Rev. Robert Ryland, D. D. pastored the First African Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia from 1841 until 1865.
THE MINISTRY WHICH GOD APPROVES
By Rev. Robert Ryland
President of Richmond College.A Sermon, preached May 31, 1845, in Lynchburg, before the Virginia Baptist Education Society
Published at the request of the Society.Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy. II:15.
The relation of Paul to Timothy was alike solemn and endearing. Under the labors of the one, the other had been converted, baptized, and inducted into the ministry of reconciliation. They had journeyed together for rhe purpose of announcing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. A community of toils, perils, hopes and triumphs, had thus strengthened the mutual sympathy which the gospel had implanted in their minds. While Timothy regarded Paul as a father in years and in affection, the latter looked upon the former as his "dearly beloved son" in the gospel. With such feelings he dictated to him the two epistles which bear his name; epistles in which the authority of an apostle, and
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the solicitude of a father are beautifully blended. But the Spirit of inspiration did not design these letters exclusively for one man. They were written for the instruction of all the ministers of the gospel who should live on the earth to the end of time. To each one of us, that Spirit is now saying, "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing theword of truth." This language evidently refers to the account which all the servants of God will have to give in the final day. Earnestly strive to present thyself to the judge as an approved minister; as a workman that needeth not to be ashamed when his work is reviewed; as a teacher who rightly divides the word of truth. To enable you in some degree to appreciate the importance of this precept, and to aim at a rigid conformity to its spirit, I propose to answer the following inquiry: What kind of a minister will God approve?1. The first and most essential requisite in his character, is a renovation of the heart. It is not sufficient that the aspirants to this office should merely possess a decent morality. To educate one from childhood for " holy orders;" to endow him with all the intellectual furniture necessary to the attainment of human eloquence, and then to invest him with the pastoral functions, regardless of his spiritual tastes and aptitudes, is utterly abhorrent to the spirit of the gospel. We have no such custom, neither the churches of God. The minisler whom heaven approves, has intelligently felt his guilty and lost condition; has acquiesced in the justice of his condemnation; has cordially embraced Jesus Christ as his Savior; and has realized the power of divine grace to purify his nature and to regulate his life. Of all the arts of hell, none are so malicious as that of inducing ungodly men to assume the garb of religious teachers. "Unto the wicked, God saith, what hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest instruction and castest my words behind thee?" This practice is fraught with peril to the eternal interests of the incumbent of the office, and of those who come under his influence. Much as I value extensive learning, I would rather see all our pulpits occupied by unlettered, but warm-hearted, thorough, experimental Christians, than to see them filled with men destitute of vital piety, though adorned with splendid talenls and profound erudition.
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2. But conversion alone is not sufficient. The motive that should impel one to assume this responsibility, must be single and disinterested. It is possible that even good men may, from unworthy impulses, and without due caution, seek this awful avocation. They may suppose it less toilsome than their previous calling, or more respectable in the world's estimation, or a door of entrance into greater notoriety, or even more promotive of pecuniary interests. All such incentives to the public ministry of the word, God will condemn. He requires supreme love to Him, and expansive benevolence to his creatures, as the all-constraining motives to this service. Nor do we conceive that this remark is needless. The purity of the churches depends mainly on the character of their respective bishops, and to preserve this character from reproach, we must scrutinize the grounds on which it is coveted. Time was when persecution was a safeguard to the ministerial office. Hypocrisy had no idea of exposing herself to odium and contempt, yea, moreover, to bonds and imprisonment. But the gospel has so far prevailed, as to divest wicked men of the power to persecute, and the world now bestows its smile on what once excited its frown. Still it is the world, and its spirit is yet hostile to true holiness. There is danger of mistaking our anxiety to attract that smile, for sincere love to God and devotion to his cause. Let us aim to exclude this feeling from the church, and especially from the ministry. Let no selfish policy; no sordid love of ease, wealth, or honor; impel men to this holy enterprise. And when the work shall have been begun from correct principles, there is need of perpetual caution lest these principles should degenerate. The temptations to indolence, jealousy, self-esteem and ambition, are peculiarly strong, and demand our constant vigilance. Our exhausting labors leave us with languid affections, which can be quickened only by reading, meditation and closet devotions. Nothing can sustain a minister of the gospel, in a course of uniform self-sacrificing application to his great work, but a spirit of elevated piety.3. Having these fundamental traits of character, the candidate for the minisliy should resolve to acquire as much mental training as his circumstances will allow, and the spirit of the age may demand. Our churches, very wisely, have not insisted on extensive education, as always and everywhere
