality is that they are simply not a priority to us because we have taken Satan’s bate in one area or another?
5. In his politic retreats. Here Gurnall means that when Satan “retreats” from tempting, he is only feigning defeat. His example is a castle being bombarded by an attack, and that the inhabitants are ready and on guard. But when the attackers pull back, those inside grow a little more relaxed, open the gates, etc. At this point, Satan is again ready in full force for an attack. “Let Satan tempt or not tempt, assault or retreat, keep thou in order, stand in a fighting posture, let his flight strengthen thy faith, but not weaken thy care” (78).
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What I find helpful on this point from Gurnall is his serious-mindedness about Satan’s war against the Christian to lead them into sin. To many these days Satan is a fanciful, red tailed, pointy-forked character from cartoons. As the line goes, “The greatest lie Satan ever told was to make people believe he didn’t exist.” It is every Christians imperative to study and know how Satan will attack them as a part of their desire for and growth in holiness. Should we expect any different treatment when our Lord himself was attacked by Satan? Thankfully, our Lord conquered Satan, sin, and death so that we might have life and power in his through the Holy Spirit to fight against Satan and his aims in our lives.
Sunday Gurnalls – 1
02 years ago
For this year I had set out the regular habit of reading a few pages of William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour every Sunday afternoon. Alas, I have failed in large part on this task. I kept it up for a little while, but much like the sluggard I buried my hand in the dish, but was to weary to bring it back to my mouth (Proverbs 26:15). I would say this applies to my regularity on the blog – so to those who read frequently (the grand total of four worldwide), please forgive my sloth! And pray for me, that I would grow in killing this sluggard heart of mine, my unmortified sin.
For my reading of Gurnall today, I just wanted to post a little outline of his discussion with a few quotes to accompany (because lets face it, you’d rather read Gurnall’s thoughts than mine!).
In this section he’s discussing that Satan’s main design is to draw us into sin. The first way he does this is by taking advantage of various seasons in the Christian life. (Pages 71-74 in this edition.)
Season 1: When a Christian is newly converted.
“In [the new Christian] [Satan] finds every grace in a great indisposition to make resistance, both from its own weakness, and the strength of the contrary corruption, which commonly is such as unmortified.”
In my experience, new Christians more often than not just simply need encouragement in the Gospel of Grace. They are birthed like natural children, weak, eager, and with lots of sin remaining to be killed. New Christians often just needs encouragement because their fainthearted from their exposed sin and their weak in their standing in the Gospel. Therefore Paul says, “encourage one another and built one another up” (1 Thes. 5:11,14).
Season 2: When a Christian is beset with some great affliction
“A temptation comes strong when the way to relief seems to lie through the sin that Satan is wooing to.”
For this, Gurnall points to Job as prime example number one. On this, one understands why Paul says, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
Season 3: When the Christian is about some noble enterprise for God’s glory
“The more public thy place, Christian, and the more eminent thy service for God, the more thou must look that the devil [will have] some more dangerous design or other against thee.”
Season 4: When Satan has the presence of some object to entice his temptation.
“Look not on that beauty with a wandering eye, by which though wouldst not be taken prisoner. Parley not with that in thy thoughts, which though meanest not to let into thy thoughts. Conversation begets affection.”
Of all the examples to choose from here, the clearest to my mind, and easiest to access, is the man in Proverbs 5.
Season 5: After great manifestations of God’s love
There could be much said here, but I think that for every mildly seasoned Christian they will note that after deep, sweet times with God there is usually a stronger attack of some kind against their peace in Christ. For me, my experience has been that that week or two of deep time with the Lord is followed by strong attacks of spiritual depression.
Season 6: The hour of death.
For the superficial reader of biography, the last words of a guy like John Owen or Samuel Rutherford, can seem like the last gasps of an unfinished sermon. But the one who gives reflection to their condition will know that that last sermon is for their own soul. They must guard their souls against the attacks of Satan’s lies and whispers of uncertainty. I’ve never faced death seriously (though my kidney stones did make me want it swiftly), but I have been struck lately by John Piper’s statements that one of his main goals in memorizing loads of Scripture is that when his mind starts to go, he wants the important stuff (like God’s Word) to stick.
