A QUEST FOR GODLINESS: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life – J.I. Packer (1990)

A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life by J.I. Packer is a superb introduction to the English Puritans.  For too long, the Puritans have been marginalized, unfairly caricatured, and relegated dusty boxes of books in the garage.  Packer intends to bring the Puritans to the forefront of Christian thought, precisely where they belong.

Part One: The Puritans in Profile

J.I. Packer begins by arguing (and rightly so) that current day Christians need the Puritans.  Indeed, “the Puritans exemplified maturity; we don’t.  We are spiritual dwarfs.”  The author reminds us that “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; and in addition – indeed, as a direct expression of its zeal for God’s honor – it was a world-view, a total Christian philosophy …”

Packer discusses Puritanism as a particular movement of revival.  It is true that revival strikes at the core of who the Puritans were and what they sought to accomplish.  Packer’s definition, then, is appropriate and accurate.  “Puritanism I define as that movement in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England which sought further reformation and renewal in the Church of England than the Elizabethan settlement allowed.”

The author includes a helpful section on the practical writings of the Puritans.  Central to Puritan thought was a God-centered education.  They were in the strict sense of the word, “mind-educators.”  Packer writes, “The starting-point was their certainty that the must must be instructed and enlightened before faith and obedience became possible … Heat without light, pulpit passion without pedagogic precision, would be no use to anyone.”

The Puritans are often painted into the corner as cold and emotionless, dry and boring.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Packer rightly adds, “All the Puritans regarded religious feeling and pious emotion without knowledge as worse than useless.  Only when truth was being felt was emotion in any way desirable … So the teaching of truth was the pastor’s first task, as the learning of it was the layman’s.”

Additionally, Puritans are often charged with teaching doctrine and neglecting application.  Again, this is an inaccurate caricature.  Rather, the Puritans were famous for preaching and teaching doctrine and always proceeding to the point of application.

Part Two: The Puritans and the Bible

John Owen is the primary Puritan discusses in this section.  Owen is regarded by most to be the among the greatest of all the Puritans.  He wielded and continues to wield enormous influence among Reformed theologians.

Packer zero’s in on Owen’s approach to God’s revelation.  First, he describes how Owen would have reacted to the “irrationalism of the neo-orthodox idea of a ‘knowledge’ of God derived from non-communicative ‘encounters’ with him.”  But he moves  forward to describe the essence of Owen’s approach: “Mere rational instruction thus proves ineffective; only the illumination of the Holy Spirit, opening our heart to God’s word and God’s word to our hearts, can bring understanding of, conviction about, and consent to, the things that God declares.”

The author continues to guide the reader in understanding Owen’s understanding of the giving of revelation, the inspiration of Scripture, the authentication of Scripture and the interpretation of Scripture.

At this point, Packer moves into deeper waters as he surveys the general attitude of Puritans as interpreters of Scripture.  He cites Thomas Watson: “Think in every line you read that God is speaking to you – for in truth he is.  What Scripture says, God is saying.”

Part Three: The Puritans and the Gospel

In chapter eight, Packer includes his introduction to John Owen’s, “The Death of Death in the Death of Christ” and is perhaps the best chapter in the book.  Packer demonstrates that “universal redemption is unscriptural and destructive to the gospel” a notion that is very unpopular in the church.

“Christ did not win a hypothetical salvation for hypothetical believers, a mere possibility of salvation for any who might possibly believe, but a real salvation for his own chosen people.  His precious blood really does ‘save us all’; the intended effects of his self-0ffering do in fact follow, just because the cross was what it was.  Its saving power does not depend on faith being added to it; its saving power is such that faith flows from it.  The cross secured the full salvation of all for whom Christ died.”

While Packer (and Owen) argue against universal redemption; i.e. unlimited atonement, they both believe strongly in universal invitations.  They reject the erroneous hyper-Calvinist notion that the gospel should only be proclaimed to the elect.  Packer adds, “The question of the extent of the atonement does not arise in evangelistic preaching; the message to be delivered is simply this – that Christ Jesus, the sovereign Lord, who died for sinners, now invites sinners freely to himself.  God commands all to repent and believe; Christ promises life and peace to all who do so.”

