02 - What is a Call Ministry
WHAT IS A CALL TO THE MINISTRY? BY REV. JAMES D. KNOWLES.
LETTER II. MY DEAR BROTHER While you fully believe that there is a special call to the ministry, you do not admit the idea of a miraculous intimation of the will of God. You do not expect to be addressed by an audible voice. You look for no visions. You wait for no supernatural light from heaven to flash suddenly upon you. Of all these you find instances in the Scriptures: but you do not believe, that God now communicates, by such methods, his commands to men. A knowledge of his will, therefore, in all cases where there is not an express revelation of that will in the Scriptures, must be gathered from the general principles there laid down, from the providence of God, and from the movings of his Spirit on the soul.
Let us then inquire what h’ght on this subject may be derived from the general principles of the Bible.
One of these principles is, that we are not our own, but are bought with a price. The Saviour has redeemed us by his precious blood, and we are his by every claim which can spring from his relation to us as our Creator and our Redeemer. All Christians are bound by every tie of love, of gratitude, of regard to their own happiness, and of desire for the glory of their Lord, “ to live, not unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” Christians are in the highest sense the “ peculiar people “ that is, the property of the Saviour, whom he has an entire right to place where he pleases, to employ in whatever service he may choose, and to subject to whatever trials and labors may be best adapted to promote his own glory and the prosperity of his kingdom. No Christian, therefore, is at liberty to consult his own taste or inclination alone, nor to seek exclusively his own advantage. Every Christian ought to inquire with a humble, grateful spirit of self-consecration to the Saviour’s cause, “ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” There is, in a certain sense, a call to every service in which a Christian can be engaged, and he ought not to take any important step without seeking by prayer, by observing the providences of God, and by listening to the intimations of the Spirit, to know what is the divine will. A call to the ministry, I conceive, differs from a call to occupy any other post in the service of the Saviour, not so much in its nature as in its importance. The office of the ministry is more important, and therefore requires higher qualifications; but the minister’s duty to live for the Saviour is no stronger, and indeed no other than the obligation embraces every Christian. From this principle then, my dear brother, we deduce this rule, that an entire willingness to serve the Saviour in the ministry, or in any other post, is one necessary qualification of a minister. This “willingness, I am happy to believe, you sincerely cherish. Ever pray that it may continue to influence all your conduct. It will be a source of peace to whatever sphere of duty the Saviour may direct you.
Affectionately yours.