The Need For Humiliation in Gospel Ministers

Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

"We cannot seek God's blessing unless we humble ourselves before Him because of our past failures.  We will not be motivated for change unless we grieve in spirit.  If we are not humbled, how can we expect out people to be humbled?  Can we soften their heart while ours remain hard?  Some think their only duty is to preach while it is their people's duty to repent.  But, in Scripture, leader such as Daniel and Ezra sorrowfully confessed their own sins as well as the people's. Can we read Paul's message to the Ephesian elders without being deeply humbled?  I am sure that you all believe that sorrow for sin and and confession are necessary to maintain fellowship with God.  However, knowing what to do is not enough.  Our affections and wills must also play their part.  We must confess our sins before God who is 'faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.'  I include myself since I am aware of so many sins I cannot pretend to be innocent before God."

These stirring words taken from Baxter's The Reformed Pastor are a massive and painful rebuke to all ministers, for not one of them can escape slothfulness in their spiritual exercises.  We are not spared from the devilish attacks that other men know; on the contrary, ministers know an even greater sense of being 'known to the devil' than any other man.  And one of his greatest ploys is to get us to imagine (wrongly) that we are always right, while our people are always wrong; and that they must humble themselves and repent, but not us!   How foolish the shepherds of God's flock are when they entertain such unseemly notions.

The Holy Scriptures are full of teaching apn the need for humble leaders of God's people, as even a cursory reading will reveal. David and Ezra, Moses and Joseph, Jeremiah and Amos, to name a few, would teach us the importance of not following our own ideas but humbling ourselves and following God's revealed will in the Bible. 

How can God bless a people when their leaders exhibit such attitudes!  We all need to be humbled before the Lord, so that in due time he nay lift us up.  The way up is always first of all the way down.  This is a lesson that we all need to learn very urgently.  May we learn it well.