Reformed Evangelical Synod of America

Posts Tagged ‘J.I. Packer’

Like many “Bible Believing Evangelicals” I was baptized into a church that could not answer my questions, try as they might. They instilled in me a love for Holy Scripture, a passion for mission, and a complete confidence in the saving power of Jesus Christ the Lord, God the Son and the Holy Trinity for which I will ever be grateful. Today they continue to challenge me by their passion for Christ and the resources they devote to that mission though I can no longer walk in that Christian “Way” and remain true to my own deeply held convictions.

From that starting point till today, I have relied upon many guides. One of the first intellectual guides was J.I. Packer, the Anglican Puritan Scholar. Anglican? Puritan? Calvinist? That shocked me. I’d grown up in a church that look sideways at people vaguely like him and considered them as poor deluded souls who really didn’t believe the Bible like we did.

Unfortunately, the people who believed the Bible like we did seemed to rely on this “half-heathen” Anglican to articulate what “we” believed about the Bible. (Now, nobody actually came out and called Dr. Packer a “half heathen” of any variety, but we were always quite sure that people like him – and now like me – were really half heathens, except when we needed them to do some of our dirty apologetic work that is!)  We let him do the heavy lifting at least at first  until he’d schooled us well in that craft.

But after those lessons were over, it was to men like Packer we looked to many issues and, thereby, a whole new world was opened  beyond the confines of our Sunday School quarterlies… a strange world with a link to a Christian past we did not understand and a love for things that did not go together in our minds… loving  the Bible, pointing people to Jesus Christ, PRAYER BOOKS? Could I have misread that Packer actually used one of those things?  Learning that such a book contained those dreaded man-made creeds at one time would have made me nearly apoplectic. We eschewed creeds you see, much preferring confessions! (Please don’t ask me why, I don’t know now!). But for a lad whose first lisping words could have been “No Creed But  Christ!” I found myself strangely drawn to the world J.I. Packer represented.

In the exotic rain forest that is my theological mind these days, Dr. Packer is not quite so exotic as I found him at first I must admit. I likely would and do disagree with this dear saint at points or say things in a different way. We delight to read different things I suspect. I do not pretend I shall ever share  his brilliance. I have only gotten to shake his hand one time in this world though I have often used the joke he told to promote infant baptism that day when I heard him speaking at a Texas “Bible” church (sans Anglican “dog collar”!) If the opportunity arises again, I shall certainly take  it would he give me some time to pick his brain!

But whatever progress in the truth I have made, J.I. Packer’s work – by God’s grace and for His glory – was instrumental in instigating and promoting that growth. For that I say “Thank you Jesus” and “Thank’s to  you too, Dr. Packer”.

Affirming the Apostles’ Creed by J.I. Packer is available in paperback by Crossway Books. Until Reformation Day, October 31st, it’s also available in a Free Kindle Edition! I don’t have a Kindle, but I have downloaded the free Kindle app on my iphone and took advantage of this offer!

For most people the word “Free” is enough to prompt a download, but in case you’re wondering what the book is about, here’s it’s publisher’s description:

The Apostles’ Creed, the oldest and most beautifully succinct summary of Christian beliefs, is also a deeply personal profession of faith. Noted theologian J. I. Packer examines the meaning and implications of each phrase of this great creed, providing insightful material for personal and group study and devotional use.

For those today embarking on the path I started nearly 30 years ago, this work on the Apostle’s Creed by Dr. J.I. Packer will be a fine doorway to the “strange new world” of the historic church. Enjoy the journey!