Taking Heaven by Storm
Commentary
Of all the Puritan authors, Thomas Watson is one of my favorites. By nature of his role as a pastor and not purely an academic, his works are very readable and drive home implications that were as applicable to his congregation as they are to us today.
This is especially true for his work, Heaven Taken by Storm or The Christian Soldier. First published in 1669, Watson draws out a lengthy exposition from Matthew 11:12 to discuss what he calls “holy violence”. Utilizing the metaphor of a soldier, he paints a vivid picture of a Christian’s painstaking struggle in this life to not only fight off sin and temptation, but to ardently pursue holiness and righteousness. He identifies “holy violence” as a resolution of the will, a vigor of affection, and a strength of endeavor regarding a Christian’s daily push for holiness in a fallen world.
Building off this, the entire volume has a consistent theme of striving, diligence, sobriety, vigilance, and intentionality. As a soldier in the battlefield, Watson argues for a four-pronged attack that should leave no survivors of worldliness in our lives; namely, a holy striving against self, Satan, and the world, and a sanctified push towards heaven itself in all our ways.
In detail, Watson describes the mortification of sin, provoking oneself to duty, an awareness of Satan’s deception (snares) and open attacks (darts), rejection of the world’s attraction of money and acclaim, the dangers of formality in religion without substance, and a deadly tendency to “spiritual sloth”. Instead, he exhorts the believer to strive with all diligence in reading and hearing God’s word, prayer, meditation, self-examination, sanctifying of the Lord’s Day, and discourse with other believers. Watson’s writings on biblical meditation are some of the most piercing arguments to fill the mind with truth in a day of constant noise and distraction (pages 26-35 of the Banner of Truth edition).
Woven throughout these arguments, Watson takes time to seemingly take questions from the reader and answer them – anticipating the common complaints of the human heart. A key theme in these exhortations is the reinforcement of the intentional effort required for a life of holiness and a call to avoid the allure of busyness to distract from a concerted effort to strive forward in the Christian life. Even in the 1600’s, people would’ve argued they were too busy! Watson presses hard that we do have time, if we believe it to be essential for our survival.
Overall, this is a fantastic volume that should populate the shelf of every man in the church. Our hearts are prone to be lax. We are easily swayed to believe that sin isn’t as bad as it is. A life filled with work, children, and even ministry responsibilities can quickly take our focus. Watson reminds us, though, that we are called, expected, and should desire to take heaven by force. We should be the ones to press on to glory in all areas, not reluctant saints stuck in a stagnant sanctification. In this life, we have a dual purpose as Christian soldiers to cut down the lies and assaults of the enemy while pressing forward with our captain, Jesus Christ, at the forefront. A campaign for personal holiness should not lack victory due to lack of effort on our part. As Watson says, “It is not enough to be laborers, but warriors. Indeed, in heaven, our armor shall be hung up in token of victory; but now it is dies praelii, a day of battle; and we must ‘fight the good fight of faith.’”
Structure of the Book
The book is divided into 12 sections:
Introduction: Heaven is to be Taken by Force or Violence
I: He Must Offer Violence to Himself
II: He Must Offer Violence to Satan
III: We Must Offer Violence to the World
IV: We Must Offer Violence to Heaven
Reproofs Arising from the Text
Questions for Self-Examination
Objections to this Duty
Further Exhortations
A Necessary Cautionary Note
Rules and Directions for Getting this Violence for Heaven
Concluding Applications
Five Key Quotes
“If Christ thought the soul worth shedding His blood, well may we think it worth spending our sweat.”
“In the best of saints there is something that needs mortifying; much pride, envy, passion; therefore, mortification is called crucifixion (Gal. 5:24), which is not done suddenly: every day some limb of the ‘body of death’ must drop off.”
“The devil cares not how much we hear, nor how little we meditate. Hearing begets knowledge, but meditation begets devotion. Meditation doth ballast the heart and make it serious; and Satan labors to keep the heart from being serious.”
“Faith holds the promise in one hand, and Christ in the other: the promise encourageth faith, and Christ strengthens it: so, faith beats the enemy out of the field.”
“The promises are made to encourage faith, not to cherish sloth … our salvation cost Christ’s blood; it will cost us sweat. The boat may as well get to shore without rowing, as we can to heaven without offering violence.”
Recommended Complementary Reading
The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall
Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks
The Great Gain of Godliness by Thomas Watson
Where to Buy the Book
If you purchase the book through the following link, RTP gets a small percentage back which we will use to fund our operations. It’s costs nothing extra to you and you’ll be helping us connect the Puritans with Christ’s church worldwide.
