Introduction
It may seem to some that a study on the pastoral ministry of John Knox should be considered Christian fiction. They conclude, without further research, that this fiery Scottish preacher of the Reformation was far more of a fighter than a pastor. After all, did Knox not spend his entire life calling hell-fire down on Queen Mary for her Roman Catholic practices? Unfortunately, the actual pastoral heart and ministry of John Knox has been clouded by an unfortunate caricature of him as an uncontrolled firestorm who upbraided any who would dare disagree with him.
Regarding Knox’s strong preaching and writing against the Roman Catholic practices, such as the Mass, there is no doubt where this preacher stood. In 1550, Knox wrote his polemical treatise entitled, A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry. Because of his trouble with female Roman Catholic regents, Knox wrote in 1558 his infamous treatise entitled, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. These were bold denunciations against religious compromise, but Knox clearly explained that these renunciations were for the gospel’s sake and based on the authority of Scripture. Writing to the Queen Regent of Scotland in 1559, Knox said, [1] “For better, we think, to expose our bodies to a thousand deaths, than to hazard our souls to perpetual condemnation, by denying Christ Jesus and his manifest truth.” [2] Because of his strong stand for the truth, Knox was regularly charged with verbal cruelty or even treason against the queen. William Maitland of Lethington, secretary to Mary, Queen of Scot’s, once accused Knox that “your continual crying…‘The Queen’s idolatry, the Queen’s Mass, will provoke God’s vengeance.’” [3] And D. Hay Fleming even explained that “[t]he Queen of Scots…was thoroughly persuaded that Knox was the most dangerous man in all the realm.” [4]
Yet do strong denunications of gospel error and earnest contending against heresies somehow disqualify a man from also being a gentle pastor of the true flock of God? Could it be that those who feel that Knox was not a loving pastor simply have unbiblical notions of what a pastor’s calling involves? Perhaps critics of Knox have confused pastoral ministry with mere sentimentality. It is this article’s contention that Knox was a warm-hearted, gentle pastor as well as an earnest contender of the faith.
Bold Gospel Ministers Are Often Wrongly Accused Of Being Harsh And Unloving
John Knox was certainly not the first whose bold denunciations of religious error unjustly earned him the reputation of being harsh and cold. The prophets of the Old Testament were no doubt often accused of being unloving simply because they told God’s people the unmixed truth. Yet, the same Paul who declared those who distort the gospel of grace to be eternally accursed (Gal. 1:8-9), also wrote: “we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children” (1 Thess. 2:7)?
If John Knox is unworthy to be called a caring pastor on the basis of his strong denunciations of those who promote biblical error, what then could be concluded of the preaching ministry of the Lord Jesus? Christ certainly did not spare the rod of rebuke when He dealt with the self-righteous religious leaders or the ungodly politicians of His day. Yet He is the Great Shepherd of men’s souls (1 Peter 5:4). Of His ministry it was prophesied that “a bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench” (Isa. 42:3). The Lord was ever so gentle with repentant sinners of the worst sort, yet He aimed all the cannons of divine wrath at those who would wall off His glorious kingdom from lost souls. “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matt. 23:13).
In many ways, then, justifying the pastoral ministry of Knox will also justify all faithful ministers of the gospel. Myriads of God’s faithful servants today are wrongly accused of harshness for pointing out false teachers (Rom. 16:17-18), but these men in reality are gentle shepherds among their own flocks. Thus, vindicating the pastoral ministry of John Knox will likewise vindicate all gospel ministers who seek to balance a “sword and trowel” ministry—one for the defense of the truth against the enemies of the cross and one for building up the walls of Zion with patience and love.
Both the Lord Jesus and His great preachers throughout history have these dual markings upon their ministries: they are tender, compassionate lovers of sinners and, at the same time, bold denouncers of any false doctrine that shuts off God’s salvation from the sin-wounded lost. Strong preachers of truth are also compassionate men who are called to do extraordinary tasks for the Lord by His grace. John Knox was like any other man called by the Lord into ministry. He understood the daunting nature of his calling and shook in fear. Consider the tenderness that poured from Knox’s heart when he was called by God’s people in the St. Andrews Castle to become their pastor and preacher:
At that, the said John [Knox], abashed, burst forth in the most abundant tears, and withdrew himself to his chamber. His countenance and behavior, from that day until the day that he was compelled to present himself to the public place of preaching, did sufficiently declare the grief and trouble of his heart; for no man saw any sign of mirth of him, neither yet had he pleasure to accompany any man, many days together. [5]John Knox was no hard and cruel man; he was a man whom God called to be a defender of truth and a compassionate shepherd of souls.
The Pastoral Philosophy And Methodology Of John Knox
This article will endeavor, from Knox’s own words in letters and sermons, to accurately portray the pastoral heart and ministry of this Scottish Reformer by considering him from three perspectives. First, historically, the popular misconceptions concerning Knox’s lack of compassion will be corrected. This misconception is largely due to a lack of accurate historical knowledge of Knox as a man of God. As W. Stanford Reid correctly wrote:
As one reads his letters, whether to individuals or to congregations and nations, one gains the impression that he had a very great interest in the spiritual welfare of those who were facing problems either spiritual or political. He genuinely sought to understand and enter into the doubts and difficulties of those whom he was seeking to assist. [6]Second, from a practical standpoint, we will consider how no true conflict exists for the man of God between earnestly contending for the faith and maintaining a compassionate, pastoral heart for people. Knox demonstrated how a pastoral heart of love for the people of Scotland led him to actually contend with what may have harmed his people.
Third, I will present Knox not merely as a model of a brave Reformation preacher, but also as a model for today of what a pastor’s love and care of his people should look like. In the preface of his sermon on Isaiah 26:13-21, preached at St. Giles Church on August 19, 1565, Knox explained that he did not see himself as one who would be a great theological writer, [7] but rather “called of my God to instruct the ignorant, comfort the sorrowing, and rebuke the proud, by tongue and lively voice in these most corrupt days.” [8] Rather than being an emotionally removed leader, Knox viewed himself as his people’s “common brother” and that like them he also struggled with the weakness and frailty of his fallen flesh. [9] This humble attitude that communicates to a congregation that “we are in this together” is much needed in a day when the pastor has become more and more removed. Knox provides us with a model of a pastor who knew his flock personally and sought to meet their spiritual needs through the Word of God’s grace.
