The Whole Counsel

In this episode of The Whole Counsel Podcast, Dr. John Snyder continues his series on the great Christian letter writers by turning to an essay by Thomas Charles, the influential Welsh Calvinistic Methodist leader of the late eighteenth century. In The Operations of the Holy Spirit, Charles explores the Holy Spirit's work in the salvation and spiritual life of believers. Drawing on the Puritan emphasis on the person and work of the Spirit, he first explains how the three persons of the Trinity work together in redemption: the Father elects, the Son redeems, and the Spirit sanctifies. John highlights a particularly beautiful aspect of Charles's teaching: just as the Father and Son willingly condescended in love to save sinners, so the Holy Spirit freely comes to dwell in unworthy, sinful hearts. The Spirit does not merely begin the work of salvation but remains with believers, strengthening, guiding, comforting, and preparing them for every circumstance. The episode considers why the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to the Christian life. Charles describes the Spirit as the very life and soul of true religion, the source of spiritual understanding, the implanter and nourisher of grace, and the one who makes the truth of Scripture living and transforming in the heart. Without His work, a person may possess the outward appearance of godliness while lacking its power. It is the Spirit who continually exposes sin, reveals the fullness and sufficiency of Christ, and produces spiritual growth and holiness. Finally, Charles urges believers to earnestly seek and plead for the Spirit's presence, reminding them that even if every earthly comfort were taken away, the Spirit could still fill their hearts with peace and joy. The episode closes by challenging listeners to consider how much the Holy Spirit does for them and whether their lives and churches are grieving Him or welcoming His gracious work.   SHOW NOTES 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels | Banner of Truth

In this episode of The Whole Counsel Podcast, John Snyder returns to the writings of Welsh pastor Thomas Charles, examining his 1784 essay “Natural and Renewed Conscience” taken from Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels. Charles explores the difference between the conscience of an unconverted person and the conscience of a believer whose heart has been renewed by the Holy Spirit. Both may recognize sin and condemn it, but the believer truly hates it and, by the Spirit, has the power to overcome it. The natural conscience can warn us of wrongdoing while our hearts delight in the very sins we condemn. As Charles explains, “Conscience acts as a judge of sin, but grace acts as an irreconcilable adversary. Conscience condemns sin, but grace slays it.” Charles emphasizes that grace continually looks to Christ for strength, feeds on the gospel, and finds in it what it needs to persevere. The Christian life begins by grace through faith and continues by that same grace. The believer’s hope is not merely that sin will be exposed or condemned, but that, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the sustaining truth of the gospel, sin will progressively be put to death, and the soul brought into greater conformity to Christ.   SHOW NOTES: 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels | Banner of Truth

In this episode of The Whole Counsel Podcast, John Snyder explores Thomas Charles’s 1784 essay “Realizing Faith,” which examines the nature of biblical faith and its power to transform the Christian’s view of life. Drawing from Hebrews 11:1, Charles describes faith as more than simply believing that certain things are true. Faith lays hold of the unseen spiritual realities revealed in Scripture, making the promises of God and the eternal blessings found in Christ real and precious to the soul. This apprehension of spiritual realities changes the way Christians view the world. When the glory of Christ and the eternal riches of the gospel fill our vision, the temporary pleasures, honors, and treasures of this life lose their power to captivate us. Even suffering, shame, reproach, and the loss of earthly comforts can be viewed differently when compared with the eternal glory that awaits those who belong to Christ. Charles emphasizes that our victory over the world depends on keeping these unseen realities continually before us, especially through the Word of God and a growing understanding of our union with Christ. Ultimately, the strength of our faith rests on seeing Jesus as the Son of God and recognizing that eternal life is found in Him alone. Without Christ, we remain enslaved to worldly desires and seek our happiness in passing things. But when faith lays hold of all that Christ is and all that He promises to His people, our hopes, desires, joys, and priorities are transformed. The episode calls listeners to look beyond what is seen and temporary, fixing their eyes on Christ and learning to live in light of the eternal realities that are already theirs in Him.   SHOW NOTES 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels | Banner of Truth

In this episode of The Whole Counsel Podcast, Dr. John Snyder explores Thomas Charles’s essay on spiritual appetite, written in 1782. Charles compares the believer’s hunger for God to physical hunger and paints a portrait of spiritual health. Charles gives three reasons why Scripture’s physical metaphor of hunger and thirst perfectly reflects spiritual appetite. Both physical and spiritual appetites are strong and persistent. Both physical and spiritual food provide not only nourishment but also delight. Loss of appetite is a sign that something is wrong. Charles warns against spiritual indifference, showing how sin, worldly distractions, and complacency can dull our desire for the Lord. Charles points out that Christ hates indifference and would rather we be hot or cold than lukewarm. A poor spiritual appetite is a sign of spiritual decay and must be dealt with immediately, lest we endanger ourselves and grieve our God by becoming “walking skeletons’ instead of flourishing Christians. He also challenges the idea that spiritual fervor naturally fades with age, urging believers to guard their affections and pursue a growing hunger for God throughout their lives.   SHOW NOTES 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels: Banner of Truth

