Puritans: what they believed and taught

Hebrews 1:1-3 [Geneva Trans. 1602] At sundrie times and in divers maners God spake in the olde time to our fathers by the Prophets: in these last days hee hath spoken unto us by his Sonne, Whome hee hath made heire of all things by whom also he made the worlds, Who being the brightnes of the glory and the ingraved forme of his person & bearing up all things by his mighty word, hath by himselfe purged our sinnes, and sitteth at the right hand of the majestie in the highest places.

What is a Puritan?

The term Puritan was first used as a term of contempt aimed at those who had seperated themselves from the Church of England or the Church of Rome and who intended to glorify God in all areas of their lives. They desired to live holy lives, and believed in the Sovereign God of the Bible. Being Calvinistic, their theology was God centered and God honoring. Puritans were looked on as true radicals as they searched the scriptures to restore the church to it's ancient purity or as the Pilgrims later phrased it, "to its primative order, liberty and beauty." Such views upset the Church of England hierarachy and in 1565 Archbishop Parker denounced those who advanced them as "these precise men." The phrase was graphic and seemed to fit, and the reformers were soon known as the Precisians, somewhat later as the Puritans-- so named, it should be observed, not for their moral code but for their theological doctrine. [Saints and Strangers, George F. Willison, 1945] As William Ames put it, "Our bodies are to be offered to God (Romans 12:1) and God is to be glorified in our bodies." [The Marrow of Theology] As the Puritans were prolific writers we are blessed to have many of their sermons and writings available today. We have been richly blessed in the study of Puritan sermons, such as Thomas Watson, John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, John Flavel, Jeremiah Burroughs, Stephen Charnock, Thomas Manton, Jonathan Edwards, Richard Sibbes, John Gill, David Dickson, William Gurnall, Thomas Adams, Edward Reynolds, John Bunyan, Richard Baxter, John Howe, Ezekiel Hopkins, J.C. Ryle, and of course, the last of the Puritans, Charles Spurgeon, and many more not mentioned.

For the Puritans, the God centered life meant making the quest for spiritual and moral holiness in all areas of life their business. The Puritans saw and felt the unity of life to a degree that moderns find hard to grasp. The greatest aspect of their sermons that is missed today, is the application, which usually took up to a half of the sermon, in which were addressed all different ways in which each of the hearers should search their own heart (II Corinthians 13:5).

Thomas Shepard in his sermons on the Ten Virgins, preached weekly sermons, begun in June 1636 and went until May 1640. Which goes to show that the Puritans could glean much from a single passage of scripture.

We can't fail to mention the debt we all owe to William Tyndale, who gave his life in the translation of the Bible into English. The later Reformers Calvin, Beza, Knox, Whittingham, Coverdale, and others who contributed to the translation of the Puritans Geneva Bible, 1557. Which was the favorite for over a century. The Reformers' notes which it contained were invaluable.

We hope to add more information which will encourage more study and appreciation of the Puritans and the study of Theology. Below are some of our favorite web sites and links which we have found helpful. Most we agree with totally and some only partially. Let us know if you have one that you think we need. Enjoy and God bless.

Solo Christo

London Baptist Confession of 1644

What is a Puritan?

Historic Church Documents

The 1599 Geneva Bible. Keywords: breeches god lord jesus christ pilgrims king j

The Geneva Bible - The Forgotten Translation

Jonathan Edwards On-Line

Revival Sermons of Jonathan Edwards

Fire and Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings

http://ccel.wheaton.edu/spurgeon/morn_eve/ME05AM.html

The Master Seminary's Home Page

The Covenant Family Fellowship

Page One-Biblical Resources

INDEX PAGE FOR GLIMPSES

The Online Study Bible

Polyglot Bible - English

Poor Man's Portions Index

New, Favourite and Recommended

Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall

Reformed Congregation

The Evangelical Bishop: The J. C. Ryle Book Shelf

IPBE LIBRARY OWEN Christologia

Alpha and Omega Ministries Home Page

Desiring God Ministries Home Page

Guide to Early Church Documents

AthanasianCreed.txt at pharos.bu.edu (FTP)

The Example of the English Puritans

ABC BOOKS Home Page

Sound of Grace

1996 Index of Cults

The Founders ONLINE

Hall of Church History—The Recent Stalwarts

Reformed Apologetics

#apologetics: RESOURCES

Center for Reformed Theology and
Apologetics

Comprehensive Christianity Bible Study Links

Computer-Assisted Theology: Internet Resources

Apologetics

Apologetics and Theology Resources

The Spurgeon Library at William
Jewell College

Morning and Evening

Reformed Baptist Heritage Page

Mt. Zion Home page

The Whitefield Review

THORNWELL HALL

Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation

Continental Baptist Church

THOMAS BOSTON HOMEPAGE

Providence

Trinity