The Relevance Of The Puritans

Taken from "The Story Of The Puritans" by Erroll Hulse

Read the full book here: The Story of the Puritans

Who were the Puritans? When did they live? What did they accomplish?

What did they teach? History is not a popular subject.

We cannot assume that those who are British are automatically

well-educated in English history. It is rare for those outside Britain

to know English history. How can we introduce overseas Christians

to the best theological inheritance ever?

My concern extends beyond narrating the story. I want to create

enthusiasm for the Puritans in order to profit from their practical

example and benefit from their unique balance of doctrine, experience,

and practice. The Puritans were men of deep theological

understanding and vision who prayed for the earth to be filled with

a knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

Today missionaries are involved as never before in taking the

Gospel to all the world. Bible-based Christianity is spreading

gradually in most of the 240 nations of the world. Believers have

multiplied in great numbers, especially in sub-Sahara Africa, the

Far East, and South America. Teaching which engenders holy living

and stability is vastly needed. Historically the Puritan epoch is best

able to supply this need for they were strongest where the churches

in general are weakest today.

In face of the philosophic and religious trends of today, the Puritans

are certainly relevant.

Post-modernism (PM) — Gradually from the 1960s and 1970s,

the Western World has moved philosophically from Modernism to

Post-modernism. For about two centuries thinking has been shaped

by the Enlightenment with its emphasis on human reason and its

optimism about human ability and human achievement. This arrogance

has by-passed God and his revelation and led to the collapse

of morality. Is Puritanism relevant within the present philosophical

climate of Post-modernism? Writing on the subject of PM in Foun2

dations, Autumn 1997, Andrew Patterson of Kensington Baptist

Church, Bristol, suggests that the Puritan approach is relevant. He

maintains that “genuine spirituality consists in a re-discovery of the

cohesive and comprehensive nature of the grace of God in the life

of the believer.” This he urges, “rejects the isolating, fracturing and

compartmentalizing effects of the last two centuries, and looks back

to the time of the Puritans and Pietists, when there was an approach

that was far healthier, vibrant, holistic, real, scriptural, and Godhonouring.”

With the demise of Modernism (the Enlightenment) we now

have a vacuum. This provides us with a unique opportunity to rebuild

the foundations. We are challenged to understand and apply

the Word of God today. As we do so we can look back and draw on

the legacies of the Puritans. We can avoid their mistakes and weaknesses

but learn a great deal from their strengths. Part 3 consists of

ten subjects in which we can obtain help from the Puritans.

PM is fiercely antinomian. It is admitted that people make mistakes,

but the word “sin” is seldom mentioned and the idea that we

all sin against God is avoided. Right and wrong are judged according

to human feelings. The idea that God has an unchangeable,

holy, moral law by which he will judge every person is unpopular.

What does Puritanism have to say to the different evangelical

sectors of the Church world-wide today?

Neo-orthodoxy — Of the theologians classified as Neoorthodox,

Karl Barth (1886-1968) is the most significant as he,

more than any other this century, affected the course of Protestant

theology in Europe and beyond. He set some on the road of studying

Luther and Calvin and the Reformation of the 16th century. But

while Barth challenged the Liberal establishment, there was a failure

to set the record straight with regard to liberal views of the

Bible. For instance, it is absolutely vital to believe in the historicity

of Adam and Eve. It is essential to endorse the supernaturalism that

pervades the biblical records. With Neo-orthodoxy one is never sure

about the foundations. It is like walking on sinking sand. Puritanism

shares with Neo-orthodoxy the challenge to use the mind, to think,

and to analyze. But the strength of the Puritans is that there is never

any question about the validity of the Scriptures. One walks always

on the solid rock of the infallible Word of God.

Fundamentalism — Thankfully the Church of Jesus Christ on

earth is always wider and larger than any one segment or denomination.

The evangelical movement known as Fundamentalism is only

a part of the wider body. That movement gathered momentum in

the 1920s and 1930s. Fundamentalists came together into a movement

out of the need to combat modernist theology. The leaders

drew up a list of basic truths designed to keep intact doctrines

which were denied or undermined by Liberals. Fundamentalism

was strong in the USA and spread to other countries. The Puritans

would agree with the passion to defend and promote basic truths

such as the reliability of Scripture, the Trinity, and the deity of

Christ. Unhappily Fundamentalism added to the “basics” a premillennial

view of prophecy and in some cases dispensationalism,

which is a view of history as specific time periods. The biblical basis

for these periods is tenuous to say the least, yet the system is

imposed by its propagators in an arbitrary way on the Bible. The

Puritans were mostly postmillennial. A small number were premillennial.

Eschatology was not made a point of division. We can learn

from the Puritans not to major on minors. Christ’s second coming to

judgment, the end of the world, the universal, physical resurrection

from the dead, eternal heaven and hell are major issues in which we

cannot compromise. But apart from a general outline we cannot

map out the future. Evangelical unity is a precious commodity, and

we should avoid damaging unity over matters which are not central.

Fundamentalists have also been inclined to add such issues as a

ban on alcohol, card-playing, tobacco, dancing, and theater going.

