The God Who Draws Near

An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality

Book Details

Discerning Reader Editorial Review

Reviewed 11/13/2007 by Ian Clary.

Recommended. A book that deserves to be read and implemented by all Christians.

The word “spirituality” may be the buzzword of the day. It is a term that is applied to a wide array of beliefs, be they of eastern origin such as Buddhism, Taoism, yoga or the like, or western such as the mysticism of medieval Roman Catholic spirituality or that of Ignatius of Loyola. There is a renaissance of sorts when it comes to spirituality and in our relativist culture, the greater the blend the healthier the “inner balance.” Our world is also shaped by pragmatism believing that whatever works is permissible. If emptying your mind with legs crossed in a room full of candles chanting “ohm” works for you then have more of it! As Christians are we to venture outside of the biblical pale to find our spiritual centre? Michael Haykin, in his recent book The God Who Draws Near: An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality, says no. For him, the spiritual riches of the bible prove to be the only resource for true spirituality.

In the following, The God Who Draws Near will be reviewed and commended. In so doing, certain personal reflections by the reviewer on the life of Michael Haykin will be offered. Having spent the last five or so years as a friend, co-worker and student of the author, I have read this book with fondness seeing in it not only the work of a scholar, but also of one who lived the words that he penned. As every Christian this side of the parousia is not perfect, Michael Haykin is engaged in the life-long battle with sin. It is the fruits of this battle that are put to page, and I can personally testify that by grace, the author is a living example of one who practices what he preaches. He has had a profound impact on my own spirituality and it is my hope that this book will be just as great a help to others.

Michael A. G. Haykin was, at the time of writing, the principal of The Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College in Toronto, Ontario, as well as professor of Church History and Reformed Spirituality. He has since resigned as principal and will be assuming a full-time teaching position at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Haykin has written or edited numerous books including Jonathan Edwards: The Holy Spirit in Revival (Evangelical Press); Kiffen, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering Our English Baptist Heritage (Carey) and A Consuming Fire: The Piety of Alexander Whyte (Reformation Heritage). He is a frequent conference speaker and has filled many pulpits on Sundays, as well as having taught in numerous institutions throughout North America and Britain.

One of Dr. Haykin’s gifts is his ability to make the complexities of the Christian past easily understood by the layperson in the pew. He has a great pastoral concern to see Christians grow in their understanding of the Bible and church history. This book is a prime example of this desire. It is not a technical book and is relatively easy to read; yet it is deep and spiritually challenging. Haykin’s main focus is the biblical understanding of spirituality; therefore the biblical text is the bedrock of his writing. To illustrate the biblical principles, Dr. Haykin’s wealth of historical knowledge is drawn upon to help readers with application. For this reviewer it was a delightful surprise to find examples from Canadian church history. Many are unaware of the church tradition in Canada and it is a service to Canadian Christians that this book has a number of stories from their homeland. It is curious, however, that almost all of the historical examples are drawn from the time of the Reformation and after. There is hardly any mention of patristic or medieval spirituality. The reason for this may be that Dr. Haykin is seeking to show that there can be a distinctly Protestant spirituality. Yet in our day, when evangelicals are so ignorant of these earlier times of the church, it might have been nice to see the spirituality of those church fathers or medieval thinkers who were just as faithful to the Bible as were the Protestants during and after the Reformation. Be that as it may, this omission does not detract from his work. One other minor criticism to be made is the typographical error on page 64, where the word “ask” should be “asked.”

The book can be divided into two parts. The first, chapters one to five, sets forth the biblical and theological principles that uphold Christian spirituality. It is to be centred upon the trinity, on a proper understanding of God and ourselves, on Christ and his cross-work and on the bible. The second section, chapters six to nine, explains the practical application of spirituality in the Christian life. These chapters are dedicated to prayer, meditation, friendship and mission.

A number of years ago Dr. Haykin spoke at the New England Reformed Fellowship’s annual conference in Connecticut. After the conference, he was invited to preach in the Congregationalist Church in Miller’s Falls, Massachusetts. His text was the Great Commission taking the trinity as his topic. It was a very affective sermon that encouraged the congregation to become more trinitarian in their thinking and worship. A sad observation made by Haykin was that there are not enough sermons on the trinity in evangelical churches. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the opening chapter of The God Who Draws Near is dedicated to “a trinitarian spirituality” and takes Matthew 28:19-20 as its starting place. The trinity is important if “Christian spirituality is to remain balanced in the way we think about God” (7). Evangelicals tend to focus on one member of the Godhead to the exclusion of the others. Haykin instead argues, “we are to treasure each of the divine persons and their work in our lives” (7). For spirituality to be distinctly Christian it is to be trinitarian, anything less is sub-biblical.

Chapters two and three then work out the trinitarian foundations of devotion. In chapter two we learn that we are to know both God and ourselves. We are to recognize the holiness of God, the one who is all-powerful, sovereign and just. In light of God’s holy character we are to understand ourselves as sinners in need of redemption. Secular books on spirituality are markedly different in this regard. Human nature is not regarded as sinful; in fact, people like Shirley MacLaine would go so far as to say that humans are god. Nothing could be farther from the biblical understanding of human depravity. Even as redeemed Christians we struggle with sin. We are not perfect and have to fight sin all day and every day. As a resource, Haykin recommends the work of the great Puritan John Owen to help readers both understand and kill sin.

