Category Archives: Stott, John

John Stott’s dream

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On 24th November, 1974, John Stott preached at All Souls Church, London on the 150th anniversary of the dedication of the church.

He concluded his sermon with a ‘dream’ (with apologies to Martin Luther King and his famous’ “I have a dream” message delivered a few years earlier).

I have a dream of a church which is a biblical church—

  • which is loyal in every particular to the revelation of God in Scripture,
  • whose pastors expound Scripture with integrity and relevance, and so seek to present every member mature in Christ,
  • whose people love the word of God, and adorn it with an obedient and Christ-like life,
  • which is preserved from all unbiblical emphases, whose whole life manifests the health and beauty of biblical balance.
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The gospel and social involvement

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In Issues Facing Christians Today, John Stott urges evangelicals to a greater commitment to the social implications of the gospel.  This requires careful rethinking of our theology.  Stott speaks:

First, of “a fuller doctrine of God” in which we recognize that God is not confined to the religious dimensions of life or concerned only with his covenant people. Citing prophetic oracles against the nations, Stott comments, “It is clear from these Old Testament passages that God hates injustice and oppression everywhere, and that he loves and promotes justice everywhere.”…

Your mind matters: practical implications

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In Your Mind Matters, John Stott discusses the practical relevance of pursuing a Christian mind.

1. Worship

Christians do not worship ‘the unknown god’ (Acts 17:23).  They are to worship God ‘in truth’ (Jn 4:24).  We are to praise his ‘name’, implying that we are to know and understand his true being and character.  Rational enquiry is found throughough the Psalms: including the study of God’s works in nature (Psa 104) and in history (Psa 77).…

Why your mind matters

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Some Christians are suspicious of an ‘intellectual’ approach to their faith.  If by that they mean ‘merely intellectual’, then of course that would a terrible thing, and would tend to undermine, rather than build up, the true knowledge, love and service of God.

But we are called to worship God with our whole selves, and that includes our minds.

In Your Mind Matters, John Stott sets out four reasons why Christians should use their minds. …

How the cross speaks to suffering

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Tim Chester summarises the teaching of John Stott in The Cross of Christ:

1. The cross of Christ is a stimulus to patient endurance. There are times when we must endure suffering as Jesus did at the cross (Heb. 12:1–3; 1 Pet. 2:18–23).

2. The cross of Christ is the path to mature holiness. Suffering can be formative (James 1:2–4), as it was for Jesus (Heb. 2:10; 5:8–9).

3. The cross of Christ is the symbol of suffering service.…

God honours his Word

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God honours his word.  As John Stott has written:

‘Behind every word is the person who speaks it, and the authority he possesses or lacks. God’s Word has power for the sole reason that it is God who speaks it. His Word is creative (“for he spoke and it was done,” Ps. 33:9), productive (“my word … shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,” Isa. 55:11), and redemptive (“it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe,” 1 Cor.

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Holistic mission

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Over the past 50 years, evangelicals have debated whether the church’s mission is, or should be, primarily or even exclusively that of evangelism, or a combination of evangelism and social action.

At the forefront of this debate has been the distinguished evangelical leader and teacher, John Stott.

In The Contemporary Christian (chapter 20), Stott articulates his conviction that

‘authentic mission is a comprehensive activity which embraces evangelism and social action.’

In this understanding, the gospel has a vertical dimension (the salvation of souls) and a horizontal dimension (the improvement of society).…

Our God is a missionary God

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John Stott remarks that mission is at the heart each of the five parts of the Bible.

1. The God of the Old Testament is a missionary God, calling one family in order to bless all the families of the earth (Gen 12:1-4).

‘The tragedy of the Old Testament is that Israel kept forgetting the universal scope of God’s promises.  They overlooked the fact that God had chosen one family in order to bless all families. 

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Homosexual relations: the argument about justice and rights

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Some argue for homosexual relations on the basis of justice.  John Stott examines this argument:

‘The justice argument runs like this: “Just as we may not discriminate between persons on account of their gender, colour, ethnicity or class, so we may not discriminate between persons on account of their sexual preference. For the God of the Bible is the God of justice, who is described as loving justice and hating injustice. Therefore the quest for justice must be a paramount obligation of the people of God.

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God’s sovereign, ceaseless, purposeful activity

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‘Perhaps the dominant theme of the whole Bible is the sovereign, ceaseless, purposeful activity of Almighty God. In contrast to the idols, which had eyes, ears, mouths and hands but could neither see nor hear, neither speak nor act, our God is a living and a busy God. In its own dramatic and figurative way the Bible leaves us no doubt of this. The breath of all living creatures is in his hand. The thunder is his voice and the lightning his fire.…