This article, then, is a basic pastoral theology and methodology of John Knox. An overview of some particular events in Knox’s life that prepared him for the pastoral ministry will be followed by three sections noting his roles as pastoral comforter, pastoral counselor, and pastoral exhorter to godliness. Finally, timely lessons for modern pastors will be drawn from the pastoral ministry of John Knox. The lessons learned should encourage God’s people to be like their Lord—a gentle friend to repentant sinners, but a mighty prophet against those who obstinately refuse and blaspheme the gospel.
The Making Of A Pastor’s Heart In John Knox
One cannot pretend to understand the unique workings of God’s Word in the individual soul of a man, which changes him from a self-centered brute to a truly compassionate shepherd of souls. Yet the Lord often uses personal suffering to make His servants good comforters. Knox was no stranger to Christ’s school of suffering. Difficult events in Knox’s life were used by the Lord to shape him into a comforter to those of God’s flock who were broken and bleeding from trials of life and burdens of soul.
Difficulties In Knox’s Personal Life
The Martyrdom Of His Spiritual Mentor
After Knox was converted to the gospel, his main spiritual mentor was a preacher named George Wishart. Knox attached himself to Wishart, learning from him both by his public sermons and private discussions. M’Crie writes about their relationship that “Wishart was highly pleased with the zeal and talents of Knox, and seems to have presaged his future usefulness.” [10] However, this close friendship came to an abrupt end when Wishart was apprehended for preaching by the forces of Cardinal David Beaton and burned at St. Andrews on March 1, 1546. Knox’s love of his friend and teacher was observed in his willingness to join Wishart even in his execution. However, Wishart refused Knox’s request and ordered him: “Nay, return to your bairns [children], and God bless you. One is sufficient for a sacrifice.” [11] Thus, early in his Christian life, Knox knew by experience the personal cost of following the Lord faithfully; losing his personal mentor was undoubtedly a difficult and soul-wrenching event for this young Protestant. Yet one day, he would have to write comforting words to his brethren in England who were also suffering the fires of martyrdom.
His Suffering As A Galley Slave
When dealing with suffering believers as a pastor, there is no doubt that Knox would often recount his nearly nineteen-month episode of misery as a slave aboard a French galley. Upon the surrender of St. Andrew’s Castle to the surrounding French flotilla on July 31, 1547, Knox was chained and confined to labor on a French ship, the price for being considered a heretic. His time upon this ship was difficult for Knox, to say the least. Lloyd-Jones wrote, “This was a most exhausting experience in which he suffered, not only the rigours of such a life, but intense cruelty also. This undoubtedly left its mark on the whole of his life, because it undermined his health.” [12] Although life upon the ship was exceptionally tedious and boring, Knox tried to make use of this time to refine his biblical thinking. He even wrote “a confession of faith, containing the substance of what he had taught at St. Andrews.” [13] Knox’s time aboard the ship as a slave taught him the lessons of patience in suffering and perseverance in ministry—even in the midst of personal pain. Knox was finally freed from his watery imprisonment in February 1549.
Numerous Personal Illnesses
Like Job and Paul, Knox knew both the pain of a life of constant physical affliction and the experience of sufficient grace from above. Writing about the result of his difficult time of suffering as a slave aboard the galley, Lloyd-Jones concluded that from then on Knox “had a constant struggle against ill health.” [14] M’Crie stated that “in the course of the year 1553, he endured several violent attacks of this acute disorder, [15] accompanied with severe pain in his head and stomach.” [16] In one letter written from Newcastle in early 1553 to his future wife, Marjorie Bowes, he requested prayer for his sickness: “The pain of my head and stomach troubles me greatly; daily, I find my body decays, but the providence of my God shall not be frustrated…. Pray, that at the pleasure of our good God, my distress, both of body and spirit, may be relieved somewhat, for presently, it is very bitter.” [17] Later that same year, Knox confided again to his future wife:
But, dear Sister, I am even in remembrance of faithful Job, yet my great torment [is] that my pain shall have no end in this life. The power of God may, against the purpose of my heart, alter such things as appears not to be altered, as he did unto Job; but distress and pain, with sore anguish, cries to the contrary. [18]Even though Knox greatly suffered lifelong physical affliction, he, like Job, understood that it was all part of God’s plan. Each pain divinely prepared him to be a comforting minister to others.
One more physical affliction later in his life is also worth mentioning. In October 1570, nearly two years before his death in November 24, 1572, and in the midst of his efforts at continual reformation of the Scotland church, Knox had a stroke. This temporarily removed his ability to speak, and his enemies relished the rumor that Knox would never preach again. To their chagrin, however, he largely recovered his speech. Yet Knox was aware that he had permanently lost the clarity and keenness of his mind. Though difficult for him to accept, Knox’s lifelong physical weaknesses made him a sympathetic, comforting pastor of other hurting souls.
The Untimely Death Of His Wife
During his time as the pastor of the congregation in Berwick, England in 1549-50, Knox had developed a lifelong friendship with the Bowes family. The matron of the household, Elizabeth Bowes, became like a mother to Knox; in God’s good providence, she was destined to officially become his mother-in-law upon his marriage to her daughter Marjorie in the summer of 1553. Due to his preaching responsibilities and the persecution of Protestants in England, it was necessary at times for Knox to spend long periods of time apart from Marjorie; yet she was always a good companion and helper to him.
Just a few years into their happy marriage, tragedy struck the Knox family with a heavy hand. At the end of 1559, young Marjorie passed away. This was maybe the most emotionally painful episode in Knox’s life. M’Crie wrote of his sorrow following her death:
He was left with the charge of two young children, in addition to his other cares. His mother-in-law was still with him; but though he took pleasure in her religious company, the dejection of her mind to which she was subject, and which all his efforts could never completely cure, rather increased than lightened his burden. [19]Knox’s personal trials were designed to mold him into one whose heart was likened unto the Chief Shepherd of the souls, the Lord Jesus.
Disappointments In Ministry
The Scottish Reformation was difficult and only through many long battles was the victory to be won. No other man was as touched with the victories and defeats of those Reformation years in Scotland as John Knox, and no other man suffered as many disappointments from all corners. Yet God so ordered these ups and downs to shape and mold Knox into the Lord’s model of a pastor.
False Accusations And Multiple Exiles
Knox was first exiled from his homeland of Scotland when taken prisoner by the French at St. Andrews in 1547 and falsely accused of heresy. This exile from Scotland was then followed by a second exile from his family and preaching ministry in England on January 28, 1554. This providential detour took place following the untimely death of Edward VI, coupled with the ascension of “Bloody” Mary Tudor to the English throne and her subsequent persecution of Protestants. For much of Knox’s life, he was a man on the move, never settling in one location for long. But this experience would serve him well, as he would be called to pastor other religious exiles in Frankfurt and Geneva.