As a final little note, I’m trying to get a better handle on what to post, and what is beneficial for others to read. If you have any thoughts or think I could modify what I’m doing (even in this post!) please feel free to leave a comment.
(Thanks to Tim Ashford’s example and Steve Burlew’s recent encouragement in getting back into Gurnall.)
PS – For facebook readers, the original blog entry is here.
Taking Advantage of God
03 years ago
As I mentioned before, I’m reading The Christian In Complete Armour by William Gurnall on Sunday afternoons. I was really affected by what I was reading in him yesterday, and thought others might appreciate hearing the things I learned from my Sunday reading with William Gurnall. All 30/40 pages of the first section come from his discussion on Ephesians 6:10, “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Here’s what I learned:
- Our obedience and comfort are strong or weak in direct proportion to our faith in God’s almight power being for us. Gurnall comments: “No act of faith more strengthens for duty, than that which eyes God’s almighty power engaged for its assistance.” He later says, “The Christian’s comfort increaseth or wanes, as the aspect of his faith is to the power of God” (p. 32).
- God’s almighty power is for my (your) growth in godliness and holiness, and is in so against the powers of Satan, sin, and the world to thrwart that growth. The full strength of God is eager to see me grow – he does it all in his great strength. Gurnall comments: “Betake thyself to the throne of grace with that promise, ‘Sin shall not have dominion over you;’ and before thou urgest it, the more to help thy faith, comfort thyself with this, that though the word almighty is not expressed, yet it is implied in this and every promise, and thou mayest without adding a tittle to the Word of God, read it in thy soul; sin shall not have dominion over you, saith the Almighty God, for this and all his attributes are the constant seal to all his promises” (p. 36). What an amazingly helpful thought that in every promise of God to me as his child by faith that the full arsenal of God’s attributes are for me.
- God desires me to take full advantage of his benevolence and eagerness. “In a word, Christian, rely upon thy God, and make thy daily applications to the throne of grace for continual supplies of strength; you little think how kindly he takes it, that you will make use of him, the oftener the better, and the more you come for, the more welcome. Else why would Christ have told his disciples, ‘Hitherto you have asked nothing,’ but to express his large heart in giving?… Such a bountiful heart thy God hath, while thou art asking a little peace and joy, he bids thee open thy mouth wide and he will fill it. Go and ransack thy heart, Christian, from one end to the other, find out thy wants, acquaint thyself with all thy weaknesses, and set them before the Almighty, as the widow her empty vessels before the prophet; hadst thou more than thou canst bring, thou mayest have them all filled. God hath strength enough to give, but he hath no strength to deny.” (p. 37)
These were all within a simple five pages of reading Gurnall! This is what I feasted my soul on in the afternoon on Sunday. I found myself seeing that my desires for growth, obedience, godliness, and holiness are mainly focused on those steps that I can do in my own strength. I don’t really take the full attributes of God’s glory into view when I ask for growth in godliness. If I did, what great strides would I take in growth since it would be in God’s strength, not mine own? This is what Paul meant in Galatians 5 when he tells us to “walk by the Spirit” and then tells us the great and majestic fruits of the Spirit that will be produced in us if do live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26).
Michelle and I have lately noticed that our prayers for growth can tend to sound apologetic. As though to say, “God, I don’t mean to bother you, but I’d like to grow in godliness a little. Just a little, not a lot. Could you give me a little grace here? Sorry for asking. Thanks.” Contrary to our twisted view of God, James instructs us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). What a fool I am, and what dishonor I do to God, when I don’t approach him in full confidence that he’s ready and eager to give good gifts when asked.
Lord help me to take full advantage of Your open hand, to ask such great things so as to seem to take advantage of your benevolence so that you would be glorified (John 14:13-14; 15:15; 16:24-26).