Often the preaching task is described as “bringing men to Christ.”  Packer is quick to note, however: “The task of preaching the old gospel could more properly be described as bringing Christ to men (emphasis mine), for those who preach it know that as they do their work of setting Christ before men’s eyes, the mighty Savior whom they proclaim is busy doing his work through their words, visiting sinners with salvation, awakening them to faith, drawing them in mercy to himself.”

Packer’s chapter on the Puritan View of Preaching the Gospel is also excellent.  “The Puritan view was that preaching gospel sermons means teaching the whole Christian system – the character of God, the Trinity, the plan of salvation, the entire work of grace.  To preach Christ, they held, involved preaching all this.  Preach less, they would tell us, and what you do preach will not be properly grasped.”

Part Four: The Puritans and the Holy Spirit

Part four summarizes the witness of the Spirit in Puritan thought, the spirituality of John Owen, and Owen’s view on spiritual gifts.  Owen’s work, Communion With God is a classic and should be required reading for all Christians.  Packer writes, “Communion with Christ then becomes a matter of acknowledging his presence in the power of his reconciling sacrifice and of observing the ordinance with reverent confidence that in it Christ comes to pledge his saving love to each one personally, so that ‘we sit down at God’s table as those that are the Lord’s friends … there being now no difference [contention] between him and us.'”

Part Five: The Puritans and the Christian Life

Part five summarizes the Puritan approach to the Lord’s Day, worship, and marriage/family.

Part Six: The Puritans in Ministry

Finally, Packer outlines the Puritan vision of the Word preached.  He cites Richard Baxter: “Labor to awaken your own hearts, before you go into the pulpit, that you may be fit to awaken the hearts of sinners … When I let my heart go cold, my preaching is cold … and so I can oft observe also in the best of my hearers that when I have grown cold in preaching, they have grown cold too.”

Packer is quick to point out in the Puritan belief in the “primacy of the intellect.”  He adds, “It follows that every man’s first duty in relation to the word of God is to understand it; and every preacher’s first duty is to explain it.  The only way to the heart that he is authorized to take runs via the head.”

The Puritans also believed in the primacy of preaching – a message that should not go unheeded today.  “Reverence for revealed truth and faith in its entire adequacy for human needs, should mark all preaching.”  John Owen is emphatic, “The first and principal duty of a pastor is to feed the flock by diligent preaching of the Word.”

The Puritans had a strong belief in the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit.  Packer writes, “The Puritans insisted that the ultimate effectiveness of preaching is out of man’s hands.  Man’s task is simply to be faithful in teaching the word; it is God’s work to convince of its truth and write it in the heart.  The Puritans would have criticised the modern evangelistic appeal, with its wheedling for ‘decisions’, as an unfortunate attempt by man to intrude into the Holy Spirit’s province.  It is for God, not man, to fix the time of conversion.”

The Puritans were expository preachers.  Their preaching was doctrinal.  “To the question, ‘Should one preach doctrine?’ the Puritan answer would have been, ‘Why, what else is there to preach?”  Packer adds, “Doctrinal preaching certainly bores the hypocrites; but it is only doctrinal preaching that will save Christ’s sheep.  The preachers job is to proclaim the faith, not to provide entertainment for unbelievers – in other words, to feed the sheep rather than amuse the goats.”

CONCLUSION

A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life is an important book.  It unpacks the most important components of Puritan thought and introduces readers to the essence of Puritan theology.  It is true that we live in a different day.  However, the message that the Puritans proclaimed has not changed, not will it ever change.  The Puritans remind us of the importance of being faithful and refusing to capitulate to the winds of pragmatism.  The Puritans remind us to faithfully preach the Word of God and share the message of God’s grace to our dying generation.

5 stars

THE DISCIPLE MAKING CHURCH – Bill Hull

The Disciple Making Church maintains the discipling church is the normal church and that disciple making is for everyone and every church for three important reasons.  First, Christ instructed the church to take part in it.  Second, Christ modeled it and third, the New Testament disciples applied it.  The author advances the thesis that “unless the church makes making disciples its main agenda, world evangelism is a fantasy.”