A few specific instances from Knox’s life will help illustrate his many exiles. Knox’s primary place of pastoral ministry in the years 1549-50 was the English town of Berwick. Here, Knox experienced a fruitful harvest of souls, yet some complained to the local Bishop that he was preaching that the Mass was idolatrous. On April 4, 1550, Knox was called to stand before a great assembly convened in Newcastle to give an answer for his actions. Rather than apologizing, Knox took the opportunity to teach God’s Word to his audience, including the Bishop of Durham, about how the true gospel of God’s grace is contrary to the idolatrous sacrifice of the Mass. M’Crie stated that “this defence had the effect of extending Knox’s fame through the north of England, while it completely silenced the bishop and his learned suffragrans.” [20] Another result of this assembly was that Knox was asked to pastor the more influential church in Newcastle during 1551, before becoming one of King Edward VI’s royal chaplains. This allowed him the freedom to travel throughout England, preaching the gospel of grace as an evangelist. Through this, Knox learned how the Lord can turn false accusations into greater opportunities for the gospel.
Another difficult time of exile occurred in April 1557, when the Protestant nobility of Scotland decided to take a stand against their Catholic oppressors and invited Knox to return to Scotland from his Genevan exile in order to lead them in a Scottish Reformation. However, no sooner had he left Geneva and arrived in Dieppe, France, to board a ship for Scotland, when he received letters from some of the same Protestant nobles retracting their invitation. However, Knox could testify of God’s ability to turn around man’s failure for ultimate good. During his continued exile in Geneva he was able to lead in the efforts to translate the Geneva Bible for his own countrymen in 1558. When Knox finally made his journey back to Scotland in the beginning of 1559, he suffered further disappointment when he was not even allowed by the English government to visit his wife and former English congregants on the way back to Scotland. Exile, rejection, disappointment, and victories were all part of God’s training course to make Knox into the kind of pastor who would truly love God’s people.
His Rejection By The Frankfurt Church
It would be remiss to not deal with Knox’s brief and unfortunate pastorate in Frankfurt, Germany, from November 1554 to March 1555, since the topic at hand is his ministerial disappointments. Like many European cities of the day, Frankfurt had its share of English Protestants who had fled the persecutions under Mary Tudor. Yet sadly, many of the English exiles in the Frankfurt church were content with merely keeping the status quo of a partial reformation from Catholicism. Knox and his ministerial partner in Frankfurt, William Whittingham, fresh from the notable example of Reformation in Calvin’s Geneva, wanted a more purified church among the English exiles in Frankfurt. Lloyd-Jones uses Knox’s desire for a more purified form of worship in the Frankfurt church as one of his many proofs that he can rightly be called “The Founder of Puritanism”:
While he was at Frankfurt Knox did something which is typically and characteristically Puritan. He and Whittingham…drew up an Order of Service to replace that of the Common Prayer Book which they disliked…. This resulted in his being driven out from Frankfurt; so he went to Geneva. The first attempt at a Puritan Church amongst English people was that in Frankfurt. [21]After only a few months of ministry in Frankfurt, Knox was unjustly accused by Richard Coxx of making divisive changes in the Frankfurt church. He soon found himself banished from the city. As disappointed as Knox was at this forced departure, he had learned the valuable lesson that some people would not want to be shepherded toward total obedience to God’s Word. Yet, as a loving pastor, Knox could not back down under pressure of compromise from those within professing Christianity. These were lessons which would serve him well as Knox led the lengthy Reformation in Scotland.
Setbacks In The Reformation Of The Scottish Church
To write that Knox had a number of disappointing setbacks in his attempts to bring the Protestant Reformation to bear in his homeland of Scotland would certainly be an understatement. A few of these controversies will suffice in order to understand his pastoral experience.
The collection entitled “Letters Chiefly Related to the Progress of the Reformation in Scotland,” [22] offers a picture of the difficulties Knox faced. In a letter written to Anne Locke on December 31, 1559, Knox explained that reforming Scotland was much harder than he had ever imagined, and that “one day of troubles, since my last arrival in Scotland, hath more pierced my heart than all the torments of the galleys did the space of 19 months.” [23]
Writing to Locke again just over a month later about the Congregation’s battle with the Catholic forces, Knox wrote how “the French…have pursued us with great fury.” [24] He recounted how one Protestant solider named Mr. Whytlaw “was shot at Lundi, right under the left breast, through the jacket, doublet, and sarke,25 and the bullet did stick in one of his ribs.” [26] Knox comforted and pastored the Protestant soldiers as some shed their blood for the cause of the truth of God’s Word.
Further, D. Hay Fleming pointed out that even after French troops had been forcefully expelled from Scotland and the Reformation was underway, Knox still suffered great disappointments due to what he called “the attacks of open opponents and the wiles of false or feeble friends.” [27] How disappointed Knox must have been when the Privy Council failed to ratify his “First Book of Discipline.” What utter frustration Knox must have experienced when the Scottish Parliament invited the return of a Catholic Queen Mary to assume her reign over the government on August 19, 1561. This was soon followed with her insistence on having a private Mass said in the Holyrood Palace, just down the road from Knox’s pastorate at St. Giles. The sense of Knox’s discouragement can be felt in the opening sentence of Knox’s letter to Locke on May 6, 1562: “Our estate here is troublesome.” [28]
Like many pastors, Knox struggled with losing control of stubborn sheep and had to learn to patiently rest in the fact that the battle truly belonged to the Lord. He had to learn to trust the Lord’s perfect wisdom and timing, even if that meant that he was only able to build the foundation of greater things to come. Little did Knox realize that it would not be until 1689, seventeen years after his death, that the Scottish Parliament would finally confirm the Reformation in his country and order that the monarch himself must remain Protestant.
John Knox As A Pastoral Comforter
Having originally thought that comforting words from Knox would be difficult to find, it was a delightful surprise to discover that his written records are abundantly full of warm, pastoral comfort.
Sermon On Isaiah 26:13-21
Unfortunately, so few sermons of John Knox remain extant that it is nearly impossible to arrive at a complete picture of what his weekly preaching ministry actually involved. However, one sermon preserved by Knox himself was his exposition of Isaiah 26:13-21, preached at St. Giles Church on August 19, 1565. [29] In dealing with his text, it is apparent that Knox had a mind to apply its truths “so to comfort us…that utterly we despair not.” [30] Knox entreated his congregation that if they would remember the promise Christ made to protect His church from her enemies, “dear brethren, we have no small consolation.” [31] He spoke sympathetically to the discouraged saints and encouraged them to “[b]e of good courage, o little and despised flock…. He that will not suffer one tear of yours to fall, but that shall be kept and reserved in his bottle.” In one particularly beautiful section, Knox preached comfort based on God’s unchangeable nature: “He will quiet the storms, and…receive those raging floods of violent waters.”
