Study the Puritans
Are you a new Christian? Study the Puritans, today. Do not wait. Do not ignore this advice. You will only regret your neglect later on. Learn from the mistakes of others. Some have never received this advice, and others did not heed it. If you are reading this recommendation, you are now accountable. There is no more room for, “If only I had read the Puritans when I first became a Christian.”
Have you been a Christian for a long time? Study the Puritans, today. You have waited long enough. Having spent six decades in church, twenty-five years as a born again believer, and twenty-three years in the ministry of God’s Word, I have now surveyed twenty centuries of Christian literature. The era I would point everyone to is the Puritan era.
From the beginning of the Protestant Reformation (c. 1517 A.D.), an emphasis on justification by faith re-entered the thinking of the church. This led to discussions and disputes over other topics, but it eventually gave way to an emphasis on the doctrine of sanctification. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16; 1 Thess 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2), in setting apart the people of God for holiness (1 Pet 1:16). It is a gracious work, which conforms Christians to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:29). This biblical doctrine has blessed us with an entire genre of Christian literature on Christian living.
Francis Schaeffer’s question, “How then should we live?” is a question right out of the Puritan era. This era followed the generation of Reformers (ie. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc.). It commenced in the last half of the 16th century and extended roughly one hundred years to the end of the 17th century (There are some who would extend this to 150 years and include Jonathan Edwards). The Puritans were pastors and their flocks desired to live pleasing to God. They could be described as earnest Christians with a zeal for holiness by grace.
The pastors were primarily English, Scottish, and Dutch divines. The term coined to describe these non-conformists was at first derogatory, and their philosophy of ministry and the Christian life has always invited detractors. Even today, the term “Puritan” has a rather negative connotation for rigid religious people. Any student of the Puritans can tell you this is far from the truth.
Puritan pastors taught their people freedom in Christ, brought about by the doctrine of justification by faith, over and against the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification by works. God’s grace in salvation was a joy to be celebrated, and it filled the Puritans with an assurance of God’s love for them, which generated an evangelical warmth.
Evangelical warmth is the tenor of Puritan literature. Pastoral comfort for the sheep of God’s flock is the spirit residing in the voluminous writings of Puritan authors. God is approachable. He is our Father, and He loves us. The Puritans knew this because they knew Christ and the grace of God.
Just as the Reformers garnered resistance from the Roman Church, so the Puritans were resisted by Moderatism in the high church Anglican bishopric. Moderatism burgeoned in the 18th century, as Puritanism waned. Still, a few kept the Puritan legacy through to the nineteenth and twentieth century struggle between Liberalism, the successor to Moderatism, and Reformed Evangelicalism, the successor to the Puritans.
When one picks up a book by a Puritan, it is intimidating at first. The knowledge of the holy and the wisdom of application is well beyond the capacity of most elders/pastors, today. The Puritans were very learned men, and yet, most were not in the halls of academia. They were pastors in local churches. For this reason, they spent time with the sheep of His pasture, which tells us much about their agenda for ministry. The Puritans were deeply interested in the family, church, and community. They were advocates of the spiritual disciplines as means of grace for blessing the people.
For the Puritans, the whole purpose of literacy was to read the Bible in personal devotion and family worship. Whole communities were deeply impacted through the diligent efforts of pastors like Richard Baxter at Kidderminster, John Flavel at Dartmouth, and John Bunyan at Bedford. Puritan pastors were true spiritual leaders. They shepherded the flock of God by feeding and protecting them with the Word of God. Puritan pastors visited their members in their homes and held the people accountable for what God would hold them accountable.
Even after the Puritan era, evangelical men of God carried the traditions of these giants of the faith. Jonathan Edwards of Massachusetts and George Whitefield of Bristol were bright reflections in the Puritan legacy. Charles Simeon of Cambridge and Charles H. Spurgeon of London carried the Puritan torch in the 19th century. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and J. I. Packer resurrected an interest in the Puritans for twentieth century evangelicals.
Today, Joel Beeke of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is helping the next generation to meet the Puritans. Publishing houses like: Banner of Truth Trust; Reformation Heritage; Soli Deo Gloria; Grace Publications; and Christian Focus have been integral in bringing Puritan literature to Christians in the 21st century. Sadly, Christian bookstores that even remain, have opted for more popular, sometimes even heretical teachers, in order to make larger profits. To have a local Christian bookstore, which carries books from these publishing houses, is one of the finest blessings of heaven on earth. Fortunately, a bookselling metamorphosis, via the advent of the internet, may have made Puritan books more available to us than ever. Christians simply need an introduction to this rich vein of literature.
The Puritans were Reformed in their theology, which meant they started with God, not man. Some Puritans were Anglican, some Presbyterian, some Baptist, some Congregationalist, but they were Calvinists. They carried a high view of God and a low view of man. They emphasized grace from God, which manifested in good works.
High church formality, with its religious rites and rituals, was not congruent with simple Puritan devotion and worship. The Puritans wanted to enrich those with the mind of Christ and stir the hearts of the people in whom Christ dwelt by the Spirit. They gathered together for the hearing of God’s Word, and the people heard them gladly. This was true for Puritan pulpits during times of peace, and in times of persecution (A.D. 1662–1688).
The pleasures of God are set against the pleasures of this world. Pleasure in the world is focused on satisfying the lusts of the flesh. There is no end to the gluttony, drinking, and carousing by sinful men. The pleasures of God are pure and holy, being spiritual. Puritan pastors guided their people toward the pleasures of God. Knowledge of the fallen world, contrasted with their knowledge of the excellence of heaven, meant Puritan pastors could speak and write wisdom leading to the pleasures of God in Christ.
My own testimony, and the very reason for writing this brief exhortation, is that someone pointed me to the Puritans back in the day. A Christian bookseller kept putting the books of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, J.I. Packer, and Bishop J.C. Ryle into my hands as a new believer. These men, in turn, pointed me to the Puritans. Although I continued to read broadly over topics and across history, a steady diet of Puritan writings has always been my devotional delight.
My favorite Puritan writer, as he is for many readers, is Thomas Watson. You may wish to start your reading of the Puritans with him. To gain a broad overview of the Puritans, Joel Beeke has edited two works: a biographical sketch with literature review, entitled, Meet the Puritans; and a historical theology covering a number of doctrinal and practical issues, entitled, Puritan Theology.
Obviously, the Puritans are not an end in themselves. They are, in my opinion, the best teachers to point you to Christ, and to God, via the Word of God. My prayer is for you to join us in discovering the pleasures of God by studying the lives and theology of the Puritans.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
March 10, 2021