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essential to the preacher of the gospel. A man of strong native sense and meagre attainments, may be converted after he is encumbered with the cares of a family. He may be residing in a destitute region, and may be urged by the benevolence of his heart and the inspiration of truth within him, to persuade his fellow-citizens to turn to God. To pursue a course of elementary study now, is impossible. What shall he do? Let him confer with judicious counsellors; observe the. indications of Providence; and adopt that course which he may deliberately and prayerfully approve. Should he conclude to preach, let him give himself to such reading and meditation as shall bear immediately on his design; confine himself to such subjects as he fully comprehends; and seek such spheres of action as he can appropriately fill. In all newly settled countries, such men have been eminently blessed. They have been called from their retirement by the emergencies of society, and God has crowned their self-denying labors with signal success. And when to original genius they have added the treasures of knowledge, accumulated by long continued research, they have acquired an influence which time has only enlarged, and death itself has only consecrated. The writings of a Bunyan and a Fuller, will be felt as long as the English language shall be a vehicle of thought. But to infer fiom such examples, that young men of the present day need no special cultivation for the ministry, would be to refuse to plant because the earth brings forth some spontaneous fruits. It would be to shut our eyes on the improvements of the age; to adhere to the obsolete modes of traveling, when the power of locomotion has been, by the discoveries of science, so much augmented. The young man who now meditates the work of the ministry, must compare himself, not with the fathers of the present or of a bye-gone age, but with those who are to be his living competitors. He will have to combat error under new forms; to operate on more cultivated minds; to maintain a fiercer rivalry for the attraction of the public ear. He will need all the native and acquired capacity he can bring to the cause, to sustain himself when the novelty of his manner shall have worn away. Parents of every class are now giving their children better education than they themselves enjoyed, and those children, when grown to maturity, will demand spiritual guides of a
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higher order of intellect than their fathers required. Hence the churches everywhere are beginning to ask, not merely for good men, but for well trained, well read men to occupy their pulpits. And, observe this prophecy, they will rise yet higher in their requisitions. And young men may at once determine either to seek thorough preparation for their calling, or to be left unemployed. One thing is certain — ignorance dressed up, however decently, in clerical robes, will not long be tolerated by intelligence. Illiterate young men may immodestly thrust themselves into the office; churches of the same description may give them their sanction; pastors may, from wrong views, or false delicacy, unite in their ordination, but public sentiment, as it becomes enlightened, will gradually doom them to silence. If, however, they still retain their stations, it will be by an electioneering, underbidding process, while their influence will be diminished in the ratio of the diffusion of general knowledge. Far be it from me, however, to intimate that such a spirit animates our young men. They see the fields already white to harvest; they long to thrust in the sickle, but conscious of their incapacity, they are resolved to seek adequate preparation. To aid them in the execution of such a purpose (for they are generally the poor whom God calls to this work,) the Virginia Baptist Education Society was formed. It proposes to receive such youths as the churches approve and recommend, and to conduct them through a course of elementary study. The plan is to furnish tuition gratuitously and to allow a credit, when necessary, for board, at $80 per annum. In carrying out this plan, the Society has contracted a debt of about $1,000. This has been occasioned by the backwardness of the churches to contribute means, and of the early students to refund the amount credited. Prudence has dictated the necessity of abandoning the credit system, until the debt shall have been canceled. It is important that this shall be speedily done, and the Society furnished with means to educate every young man in the State, whom the churches may sanction. Already have they received ninety, and imparted to them various degrees of instruction. One of the greatest obstacles to the complete success of the enterprise, has been the readiness of some of the churches to obtain pastors before they were qualified, and the consequent tendency of the students to falter in
