Introduction
 
In a world filled with diverse beliefs and worldviews, the pursuit of truth is of utmost importance for every follower of Christ. The words of Richard Baxter resonate deeply with the longing in our hearts to grasp the truth and walk in the light of God's Word. Baxter warns us to take heed, lest any carnal (fleshly or sinful) interest or lust hinder us from receiving the truth or lead us astray from it. Let’s look at three key principles and three walking points (reflections and action steps) that can guide us in embracing truth with a sanctified heart.
 
The Danger of Carnal Interests and Lusts
 
Baxter's admonition is a sober reminder that the desires of our flesh and the interests of this world can become stumbling blocks on our journey to discover and embrace God’s truth. The apostle Paul echoes a similar sentiment in Romans 8:7 when he says, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot." Our carnal inclinations and lusts can create a bias in our minds, causing us to turn away from the truth when it challenges our desires.
 
Sanctification and the Pursuit of Truth
 
Baxter also emphasizes the significance of a sanctified heart in receiving and embracing the truth. Sanctification is the process of being set apart from sin and set apart for God's purposes, in the pursuit of  becoming more like Christ. It involves the purification of our hearts and the transformation of our desires. An unsanctified heart, with its unrestrained lusts, is unlikely to submit to the truth of God's Word.
 
Embrace the Truth with an Honest Heart
 
Baxter's wisdom underscores the importance of approaching the truth with an honest and open heart. A heart that is willing to accept the truth, even when it challenges preconceived notions or deeply ingrained beliefs, is a heart that is truly seeking after God's will. Jesus, in John 8:32, said if we will hold to his teachings we will “know the truth, and the truth will set [us] free." Embracing the truth is the path to spiritual growth and freedom.
 
Conclusion
 
In the pursuit of truth, we should take Baxter's wisdom on this matter seriously and guard against the influence of carnal interests and lusts that can hinder us from embracing God's truth. To do so, we must engage in self-examination, pursue sanctification, and approach the truth with humility and openness. As we apply these three key principles and action steps, our hearts will become sanctified, ready to receive and embrace the life-transforming truths found in God's Word.
 
It is my prayer that we not merely strive to be a people who pursue God’s truth, but be a people who love the truth, not because it conforms to our desires, but because it leads us to a deeper knowledge of God and his perfect will for our lives (Romans 12:2). Truth matters to God. Jesus himself declared, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Therefore, let’s walk in the way of truth with sanctified hearts, continually seeking the face of our heavenly Father, the God of grace and truth.
 
Questions for Reflection

• Have you honestly examined your heart and identified any hidden motives, desires, or interests that might be hindering you from embracing the truth of God's Word?

 

• How committed are you to the process of sanctification, and what steps can you take to grow in holiness and become more like Christ?

 

• Do you approach the truth of God's Word with humility and openness, even when it challenges your preconceived beliefs or opinions?

 

• What practical steps can you take to ensure that your heart is continually sanctified and prepared to embrace the truth?

 

• In what ways can you seek God's guidance and the leading of his Spirit to help you discern and embrace his truth more fully in your life?

 
Walking Points

• The first walking point is to engage in sincere self-examination. Take time to reflect on your desires and interests. Are there any hidden motives that might be leading you away from the truth? Prayerfully seek God's guidance in identifying and confronting these carnal interests. Be honest with yourself and with God about your vulnerabilities.

 

• To pursue sanctification, dedicate or consecrate yourself to a life of holiness and godliness (Romans 12:1). Daily, seek God's presence and guidance through prayer and the study of his Word. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart, convicting you of sin, and helping you grow in righteousness. As you become more sanctified, your heart will become increasingly aligned with God's will, making it more receptive to his truth.

 

• Cultivate humility and openness in your heart. Recognize that none of us possesses all knowledge, and we’re all on a journey of learning and growing. Surely that is why the Apostle Peter tells us at the end of his second epistle to continue growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Be willing to engage in honest dialogue with others, even when their views differ from your own. Approach the Scriptures with an open mind, even as you pray for the Spirit to illuminate your mind. Continually seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s truth to you. And pray for the wisdom to discern and embrace the truth, no matter where it leads, secure in the conviction that “all truth is God’s truth.”

 
Scripture for Further Meditation and Prayer

• Proverbs 4:23 - "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
• Psalm 119:11 - "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
• 1 Peter 1:22 - "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart."
• John 17:17 – “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
• James 1:21 - "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

God’s Renaissance Man
 
I have described Richard Baxter as a 17th century Renaissance man. More accurately, he was an English puritan pastor and writer. But that description doesn’t do him justice. According to Baxter scholars, J.I. Packer and Timothy Beougher,
 
“Baxter has been called the greatest of all English preachers, the virtual creator of popular Christian literature, and the most successful preacher and winner of souls and nurturer of won souls that England has ever had.”
 
They go on to point out that,
 
“As Puritanism’s leading writer on practical, devotional, moral, and apologetic themes, Baxter produced over 140 books marking out various aspects of the path of truth and holiness.”
 
I call Baxter a Renaissance man because of the wide interests about which he wrote. “Baxter penned treatises on grace and salvation, apologetics, …antinomianism, the sacraments, millenarianism, ethics, nonconformity, devotion, conversion, politics, and history, not to mention systematic theology.” In fact, Ian Murray points out that… “Baxter was a many-faceted man. He was both an evangelist and scholar; a speaker and an author, a poet and a possessor of a keen analytical mind.”
 