Part one revolves around a central question, namely, what does disciple making mean?  Disciple making includes introducing people to Christ, building them up in the faith, and sending them into the harvest field.  Hull refers to this process as delivering them, developing them and deploying them.   Foundational to the book’s theme and progression is Jesus’ four fold disciple making strategy: “Come and see,” “come and follow me,” “come and be with me,” and “remain in me.”  This leads to the author’s definition of discipling which is described as “the intentional training of disciples, with accountability, on the basis of loving relationships.”

Part two discusses discipleship as it relates to the first church in Jerusalem.  Hull looks at the formative stage of the early church and introduces the reader to the five priorities of a mature, reproductive congregation including a commitment to five things: Scripture, one another, prayer, worship and outreach.  Finally, the author discusses institutionalism, the great enemy of intentional discipleship.  This feared foe known as institutionalism resists change and slows down or even punishes innovative minds and spirits from progressing forward.  The church must therefore decentralize the pastoral ministry and liberate the laity to carry out the work of God.

The third section describes what the author calls the mission church.  Paul’s missionary journeys are reviewed and pertinent information regarding discipleship strategy shared.  The author shows how the mission church reproduces through intentional disciple making.

Section four discusses the discipling church.  Bill Hull takes time to review Paul’s last words to Timothy which prove to be fitting in this generation as well.  He challenges the young pastor (and all pastors) to guard the gospel by commitment to the Word, to guard the church by leadership development and to guard the ministry by being a good model.

The final section reviews the principles of a growing church.  The author traces eight principles of the discipling church through the New Testament.  They include an intentional strategy, a Great Commission mindset, multiplication as methodology, accountability as a catalyst to obedience, small group ministry, apprenticeship in developing leaders, leadership selection by gifts and character and decentralization of ministry.

The Disciple Making Church is a commendable book.  The author makes a strong and cogent case for making discipleship an everyday and normal part of the church.  The appendix includes a very helpful guide for developing leadership community.  This section alone makes the book a worthwhile read.  However, this work repeats much of the information that Hull has previously covered in his other two books on this subject.

4 stars

The Influence of Spurgeon: A Boon for the Soul

 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born on this date, June 19, 1834 – one hundred and seventy-six years ago.  I got to thinking about the influence that Spurgeon has had on my thinking, theology, and Christian life.  This thought led to another interesting tidbit.  I have been influenced by many Christian men over the years – most of whom I have never met.  On Spurgeon’s birthday, consider a few noteworthy men who have played a role in my life.  I commend their lives and writings to you.

C.H. Spurgeon – Courage in the face of adversity, an unwavering trust in God’s sovereign purposes, rock-solid commitment to prayer, and a die-hard, Christ-exalting determination in the pulpit.

Jonathan Edwards – The sovereignty of God in all things.

John Owen – The glory of Christ, communion with Christ, and the death of death in the death of Christ.

John Bunyan – Warm-hearted devotion and Pilgrim’s Progress.

John Calvin – Humility, contrition, and trembling before God’s Word.

Martin Luther – Commitment to truth and rediscovering justification by faith.

William Tyndale – Zeal for translating the Word of God into the language of the common man.

Thomas Watson – Courage under fire and commitment to biblical principles.

Polycarp – Refusing to bend under pressure.  An enemy of pragmatism.

Martyn-Lloyd Jones – Biblical preaching/logic on fire!

Hudson Taylor, David Livingstone, David Brainerd – Missionary zeal.

John Piper – Delighting in God and the fight for joy.

Al Mohler – Confronting culture with the unchanging truths of Scripture.

Francis Schaeffer – Heart for lost people, love for truth, and biblical worldview.

John MacArthur – Faithfulness in the pulpit.

Steven Lawson – Expository preaching.

R.C. Sproul – The holiness of God and Reformed theology.

Ron Nash – Christ-saturated intellectual and spiritual passion.

John Frame – The doctrine of God.

J.I. Packer – Knowing God and Christian creeds.

Wayne Grudem – Systematic theology and a biblical understanding of the Trinity.

David A. Steele (Dad) – Commitment to Scripture, leadership, and personal integrity.

Wayne Pickens – Patiently and lovingly shepherding the flock, commitment to truth, and personal integrity.