“Two Comfortable Epistles To Afflicted Brethren In England” [32]
On May 10 and 31, 1554, Knox wrote a pair of letters to the persecuted Christians in England, who suffered under the tyranny of Queen Mary Tudor. Once again, the pastoral heart of Knox shines through his written words. He wrote in the first letter that “albeit ye find your heart sometimes assaulted with…desperation, that ye be not troubled above measure, as [though] Christ Jesus should never visit you again.” [33] Later in the same letter, he wrote, “Our Savior Christ Jesus…will visit us again, ere the brightness of his word to our comfort.” [34] Giving persecuted Christians hope seems to have been a large part of Knox’s ministry.
The comforting nature of his second letter is observed immediately in his lengthy title: “A Comfortable Epistle Sent to the Afflicted Church of Christ, Exhorting Them to Bear His Cross with Patience.” [35] Knox shared with the persecuted believers the doctrines that comforted him during times of persecution: Christ is both the all-powerful and divine Judge of those who would harm the church. [36] Knox concluded this letter by the exhortation to “[l]et us in comfort lift up our heads, and constantly look for the Lord’s deliverance.” [37]
“An Exposition Upon Mathew Four, Concerning The Temptation Of Christ In The Wilderness” [38]
Although written for “the comfort of certain private friends,” Knox indicates that his work on Matthew 4 was originally a series of sermons he had preached to “the public church.” [39] Knox encouraged them about Christ’s own temptation that “what comfort ought the remembrance of these things be to our hearts! Christ Jesus hath fought in our battle.” [40] Knox encouraged the believers to follow the example of battling temptations “by the Word of God, and to apply the examples of his mercies…to our own souls in the hour of temptation.” [41] Knox’s writings show that he believed that a pastor was to comfort God’s people during times of trials and afflictions, and particularly in persecution.
Pastoral Comfort To Individual Christians
Although Knox’s public ministry of encouragement has been established, it was his private ministry of comfort in which he seems to have especially excelled. The following are some examples of ministry to individual Christians struggling with various internal problems or external difficulties. They are derived largely from his letters to two women: Elizabeth Bowes and Anne Locke. [42]
Letters To Elizabeth Bowes
In D. Hay Fleming’s study on “The Life and Works of Knox,” he explained “[h]ow tenderly he could deal with those under conviction of sin is apparent from his letters to his mother-in-law.” [43] His patient, pastoral relationship with Mrs. Bowes is maybe the best example. Because of her struggles with spiritual doubts of her own salvation, Knox directed Bowes to comforting passages of God’s Word. This was the purpose behind his commentary on Psalm 6, which Knox wrote “to his beloved mother” to give comfort to her through the cross of Christ. [44] Knox told her that although she felt at times like God had left her, he knew by her life that she was a true child of God. [45] Knox encouraged her that the troubles of her soul were designed by her Great Physician as spiritual medicine to “[r]emove sickness and restore health [as] the very evident signs that Jesus Christ liveth in us.” [46] Knox’s counsel about security in Christ alone was so comforting because, as Christine Newman observed, “Elizabeth’s personal expressions of guilt and unworthiness may have drawn upon and been influenced by the wider attitudes and aspirations of age.” [47] W. Stanford Reid also explained that “Mrs. Bowes’ basic problem seems to have been…lack of assurance…[being] worried she had made a wrong decision in accepting…justification by faith alone.” [48] So Knox’s comforting counsel to his mother-in-law was most likely something he did on a regular basis. He dealt with a widespread problem of consciences that were often still inclined to trust in the Mass as a means of forgiveness.
Far from being emotionally removed from her spiritual struggles, Knox wrote Bowes on July 12, 1572, that when he thought of her personal struggles, “I am compelled to sob and groan to Him who only may give strength, comfort, and consolation.” [49] Yet while Knox comforted her with the gospel, he also challenged her not to quiet her troubled heart by returning to the idolatry of the Mass. [50] Knox illustrated the kind of pastoral comfort that at times must rebuke and correct those who are depressed so they do not look for hope in wrong places. On June 23, 1553, Knox explained to Bowes his intentions to “exhort you to patience, and to fast adhering to God’s promises.” [51] Since he dealt with “the comfort of her troubled conscience,” Knox could only be a true help by pointing her to Christ and the Word of His grace. [52]
Letters To Anne Locke
Little emphasis has been placed on the role of women’s contributions to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, and Anne Locke is a valuable example of an earnest Christian woman of this age. Like other Reformers, Locke found herself in discouraging situations at times as a result of obeying the Lord. Knox knew that she needed help to continue as an effective servant of the Lord. In 1556, during an apparent time of discouragement, Knox reminded Locke of all the comfort God had given her previously when she fled her homeland and went to help the Reformation in Geneva. [53] In answering her letter that explained some of her difficulties, Knox wrote on September 2, 1559: “Be of comfort, Sister, knowing that ye fight not the battle alone.” [54] On October 15, 1559, Knox again encouraged Locke not to give up her good labor for the Lord: “Fight to the end, and ye shall triumph by Him…whose Holy Spirit comforts you ever.” [55]
On December 31, 1559, Knox shared with Locke that not only was he glad that he could comfort her, but that he needed her encouragement as well. Knox understood that a good pastor knows that he is not spiritually superior to those to whom he ministers. Knox told Locke that he realized that he was also much in need of God’s grace, and that often she as the counselee was a means of comfort to him. He wrote to her:
Dear Sister, I have no less need of comfort…. I have read the cares and temptations of Moses, and some times I supposed my self to be well practiced in such dangerous battles. But alas! I now perceive that all my practice before was but mere speculation; for one day of troubles, since my last arrival in Scotland, hath more pierced my heart than all the torments of the galleys did the space of nineteen months. [56]General Letters Of Comfort To Various Individuals
To avoid the impression that his comfort to Bowes and Locke were unique in his ministry, a few other examples show that Knox aimed to encourage others. Since much has been said about Knox’s pastoral ministry to women, it would certainly be appropriate to mention the way he ministered to his wife, Marjorie. Of course, since his mother-in-law struggled so greatly with personal assurance, one would expect that his wife might share some of the same spiritual infirmity. Thus, in a letter to Marjorie in 1553, Knox found her in a state of “corporal unquietness” because “the devil provoked you to idolatry.” [57] He continued by comforting her with the truth that the Lord Jesus “breaks not down the bruised reed, nor quenches forth the smoking flax, which words to us are most comfortable.” [58] In another letter dated that same year, Knox told Marjorie in the midst of her doubts, “Stick you only to the truth of God’s Word; only, I say, believe and ye shall [be] safe. And albeit ye find not such perfection as you desire, yet cry with the man that was [in] great troubles, ‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.’” [59] Knox helped Marjorie to see that weak faith, whereas it is not ideal faith, is indeed still true faith in God’s eyes.
