Personal and Pastoral Reflections on ‘Brothers We Are Not Professionals’ by John Piper

John Piper’s Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, was a challenging, encouraging, and harrowing read.  In many places I found myself convicted by my lack of a particular quality or practice, while simultaneously exhorted to pursue, with more vigor, that  missing element in my life and ministry.  But reading this book was also a sobering experience.  The pastoral ministry is a serious work.  It is not to be taken casually; it is not to be  entered into lightly or viewed as a less strenuous alternative to a secular profession.  It is a glorious, demanding, painful, thrilling, satisfying endeavor with eternal ramifications of unfathomable magnitude—we are charged with the accurate handling of God’s Word and responsible for the souls of men.  It is no wonder why Paul cried out, “Who is sufficient for these things” (II Cor. 2:16)?

It is Paul’s rhetorical question (and its subsequent answer, “No one”) that perhaps made Piper’s chapter on prayer (“Brothers, Let Us Pray”) stand out with such compelling and immediate relevance to myself and to my ministry.  In this chapter, I was reminded of what can be a ministry reforming truth: God is glorified in answering prayer because it displays his utter sufficiency and our total dependence upon his mercy.  This truth is intensified if one considers a twin truth: genuine Christian ministry is wholly a supernatural work.  Regeneration, conversion, spiritual growth, heart-change, Godward affections—all these things (the things which ministry is primarily concerned), can only finally be effected by God Himself.  We have a role to play, but it is the kind of role a hose plays: a hose cannot water the grass, but it can be used by the gardener to spread the life giving water to the dry seed.  God must provide the supernatural element to our ministry, or church will be nothing more than a glorified social club, and our ministries will bear no lasting fruit.

As Piper makes unmistakeably clear in this chapter, if we desire to see God do the impossible—that is, change haters of God into lovers of God—then we must, as William Wilberforce says, “Pray, pray, pray.”  If we want to see the men’s ministry flourish with guys who are devoted to Christ and devoted to serving and loving and encouraging and admonishing one another, then we must pray.  If we want to see our Bible study fellowship class glow with the heat of passion for Christ and for the lost, then we must pray.  If we want to grow in holiness and in love for our wives, then we must pray.  If we long to persevere in the ministry and finish well, we must pray.  If we desire to see our church have massive saving impact on the community around us and in the world, we must pray.  Along with Piper, I want to be able to say that I “Refuse to believe that the daily hours Luther and Wesley and Brainard and Judson spent in prayer are idealistic dreams of another era” (57).  I want to see prayer as on indispensable and primary element of ministry, not just something I politely tack onto church meetings and before meals.

Secondly, I was helped by Piper’s chapter “Brothers, Live and Preach Justification by Faith.”  I had read this chapter several years ago when I was personally struggling with assurance of my salvation and the nagging and troubling doubts that pervaded much of my spiritual life.  It was not exhortations to rigorous holiness or repentance which brought peace to my soul, however: it was the truth of justification by faith which slowly but surely began to lift the stubborn veil of guilt and doubt.

Yet I wonder how many people in our church struggle silently with the burden of an unrelieved—or lightly relieved—conscience.  How many people under our ministries are walking in the joy and peace of believing, beyond a shadow- of-a-doubt, that Christ has fulfilled the law in their place and has borne fully God’s wrath in their place?  How many of these saints are regularly delighting in the righteousness of Christ?  How many of our people are making little if any headway in their sanctification because they have unwittingly confused justification and sanctification?  I think it would be naïve to posit a low number, or to brush off this concern as unimportant to the health and vitality of Christians.  In my opinion, it is this issue which is at the heart of the Christian life and a proper understanding of the doctrine of justification by faith which determines the relative joy, peace and assurance of believers.

So how can we “live and preach justification by faith?”  An essential question is answered by the order of the words in the sentence: We must first live justification by faith before I can preach justification by faith.  We must be enjoying the peace and assurance that comes from a clear understanding of the doctrine of justification.  We must be able to rightly apply the balm of grace to our wounded soul before we can know how to apply it to others.  But as as we are personally making progress in this area, I do believe it will be helpful to expose those under our care to this doctrine in all its fullness and to help unearth the underlying anxiety and spiritual disquiet that pesters their souls.  Not only is accurate teaching of this doctrine necessary, we also need to help other others see for themselves how understanding this doctrine beyond a superficial level can heal their deeply-rooted feelings of guilt—guilt for past and present sins, guilt for not serving enough or praying enough or loving enough or giving enough.  Some who are Christians will find great relief and begin to make unprecedented growth in their spiritual life; others will be converted and brought from trusting in their own righteousness to genuinely trusting in Christ and his righteousness.

I am thankful for good books, and I am especially thankful for the men who have labored to provide such rich food for our souls and wisdom for our labors in the gospel.  Piper’s book on the pastoral ministry is no exception.