Following on this understanding of the human condition, chapter three points us to Christ, the great saviour from sin. True spirituality must be Christ-centred. Evidence of this can be seen in the Spirit’s work in our lives, for he is the one who directs us to Christ. This is also evinced in the New Testament, which Haykin calls a “Christ-centred book” (23). Even the Old Testament, Christ is focused upon, as in the life of Moses, whom Hebrews 11:26 said reproached the riches of Egypt for the sake of Christ.

Related to the theme of Christ, chapter four focuses specifically on his cross-work. Although Christ’s death is an example of patient suffering, to believe that this is the only reason for his crucifixion is to err greatly. Christ’s death is not merely a “heroic death” but it was a substitutionary atonement made on behalf of the people of God. Christ, the sinless saviour, made himself sin so that we might be declared just in the sight of God.

To know anything of trinitarian spirituality, Christians are to open their bibles, as Haykin admonishes in the fifth chapter. As the inerrant Word of God, Scriptures provide Christians with a “sure guide” for doctrine and life (41). The bible is wholly sufficient because it is breathed by God himself (theopneustos). Haykin takes the life and labours of William Tyndale as an example of love for the bible. Tyndale translated it into English because, unlike the medieval church of his day, he saw that piety was to be Word focused. “Knowledge of the Scriptures, and that in the vernacular…was therefore essential in Tyndale’s mind to Christian spirituality and any growth in Christian maturity” (47). As inheritors of Protestant spirituality, Christians today should read the bible regularly and should seek to sit under its preaching. This is the sure way to spiritual growth.

Michael Haykin’s life shows the value of Word centredness. A number of years ago a friend and I traveled with Dr. Haykin to England, Scotland and Ireland. Of the many memories that I hold dear from that trip, one that stands out is spending time in a hotel room with him reading scripture. In all things, whether waking or sleeping, the Bible should be close at hand to fill our thoughts with Christ.

Of the many practices that come to mind when one thinks of spirituality, prayer is possibly the first. Because we are finite, we are wholly dependent upon our infinite creator. Therefore the need for prayer is great. Yet so often it is one of the hardest facets of the Christian life. It was a great encouragement to read that I am not the only one who struggles with prayer. Haykin brings our attention to the words of John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, where we read that his flesh could sometimes be loathe to go to prayer and loathe to stay in prayer, and that it is only by the grace of God that we can have communion with him. The cure for such fleshly feeling is prayer! Pray to God that he would make it our great delight to pray. Struggle will always accompany prayer, a fact that the apostle Paul makes clear in Romans 15:30-32, the text that Dr. Haykin uses as the basis of this chapter.

For one whole day per semester Toronto Baptist Seminary ceases its classes and both students and faculty gather together for a “Day of Prayer.” This was instituted by Dr. Haykin when be became principal, using the Puritans as a model, because he wanted to be sure that the blessings of God would be upon all of our scholastic endeavours. In autumn the school celebrates and gives thanks to God for his work among us. In spring our prayers are often accompanied with fasting as we go before the Lord in supplication on behalf of the school. Such is the importance, in the mind of Dr. Haykin, of the practice of prayer.

If prayer is the first thing to come to mind when thinking of spirituality, perhaps meditation is a close second. Yet for many Christians, meditation is left relatively unpracticed, often thought of as pagan. What is not realized is that meditation is characteristic of Protestant spirituality, as seen in the life of the Puritans and their followers. Meditation should take place after the study of the Word; it is the “chewing over” of the biblical text, making thoughtful application to the soul. It is not the emptying of the mind, an eastern conception, but it is the filling of the mind with the bible (64). Haykin offers a list of things from the bible to meditate on, such as God’s character, law and works. He also provides an historical example in the life of Jonathan Edwards, a “model of meditation” (68).

An area that may not be thought of regarding spirituality is that of friendship. Chapter eight deals with this topic, advocating that Christians seek out and cultivate the “development of deep, long-lasting, satisfying friendships” (71). In the bible, friendship is literally “the knitting of souls together” (Deuteronomy 13:6). There are many examples, from David and Jonathan to Paul and Timothy, not forgetting that Moses spoke as a friend to God. Church history as well is filled with examples of biblical friendship. John Calvin had William Farel and Pierre Viret, and in the Baptist tradition a prime example is the group of friends who sent William Carey to India. True friendship is to be sacrificial and should take the good with the bad (81). Friends are not carbon copies of one another and difficulties are sure to arise, but true friendship will face such trials together and will come out the other end stronger because of the bond that unites. Of course the greatest friendship that a Christian can have is that with the triune God (83). This is a very thoughtful and excellent chapter, one well worth pondering and applying.

The final chapter, the ninth, has to do with the “inevitable” – Christian mission. This is, as Haykin says, the “fruit of true spirituality” (86). If we are to be spiritual, we are to seek to see others share in our spirituality. This can only be done if one repents and trusts in Christ. Therefore, we are to go out and share our spirituality with others by presenting to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was the life and burden of the apostle Paul, to bring the gospel to the gentiles in the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire. Paul’s mission was led by God, and took unexpected turns, yet it was a ministry that bore great spiritual fruit. If our hearts are filled with Christ, our spirituality will become contagious and spread through mission.

Michael Haykin has done a great service in writing this, what should become a classic of Christian spirituality. The God Who Draws Near should be read and implemented by all Christians. Make this a gift and give it to as many people in your church as possible.