Warfield on the Purpose of the Seminary

Whenever I read B.B. Warfield, I get help plain and simple. Here is something he said with regard to the purpose of the seminary and the task I have before me (and so does anyone else who is in ministry) --

What precisely must be taught in a theological seminary will be determined by our conception of the ministry for the exercise of the functions for which it offers preparation. And that will be determined ultimately by our conception of the Church.......On the evangelical view, the Church is the communion of saints, gathered out of a lost world; and the business of the minister is to apply the saving gospel to lost men for their salvation from sin -- from its guilt and from its corruption and power. Palpably, what he needs for this is just the gospel; and if he is to perform his functions at all, he must know this gospel, know it thoroughly, know it in all its details, and in all its power. It is the business of the seminary to give him this knowledge of the gospel. That is the real purpose of the seminary. -- Selected Shorter Writings Vol. 1, p. 376