Knox served as a spiritual comforter to men as well. To his co-pastor Christopher Goodman, he testified in a letter on October 27, 1566, that his goal in ministry had always been for “the comfort of many in the time most dangerous.” [60] On another occasion, Knox comforted a struggling English gentleman living in Basel by the name of Thomas Upcher. In a letter dated August 1, 1557, Knox wrote, “If I can not ease any part of your grief, (that is only the office of Christ Jesus through his Spirit), yet I praise my God I can lament and mourn my brother’s torments.” [61]
In conclusion, John Knox excelled in comforting the saints, particularly in a time when myriads of individuals were breaking free from a conscience bound by the dead works of the Mass and learning to trust in Christ alone. Though Knox was frustrated at times with certain individuals’ inability to obtain assurance of faith, yet, rather than discouraging them because of their spiritual weakness, he continually led them gently to the Lord Jesus and to a better understanding of His saving gospel. Knox serves as a wonderful example of a patient, gracious minister of Christ’s comfort to the weak in faith.
John Knox As A Pastoral Counselor
This section aims to more carefully analyze the type of counsel that Knox gave to those whom he spiritually led in the Lord. Knox’s compassion as a pastor shone brightly as he sought to listen to people’s problems and to skillfully apply God’s Word to their lives. Daniel Frankforter showed how Knox would use multiple “strategies” in order to comfort Elizabeth Bowes in the matter of personal assurance of salvation. Knox had to be patient with her because “Mrs. Bowes’s ability to pose questions easily matched Knox’s resourcefulness in answering them.” [62] When counseling Anne Locke about her spiritual troubles, he patiently urged her to “fear not to be plain with me…so will I endeavor my self to communicate with you…his most sacred Word.” [63] In a letter written by Knox to Locke on April 6, 1559, it is apparent that he was merely replying to her many spiritual inquiries: “In answering your questions…. You ask of me…. These be your questions, and I do answer you.” [64]
Pastoral Counsel And God’s Word
Knox was committed to using only the Bible as his source of counseling material. He helped God’s people understand perplexing, troublesome matters in their lives by mining principles from God’s Word. When writing to Anne Locke on April 6, 1559, Knox explained that “[t]he Word of the living God…shall be sure and stable for ever.” [65] Knox knew the only lasting spiritual deliverance that people would experience came when they committed themselves to the written truth of Scriptures. He encouraged Locke to steer clear of idolatry when he wrote, “The Word of God, which pronounceth perpetual death to idolaters, is irrevocable, and can not be false, [while] the word…of man is vain and uncertain.” [66]
Knox also publicly revealed his commitment to the Word of God in his July 1556 work entitled, “A Letter of Wholesome Counsel, Addressed to His Brethren in Scotland.” In this letter, written from exile in Geneva, Knox offered practical, pastoral counsel concerning their gathering as a church for worship. Knox clearly based his pastoral counsel on the sufficiency of God’s Word for all personal problems. This letter emphasizes that Knox was firmly committed to the necessity of God’s Word functioning in a person’s daily life.
I have thought good to communicate to you…my weak counsel…touching the exercise of God’s most sacred and holy Word, without which, neither shall knowledge increase [or] godliness appear…. For as the Word of God is the beginning of spiritual life,…and the lantern to our feet,…without which no man understandeth the good will of God, so it is also the only organ and instrument which God useth to strengthen the weak, to comfort the afflicted,…and…to preserve and keep the very life of the soul in all assaults and temptations. [67]The above statement underscores the absolute sufficiency of God’s Word as the only means of genuinely handling the problems of life. It is not surprising then that in this letter to the churches in Scotland, Knox urged them to spend much time publicly reading and studying all of God’s Word, encouraging them to maintain a balance in the various sections of both the Old and New Testaments. [68]
Pastoral Counsel Concerning Trials And Afflictions
One of the themes often present in Knox’s counseling was the matter of coping with trials and afflictions. In a sermon preached on August 19, 1565, [69] Knox addressed God’s good purposes in sending His people trials. Knox preached that trials are “a thing so necessary to God’s children, that unless they be weaned from the pleasures of the world, they can never feed upon that delectable milk of God’s eternal truth.” [70] He comforted God’s people with the truth that trials had a good and kind purpose intended for them by the Lord—and yet, at the same time, they only further harden the hearts of the ungodly. “The reprobate are visited, but never truly humbled, nor yet amended; the chosen being visited, they sob and they cry unto God for mercy; which obtained, they magnify God’s name, and after, declare the fruits of repentance.” [71] Of course, Knox said much more about the purpose of trials in the life of the believer, but, generally speaking, he saw the overall function of trials to “humble” God’s people and bring them into greater dependence upon the Lord. [72] Knox counseled that “the afflictions of this life are not worthy of that glory that shall be shown forth in us, whom God our Father that appointed to be like to the image of his only Son, Jesus Christ.” [73] Knox’s counseling on afflictions and trials in the believer’s life always pointed them back to the wisdom, purpose, and glory of Christ.
Pastoral Counsel Concerning Assurance Of Salvation
The matter of personal assurance of salvation was a particularly troublesome trial for God’s people during the early days of the English Reformation. Many who had turned away from the Mass as the means of forgiveness struggled with resting spiritually in the work of Christ alone. No other person in Knox’s life struggled more with the matter of personal assurance than did his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Bowes, as was discussed earlier. Knox began his counsel of Bowes’s struggle by helping her understand that her personal problems were under the control of God’s loving hand. He explained, “First…the Prophet doth acknowledge all trouble that he sustained…to be sent of God, and not to happen unto him by chance…. The sons of God know both prosperity and adversity to be the gifts of God.” [74]
Having established that God was in control, Knox then provided some biblical reasons for Bowes concerning why God allowed her to continue to struggle internally with doubts. First, Knox counseled Bowes that this would purify her life and give her “a hatred of sin.” [75] Second, Knox explained that her struggle was part of God’s plan to wean her heart from loving this temporary world. He wrote, “God permitteth his Elect to taste of this bitter cup…to raise up our hearts from these transitory vanities.” [76] Third, Knox also tried to explain why the Lord may have chosen to deliver her from her troubles of soul gradually rather than all at once. Gradual rather than immediate deliverance from bondage is also how God allowed Israel to conquer the land of Canaan so they could learn about each divine benefit. [77] Because God had a kind and wise plan for her, even in the midst of the worst struggles and doubts in her life, Knox encouraged Bowes to respond in faith to the Lord’s ways. “How piercing are the eyes of faith, that in so deep a dungeon of desperation, can ye observe…plentiful goodness to remain in our God…. To run to God’s only goodness; there to seek comfort by Christ Jesus, and no where else.” [78]
Thus, Knox dealt with believers’ struggles with assurance of their faith by continually pointing them to God and His grace in Christ while encouraging them to keep seeking the Lord.
