# “Who is sufficient for these things?” by John Brown of Haddington

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2007/05/04/who-is-sufficient-for-these-things-by-john-brown-of-haddington/
- Published: 2007-05-04T10:02:21-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“See that your minds be deeply impressed with the nature, extent, and importance
of your ministerial work, — that therein it is required of you, as ambassadors for
Christ, as stewards of the mysteries and manifold grace of God, — to be faithful;—
to serve the Lord with your spirit, and with much humility in the gospel of his 
Son: — to testify repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ,
not keeping back or shunning to declare every part of the counsel of God, or any
profitable instruction, reproof, or encouragement; and not moved with any reproach,
persecution, hunger, or nakedness, — to be ready not only to be bound, but to die
for the name of the Lord Jesus, in order to finish your course with joy.

Bearing with the infirmities of the weak, and striving together in prayer, that 
the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, and your message provided
by God, and made acceptable to your hearers, you must labor with much fear and trembling,
determined to know, to glory in, and to make known, nothing but Jesus Christ, and
him crucified, — preaching the gospel, not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, 
as men-pleasers, but with great plainness of speech, in demonstration of the Spirit
and with power, – speaking the things which are freely given you by God, not in 
the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but in words which the Holy Ghost teaches,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual, — as having the mind of Christ, always
triumphing in Him, — and making manifest the savor of the knowledge of him in every
place, that you may be a sweet savor of Christ in them who are saved, and in them
who perish;

— as of sincerity, as of God, in the sight of God, speaking in Christ, and through
the mercy of God, not fainting, but renouncing the hidden things of dishonesty; —
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, or corrupting
the truth, but manifesting the truth to every man’s conscience, as in the sight 
of God; — not preaching yourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and yourselves servants
to the church for his sake, always bearing about his dying, that his life may be
manifested in you; — and knowing the terror of the Lord, and deeply impressed with
the account which you and your hearers must give to him of your whole conduct in
the day of judgment, — awed by his infinite authority, constrained and inflamed 
by his love, you must persuade men, beseeching them to be reconciled unto God, and
making yourselves manifest to God and to their conscience,

— and, as their edification requires, changing your voice, and turning yourselves
every way, and becoming all things to all men, in order to gain them to Christ, —
jealous over them with a godly jealousy, in order to espouse them to him as chaste
virgins, — travailing in birth, till he be formed in their hearts. You must take
heed to your ministry which you have received in the Lord, what you may fulfill 
it; — stir up the gifts which were given you, — give yourselves wholly to reading,
exhortation, and doctrine; — and perseveringly take heed to yourselves and to the
doctrine which you preach, that you may save yourselves and them that hear you; —
watching for their souls, as they who do, and must give an account for them to God,

— rightly dividing the word of truth, and giving every man his portion in due season,
faithfully warning every man with tears night and day, teaching every man, particularly
young ones, and laboring to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, — and warring,
not after the flesh, nor with carnal weapons, but with such as are mighty through
God to the pulling down of strongholds and casting down imaginations, and subduing
every thought and affection to the obedience of Christ. Having him for the end of
your conversation, and holding fast the form of sound words in faith in, and love
to him, — not entangling yourselves with the affairs of this life, nor ashamed of
the Lord, or of his cause or prisoners, but ready to endure hardships as good soldiers
of Jesus Christ, and to endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they may obtain
salvation with eternal glory;

— ye must go forth without the camp, bearing his reproach, and, exposed as spectacles
of suffering to angels and men, must not faint under your tribulations, but feed
the flock of God which he has purchased with his own blood, and over which the Holy
Ghost has made you overseers, — preaching the word in season and out of season, 
reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with all long-suffering and doctrine, — taking
the oversight of your people, not by restraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre
of worldly gain, or larger stipends, but of a ready mind, — neither as being lords
over God’s heritage, but as examples to the flock, — exercising yourselves to have
a conscience void of offense towards God and towards man, — having a good conscience,
willing in all things to live honestly, — exercised to godliness, — kindly affectioned,
disinterested, holy, just, and unblamable, — prudent examples of the believers in
conversations [daily life], in charity, in faith and purity, — fleeing youthful 
lusts, and following after righteousness, peace, faith, charity, — not striving,
but being gentle to all men,

— in meekness, instructing them who oppose themselves, avoiding foolish and unlearned
questions, and old wives’ fables, — fleeing from perverse disputings and worldly
mindedness, as most dangerous snares; and following after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness; — fighting the good fight of faith, and laying 
hold on eternal life, — keeping your trust of gospel truth and ministerial office,
and, without partiality or precipitancy, committing the same to faithful men, who
may be able to teach others; — and, in fine, faithfully laboring, in the Lord, to
try, and confute, and censure false teachers, restore such as have been overtaken
in a fault in the spirit of meekness,

— and having compassion on them, to pull them out of the fire, hating even the garment
spotted by the flesh, and never conniving at, or partaking with an in their sins.
Who is sufficient for these things? May your sufficiency be of God; and as your 
days are, so may your strength be.

(Ezek. 2:7, 3:9, 17-21, 33:7-9; Isa. 58:1; Jer. 1:17-18, 15:19-20; Mic. 3:8; Mal.
2:6-7; Matt. 10:16-39, 19:28-29, 20:25-28, 23:3-12, 24:42-51, 28:18-20; Acts 18:
24-28, 20:18-35, 24:16, 26:16-23; 1 Cor. 2:1-5,9,12-13, ch. 1-5, 9, 12-14; 2 Cor.
ch. 2-6, 10-13; Rom. 1:9,16, 9:1-2, 10:1, ch. 12 and 15; Gal. 1:8-16, 4:19; Eph.
3:7-9, 4:11-15, 6:19-20; Col. 4:7,17, 1:23-29, 2:1-2; 1 Thes. ch. 2, 3, 5:12; 1 
Tim. ch. 3-4; 2 Tim. ch. 1-3; Heb. 13:7,17-18; 1 Pet. 4:10-11, 5:1-4; Jude 22, 23;
Rev. ch. 2, 3, 11:3-7, 14:6-11).”

–John Brown of Haddington, “Address to Students of Divinity,” in _The Systematic
Theology of John Brown of Haddington_ (Christian Focus: 1782/2002), pp. viii-xi.

[HT: The Shepherd’s Scrapbook

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