John Owen on Pastoral Preaching

By Justin Miller

John Owen was a scholar, pastor, dissenter, and faithful follower of Christ in a tumultuous time. He gave himself to the study of Scripture out of an abiding love for the glory of God amongst the people of Christ. John Owen's works have greatly influenced Western Christendom in the centuries that have passed, and his concern for the true church shines powerfully forth from his writings. The aim of the book is to examine John Owen's view of the biblical role of a pastor with regards to the ministry of preaching the word of God in the life of a local church. The goal is to understand and evaluate John Owen's thought, from Holy Scripture, with regards to pastoral preaching. This book seeks to unearth from John Owen's writings the various aspects that affect pastoral preaching, his understanding of a True Gospel Church, preaching as the priority for a pastor, and what exactly constituted faithful biblical preaching. Furthermore, this book will seek to make conclusions concerning John Owen's view of pastoral preaching and its faithfulness to Scripture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Dec 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781666727418

Justin Miller

Justin is a husband, father, pastor, and most importantly a follower of the Lord Jesus. He holds a master of theology from Union School of Theology in Bridgend, Wales (The Open University), a master of divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, and a master of accounting from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is the author of several books including: John Owen on Pastoral Preaching (2021), A Family Journey through Doctrine (2021), True Worship (2020), and Stop Worrying He Reigns (2018).

Book preview

John Owen on Pastoral Preaching

Justin Miller

John Owen on Pastoral Preaching

Copyright ©

2021

Justin Miller. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers,

199

W.

8

th Ave., Suite

3

, Eugene, OR

97401

.

Wipf & Stock

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199

W.

8

th Ave., Suite

3

Eugene, OR

97401

www.wipfandstock.com

paperback isbn: 978-1-6667-3309-9

hardcover isbn: 978-1-6667-2740-1

ebook isbn: 978-1-6667-2741-8

03/20/20

Table of Contents

Title Page

Introduction to John Owen

Owen’s Understanding of the Recipients of Pastoral Preaching—The Local Church

Owen’s Understanding of the Priority of Pastoral Preaching

Owen’s Understanding of Pastoral Preaching

Conclusion: The Biblical Imperative of Pastoral Preaching

Bibliography

Praise for John Owen on Pastoral Preaching

What you have in this book is a survey of John Owen’s writings . . . which serves to provide the reader with a clear and concise introduction to the mind and heart of Owen on pastoral preaching. Miller highlights for the church a key historical example of how faithful pastors are to regard the sacred duty of proclaiming the word of God to the people of God.

—Will Barnett, Lead Pastor, First Southern Baptist Church

Miller’s examination and explanation of the writings of John Owen on preaching in the context of pastoral ministry is a reminder to us . . . that the church and her shepherds must return to the simple yet weighty task of preaching the word. Through Owen’s works, Miller shows us that nothing but the word preached will change hearts and sanctify God’s people. . . . Miller’s book is a timely and welcome reminder to return to such simplicity!

—Josh Wilson, Pastor, First Baptist Church Park Hills

Though John Owen is one of the church’s foremost theologians, his primary commitment was not to the academy but to the church. Persuaded that the word is the inspired word, Owen was convinced that pastoral preaching was his chief privilege and responsibility. Every pastor, especially those, like myself, who love John Owen, should read this excellent and insightful book on the nature and primacy of the pastor’s week-to-week pulpit ministry!

—Jeffrey D. Johnson, President, Grace Bible Theological Seminary

In a day when pastoral preaching has fallen from prominence in the evangelical church, Justin Miller’s work here points back to its previous centrality. May the Lord use examples like John Owen to restore preaching to its proper place in the church!

—Sam Waldron, President, Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary

To Christ my King. All wanes in comparison and all is but rags in view of your glory. My heart is yours forever.

To my wife JoDawn, your love for Christ and encouragement in this endeavor pushed me forward.

To my kids, I pray that you see, savor, and walk with the King of Glory all your days.

To Dr. Benge, thank you for your encouragement, wisdom, and insight in this endeavor as well as in pastoral ministry.

To my church family, God has been so kind to allow me to serve as an elder amongst a people who love Christ dearly from His Word.

Introduction to John Owen

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.¹ This statement is often used to express the importance of a historical understanding of humanity and its progress, or lack thereof, and has been the battle cry for many educators emphasizing the importance of an education in history to prevent a repeat of past historical mistakes and atrocities. However, history does more than just remind us of past failures to avoid; it illuminates to us past examples to be followed. One possible example in the arena of Biblical thought and practice is John Owen.

John Owen, the dissenter and theologian, occupied a prominent place in the proclamation of the gospel in seventeenth-century England until his death on August 24, 1683, at sixty-seven years old.² Why study John Owen? J. I. Packer once argued that we all need to read the Puritans (John Owen is one) for we are spiritual dwarfs in comparison to them.³ Packer also called John Owen a Puritan colossus and perhaps the best theologian England ever produced.⁴ Carl Trueman wrote, Owen was without a doubt the most significant intellect in England in the third quarter of the seventeenth century.⁵ The literature John Owen produced, the doctrines he defended, and the life he lived has profoundly shaped others’ understanding of Christ’s gospel and faithfulness to it. His understanding of the cross of Christ and the pursuit of holiness, as well as his passionate defense of the doctrines of grace, impacted his generation and others to come. Men committed to Biblical truth like John Owen are historical examples that are helpful to glean from with the intention of repeating the historical example of their lives in Christ, for the glory of God and the good of his church.

John Owen is well-known today mostly for his writings, which were numerous and spread over forty years.⁶ One historian described Owen’s writing style as daunting in their complexity and in their style, with sentences frequently long, perplexed, and encumbered with adjectives, often selected without great care of helpful grammatical structure.⁷ He wrote on the major themes of Calvinism, true Catholic orthodoxy, church polity, and the pursuit of holiness.⁸ John Owen’s accomplishments as a scholar are highlighted, and his writing on the mortification of sin and the atonement of Christ emphasized. Yet,