Some Exceedingly Difficult Letters to Answer

A selection from a letter by A. W. Pink to his friend, Lowell Green. Mr. Pink received many letters and responded to them, saying in 1946 that he had written "by hand well over 20,000 letters." He was a pastor and counselor to many by means of correspondence. This letter, which was written July 10, 1939, make clear some of the troubles to which he sought to bring light and comfort.

Of late I have had some exceedingly difficult letters to answer: among them one from a Sister who allowed her heart to run away with her head… She thought she was doing God's will, is now satisfied she was deceived by Satan, and wanting to know how the promptings of the Holy Spirit may be distinguished from those of the Evil One.

Another from a preacher of many years' experience: had a nervous breakdown; eventually went to a "Prayer Healer" (a servant of the Devil), since which the spirit of prayer has been stifled in his own soul, all assurance of salvation gone, so that he no longer dares to preach to others.

What saddens me so much is that there seem to be so very few today unto whom these poor souls can turn for helpful counsel. Many who can preach gospel, doctrinal and prophetic sermons appear to be quite incapable of entering into the experiences of the perplexed and distressed and giving them "a word in season" [Isa. 50:4]. Unless pastors are Divinely qualified to be doctors of souls they are "physicians of no value," as Job [13:4] had to say unto those who failed to diagnose his case and minister to him in his trouble. Such "qualification" cannot be acquired in any Seminary or Bible School.

The Life of Arthur W. Pink, Revised and Enlarged Edition, Iain H. Murray, Banner of Truth, 2004, p. 216.

We Want Joy Very Badly

A selection from a letter by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his parents. Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who joined a conspiracy against Hitler's life. He was arrested in April 1943 and died on a Nazi gallows in April 1945. This letter was written early in his imprisonment, June 4, 1943. It reveals how much he appreciated receiving letters during his incarceration.

Thank you very much for your letters. They are always too short for me, but of course I understand! It is as though the prison gates were opened for a moment, and I could share a little of your life outside. Joy is a thing that we want very badly in this solemn building, where one never hears a laugh—it seems to get even the warders down—and we exhaust all our reserves of it from within and without.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Letters and Papers from Prison, edited by Eberhard Bethge, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1971, p. 49.

A Special Offer by The Banner of Truth Trust

The Banner of Truth Trust has recently republished the seven-volume set, John Calvin – Tracts and Letters. This is to mark the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth. The entire set is being offered throughout 2009 in the USA directly by the Banner for $80. The set consists of three volumes of Reformation tracts and other writings of Calvin, and four volumes of his letters.

Concerning the Letters, volumes 4-7 of the set, the Banner of Truth Magazine for March says:

“A man who regularly lectured to theological students, preached on average five times a week, and authored enough material to fill forty-eight large volumes would not be expected to show much enthusiasm for correspondence. Yet in the Complete Works of John Calvin there are no fewer than eleven volumes of letters. Calvin wrote to kings and princes, reformers and friends, nobility and common people alike. His letters discuss affairs of State, but also the most mundane problems of everyday life, and through them all there is revealed a man of deep pastoral concern, consistent and exemplary evangelistic zeal, and a humble sense of the final authority of God and his Word.

“The four volumes of Letters in this edition range from 1528 to the year of the Reformer’s death (1564). They are of enormous historical interest, but their permanent significance lies in the reminder they provide of a great work of God, and the example they set of compassionate Christian care and a deep concern for the advance of the gospel wherever it is proclaimed. Calvin’s personal ambition undergirds each letter: ‘It is enough that I live and die for Christ who is to his followers a gain both in life and in death.’”

I add my hearty amen to this endorsement. The letters are a goldmine of historical, theological, and pastoral interest. A man’s personal letters opens a window into his soul. If you want to know Calvin better, then read his letters. I am enjoying the journey through them at present and I am finding them both enjoyable and profitable.