The Theology of the Puritans

In the days of Queen Elizabeth I, many people viewed Protestantism merely as a political party and to become all too simple to be zealously anti-Catholic, and yet to have no understanding or experience of God's grace when just about everybody went to check she was entirely undemanding to be nominally Protestant, and this is what the Puritans for today urged people to a personal Reformation and over the next couple of days. We will not understand why we are a debt of gratitude. Welcome to the mother condition of Renewing Your Mind.

Ugly web and you know when we hear the word Puritan today dour preacher wearing all black comes to mind for many, but is about to discover Puritans had an uncompromising commitment to the gospel and the theology of joy and peace we should emulate in this election will do is get a pressing a little bit to see who would these Puritans with a Puritan the words.

It is always been more of a weapon than a real description for this very small minority. Today, Puritan is used as the description of the United Golden Tate with impeccable spiritual theological credentials, something that's strictly true as well. Sitting for the lost majority though the word Puritan is available but you throw it at someone and it makes them look like a laughable lemons sucking fool the set of you in the frozen chosen baptized in vinegar HL Mencken but he said Puritan is the haunting fair that someone somewhere may be happy as that is not very negative view of Puritanism and the word was coined. Originally as a term of abuse. Shortly after Elizabeth became Queen for the average Englishman that was the pain test on one side, then there was the precision nest or Puritan list of the two went too far in the other direction. The English like being cynical mean in the middle and this time Puritan is suggested that nitpicking holier than thou's who consider themselves pure than the rest. Much too precise and persnickety mother said he wasn't a fair description people before their purism.

The rest of their descriptions themselves. Clearly they never thought of themselves as pure than the rest of it. That constant testimony to their own sinfulness demonstrates that, but neither was it a very precise description, a recognized Puritan could differ from another on a whole host of different issues. According to the rules and very bunch.

I said what Puritan is about is accurate description is the word evangelical today you can make quite a few things by so recognize Puritans could disagree with each other about what the cross was about they could disagree how to be saved to John Owen who will come to see in a moment disagreed with Richard Baxter. Another major Puritan figure over the cross of what justification meant over the nature of the Christian life. John Milton, the poet and author of Paradise lost. He was an undoubted Pearson Milton was softly didn't even believe in the God of all Christian creeds that's the case, whoever piercings them if they could be that diverse will. Perhaps John Milton put it best when he spoke of the reforming of the Reformation Puritans were not successful.

They themselves were pure.

It was they wanted to purify what in the church had not yet been purified.

How much of themselves and not yet been purified.

They wanted reform and while they had some different ideas as to what that should look like.

Puritans wanted to apply Reformation to everything to themselves to the church to the country everything he hadn't touched so they thought the Reformation was a good thing. But unlike Elizabeth they thought it wasn't over yet it wasn't complete before seeing that story. Some of them not being thrown in the Puritans needs to be wiped off a little bit so we can get to know them.

For one thing that would appear they didn't even look like what we tend to think they looked like this helps because visually you picture up your seven and you feel you got a good idea what they like.

So we tend to think of Gordie puffed sleeves of the Elizabethan. The peaceful baldness is the generally rough some doublets of the law for Cavaliers and then he got the Puritans were black and scowled that is often how that portrait should bus you need to know a couple of things. Virtually nobody smiled when the portrait was taken because you had to hold that pose for days and it was a formal thing and also the reason they wore black was because that was the Sunday best. It's wearing a suit to be smart for portrait which is good. Philosophy is the day you stay where all the colors of the rainbow said, you know, and perhaps the greatest pure village will come to meet him. He would walk through Oxford. We are told half pouted brick band with logical ski band strings velvet jacket breaches set about the knees with the ribbons pointed and Spanish leather boots so he loved his Spanish leather boots with cambric fencing. Lacey tops. They went a crowd of inveterate cell policies either one or the put it like this, he said, contrary to popular impression. The Puritan was no ascetic if he continually warns against the vanity of creatures as misused by fallen man never praised hash so dry crusts. The Puritans like good food and drink on the comforts wanting loft of mosquitoes. He founded real hardship to drink water when the bear ran out bluntly disable the Puritans were like is going to be misleading. Given what a very bunch. They were so of course someone quite glum when imprint will hear often a base when imprint once said Christ Jesus our pattern was always morning.

Never thought enough okay this is he, too much room for Christ's language of his own joy was true.

