Is it so mysterious that I am not growing? Couldn’t the main reason be my prayerlessness? We need to become focused on the encouragement of warm, loving times with our patient Savior—the One who does not cease whispering our names into the ears of His Father. We must deal with this besetting sin. We are not going to grow in Christlikeness until we meet regularly in the secret place with Jesus. 

All Christians are being tested in their responsiveness and obedience to their own consciences. God has provided within them that great monitor of their conduct and behavior. So how is it between us and our consciences? Are we infinitely particular about paying attention to what our consciences say? Are we careful to educate those consciences because any conscience can be in darkness?

There are many Christian consciences that, in the words of Thomas Boston, are “too pernickety.” They condemn what God’s Word does not condemn, and Christians must educate their consciences. There are other consciences that can let everything pass, even those attitudes that God’s Word condemns. They are not as sensitive as they should be; they are too broad and too open. Our consciences must constantly stand under the scrutiny of God’s Word. The conscience must always be open to commending what God’s Word commends and condemning what God’s Word condemns. The Puritan Thomas Manton reminds us:
Conscience must be satisfied with something. So professing Christians can please themselves with giving to God as much obedience as is least contrary to their feelings and inclinations. Like a servant who obeys his master when he sends him on a mission to a fair or a feast, but deceives in errands that are more demanding. This man is satisfying self, his own inclinations. Such men are not so much serving God as their own interests.
Let us suppose that every reader of Tabletalk has an enlightened conscience. What allegiance are we showing to it? Are we careful to obey it when we are emotionally disinclined, when we lie in the depth of depression, or when we’re wallowing in self-pity? We know that there is a duty to attend to, but it is very unpleasant and unattractive, an unwelcome responsibility. Do we have the maturity to stand over our emotions and in the face of our feelings determine to attend to what God commands us to do, even though we are emotionally disinclined to do so?
There is no greater peril in the Christian life than to make our emotions the touchstone of our duties—in other words, to wait for the moment of inspiration before we obey our Lord, who has told us always to pray and not to faint.

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Spurgeon goes on to identify four ways by which we may assess whether we are called to ministry. First is ‘an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work’. It is in this context that Spurgeon (followed by Lloyd-Jones in the next century) urged that you should not enter the ministry if you could be content doing anything else. This is a burden which cannot be escaped—not a mere passing feeling, but a thoughtful and enduring desire. Second is an ability to teach, and other aptitudes required in ministry. It is not to be expected that a man will preach well on his first attempt, but is there growing evidence of gifts and abilities which may be developed? Thirdly, Spurgeon asks is there any ‘conversion work’ in the ministry of this man? This test needs to be understood in the context of the extraordinary fruitful days of Spurgeon’s ministry, and it is interesting that this test is not mentioned by John Newton in the letter quoted in this lecture. Finally, if someone is called to ministry their preaching ‘should be acceptable to the people of God’.