Pastoral Counsel Concerning The Schemes Of Satan And Temptation
Another primary theme in the counseling ministry of Knox was to help believers realize the various schemes and strategies that Satan uses to tempt and discourage God’s people. To address this problem, Knox again brought the believer to see that God was easily able to cause the evil intentions of the accuser of the brethren to ultimately work for the believer’s greater spiritual good. For example, in his exposition of Psalm 6, Knox told Elizabeth Bowes that Satan would try to convince her that no true believer could struggle as she did with assurance of salvation. Yet Knox assured her that not only did many genuine believers experience the same trouble, but that God had many good spiritual purposes to accomplish through these attacks of the devil. [79]
In his Exposition upon Matthew Four, Concerning the Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness, Knox explained why these temptations are necessary to go through: it both tries and purifies one’s faith. He counseled: “Temptation…in the Scriptures of God, is called to try, to prove…the will…. This temptation is always good, because it proceedeth immediately from God, to open and make manifest the secret motions of men’s hearts.” [80] So, although Satan sought to destroy God’s child during temptations, God was ultimately in control, directing it for their good. Yet, the only way that God’s child could have the right perspective in temptation and ultimately have victory in it was to do what Christ did while being tempted by Satan—turn to God’s Word. Knox thus wisely counseled:
In this answer of Christ we may observe, what weapons are to be used against our adversary the Devil…. Christ…repulses Satan…to teach us how to use the sword of the Holy Ghost, which is the Word of God, in battle against our spiritual enemy…. Thus are we taught, I say, by Christ Jesus, to repulse Satan and his assaults by the Word of God, and to apply the examples of his mercies. [81]Knox often reminded those he counseled that they had a crafty foe in Satan, so they needed to keep their mind and hearts stayed on the promises of Christ. Providing counsel to his wife Marjorie, Knox referred to the Christian life as “your continual battle,” and one in which “the art of your adversary, dear Sister, is subtle.” [82] Because one of Satan’s main goals was to keep God’s people from a confident faith in the Lord, Knox exhorted, “Our adversary, knowing that the rest and tranquility of our conscience standeth in this, that we do embrace Jesus to be the only Savior,…he [Satan] labors to make that name odious, and he does this as an enemy…unto Jesus Christ.” [83] To combat these anti-Christian schemes of Satan, Knox counseled Marjorie “to embrace Christ, to refuse idolatry, to confess truth, to love the members of Christ’s body.” [84] In another letter, Knox counseled Marjorie that even though Satan was both strong and crafty, her salvation was sure because God’s Word said that His favor in Christ never changes. [85]
Knox’s counseling method entailed compassionate application of clear reasoning from God’s Word so that counselees were able to ascertain that God’s purposes in their afflictions were for their ultimate spiritual good. They needed to trust in God and apply His mercies to their own particular experience.
John Knox As A Pastoral Exhorter To Godliness
Having dealt with Knox’s ministry of comfort, one may wrongly conclude that his compassion kept him from confronting error or sinful behavior. But Knox knew that sin in the life of God’s people often kept them from personal peace, from God’s blessing, and from a strong sense of assurance. Thus, Knox’s pastoral ministry also involved strong exhortations to godly living. This section seeks to provide some examples of how he exhorted God’s people toward holy living by “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).
Knox And Separation From The Idolatry Of The Mass
The majority of Knox’s pastoral exhortations to godliness had to do with maintaining confidence in Christ alone by refusing to return to the idolatrous practices of the Mass. Knox cautioned individuals as well as congregations (and even entire nations) about the judgment of God awaiting those who returned to a life of religious idolatry and sin. What Knox preached was essentially a complete and total separation from the religious apostasy described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1. While providing comfort to Elizabeth Bowes, Knox told her that she would not find comfort of conscience by returning to the Mass. He wrote to her on July 20, 1554, “Continue stoutly to the end, and bow you never before that idol.” [86] Later, in the same letter, he exhorted her to “[o]nly abstain from external iniquity, that ye make not your members servants to sin.” [87] Knox knew that a godly life, separate from idolatry and personal sin, would be a life at peace. He understood that a good pastor did not overlook sin in the lives of the sheep, but rather rebuked sin to mend their spiritual bones. Even when his counsel to reject the Mass was hard for them to hear, Knox wrote to Locke and Hickman, “Despise not my counsel, dear Sisters, howbeit at this present it appears hard to be followed.” [88]
Knox’s method of exhorting God’s people to godliness is also observed in his 1554 treatise entitled, A Godly Letter of Warning or Admonition to the Faithful in London, Newcastle, and Berwick. Taking Matthew 10:22 as his primary text, Knox challenged those in England not to return to the idolatry of the Mass from which the Lord had so graciously delivered them. Knox explained that the goal of his “admonition is…as you purpose and intend to avoid God’s vengeance,…so ye avoid and flee…all fellowship and society with idolaters in their idolatry.” [89] Like God’s judgment on Judah before their fall to the Assyrians, so God was beginning to justly punish England for her rejection of the truth. [90] Then, so that his readers would completely understand the consequences of their actions, Knox took the time to have them consider in detail what happens when a person or nation returns to idolatry. [91]
Similar to his “Godly Letter” was Knox’s 1554 treatise entitled, A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God’s Truth in England. Based on Isaiah 9:12, Knox had two goals for this work. First, Knox wanted to remind Christians that the Devil always seeks to overthrow true churches. [92] And second, he sought to show that the Devil’s tyrannies, expressed recently in the promotion of the Mass, will never thwart God’s own purposes. [93] Thus, Knox exhorted England to godliness, which meant that they must reject all religious idolatry and continue in obedience to God’s Word. He warned, “Transubstantiation [is] the bride that the Devil hatched by Pope Nicolas, and since that time fostered and nourished by all his…sworn soldiers…[of] his black brood in England.” [94]
Knox’s letters of exhortation to godliness reveal that he understood that God’s blessing could never rest upon disobedience. His example teaches us that an important aspect of pastoral ministry is to confront and lay bare sin in an individual, church, or even a nation at times. Knox wrote to the people of England in his 1559 treatise entitled, An Epistle to the Inhabitants of Newcastle and Berwick:
I have no pleasure (God is witness) to threaten you, much less to pronounce plagues and God’s severe judgments against you, but seeing and considering your horrible defection from God, and from his truly known and professed, I dare not cease to exhort you to repentance.Knox And His Exhortation To Holy Living