This has been the cause of endless strife and division. For instance,

concerning alcohol, the Bible teaches temperance, not total abstinence.

Wine is used at the Lord’s Table. Some fundamentalists

even try to change the meaning of the word wine to uphold their

total abstinence view. Puritanism is a wonderful antidote to the

harmful and needless divisions which are caused by adding manmade

rules to Scripture. Worldliness is an enemy. The cure is in the

heart. A man can keep many rules but be worldly still, and at the

same time possess a deadly spirit of Pharisaic self-righteousness.

Puritanism concentrates on the great issue of the state of a person’s

soul. When a soul is truly joined to Christ, every part of him—his

thoughts, his words, and his actions—will be subject to the Word of

God. While he makes rules for his own life, he will avoid making

them for others. The Puritans included a chapter in the Westminster

Confession on the subject of Christian liberty and liberty of con4

science. The Puritan message is one of liberty combined with selfcontrol

and discipline. The Puritan Confessions of Faith (Presbyterian,

Congregational and Baptist) are silent where the Scripture is

silent. For instance, there is nothing in the Bible about smoking, but

there are passages which urge that we should care for our bodies as

temples of the Holy Spirit. Liberation from harmful habits comes

through the freedom imparted by Christ. That freedom comes by the

inward persuasion of the Holy Spirit.

The New Evangelicalism — Fundamentalism has worn an angry

face being fiercely separatistic, intolerant, and aggressive. It has

been viewed as the religion of the clenched fist. It was inevitable,

therefore, that more friendly and reasonable avenues of expression

would be sought. This came in the form of The New Evangelicalism:

broad, scholarly, and friendly. However, this movement within

evangelicalism has been troubled by compromise on the central issue

of the inspiration and authority of Scripture. The New

Evangelicalism split over the issue of the inerrancy of Scripture.

Again Puritanism is commended. While the Puritans could not anticipate

the details of this controversy, we appreciate the solid

foundation that is laid with regard to the nature and authority of

Scripture in the opening chapter of The Westminster Confession.

Pentecostalism — The Pentecostal movement, which is as wide

and diverse as a rainbow, is noted for emphasis on three important

subjects: the reality of spiritual experience, the demonstration of

spiritual power, and joy in public worship. These matters were also

stressed by the Puritans.

First, the Puritans placed great stress on the spiritual experience

of God’s free grace in conversion. The parameters of spiritual experience

with regard to joy in justification, the love of the Father in

adoption, patience in tribulation, and enjoyment of Christ were explored

to the full by the Puritans. The Puritan view is that we are

now complete in Christ. Spiritual experience consists of the ongoing

application of the believer’s experimental union with the three

Persons of the Trinity. The New Testament does not suggest or

command a specific second experience after conversion as though

something has to be added to what we already are in Christ. Many

in the Pentecostal movement concede that all who are in Christ have

been baptized spiritually into Christ (1 Cor 12:12); no second specific

experience is mandatory, and no second experience is to be

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regarded as a type of “open sesame” to a Pandora’s box of new experiences.

The Puritans would concur that spiritual power or the

anointing of the Holy Spirit is needed not only for preaching but for

service generally and for endurance in tribulation. The Holy Spirit

is always at work in the believer to correct, guide, comfort, and empower.

Second, there is a stress in some Pentecostal denominations on

the continuation of signs, wonders, and miracles. The Puritan view

is that the apostles and prophets of the New Testament were extraordinary.

They were given a special enduement for the work of

setting the foundations. We do not have to repeat their work. It is

not necessary to vindicate the Word of God with new signs and

wonders. Puritan teaching is wonderfully liberating because spiritual

leaders are not required to walk on water, replace missing

limbs, raise the dead, or perform stupendous miracles such as creating

fish and bread. The Word of God is all-sufficient, and we do not

need to exercise the supernatural gifts of prophecies, tongues, and

interpretation of tongues. As we examine the history of the Christian

Church through the centuries and through the 20th century, the

absence of miracles is evident. A major ethical embarrassment takes

place when miracles are offered, especially miracles of healing, and

then failure is evident. How sad it is to claim to be a miracle-worker

and then to disappoint the hopes of hurting people. When such

promises fail, disillusionment sets in which is very deep and

wounding. We do not make promises we cannot fulfil. Rather, we

point to the promise which will never fail, and that is the promise of

the gospel—eternal life to everyone who repents and believes.

Third, there is the need for joyful public worship. Dull, lifeless

worship is a contradiction of the joy of salvation. The regulative

principle is important. This is a principle by which public worship

is regulated according to the specifics of the New Testament. In

other words, we should engage only in spiritual worship which is

specified by Scripture—the public reading of Scripture, preaching,

intercessory prayer, and singing. There is no specification as to how

these elements are to be arranged. This suggests freedom. There is

no reason why we should not have great joy and edification in our

public worship. We do not need to resort to imitating the world or

to entertainment. We can combine dignity and reverence with joy

and gladness. Stephen Charnock, in an exposition on John 4:24,

places the focus on God as central in worship when he refers to

some of the essential elements involved:

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“God is a Spirit infinitely happy, therefore we must approach

him with cheerfulness; he is a Spirit of infinite majesty, therefore

we must come before him with reverence; he is a Spirit infinitely

high, therefore we must offer up our sacrifices with deepest humility;

he is a Spirit infinitely holy, therefore we must address him with

purity; he is a Spirit infinitely glorious, we therefore must acknowledge

his excellency; he is a Spirit provoked by us, therefore we

must offer up our worship in the name of a pacifying mediator and

intercessor.”