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their course. Public sentiment among us, is not yet sufficiently decided in its demand for able ministers. Our pulpits are too accessible in many portions of the State, to men who cannot teach and will not learn. Another obstacle has been, the want of means to conduct our students through a full range of study. Whenever circumstances seemed to justify it, we have urged them to resort to other institutions, after going through our course. It is but just, however, to say that many who could not avail themselves of any higher advantages, have become efficient and acceptable pastors. The institution established in the vicinity of Richmond, by this Society, should not be suffered to languish for want of encouragement. It has been called into being by Viiginia Baptists, anil they are responsible to the community for its enlargement and support. It is alike their duty and interest, to unite their counsels and effoits to make it worthy of the denomination. We need not here recite the causes, which have led to the change of the school from a theological to a collegiate institution. The most important were these: — that there was a well known and a long cherished opposition in our Legislature to grant charters to theological schools; that the tenure by which all unincorporated societies hold property in Virginia, was insecure; that our theological course was too brief and likely to continue loo brief, to justify its retention at such a sacrifice; that many of our sacred studies could be incorporated into a collegiate course, without violating the charter; that many of our brethren who were opposed to theological education, would second our efforts to impart to licensed ministers the elements of general science arid literature; that the State would, perhaps, at some future period, assist a college, but never would assist a theological school; and that our young men generally, not prepared for theological studies and too far advanced in life to go through both branches of learning, would do better to expend their time on one department, than to divide it between the two. For these reasons, the Society have transferred their school to the "Trustees of Richmond College," on the express condition, that they would educate, free of charge, for tuition, forever such candidates for the ministry, as the Society should recommend. The original design of the institution, therefore, has never for a moment been abandoned. The mode of executing that design has been
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modified by the dictates of prudence, and the manifest indications of Providence. The speedy endowment of Richmond College, is now the most important object that presents itself to the enterprise of Virginia Baptists. Funds thus contributed, will not be sent out of the State and subjected to the control of irresponsible strangers. They will not be diverted from the object contemplated by the donors, but will be appropriated with all the caution that human law may allow, and divine law may demand. They will not be consumed at once, but will continue from age to age to diffuse the blessings of a wholesome literature, and of an enlightened ministry. The institution has thus far been conducted with rare economy. It has sustained itself, and avoided the gulf of pecuniary embarrassment into which so many kindred enterprises have fallen. But its operations have been comparatively circumscribed. Could it obtain an endowment of, say $50,000, sufficient to employ two additional professors, it would be enabled, by conferring degrees, to hold out inducements to youth to remain and complete their studies. And will not our friends furnish this amount? Look at the signs of the times. Every religious denomination in Virginia has a college under its influence. With a proportion of wealth and a numerical strength equal to the largest, shall we be excelled by the smallest? Or shall we surrender the education of our children to men either of no religious principles, or of principles with which we cannot sympathise? Shall we stand with indifference, and see our country studded all over with papal establishments, built by European wealth, and occupied by imported teachers? Shall we do nothing to supply the 250 Baptist pulpits that are vacant every Lord's day in this Commonwealth? Shall we do nothing to raise up a host of primary school teachers, who shall go through the length and breadth of the land, to diffuse a love of books, and to instruct the rising generation? We are wont to boast of having been born in Virginia; but it is high time to examine the grounds of this boasting. Who of us does not blush to own that there are now in the borders of our State 58,789 white persons over 20 years of age, that can neither read nor write? And that, counting those under that age, who are still at the reading period of life, there are at least 100,000 in the same condition? Whence shall we obtain evangelists and school
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masters to remove this appalling mass of ignorance. The critical attitude now assumed by the extrernes of the Union, will render it more and more inexpedient to send our youth to the North for instruction, or to receive thence educated tminds for our various spheres of religious and literary activity. We must prepare for the crisis that is approaching, by giving permanency and enlargement to our own institutions. After studying the claims of all our benevolent associations, and examining the wants of our citizens generally, I am fully prepared to avow my deliberate belief, that popular and ministerial education, is now the great work, which above all others, claims the regard of the patriot, the philanthropist and the Christian.4. When the requisite attainments shall have been secured, nothing short of a diligent and skilful devotion of them to his cause, will satisfy the demands of God. This is evident from the phraseology — "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The ministry is styled a "work" those who sustain its duties are called "workmen," "laborers," "co-workers " and "builders." These and similar epithets, imply the need of laborious activity in propagating the gospel. The end of all true knowledge is right action. Perish the thought, that the cause we now plead is designed to furnish a race of intellectual idlers, of elegant drones for the church of Christ. Learned indolence is the most criminal kind of indolence. Time is too short; souls are too precious; the retributions of eternity are too awful; for men who are suitably qualified for noble achievements, to sit down in inglorious ease. And yet the most able ministers are sometimes the least known. They have a nervous modesty; a morbid aversion to exposure; which confines them to small and obscure fields of action. Do such men forget that reputation, mental endowments and spiritual gifts, are talents committed to their trust for the glory of God? How will they answer at the coming ordeal, for the concealment of the light of life within their own minds? Brethren, you who are competent, should preach wherever Providence opens a door; in season, out of season, you should seek opportunities, and thus make it appear that preaching the gospel is your great business. If you have no charge, go into destitute regions, and gather up