The only qualification for entry to the London Seminary Pastoral Training course is a credible call to ministry. But what does that mean? There is a sense, of course, in which all believers are called to ministry as servants of the Lord and of one another. But the term is generally used of a particular call for evangelists, pastors and teachers.
External and Internal Call?
A call to ministry is understood in two parts: the external and internal call. The external call may include the encouragement of others to consider vocational Christian ministry. A local church may give opportunities for service, and encourage towards appropriate training. Ultimately an external call is a church calling someone to be their pastor; this may look slightly different in Baptist/ congregational and Presbyterian circles, but essentially it is the affirmation that a man is called to ministry.
The internal call is more controversial. In recent times the internal call has been downplayed or even disregarded. One pastor said to me: ‘The only call I received was a telephone call’ (from church leadership inviting him to take up the pastorate). While historically the internal call was treated seriously, now it is questioned. One turning point was the publication of a book on guidance: Decision Making and the Will of God.[1] The author emphasised the importance of moving away from a mystical understanding of God’s will towards more rational decision making based on biblical principles. The book is very valuable, and helped many who were struggling to find God’s will for their lives based on feelings or circumstances. However, the pendulum then swung to the opposite extreme, and the idea of internal call tended to be discarded altogether.
We can all understand the challenges and problems associated with an ‘internal call’. We don’t want to be governed by our feelings or subjective impressions of what the Lord might or might not be directing us to do; our feelings are not a reliable guide. Sometimes we don’t make good judgements about our own gifts, and strengths and weaknesses. We might believe that we are great preachers, but we should heed godly believers in the congregation who tell us that our sermons are uninspiring or unhelpful. We might dream that we have leadership potential, but if we find that no-one is willing to follow us, we may be mistaken. Our own convictions have to be tempered by the counsel and advice of trusted brothers and sisters in the Lord, and especially by our church leaders.
On the other hand, we might be very reluctant to go forward into ministry and we need the encouragement and spur of others who recognise our gifts and calling and advise that we are allowing our natural reticence to quench the Lord’s call. Some of the great prophets of the Old Testament, including Moses and Jeremiah, were reluctant because of their own sense of inadequacy and unworthiness. An historical example is John Calvin who had no inclination to take up ministry in Geneva and had to be very severely rebuked by Guillaume Farel.
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Our holiness will be a work in progress during this earthly life. But in our resurrection and glorification at the last day we will be made perfectly holy, just like our Lord. Until that time comes we press on, “throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”, and “running with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Heb 12:1).

In earlier generations it was far more common to talk about holiness in the Christian life. For the Bible is consistently clear in its call for us to be ‘sanctified’ and become increasingly ‘holy’ as God’s people (see Eph 1:4, 5:25–27; 1 Thess 4:3; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 2:11–14; 1 Pet 1:15–16, 2:9). As God’s redeemed people we have been set apart to live distinctive lives that clearly show the life-transforming power of the gospel. Through the gospel we are saved from a life of sin and saved to a life of holiness.
Our justification and sanctification are inextricably linked. To talk about salvation and holiness as though they were two entirely different things is not helpful. God’s saving grace in our lives should naturally produce changes that lead to holiness (Eph 2:8–10). Pursuing holiness is the ‘normal’ Christian life, the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit, steadily doing his sanctifying work. God’s divine plan has always been that we, his chosen and saved people, should be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29) “with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor 3:18). So in practical terms, how does this challenge apply to us today?
Some Errors and Cautions
Wrong ideas about holiness have created more than their share of problems down through the centuries, and these are still causing confusion today:

Instant holiness: There are many people who think that by receiving a second blessing or praying a special prayer of consecration it is possible to experience and sustain a new level of holiness.
A formula for holiness: Others think that devoutly following a specific set of legalistic disciplines enables them to grow in godliness.
A ‘holy’ lifestyle: Still others think that the way to holiness is by adopting a particular ascetic lifestyle, often insulated from the real world, in order to align their lives more completely with God and his word.

Of course, throughout our life’s journey there will be times of special blessing when our spiritual growth is invigorated and perhaps accelerated. We should praise God for such times. However, we should not lose sight of the overall thrust and balance of biblical teaching when it comes to how we grow in holiness. Likewise, legalism and asceticism will result in a warped understanding of grace, which is so essential to our freedom in Christ.
The Inner Conflict
While it would be wonderful to have instant holiness or to be able to tap into a guaranteed formula for spiritual growth, the New Testament generally describes this process in terms of a difficult conflict, a long-distance race, a crucifixion, a ‘putting to death’. The battle for holiness is ongoing. Old sins keep surfacing, along with the temptation to new sins. There may be feelings of guilt and failure, perhaps even leading to doubts about one’s salvation.
The battle between the ‘flesh’ (who we are as children of Adam) and the Spirit (who have now become in Christ) is described in Galatians 5, is a part of the experience of every Christian:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:16–17 (ESV))
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