In letters to his former English congregations, Knox revealed his desire to present them to the Lord as a pure and chaste bride. In his Epistle to the Congregation of Berwick, Knox’s burden was to show them “by Christ’s passion especially…how odious and detestable sin is in the sight of our heavenly Father.” [95] For Knox, the focus of godly living was not only on keeping from sin, but also living in forgiving love toward others in the church. Consider his closing pastoral counsel to the church of Berwick:
Let Christian charity and brotherly love be restored and increased amongst you, one forgiving another, and the stronger bearing with the infirmity of the weaker, even as ye will that God pardon and bear with your manifold offenses. And of this be persuaded, that without brotherly love and remission of offenses one against another committed, society nor fellowship can ye not have with God. [96]Further, Knox’s call for God’s people to live holy lives was something that he practiced in his individual letters to those he pastored. For example, as he finished writing Elizabeth Bowes about Psalm 6 on February 28, 1553, Knox challenged her: “I exhort and admonish you constantly to continue with the truth, with which you shall triumph and obtain victory, despite Satan and his malice.” [97] Writing about Knox’s relationship with the various women in his life—from queens to female friends and family—Susan Welch correctly concluded that all of his written works to women [98] must be understood to “flow from his view of godly behavior as defined by Scripture.” [99] Holiness and purity according to the standard of God’s Word is why Knox called ungodly queens to be removed, as well as encouraging some wives to even separate from husband and home in order to prevent ungodliness and idolatry. Felch concluded of his ministry, “No one is exempt from the call to holiness—men or women, rulers or people, old or young.” [100] Knox consistently encouraged God’s people to live holy lives, which proves how God’s Word was the driving force behind his pastoral ministry.
Concluding Lessons From Knox’s Pastoral Ministry
Pastors Must Maintain A Personal Ministry
Knox is an excellent example for the modern pastor on how to have a healthy ministry with people. His example serves as a warning to a pastor who takes a hands-off approach toward pastoring. Knox knew nothing of professional distance from people in his congregation. In a day when many pastors look more like the CEO of a business than a shepherd of God’s flock, Knox’s ministry stands as a model of one who loved personal contact with Christ’s sheep. His pastoral heart was correctly expressed when Jane Dawson wrote, “Knox would stay with the flock if there were only ten people left.” [101]
Another important lesson from Knox’s pastoral ministry was his pastoral care shown to women. Here, his ministry brings validity to (and even an elevation to) a pastoral ministry to women. This is important to understand, because often the modern pastor becomes so focused on mentoring men that he neglects the spiritual needs of women. History teaches us to maintain a biblical balance, and the pastoral ministry of Knox shows us how to maintain godly, pure, and proper pastoral relationships with women in our congregations.
Preachers Must Also Be Pastors
John Knox clearly understood what many modern pastors do not—that there is a great difference between being a preacher and being a pastor. Knox was both. Being a good pastor no doubt helped him become a better preacher.
His words of comfort and biblical counsel constantly jump off the pages of his writings. His legacy of pastoral ministry lives until this day as a compassionate shepherd of Christ’s flock—one who was always intent on personally and patiently helping those in spiritual distress and life’s trials. In his sermon on Isaiah 26:13-21, Knox counseled, “The chambers are then God’s sure promises, unto the which, God’s people is commanded to resort, yea, within the which, they are commanded to close themselves in the time of greatest adversity.” [102]
Pastors Must Both Earnestly Contend And Gently Care
Knox was truly balanced in his ministry of denouncing sin and compromise while maintaining a heart of love for his people. In reality, it was Knox’s love and concern for the spiritual welfare of souls that led him to so earnestly battle against the devilish inroads of Roman Catholic idolatry and other false doctrines.
In a day when pastors who take a strong stand for the truth are accused of being mean-spirited, Knox shows that a biblical pastor must both defend the truth against error and gently restore those who have fallen prey to doctrinal error. Like our Lord Jesus, Knox had the strongest words possible reserved for papists, legalists, and sacramentalists—those who shut off the kingdom of God from sinners. Yet, at the same time, he used such comforting words to those who struggled with finding peace in Christ, those who were weak in their faith, or those who penitently mourned over the greatness of their sinfulness.
Yet, with all of Knox’s pastoral care for Christ’s sheep, he had no qualms about calling for separation from false teachers, sinful practices, and false worship. In a letter to Locke on October 15, 1559, he challenged her that “I did write my full judgment concerning the participation with a bastard religion, the sum whereof was this:…That we ought not to justify with our presence such a mingle mangle [103] as is now commanded in your kirks.” [104] Knox called on Protestants to formally separate themselves from churches which preached a gospel of sacramental works, contrary to grace alone in Christ. This example of what it means to “come out from among them and be separate” is much needed in our day of false, ecumenical unity in the name of Christian love.
The Pastor’s Primary Tool In Personal Counsel And Public Ministry Is God’s Word
Knox was thoroughly committed in doctrine and practice to the absolute sufficiency of God’s Word to deal with all spiritual problems. His letters and treatises were comprised of simple and well-reasoned arguments from the Word of God. The Word was his weapon both to tear down sin and build up faith.
Knox made many enemies in his lifetime, and opinions are still divided over whether or not his ministry was too confrontational. But what really divides people’s opinions over Knox’s ministry is what has always divided people over certain bold preachers: their attitude toward God’s truth. What Iain Murray wrote of Jonathan Edwards’s ministry could equally be applied to Knox:
Here is the fundamental reason why opinions on Edwards are so divided, and why his biographers should also differ so widely. The division runs right back to the Bible, and, depending on where we stand in relation to Christ, we shall join ourselves to one side or the other in interpreting this man who was, first of all, a Christian. [105]Because of his confidence in God’s Word, all Knox wrote and declared was full of biblical references. His core pastoral philosophy, whether in comforting, counseling, or exhorting people to godliness, lay in his full commitment to the truthfulness and authority of God’s Word. One of Lloyd-Jones’s primary arguments that John Knox is the founder of Puritanism was that “he brings out so clearly the guiding principles of Puritanism…the supreme authority of the Scriptures as the Word of God.” [106] In our day of watered-down doctrine and weak preaching, may the Lord bless our land by giving us preachers of conviction and pastors of compassion to shepherd the flock of God. We need pastors who share the biblical spirit of John Knox.