Bruce A. Ware – High view of God and the authority of Scripture, and a commitment to the eternal relations of authority and submission in the Trinity.

Don Robinson – Evangelistic zeal, bold resolve.

Cal Blom – Pastoral faithfulness, spiritual disciplines, and integrity.

David Needham – Lover of God and family.

Ron Frost – Approach to God and scholarship.

Hugh Salisbury – Evangelistic zeal and love God and people.

 

 

THE PURITAN VIEW OF PREACHING

“The Puritan view was that preaching ‘gospel sermons’ means teaching the whole Christian system – the character of God, the Trinity, the plan of salvation, the entire work of grace.  To preach Christ, they held, involved preaching all this.  Preach less, they would tell us, and what you do preach will not be properly grasped.”

– J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (p. 169)

SHOULD CHRISTIANS STUDY PHILOSOPHY?

“Who am I and what is my purpose?”  “How should I live and how can I determine right from wrong?”  “On what basis can I answer these questions?”  “What is the truth?”  And, “Who is my final authority?”  Questions like these do not have simple answers.  Rather, they demand deep thinking and philosophical spade work.

A person committed to veritas et lux (truth and light) will commit himself to a rigorous study of philosophy.  What is the value of such a pursuit for a follower of Christ? Consider two important motivations for studying philosophy.

Learn to Develop Discernment and Guard Against False Ideas

The first benefit of studying philosophy is to become acquainted with dominant systems of thought.  As a result, one is able to develop discernment when faced with false ideas. J. Gresham Machen, a 20th century evangelical and champion of the Christian faith writes,”False ideas are the greatest hindrance to the gospel.  We can preach with all the fervor of a reformer and even win a straggler here and there; but if we permit the whole collective thought of the nation or world to be dominated by ideas that, by their very logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a hopeless delusion, then we do damage to our religion.

Becoming familiar with philosophical systems will take time and effort but will be worthwhile in the long run.  We must first be aware of ideological errors before we can confront these false ideas.

Learn to Think Hard and Evaluate Propositions

The second benefit to studying philosophy is to develop thinking skills and proficiency in evaluating propositions.  Everyone has an opinion about something in our culture.  Our task is to consider each assertion in light of God’s Word.  We are called to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).  C.S. Lewis adds, “Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”   As we take captive every thought captive, we press good  and God-centered philosophy onto the hearts and consciences of our opponents.

Carl Henry writes, “If modern man, the conqueror of outer space, does not make up his mind, he will vacillate intellectually to a gypsy’s grave.”  May God grant the church renewed resolve and discernment in these difficult days.  May we stand boldly and courageously for the truth of God’s Word.  May a love for propositional truth  define the essence of our Christian lives.   And may we remember afresh that truth is ultimately found in a person, namely, Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

– Jesus (John 6:35)

IT IS WELL: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement – Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence (2010)

One of my most vivid memories of my Grandfather has to do with the cross of Christ.  “I do not hear enough about the cross in sermons and in songs,” he would lament.  His complaint was valid twenty-five years ago.  And it is valid today.  In fact, his warning is even more significant today as the cross appears to be on the decline in the evangelical church.  And whenever the cross is compromised, historical Christianity is weakened and the church wanes.

The cross appears on billboards.  It hangs around many necks.  It is even seen tattooed on human flesh.  But make no mistake. The precious truths of the cross are being compromised in pulpits across the land.  The reality of the substitutionary atonement is being neglected at best and scorned at worse.

Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence intend to set the record straight in their new book, It Is Well.  They argue that Christianity appears to have become domesticated which is to say, “there is no place for a bloody cross.”

Dever and Lawrence carefully unpack the vital doctrine of substitutionary atonement.     It is in many ways, an excellent companion to Pierced for our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach.  The authors carefully unpack crucial doctrines concerning the cross including propitiation, reconciliation, redemption, and justification.

Dever and Lawrence not only write precise expositions concerning the substitutionary atonement; they make direct application to followers of Christ.  Each chapter includes penetrating challenges to believers and non-believers alike.

4.5 stars

THE PRIORITY OF PREACHING – Christopher Ash (2009)

Christopher Ash has a simple goal in his book, The Priority of Preaching.  He seeks to encouraged pastors.