Needless to say, tedium must be avoided in worship. The challenge

for preachers not to weary their hearers will be addressed in a

separate chapter on preaching.

Shallow evangelism — Possibly here more than anywhere the

Puritans can help evangelicals who use the altar call and who too

readily pronounce people converted simply because a decision for

Christ has been recorded. One of the legacies of the Puritan era is a

stable doctrine of divine sovereignty and human responsibility to

insure against the errors of Arminianism on the one hand and Hyper-

Calvinism on the other.

Reconstructionism — This is a movement emanating out of

America which stresses the importance of the moral law and holds

to a post-millennial position which foresees that Christianity will

prevail to the point where civil governments around the world will

become Christian. Reconstructionism stresses the application of

biblical teaching to every facet of life, private and public, and by

exposition of the Scriptures seeks to equip politicians to apply biblical

law to public life. Puritanism would endorse the emphasis on

the Ten Commandments and the need to persuade and teach politicians

to apply these commandments in legislation. However, the

Puritans would part company with any who sought to follow theonomy,

that is the application of Old Testament laws to public life.

With regard to the future, as has already been pointed out, the Puritans

varied. They were mostly postmillennial, but their optimism

was centered in the transforming power of the gospel and the building

up of churches, rather than preoccupation with the powers of

civil government.

Broad evangelicalism — Broad evangelicalism is innocuous

and is no threat to the world, to sin, or the devil. The Puritans exer7

cised spiritual power. They brought down the opposition of darkness.

The English Puritans gave to England the Christian family and

the Lord’s Day. Allied also to broad evangelicalism is impotent

scholarship which is undisciplined and effete. Allied too to broad

evangelicalism is shallow evangelism. In a recent book Are You

Really Born Again? – Understanding True and False Conversion

(EP), Kent Philpott testifies how he has moved in his ministry from

shallow evangelistic practice with its altar call to Reformed and Puritan

practice. With regard to scholarship the Puritans were full of

practical application. Sadly, often where we find substantial evangelical

scholarship today, it can be lacking in the area of

application.

Calvinistic Sovereign Graceism — Some readers may wonder

what this is. The fact is that many churches disown the description

“reformed” because they disagree with the Law and the Lord’s Day

chapters (chapters 19 and 21 in The Westminster Confession of

Faith or its Baptist counterpart The 1689 London Confession of

Faith*). They embrace the five points of Calvinism. These five

points are easily remembered by the acrostic TULIP: total depravity,

unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace,

perseverance of the saints. This formulation originated at the Synod

of Dort in Holland in 1618-19.

The five points highlight the truth that we are saved by grace

alone. There are, however, dangers in a simplistic reduction of Calvinism

to five points. In Scripture wherever the truth of salvation by

grace alone is stated, it is in the context of practical application.

Without spiritual application there is the danger of being merely

academic or intellectual. This was largely characteristic of fundamentalism.

As with other groupings of churches, Sovereign Grace

churches vary widely in character. A few have fallen prey to a cultic

spirit by implying that only those who believe in the five points are

true, born-again Christians. Puritanism corrects such error by keeping

to the biblical centrality of union with Christ as the main feature

of the Christian, a union which brings with it at one and the same

time justification imputed and holiness of life shown by fruitfulness

(Rom 6:1-18). The Puritans were careful not to add to justification

by faith alone. In some instances “Calvinistic Sovereign Graceism”

adds to justification by faith by insisting that to be a true believer

one must possess the five points. But faith alone joins the believer

to Christ. To that nothing must be added.

Hyper-Calvinism — The essence of Hyper-Calvinism is to deny

common grace of the love of God to all men. In other words, God

only loves the elect and only hates the non-elect. Further, Hyper-

Calvinism denies the sincere free offers of the Gospel to all men. C.

H. Spurgeon was a Puritan in every fiber of his being. In his preaching

we have wonderful examples of the five points of Calvinism

preached evangelistically. For instance, Spurgeon poured scorn on a

general redemption that supposedly made salvation possible but

does not in fact actually save anyone. Spurgeon preached particular

redemption in a most powerful evangelistic manner. The Puritans

can provide stability today in the biblical manner that they held to

the different facets of the love of God and the way in which they

held in harmony the doctrines of divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

One example of that is John Flavel’s Christ Knocking

at the Door of Sinners’ Hearts which was published as a paperback

by Baker Book House, 400 pages of gripping exposition all from

one text, Revelation 3:20.

The Church of Christ on earth at the end of the 20th century is

larger and more diverse than it has ever been. Only some aspects

and strands of that huge body have been referred to, yet from these

descriptions it should be evident that the Puritan writings are relevant

today.