You’d Probably Never Ask

But, why is it important to me to read the literature of the Puritans? But first you may ask, who are they? The Puritans were the men of God of the mid-16th and 17th centuries who established and ascribed to the Westminster Confession of Faith. I don’t include among them Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox of Scotland, or Huldrych Zwingli of Switzerland. Those men were certainly God’s  catalysts behind the Reformation in Europe during the 15th and early 16th centuries, but God used them primarily to shed light on the rich, theological doctrines of God’s sovereignty, holiness, justification by faith and grace. As for the Puritans, they wanted to see those riches in doctrine put into practice within the church. How do we live justification? Regeneration? How are words; such as expiation and propitiation, relevant? It’s not that the sincere believer doesn’t want to live in the fulness of Christ, but how? Don’t we want to see the body of Christ thriving in power as we put into practice the riches of His Word? I certainly want to see that.

Still, the idea of doctrine; such as God’s sovereignty, holiness, justification and grace… how we are so put off by it! We want to live by feeling; whereby we can say it’s the Holy Spirit that leads us; even though where we are led is contrary to His Word. No, we want to believe that it is God showing His love through us; displaying the fruit of the Spirit on our terms, and participating in other activities; such as going to church, praying on Wednesday nights, partaking of communion and then having our cracker pastor (who can’t play basketball) dunk us in baptism; while we sing in the choir waiting for our call to American Idol… attending scrumptious pot lucks; yes, eating! Oh, let us stuff our stomach while our hearts remain empty! But this stuff on doctrine? It’s BORING!

Oh, contraire, my beloved! Shame on us. Oh, if we only understood the glory and wonder of God’s sovereignty, His Holiness and grace! If we did, we would find ourselves humbled; fallen before Him in humility. If we knew what it was to pray; have access to the King of King and Lord of Lords… entering, as we are told we can, boldly before the throne of God and making our petitions! How many of us, if given the chance, would be in awe of an audience with President Obama! And yet, we say that we are the children of God… the very creator of all things… and we count it as nothing. Yes, shame on us.

We say that we believe in the sovereignty of God and that all things work together for them that love the Lord, but where is that in our walk? Our confidence? Do you not know that you are the child of God… Creator? Is that not reason to stand tall; yet, to find in ourselves the humility of His grace? Are we greater than our supposed Master? Oh, God, we are so arrogant as a people. We know not, but yet we act as if we know all. God help us.

And that my friends is why I read the Puritans. They were willing to die for doctrine; not just to defend Christ’s existence, but what it is we say that we believe. Christopher Love, a Puritan pastor, was beheaded for his faith in those precious doctrines. If you were to read the last letters between Christopher and his wife in his final hours, then you would understand both the sweetness and sacrifice of our call in Christ Jesus. Yes, if we were only to read God’s Word and pray that we might humbly understand; without precondition or forethought what it was that we sought. God help us all in these our final days.