The obedience of a Christian man by William Tyndale (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read the section entitled 'A compendious rehearsal of that which goeth before'.
In the book Tyndale says he has:
(i) described unto you the obedience of children, servants, wives, and subjects;
(ii) declared how they which God hath made governors in the world ought to rule, if they be Christians;
(iii) uttered the wickedness of the spirituality, the falsehead of the bishops, and juggling of the pope.
I thought this was a good summary of the Christian life: 'Because we be blind, God hath appointed in the Scripture how we should serve him and please him. As pertaining unto his own person he is abundantly pleased when we believe his promises and Holy Testament which he hath made unto us in Christ, and for the mercy which he there shewed us, love his commandments. All bodily service must be done to man in God's stead. We must give obedience, honour, toll, tribute, custom, and rent unto whom they belong.'
We must believe in Christ and be obedient.
Next week's reading
Commence 'A remedy for wandering thoughts in worship' by Richard Steele (Available from Heritage Books or free here) by reading the dedications and Chapter 1.
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
2 comments:
The most interesting thing I found about this book is the emphasis Tyndale places on the importance of obedience in what we believe. The first part of the book, where he laid down the duties of actions, was edifying (and convicting considering how far short I generally fall), but when he came to the later part of the book, I was a bit confused as to where he was going. My modern mind had a hard time making the shift from obedience in action (accustomed as I am to 12 step etc. approaches to life's problems) to obedience in belief. But I now understand that what we believe about God, Christ, the way of salvation and the worship of God is just as important a part of obedience as how we act. I always very much appreciate books that peel away layers of thought which I've accumulated and not really ever noticed, so thank you for including Tyndale.
CJ, Good to know you stuck through the book with me and found it helpful.
I didn't think we'd come back to Tyndale, but your comment may have changed my mind.
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