One. Puritan is necessary. True, the next tool and so will be meeting Richard Simpson a bit and something I found out is there any I think a couple of 17th century portrait, so I've ever seen that show someone with a twinkle in their eye were a bit of a smile. One of them is Richard six when the leading Puritans tested me to his enormous amiability shining through even a portrays what can be said concessional make is their zeal for reforming all of life could make many of them a little pedantic. They could often be very, very detailed and how they want to speak of something very particular and so you read Puritan and they will quite often go on a bit though really cover a ground quite thoroughly more thoroughly than we used the most important traits that really are not so Puritans and the one that makes them so misunderstood. Is this that passionate love for the Bible for Bible study for listening to sermons and again and again we read of Puritans happily traveling for hours to hear a good long sermon how they thought and evenings Bible study was better than an evening's Don Singh and how they loved a good long sermon sermons of up to seven hours long. Not unheard of happy days. I think the preacher Lawrence Chatterton who the extraordinarily long lives, monster Emmanuel College, Cambridge, which is a real necessary Puritanism enough to be over hundred and Lawrence Chatterton. He once found that he'd been preaching without noticing. He found that he been preaching for two straight hours which point he paused and apologized to the people and the people shouted back, for God sakes go along, go on such eagerness that was to hear the word of God to people have never experienced. The Bible is something exciting at best.

That sounds boring, at worst, it sounds deranged but think about it you are pumping without the Bible the people could read for something like a thousand years, and to hear God's words and in them see such good news.

God saves by his grace alone is like a burst of Florida sunshine into this gray world of religious guilt. It was intoxicating, attractive and enduring for people and really to fail to understand that love of the Bible makes it impossible to understand the Puritans to take for example an account of the typically Puritan event. A sermon preached by roaring John Rogers of the pretty little village of Dedham. I say pretty. I spent much of my childhood that my grandparents lived that that buried right by roaches. A poultice and he was known as roaring John Rogers because he could be quite a character in the pulpit. For example, impersonate the screams of the dams in the pool passes on to be quite a character in his hear this one is one episode recorded for by a young Thomas Goodwin went out to hear him from Cambridge and his his recollection of hearing roaches preach Goodwin recorded that in a sermon he went to hair roaches fell into an expulsion lay should with the people about the neglect of the Bible so soon. Neglect of the Bible and he impersonated God to the people.

Roaches like him his impersonations and as gall to address the people telling them well. I trusted you so along with my Bible selected in lies in such and such houses covered with dust and cobwebs. You cannot look into it. Do you use my Bible so well.

You shall have my Bible no longer and he takes up the Bible from his cushion impersonating God walks away with it then roaches immediately turns and impersonates the people addressing God says falling on his knees crying and pleading most earnestly listen to these words lowered whatsoever thou dost to us. Take not thy Bible from us kill our children but are not houses destroy our goods lace us thy Bible take not away thy Bible, and then he impersonated God again to the people saying you so well. I will try you a little longer and here is my Bible for you. I will see how you will use it with. You will love it more with you will value it more with you will observe it more with you live more, according to by these actions.

He put all the congregation into so strange a posture.

Goodwin said he never saw any congregation in the Lycan's life.

The place was like the valley of booking the people generally as it were deluged with their own tears and Goodwin told me set the record that when he got out. When he was ready to take course again to be gone.

He was saying to hang about 1/4 of an hour upon the neck of his horse weeping before he had the power to mount so strange and impression was thereupon, and generally upon the people upon having thus been expulsion related with for the neglect of the Bible that stories quite incomprehensible. Without appreciating the for the Puritan as the new coronation service said the Bible is the most valuable thing that this world affords words the still said in the coronation service of every English monarch Puritanism was about reforming all of life under the supreme authority of the Bible that was something that will put the fear of God into the authorities don't look at an internal tension. The Puritanism as a movement faced to the whole story of the Reformation in Britain. I have you been able to see a little bit so far was that it was so easy for Protestantism to become a man political party Bonnie. A good way into Elizabeth's.

Ada become all too simple to be zealously anti-Catholic, and yet have no understanding or experience of God's grace for when just about everybody went to church. He was entirely undemanding to be nominally Protestant.

Everyone did it, and this is what the Puritans for today urged people to a single Reformation. The Puritans wanted a reform church in England filled with hearts that it be reformed so in the Puritans you get to see a group of pastas and theologians who sold themselves really as hot doctors concerned with the inner workings that in the lives. The secret lies that people meant a group of pastas concerned with what the people loved with a design that it wants no to the people love the Lord heartily or they just nominally acting out the Christian life.

Now that fight had a considerable danger if you can think what that would be. It was a danger for Puritanism system movement in Germany, Lutheran Pietism and it was this the desire to have people respond to the gospel could lead to a focus on the response, not the gospel.

So in looking for reformed lives.

Sign that a person that responded rightly to the gospel.

It was easy to let the concern for a focus on growth and personal holiness. It clips a focus on justification by faith alone. The message that will actually transform lives. In other with the danger of the Puritans was that they could be tempted to concentrate on holy living, in response to the gospel instead of focusing on the gospel which will promote holy living and thus the experience of many churchgoers could be that they would hear a sermon on the 10 Commandments that hear lessons about the need for holiness. But they wouldn't care about Christ's free gift of righteousness, meaning that many then acted as if their salvation depended on the holiness of life loose his original problem and this goal be coupled with very strong warnings about the dangers of damnation.