Notes
- I have updated the old Scottish language into its modern equivalent according to the Dictionary of the Scots Language [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/index.html].
- John Knox, The Works of John Knox, 6 vols., ed. David Laing (Edinburgh: Wodrow Society, 1846-1864), 1:326.
- John Knox, John Knox’s History of the Reformation in Scotland, 2 vols., ed. William Croft Dickinson (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1949), 2:114.
- D. Hay Fleming, “The Influence of Knox,” Scottish Historical Review 2 (1905): 132.
- Knox, History, 1:82-83.
- W. Stanford Reid, “John Knox, Pastor of Souls,” Westminster Theological Journal 40 (1977): 1.
- Such as his friends John Calvin and Theodore Beza.
- Knox, Works, 6:229.
- John Knox, “Epistle to the Congregation of Berwick” (1552) in Peter Lorimer, John Knox and The Church of England: His Work in Her Pulpit and His Influence upon Her Liturgy, Articles, and Parties (London: Henry S. King and Company, 1875), 260.
- Thomas M’Crie, The Life of John Knox (Glasgow: Free Presbyterian Publications, 1991), 29.
- Knox, History, 1:69.
- D.M. Lloyd-Jones, “John Knox—The Founder of Puritanism,” The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987), 261.
- M’Crie, John Knox, 39.
- Lloyd-Jones, Puritans, 261.
- He suffered with “gravel,” which seems to be kidney stones.
- M’Crie, John Knox, 49.
- Knox, Works, 3:351.
- Knox, Works, 3:353.
- M’Crie, John Knox, 128.
- M’Crie, John Knox, 45.
- Lloyd-Jones, Puritans, 274.
- Cf. Knox, Works, 6:1-148. These were written in the years 1559-1662.
- Knox, Works, 6:104.
- Knox, Works, 6:107. This is dated February 4, 1560.
- This was the garment worn nearest to the skin.
- Knox, Works, 6:108.
- D. Hay Fleming, “The Influence of Knox,” Scottish Historical Review 2 (1905): 43-44.
- Knox, Works, 6:140.
- Cf. Knox, Works, 6:221ff. Knox recorded this sermon to vindicate false charges against him due to his offending Lord Darnley.
- Knox, Works, 6:245.
- Knox, Works, 6:250-51.
- Cf. Knox, Works, 3:227ff.
- Knox, Works, 3:232.
- Knox, Works, 3:235.
- Knox, Works, 3:239.
- Knox, Works, 3:244.
- Knox, Works, 3:248.
- Knox, Works, 4:85ff.
- Knox, Works, 4:89.
- Knox, Works, 4:104.
- Knox, Works, 4:113.
- Because of his 1558 treatise against female monarchs (The First Blast Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women) some conclude that he must have had a lack of respect for women. Lloyd-Jones writes that “Knox is generally regarded as being an arrogant man, and one who was rude in the presence of Mary, Queen of Scots. But that is all based on the fallacy of what makes a man a ‘ladies man.’” In reality, Knox’s correspondence with these women shows a man who truly respected women, as well as providing a model for how to minister to women in the church.
- D. Hay Fleming, “The Life and Work of Knox,” in John Knox: Appreciations by United Original Seceders (Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson, and Ferrier, 1905), 45.
- Knox, Works, 3:119.
- Knox, Works, 3:137.
- Knox, Works, 3:132.
- Christine M. Newman, “The Reformation and Elizabeth Bowes: A Study of a Sixteenth-Century Northern Gentlewoman,” in Women in the Church, Studies in Church History (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990), 27:329.
- Reid, “Pastor of Souls,” 4.
- Knox, Works, 6:515.
- Knox, Works, 6:516-17.
- Knox, Works, 3:339.
- Knox, Works, 6:514.
- Knox, Works, 4:220-21.
- Knox, Works, 6:79.
- Knox, Works, 6:85.
- Knox, Works, 6:104.
- Knox, Works, 3:361.
- Knox, Works, 3:361.
- Knox, Works, 3:367.
- Quoted in Jane Dawson and Lionel K. J. Glassey, “Some Unpublished Letters from John Knox to Christopher Goodman,” Scottish Historical Review 84, no. 2 (2005): 183.
- Knox, Works, 4:242.
- Frankforter, “Elizabeth Bowes and John Knox,” 343.
- Knox, Works, 4:237.
- Knox, Works, 6:11, 13.
- Knox, Works, 4:224.
- Knox, Works, 4:224.
- Knox, Works, 4:133.
- Knox, Works, 4:138-39.
- This sermon was preached at St. Giles Church in Edinburgh and greatly offended Lord Darnley, who was in attendance.
- Knox, Works, 6:253.
- Knox, Works, 6:256.
- Knox, Works, 6:272.
- Knox, Works, 3:359. This was Knox’s counsel about personal trials given in 1553 from Newcastle, England, to Elizabeth and Majorie Bowes.
- Knox, Works, 3:122.
- Knox, Works, 3:125.
- Knox, Works, 3:128.
- Knox, Works, 3:129.
- Knox, Works, 3:147.
- Knox, Works, 3:124-25.
- Knox, Works, 4:96.
- Knox, Works, 4:112-13.
- Knox, Works, 3:348.
- Knox, Works, 3:348.
- Knox, Works, 3:348-49.
- Knox, Works, 3:363.
- Knox, Works, 3:345.
- Knox, Works, 3:347.
- Knox, Works, 4:219.
- Knox, Works, 3:166.
- Cf. Knox, Works, 3:170-71, 175, 188.
- Knox, Works, 3:191.
- Knox, Works, 3:280.
- Knox, Works, 3:284.
- Knox, Works, 3:278-79.
- Knox, “Berwick,” 253.
- Knox, “Berwick,” 264.
- Knox, Works, 3:155.
- Including his controversial A First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558).
- Susan M. Felch, “The Rhetoric of Biblical Authority: John Knox and the Question of Women,” Sixteenth Century Journal 26, no. 4 (1995): 821.
- Felch, “Knox and the Question of Women,” 822.
- Dawson, “Unpublished Letters from John Knox,” 195.
- Knox, Works, 6:264.
- “Mingle Mangle” means a confused mixture or a hodge-podge.
- Knox, Works, 6:83.
- Iain H. Murray, Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987), xxvi–xxvii.
- Lloyd-Jones, Puritans, 268.
