A Puritan Perspective

The Puritans emerged in England during the mid-sixteenth century. They were Reformers from a number of religious groups that were frustrated with the slow progress of the Reformation in the Anglican Church. Their movement essentially began out of a desire for more purity of worship and doctrine within the church and a desire to encourage personal holiness in the lives of Believers. The Puritans had an unshakeable confidence in God, a fervent commitment to His Word, and exhibited lives of steadfast devotion to both. From the pens of such Puritans as John Bunyan, John Owen, Thomas Watson, Stephen Charnock, and Jonathan Edwards have came some of the most important works of Christian literature and volumes of in-depth writings on biblical doctrine.

I mention the Puritans because it is said that they had a “theocentric” (Theos- God; centric – centered) worldview. They related everything in their lives to the nature, character, and purposes of God. William Ames, another Puritan writer, expressed this God-centered worldview with these words, “Men live to God when they live in accord with the will of God, to the glory of God, and with God working in them.” Their ability to step back from every physical, emotional, and spiritual issue and gaze upon it from God’s vantage point is a quality for which every Christian should hunger.

With this in mind, I wonder how the Puritans would perceive the typical Christian of today? Or better yet, let’s insert the above average tithing, serving, mission trippin’ First Baptist Church member instead of the typical Christian. I think they would see some very dedicated people compared to the modern norm. According to their own sanctified standards however, I believe they would be able to point out areas in all our lives where we fall far short of truly having a theocentric worldview. What if a Puritan was able to follow us around during a typical day? And, what if he was given permission to whack us with a stick when we responded to a trial, made a decision, or failed to fulfill a responsibility from self-centeredness? Many of us would end up in the emergency room before nightfall! Plus, I think most of the Puritans I have read would enjoy the opportunity.

When a theocentric person faces an unexpected trial that has the potential to shake their world and leave them overtaken in worry, their response will be to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3) When that person is tempted to make their spouse pay an emotional price for hurting them in some insignificant way, their response will be “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgive one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph.4:32) When they are faced with family pressure to spend their money and time on weekends of entertainment rather than investing some of those resources into Kingdom work, their response will be, “Will a man rob God?” (Malachi 3:8). I could keep going but you get the point.

To close, let me share J.I. Packer’s comparison of the Puritans and modern evangelicals, “They were characteristically cautious, serious, realistic, steady, patient, persistent in well-doing and avid for holiness of heart; we, by contrast, too often show ourselves to be characteristically brash, euphoric, frivolous, superficial, naïve, hollow, and shallow.” May God grant that we rise above these things Packer says are characteristic of Christians today! May we never be satisfied with a shallow and superficial relationship with God or a hollow form of obedience to His Word! May we develop a theocentric worldview that helps us more passionately pursue personal holiness and persistence in well-doing! My challenge is that we prayerfully examine our lives and allow God to reveal any self-centeredness that exists and replace it with God-centeredness.