Ash begins by stressing the authority of the preached word.  The thesis utilizes the book of Deuteronomy: “We must listen to the voice of the Christian preacher because he is the prophet in our generation as Moses was in his.”

The author maintains the church has a submission problem.  The church has gotten very good a discussing biblical truth but often suffers from an inability to submit to the Bible.  Indeed, “submission is not the same as discussion.  Discussion is comfortably in line with the spirit of the age.”  So in light of biblical authority, pastors must preach with authority and we must all listen with a submissive spirit.

The second section discusses preaching that transforms the church.  Ash admonishes pastors to boldly preach about the reality of God; the God who is transcendent and holy.  “Preaching that engages with culture will press home on people that reality is on our side.  We are not canvassing their vote, but pleading with them to live in line with how the world is … The only way to have reality on our side is to have him on our side, which is what the gospel offers.”

Ash reminds readers that all people are stubborn and uses Moses as an illustration of one who constantly faced stubborn listeners.  Pastors, then, must engage in “silent dialogue”  where questions are being raised and answered between the pastor and the people.

Pastors must preach with passion, with a holy gravitas.  “The urgency of faith means we need to preach with urgent passionate clarity, clear urgent passion, and passionate clear urgency.”

Pastors must confidently offer Christ to their hearers.  “Given that Jesus says Moses spoke of him, it seems that Moses was, in principle, offering them Christ.  That is to say, he was calling them to believe the God of promise.”

The author includes a helpful appendix that stresses seven blessings of expository preaching.

The Priority of Preaching is not a “how to” book.  Rather, it is a sober reminder to preach the Word.

3 stars

DUG DOWN DEEP: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters – Josh Harris (2010)

Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris uncovers the importance of understanding and embracing a solid theological framework.  It is in many ways a gracious answer to the typical post-modern response to doctrine.

Harris walks the reader through a handful of important branches of systematic theology including the doctrine of God (theology proper), the doctrine of the Bible (bibliology), the doctrine of Christ (Christology), the doctrine of salvation (soteriology), the doctrine of the church (ecclesiology), and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology).

The final chapter is worth the price of the book as Harris promotes the notion of “humble orthodoxy.”  His admonition to seriously pursue truth is a blast of fresh air in a culture where doctrine and theology are often frowned on – even in the church!  Harris writes, “We live in a world of truth and lies.  We live in a world in which God’s true revelation and the smooth words of charlatans and false prophets compete for our attention … Love for God and love for neighbor require opposing falsehood.  There is nothing more unloving than to be silent in the face of lies that will ruin another person” (p. 221).

Dug Down Deep is a terrific book for high school students or beginning Bible College students.  It is an excellent introduction to systematic theology that will likely lure serious students of God’s Word into deeper waters.

4 stars

THE PLIGHT OF MAN AND THE POWER OF GOD – Martyn Lloyd-Jones (2009)

Although Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones went to be with the Lord in 1981, his influence continues to swell even to this day, and better yet, to a new generation of pastors.

The Plight of Man and the Power of God is the fruit of five messages, originally delivered by the Doctor in Edinburgh in March, 1941.  Lloyd-Jones exposition of Romans 1:18-21, 28, 32 is clear, thought-provoking, and Christ-centered.  His primary intention is to unfold, as the title indicates, the predicament of man and the pardon that is received through Christ.

The predicament of man is clear.  Every person is a sinner by nature and choice and is separated from God, and enemy of God, and under the wrath of God.  “Man must be convinced and convicted of his sin.  He must face the naked, terrible truth about himself and his attitude towards God.  It is only when he realizes that truth that he will be ready to believe the gospel and return to God.”

Lloyd-Jones is quick to direct readers to the cross of Christ.  For it is in Christ alone that sinners find pardon (Rom. 1:16).  “The law of God, which decrees travail and sorrow and misery as the result of sin, has been satisfied.  God in Christ offers us pardon and forgiveness, instead of cursing, blessing … There is but one solution to the problem of individual man and of the whole world.  It is ‘the gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation to every one the believes.'”

The Plight of Man and the Power of God is a simple, yet powerful reminder of the necessity of believing and proclaiming the gospel message!

4 stars