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a band of disciples." "Aut viam inveniam aut faciam."* If you really have a heart to work, you can always find a vineyard. But if you determine not to labor until you find a wealthy church, — meeting in a tasteful edifice — occupying a healthy location — and exactly suited to your wishes, then you deserve some other office than that of the Christian ministry. But the divine requisition extends to the manner of expending this labor — "rightly dividing the word of truth." Does the apostle here allude to the action of the priest, in dividing the victim to be presented as a sacrifice to God? Then he would teach us, that the gieat system of revealed truth should be skilfully analyzed into its component parts, when it is laid on the altars of the sanctuary. What God has united we should not separate, and what He has left disjoined we should never forcibly unite. Every link in the grand chain of doctrines should relain its heaven-appoinled position. Every duty should have its relative importance in out religious code. All the parts of the system will thus be blended in their true proportions and will contribute to the symmetry, and force, and beauty of the whole. Some ministers dwell exclusively on one class of subjects, others on another class. Some acquire the reputation of being doctrinal, others of being practical, and others still, of being experimental preachers. Such a reputation, however, is of doubtful praise, because it indicates a habitual disregard to the collateral branches of the great system of truth. Was Paul a great doctrinal, or a great practical, or a great experimental preacher? Did he address either the judgment or the affections exclusively? Did he not aim, by appealing to the whole man, and by expatiating on the whole gospel, to exhibit such a combination of excellencies as should constitute him a model to all posterity? It is a sure evidence of an ill-poised mind to be carried away with one idea. Such men are usually unstable. For a time, they are wholly absorbed with one darling theory — making the salvation of the world depend on its reception. Then, vibrating with fearful violence to the other extreme, they will applaud their discovery of new truth, and pity those who may hesitate to follow them in their erratic course. The remedy for this evil, is first, to acquire a liberal education, and then to form
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* I will either find a way or I will make one.
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upon that basis, a uniform habit of studying the entire volume of inspiration in all theological researches.Does the apostle refer to the carving and distribution of meats at a feast? Then the duty here enforced is to allot to each guest such a portion as his peculiar condition demands. In another place, he tells us that he fed the babes with milk and the men with strong meats. It is a delicate task to adapt the diversified truths of the Bible to the ever-varying characters of men. To comfort the deluded; to intimidate the desponding; to confirm the self-righteous; and to discourage the sincere but feeble, is alike injurious to men, and offensive to God. The preacher is bound, not only to utter general truth, but so to delineate the various shades of character; so to discriminate between the genuine and the spurious; so to enter into the hidden recesses of the heart, as to carry to each hearer a consciousness that he is the very individual addressed. The apostle commended himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. I understand from this, that he not only exhibited the gospel in general terms, but that he so adapted the truth to every class of hearers as to make it difficult for them to evade its force. Conscience told them that he was talking to them and that he was speaking the truth. This is the highest attainment of sacred oratory — an attainment infinitely superior to the graces of style and elocution. He who reaches this point hides himself behind his subject, and turns the people from admiring the sermon to feeling their sins. How much wisdom then is needed by him who deals with human souls! We place important causes in the hands of the most able jurists. We demand skill and judgment in the physician to whom we commend the sick and dying child of our affections. But oh! who can estimate the wisdom needed, and the responsibility assumed, by him whose very words are to influence the everlasting destinies of the soul! Compared with this, all earthly interests sink into annihilation. The minister of the gospel, in every public exhibition of truth, touches chords in the heart that must vibrate in eternity. To all his hearers he is either a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. Should he preach false doctrine; cherish groundless hopes; suppress wholesome fears; bring down the Bible standard of holiness; and by gross ignorance throw contempt on the whole, subject of religion, God will hold him accountable.
