Wesley on Reading and Preaching

ere is John Wesley writing to John Trembath (August 17, 1760), a young minister who was a poor preacher:

What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear, to this day, is lack of reading.

I scarce ever knew a preacher who read so little.

And perhaps, by neglecting it, you have lost the taste for it.

Hence your talent in preaching does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep; there is little variety; there is no compass of thought.

Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer.

You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this.

You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough Christian.

Oh begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercise. You may acquire the taste which you have not; what is tedious at first will afterward be pleasant.

Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily.

It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a pretty, superficial preacher.

Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow.

Do not starve yourself any longer.

Take up your cross and be a Christian altogether.

Then will all the children of God rejoice (not grieve) over you, and in particular yours.

Baxter on Reading

Baxter also put together a guide to help judge the value of any book.

1. Could I spend this time no better?

Some of the most godly men I know of are (and were) voracious readers. Actually, it is hard to imagine a great preacher or a great theologian who was not also a great reader. So here Baxter is not downplaying the importance of reading, but merely suggesting that it is not a pre-eminent concern. It must not take priority over all other responsibilities. If I read while watching my elderly neighbor shovel snow from her driveway, I need to examine whether I have given reading undue importance.

2. Are there better books that would edify me more?

While reading is a wonderful way to spend time, it is merely a means to an end. It may be that there is a book I can read that will edify me more and prove more valuable. If in a lifetime I am going to read only one or two books on a certain subject, I should seek to make sure that they are the best books on that subject.

3. Are the lovers of such a book as this the greatest lovers of the Book of God and of a holy life?

This is a difficult question. I sometimes read books that are popular, but favored by those who do not hold high the Word of God. There are times when this is acceptable, I’m sure. However, when I do look at a book and consider reading it, it is worth thinking about who loves this book. This is one of the reasons we put endorsements on the back of a book; we can tell a lot about it simply by seeing who has give it a recommendation.

4. Does this book increase my love to the Word of God, kill my sin, and prepare me for the life to come?

In other words, does this book complement my reading of the Bible and help me live a life of godliness? Or does it pull me further from God and leave me with feelings of skepticism? While I do believe there is value in reading books for the purposes of research (for example, to understand what all those people found in The Shack), I need to prioritize good books that are loved by godly men and women. I need to focus the bulk of my attention on books that are truly good.

In all things, we must use discernment. As we read books we must continually search the Scriptures to “see if these things are so,” all the while praying to God for wisdom. Baxter’s advice is sound and we would do well to heed it, even (or perhaps especially) hundreds of years after it was written.

Spurgeon on Reading

The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves that he has no brains of his own.

Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers and expositions of the Bible.