Pastor of Pastors
 
How important was he in his day? John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester concluded, “If [Baxter] had lived in the primitive time he would have been one of the fathers of the church.” A biographer of Baxter says about him, “he came nearer the apostolical writings than any man in the age.” How important is he for today? Packer and Beougher tell us:
 
“As two students of Baxter who cannot be sufficiently thankful for the impact [Baxter] has made in our lives, we would say to every believer, get to know Baxter, and stay with Baxter. He will always do you good”
 
Why would I choose Richard Baxter as my “patron saint?” Because he captured as well as anyone the worldview–focus (or the “every sphere kingdom-mindedness”) of Christian discipleship that has captured my heart and mind. He understood that all of life (every sphere) must be faithfully integrated because Christ is the Lord of all of life. Packer puts it this way,
 
“The sheer brilliance of Baxter’s achievement in crystallizing a proper form for the life of faith on a canvass as broad as life at a very high level of intelligent, Bible-based, theologically-integrated wisdom, and with unfailing compressed clarity, is dazzling to the mind. Baxter had a high view of “the unity of human life before the Lord.”
 
A Faith for Every Sphere of Life
 
Packer says that there is no world-denial with Baxter. Instead, what Baxter calls for is,
 
“the sanctification of all life through bringing all its manifold activities into the unity of a single overmastering purpose – loving God, and laying hold of eternal life in its fullness. That can be put the other way round, by saying that what Baxter calls for is a branching out of the converted Christian’s heart’s desire, to know and love and please God, into biblically informed and situationally appropriate action in every department of life.”
 
Richard Baxter has shaped my faith and ministry in many ways. I give thanks to God for his faithful witness.
 
A Model of Godly Leadership
 
Question: Who has been a leadership role model for you (outside of Biblical characters) and what have you learned from him/her?
 
Answer: The leadership role model who has done the most to shape my ministry is Richard Baxter. Richard Baxter was a pastor in the 1600’s who served a local church in Kidderminster, England. He was much admired as a pastor by the Wesleys.
 
“John Wesley’s father Samuel, once a nonconformist wrote: ‘I wish I had [The Reformed Pastor] again: Directions to the clergy for the management of their people which I lost when my house was last burnt… [Baxter] had a strange pathos and fire.’”
 
“John [Wesley] himself told the Methodist Conference: ‘Every travelling preacher must instruct them from house to house… Can we find a better method of doing this than Mr. Baxter’s? If not, let us adopt it without delay. His whole tract entitled The Reformed Pastor, is well worth a capable perusal.’ On another occasion he challenged his preachers: ‘Who visits the people on Mr. Baxter’s method?’”
 
“Charles Wesley and William Grimshaw of Haworth conversing together agreed that preachers should ‘visit from house to house, after Mr. Baxter’s manner.’”
 
A Living Example
 
Baxter was a living example of all that he wrote in his book, The Reformed Pastor. By “reformed,” Baxter meant “revived.” His book was originally written to clergy in his area and appealed to them to rediscover their calling as shepherds of souls – to really care for their flocks as Christ loved the church. The book is moving and was used of God to pour conviction on my soul as a pastor. However, mere words can often fall flat. There must be a life behind those words that matches them. His was such a life.
 
Baxter was known throughout England as a godly man. He sought to live a life that was above reproach and one that could never be attacked as hypocritical. Like Wesley, he lived a very modest life because it was more important for him to give his money to the poor as well as to purchase books and Bibles for them.
 
Loving Pastor
 
He truly loved his flock at Kidderminster. He developed the practice of visiting every family in his church at least once a year at their home (over 2,000 people). There he would pray with them, make sure they knew the life-transforming truths of the faith, and see about any areas of their lives in which they needed help. He did not then leave them, go home, and forget about them. They were continually on his heart.
 
His preaching and teaching concentrated on the essentials of Christian doctrine and holy living. He did not have time for those who focused only on divisive and nonessential matters. His view was that life was too short for such things.
 
His Impact on My Ministry
 
These are some aspects of his life and teaching that have impacted mine. Though my ministry falls short of his, humanly speaking, it is my goal. I have tried to develop a ministry that goes to the people and meets them where they are. My purpose is to create a warm and friendly environment where they can share the hopes, joys, fears and struggles of their souls with me. In my teaching I attempt to concentrate on those things that matter most, those things of eternal significance, such as knowing God and his Word, living holy lives, bearing witness to Christ in the world and displaying mercy and justice. Baxter has helped me expand my view of ministry.
 
How does this relate to leadership? Well, Baxter modeled what he taught. God has been unfolding before me the idea that our lives must be lived with profound consistency. If I say something from the pulpit, in a Bible study or a committee meeting, or in a one-on-one counseling experience, and live in a way that is radically inconsistent with what I’ve said, then I have demonstrated poor leadership indeed. Why? Because my words will soon begin to fall on deaf ears and rightly so. Leadership must be daily lived and modeled before those one is leading, and that is one of the most important things I learned from Richard Baxter.
 
Walking Points
 

• What does it mean to live a “God-centered” life?
• What did it mean for Baxter to have an integrated life in which he lived every sphere of life under Christ’s Lordship? In what specific ways would your life look differently if you lived such a life?
• How did Baxter’s life and ministry show his love for his congregation?
• What areas did Baxter focus on in his preaching? Why do you think he emphasized those areas to his congregation?
• What annual practice did Baxter take up that resembles St. Paul’s practice in Acts 20? What was the value in this practice?
• Though you may not be pastor, how can you take some of these same principles and make them part of your shepherding ministry in your spheres of influence?