We can be very strong.

The degree Cambridge Puritan preacher William Perkins were told he would pronounce the word in such a way as would leave a sad echo in his listeners is a long while after strong warnings. People would have been if they weren't coupled with hearing of the free saving grace of Christ, then people were forced to a morbid introspection sniffing around inside themselves to see if the heart felt good enough to see if there's any faith in there that they could trust and so trusting in their own faith and not Christ was just here some of the Puritan ministries that is still the most refreshing came in with the care so the men will be focusing on. Richard saves Thomas Goodwin, John. They all saw this danger and tendency around the and they preached into it with a glorious perception and insight effect in the next lecture we going to meet a man saved by Richard saves from this morbid self dependent religion we can get to know saves a little bit next but I will introduce you to the sort of things that sibs would preach to people struggling with self dependence, morbid introspection, depending on themselves before God is the sort of thing. Sibs would say he would say often think with thyself.

What am I a poor sinful creature part. I have a righteousness in Christ announces all one week and myself.

The Christ is strong and I'm strong in him. I'm foolish and myself, but I'm wise in him. What I lack in myself I have in him.

He is mine. His righteousness is mine, which is the righteousness of God, man, I'm being closed with this i.e. stands safe against conscience hello Roth and whatsoever, though I have daily experience of my sins yet that is more righteousness in Christ, who is mine and who is the chief of 10,000. There is more righteousness in him than that is sin in me see he's preaching the Christ clothes sinners in his own righteousness and entirely against the idea the sinners need to make themselves holy in all to be saved, which assumes that God is not actually being gracious, but simply rewarding people for their efforts. Sibs preached a most gracious Christ, so he lost his people this question do we entertain Christ to our loss. Does he come empty to us is not a good question people so naturally fall into thinking that with the ones doing him a favor. Darcy comes was empty. No says sibs he comes with all grace is goodness is a diffusive goodness he comes to spread his treasures to enrich the hearts the barrel afflictions to encounter dangers to bring peace of conscience. Joy in the Holy Ghost becomes as it were, to make our hearts a heaven.

Consider this as this fountain has the fullness of the fountain.

He strives to empty his goodness into our souls.

He comes out of love for us sibs so it's only like that when you see the glory, the graciousness of Christ. Only then do you seek not to buy him off with works then you seek him because you desire him by his having been open to him then you find he becomes more attractive then send to you when you know how he loves you begin to love. One John 419 we love because he first loved us so sibs saw himself as a chef holding out the banquet of Christ's delicious grace. We review little bit on lasted from sibs. He said we see. We cannot please Christ more than by a cheerful, taking parts of his rich provision. That's what pleases Christ receiving his grace. It is all not to his bounty to fool to is the temper spirit that a Christian aims are to rejoice always in the Lord kiosks what will we do for him. If we will not feast with him. We won't suffer with him.

If we want feast with him G1 do much the Christ. If you don't love him. He must be lovely to you before you will do much for him. We will not suffer with him, if will not joy with him and in him therefore friends that which we should labor to bring with us is Stephanie's dainties Christ office appetite to them. The chief thing that Christ requires is a stomach is dainties that be an appetizer for you next lecture will have six and that we certainly will look forward to that message that there will hear tomorrow on Renewing Your Mind.

Our teacher is Dr. Michael Reeves, who is president of the union school of theology in Wales in the United Kingdom is series the English Reformation in the Puritans is an in-depth look at a deeply significant. In church history, and as you just heard. When Dr. Reeves explained that the story of these theologians comes to life. We like to send you this complete series.

There are 12 messages on two DVDs and there when you contact us today with your gift of any amount of regular ministries will be glad to send it to you.

There are couple of ways you can reach us and make a request. You can call us her number is 800-435-4343. You can also find us online at Renewing Your Mind.Ward, no. We may not fully realize just how much the sermons we hear every Sunday are influenced by the Puritans. In fact many faithful pastors today have bookshelves full of the Puritans and the reformers works so it's helpful for us to understand this period of church history. Each lecture in this series is about 23 minutes, so it makes a wonderful resource for a Sunday school class at your church or small group meeting in your home so contact us today and request this two DVDs that I get her number is 800-435-4343 or web addresses Renewing Your Mind.Oregon on behalf of all of my colleagues here at regular ministries. Thank you for your generous donation was Dr. Reeves already mentioned tomorrow will learn about the Puritan pastor Richard sibs phrase seems often repeated in this is grace. Christ then that is sin's and knowing that always source in his preaching to win the hearts of his list to Christ. I hope you'll join us Tuesday for Renewing Your Mind