Who Are We Talking About?

Questions to answer in this Equipping Hour 1. Who exactly were the Puritans? 2. What can they contribute to your everyday walk with the Lord? De ning “Theology” “…the science of living blessedly forever.” — William Perkins “…the science of living to God.” — William Ames fi “The knowledge of God and spiritual things has this proportion unto practical sciences, that the end of all its notions and doctrines consists in practice.” — John Owen Why study the Puritans? fi “The answer, in one word, is maturity. Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity. The Puritans exempli ed maturity; we don’t. We are spiritual dwarfs…They were great souls serving a great God. In them clear-headed passion and warm-hearted compassion combined. Visionary and practical, idealistic and realistic too, goal-oriented and methodical, they were great believers, great hopers, great doers, and great sufferers.” — J. I. Packer De ning “Puritanism” (Poorly) “Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” — H. L. Mencken “The Puritans hated bear-baiting not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.” — Thomas Macaulay fi “(Puritanism) damages the human soul, renders it hard and gloomy, deprives it of sunshine and happiness.” — Langdon Mitchell De ning “Puritanism” (Better) fi “Puritanism was at heart a spiritual movement, passionately concerned with God and godliness… Puritanism was essentially a movement for church reform, pastoral renewal and evangelism, and spiritual revival…” — J. I. Packer De ning “Puritanism” (Better) fi “The most important trait of the Puritans that contributes to their being misunderstood today is the one that really did unite them all: their passionate love for the Bible as the written Word of God, for Bible study, and for listening to sermons that faithfully and fully expounded the Bible. This was the foundation of their faith, their thought, their teaching, their worship, and their daily lives.” — Joel Beeke & Michael Reeves De ning “Puritanism” (Better) fi 1. The need for Biblical preaching and the teaching of sound Reformed Doctrine 2. The need for Biblical, personal piety that stresses the work of the Holy Spirit in the faith and life of the believer 3. The need to restore Biblical simplicity in liturgy, vestments, and church government, so that a well-ordered church life would promote the worship of the triune God — Peter Lewis Martin Luther’s 95 Theses (1517) Henry VIII (Reigns 1509-1547) Edward VI (Reigns 1547-1553) Mary I (Reigns 1553-1558) Elizabeth I (Reigns 1558-1603) De ning “Puritanism” fi “What was wrong with the way things were?…The state church had far too many ministers of any real competence as preachers at a moment when the doorway to salvation was shifting from a sacrament-centered theology to a theology of the Word…The heart of the matter was pastoral, the church’s betrayal of the people of God.” — David Hall De ning “Puritanism” fi “All experience tells me that in this way (Puritan way of life) is the least company, and that those which do walk openly in this way shall be despised, pointed at, hated of the world, made a by word, reviled, slandered, rebuked, made a gazing stock, called Puritans…” — Nehemiah Wallington (1598-1658) Elizabeth I (Reigns 1558-1603) James I (Reigns 1603-1625) Charles I (Reigns 1625-1649) Oliver Cromwell (Rules 1649-1658) Charles II (Reigns 1660-1685)