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Brethren, what are you doing to render yourselves able ministers of the New Testament? Long has been exploded the dogma, that ministers are to preach by inspiration. The absurdity of such a dogma was equalled only by the indolence and arrogance from which it originated. To associate the most varied reading, and the most patient thought in the preparation of sermons, with the most fervent prayer for divine aid, and with the most sincere reliance on the divine blessing, is the only rational and consistent course. If then, you would rightly divide the word of truth, you must meditate upon these things; give yourselves wholly to them, that your profiting may appear to all.To the churches here represented by their several delegates, permit me to say, that all your operations are, under God, dependent on a cultivated and faithful ministry. You are building neat edifices for the worship of God, but whence will you derive men capable of attracting to those houses listening crowds? You have organized yourselves into an association to supply the desolate portions of Virginia with the preached word, but where are the efficient evangelists to commission for the blessed work? You see around you the advocates of error striving, some of them with learned ingenuity, to conciliate public esteem, and to spread their respective opinions. How will you sustain the conflict? Especially, how will you sustain the approaching contest between popery and protestantism, which is destined to draw the line between the friends and the enemies of Christ, and to agitate this whole continent? In view of these facts it is your duty,
1. To pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth more laborers into the harvest. The world with all its population belongs to God. He is pleased, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. It is his province to raise up and send forth messengers of mercy to the lost and guilty sons of men. It is our duty to importune Him to carry on his work until his glorious schemes of grace shall have been accomplished, and the earth shall have been filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
2. To look out from among yourselves, young men of retiring worth and sterling piety, and encourage them to exercise their gifts in your social meetings. If they are promising, send them to school; extend to them a generous
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sympathy; relieve them, if it is necessary, from the anxieties of poverty. If you are judicious in the selection, and will conduct the process of mental discipline to a proper extent, it will prove to be a wise and benevolent expenditure of your means. If you find no such materials among yourselves, you can aid those churches who have the young men, but not the means of educating them. Should not every church in Virginia take up a collection once a year for educational purposes?3. To allow your pastors such compensation as will enable them to devote their whole time to the ministry. I plead not for an idle, pampered race of clerical gentlemen, but for a working, devoted and faithful ministry. This you never can have until you give such remuneration as will justify prudent men in doing little else than the duties of the episcopal office. No church deserves or should expect an efficient pastor, until they say to him in substance : " Occupy your whole time in serving us, and we will supply all your reasonable wants." It is indeed miserable economy to permit an able preacher to toil in the school-room or on the farm, for the support of his family, when a few hundred dollars would enable him to preach far more frequently and profitably. To pray for an increase of ministers; to educate them for their calling; and then to confine them to extraneous pursuits, is most inconsistent and unwise. Let ministers cultivate habits of frugality in themselves and families; let them be content with moderate salaries; let them convince their churches that the only motive that impels them to ask a support is a desire to do more faithful and more abundant service in the cause of Christ; and then let the churches willingly extend that support and enjoy that service.
But to conclude: Brethren in the ministry! yours is a fearful responsibility! In the final day you will stand with your respective charges before the great white throne of judgment, and render an account of your stewardship. Why did you preach? Was it from a constraining love to Christ and pity to the souls of men? What did you preach? Was it the whole counsel of God, neither mixed up with human philosophy, nor modified to suit the corrupt tastes of men? How did you preach? Was it with plainness, and solemnity, and zeal, and faithfulness, and a tender importunity? How often did you preach? Was it
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whenever and wherever you could find an auditor? In the sick chamber; in the social parlor; in the workshop; on the high-way; in the mansion of wealth; in the hovel of poverty; as well as in the pulpit? Above all, did you preach by your example as well as by your discourses? These will be subjects of investigation in the great day. If here you study to show yourselves approved unto God, there you will be found to be workmen that need not to be ashamed. If here you are faithful unto death, then you shall receive a crown of life. Yes! for every tear you have shed; for every honest, well directed effort you have made; for all your toils, by day and by night, through cold and heat, through drought and storms; for all your sacrifices of ease, and wealth, and domestic joys; God will give you an accurate reward. Every sinnei saved by your instrumentality will augment your bliss. They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Nor is this consummation far remote. I look round me in vain for the dignified forms of the devoted Rice; the warmhearted Kerr; the decided Mason; the affectionate Jones; and the eloquent Daniel. Fourteen years ago we held our anniversaries in this house, when they mingled in our counsel and we heard their voice. Where are they now? They have gone to their reward. You too will soon die.
"The time of hope Even so. Amen.
And of probation speeds on rapid wings,
Swift and returnless. What thou hast to do
Do with thy might. Haste, lift aloud' thy voice,
And publish to the borders of the pit
The Resurrection . . . Then, when the ransomed come
With gladness unto Zion, thou shall joy
To hear the vallies and the hills break forth
Before them into singing; thou shalt join
The raptured strain, exulting that the Lord
Jehovah, God omnipotent, doth reign
O'er all the earth."
============ [From Henry Keeling, editor, The Baptist Preacher, Original-Monthly, Volume IV, 1845, pp. 158-170. Document from Google Books. — jrd]
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