In this episode of The Whole Counsel, Dr. John Snyder returns to the writings of Welsh pastor and theologian Thomas Charles, focusing on Charles’s essay on divine guidance. Instead of offering a formula for discovering God’s will in every decision, Charles presents a broader, more biblical vision: the Christian life is a life of following the living God. Using Israel’s wilderness journey as his primary illustration, Charles reminds believers that God does not often reveal the entire road ahead. Like Israel following the pillar of cloud and fire, Christians are called to trust God, follow his revealed Word, and take the next step in faith. Scripture provides the foundation for guidance. God may also work through providence, circumstances, wise counsel, prayer, and the opening or closing of doors. Dr. Snyder warns against treating subjective impressions, feelings, or arbitrary Bible verses as a substitute for obeying Scripture. The Christian's confidence does not rest on discovering a secret roadmap for life but on knowing that God is present, wise, sovereign, and actively leading his people. Faith means trusting God enough to obey what He has revealed, even when we cannot see the outcome. Charles describes the Christian life as choosing God's wisdom over our own and entrusting ourselves to his care. When God's timing seems slow or his direction unclear, believers can be tempted to rush ahead and make their own way, just as Israel tried to enter the Promised Land on its own timetable.  The episode encourages Christians to resist anxious confusion and self-directed independence, instead walking near God, grounded in his Word and confident that he will faithfully determine the timing, direction, and destination of their journey.   SHOW NOTES 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels: Banner of Truth

In this episode of The Whole Counsel, Dr. John Snyder continues the series on Thomas Charles’s pastoral letters, focusing on a letter he wrote to his newlywed wife, Sally. She was still struggling with doubts about her spiritual condition and assurance of salvation. Charles responds with tenderness but also with strengthening words. He urges her not to give her doubts “any quarter,” arguing that prolonged uncertainty can paralyze Christian growth, weaken faith, and hinder a believer’s walk with God. He also distinguishes between godly sorrow over sin and doubts about whether one belongs to Christ. A major theme of the episode is the relationship between objective assurance in Christ and the evidence of God’s work within us. Charles distinguishes the believer’s primary act of faith, looking away from self to Christ, from the “reflexive” work of faith, in which we examine the evidence of God’s grace in our own lives.  Sanctification can provide genuine evidence of spiritual life, but it must never become the foundation of our hope. Justification and Christ's finished work remain the foundation. Charles encourages Christians, tempted to despair over their weakness and slow growth, to recognize the work of grace within them while continually looking outside themselves to Christ.   SHOW NOTES 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels: Banner of Truth 📝 “Thomas Charles,” by Jonathan Thomas (Evangelical Magazine, May/June 2020, page 12) 🎥 Welsh Awakenings: The Story of God’s Work in Wales, by Dan Pugh 📖 John Elias: Life, Letters, and Essays, published by Banner of Truth 📖 Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

In this week’s episode of The Whole Counsel Podcast, Dr. John Snyder discusses a letter from Thomas Charles to his future wife, Sarah Jones, also known as Sally. The letter is found in Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels, published by Banner of Truth. Thomas Charles was mentored by John Newton and was a leader in Wales during the Evangelical Revival. Although we do not have Sally’s letter, we can infer its content from Thomas' responses. It seems Sally is troubled, worried that she does not love God or does not love him well enough. Thomas addresses this and a second matter: “Do you believe that God loves you?” as he attempts to uplift Sally’s heavy heart. Thomas’s responses help us in the dynamic of the Christian life that the old writers called communion. Communion is the constant interchange between the needy believer and our heavenly Father- an ongoing transaction between our needy souls and his infinite heart. In Christ we have all we need to enjoy this sweet communion with God. This letter helps with doubts and other issues that can bog us down and trouble our souls. Dr. Snyder addresses topics such as the Christian conscience, pride, and grief that will help us walk closer to our Father.

“Thomas Charles is God’s gift to North Wales.” —Daniel Rowland This week on The Whole Counsel, we return to our series on great letter-writers in Christianity over the past 500 years. In this episode, we are introduced to Thomas Charles, a Welshman whose ministry is worth noting. He was converted under the preaching of Daniel Rowland in the mid-18th century and later studied for the ministry at Jesus College, Oxford. During one of his summers at college, he lived with and was mentored by John Newton at Olney. Thomas eventually settled in Bala, North Wales, due to his love for a young woman, Sally Jones. After joining the Calvinistic Methodists (those impacted by the Evangelical Revival of the 18th century), Charles became one of the most significant leaders of the Welsh wing of that revival, guiding the next generation.  His letters, taken from the book Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels, are full of practical, warm, experiential advice, reminding us of John Newton’s balanced approach. In these episodes, we will select a few of those letters and also take a look at some of his spiritual essays from the same book.    SHOW NOTES 📖 Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount 📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels: Banner of Truth 📝 “Thomas Charles,” by Jonathan Thomas (Evangelical Magazine, May/June 2020, page 12) 🎥 Welsh Awakenings: The Story of God’s Work in Wales, by Dan Pugh 📖 John Elias: Life, Letters, and Essays, published by Banner of Truth

In episode five of Biblical Help for Life’s Problems, Dr. John Snyder is once again joined by pastor and counselor Louis Sacran. Drawing on Romans 13:14, Louis helps us understand sanctification biblically and practically. How do we grow and change as believers? How do we mature? We must understand the inner workings of our hearts (our desires) and our walk (our actions), and how they are connected. John and Louis tackle the topic of sexual sin. What is at the root of it, and how can I break the chains of enslavement to this sin? John and Louis point us back to the gospel and to our Lord Jesus. Being aware of what we have been given in Christ and of our unshakable standing with Him because of His righteousness is foundational to growing in Christlikeness. 

This week on the Whole Counsel, Louis Sacran, an experienced pastor and biblical counselor, sits down with Dr. John Snyder to discuss how to apply what we have learned so far in this series to live in accordance with our purpose. As Christians, our purpose is clear. Our purpose is to please God, and we please Him by loving Him and loving people. Louis helps us to see that everything we do is either a loving or an unloving response. John and Louis discuss what biblical love is. They help us recognize the dangers of not addressing our specific responses and of categorizing ourselves and others in unhelpful ways.