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A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

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What an awesome book is this! It deserves to be six stars, because it is such an excellent treatment of one of the greatest eras in the history of the church - the era of the English Puritans. Packer's book serves as a comprehensive introduction to these giants of the faith that he likens to the California Redwood trees among the ants and anthills of Western Christians. Let me introduce you to Packer's introduction - maybe you will be enticed to explore further . . .

Packer's twenty chapters are arranged under six headings,

I. The Puritans in Profile - which serves as a rich introduction to the Puritans themselves, examining the Puritan movement in its historical context and exploring the practical relevance that the Puritans have to our own age.

II. The Puritans and the Bible - explores the Bibliology of the Puritans, including both their view of the Divine inspiration and authority of Scripture and their method of interpreting the Bible, and ending on their view of conscience.

III. The Puritans and the Gospel - containing a stunning introduction to John Owen's book "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ" which seeks to show how what is known as Calvinism is more than five subpoints of theology, but really defines the whole of the gospel; also including a look at the doctrine of justification and its development and decline among the Puritans; and ending on the Puritan view of preaching the gospel.

IV. The Puritans and the Holy Spirit - a rich and rewarding study of the way in which Puritans understood the ministry of the Holy Spirit - especially in relationship to assurance (with much from Thomas Goodwin, Richard Sibbes, and Thomas Brooks), sanctification and communion with God (with much from John Owen), and spiritual gifts. Invigorating.

V. The Puritan Christian Life - an exploration of the Puritan perception of worship (a rich spiritual feast with much from Stephen Charnock and George Swinnock), how they crafted the observance of the Christian Sabbath (the Lord's Day) into what it became, and the Puritan ideals for marriage and family relationships.

VI. The Puritans in Ministry - three rich chapters dealing with preaching, evangelism, and revival - introducing the reader to such rich gold mines as the works of Richard Baxter and Jonathan Edwards. A rewarding section of the book.

Such is an overview. The chapters are well organized and written with clarity, precision, and Packer's characterstic fervor and creativity. The book is immensely interesting. There are hundreds of quotations from the best of the Puritan literature, and the spiritually minded reader will find his appetite whetted so as to hunger for the Puritans themselves.

I commend this book to every Christian, and especially every pastor, who wants to grow deeper in humility, broader in Scripture, and higher in worship. This book will be a feast to your soul.

"I believe in the providence of God some ages have special messages for other ages, and that as the New Testament era provides a model for the life of all churches and Christians everywhere, so the Puritan era has particular lessons to teach the Western Christian world at the end of the twentieth century." So says J. I. Packer in his conclusion to this book and so say I as well.
There are those who wish to caricaturize the Puritans as hard-nosed, pleasure-hating, legalistic, superstitious, egotistical and uneducated religious fanatics, but nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact they were just the opposite. They were supremely concerned to live a solidly and consistently Biblical life, which involved first of all, love for God and then love for ones neighbor and ones self. To embody this kind of love, (which I confess they did not do perfectly as we do not) demands that they were not hard-nosed at all but sought to understand others in an attempt to demonstrate before their eyes the fruits of a Godly life and thereby impress upon their hearts and minds an attraction to the Lord Jesus Christ. This they did out of a sincere desire for the conversion and well being of their eternal souls. Neither were they pleasure-haters, but rather, they recognized that to deny the pleasures of life as given to humanity by their great and benevolent Creator would be an affront to His graciousness, though they remained very careful to enjoy these pleasures to the glory of God, within His guidelines, so as not to abuse them. They were not legalistic but they did believe that obedience to the moral law was well pleasing to God and endeavored keep it to that end. Though there were some superstitions that existed among them, they were not peculiar to them but were superstitions that were held by virtually everybody in the sixteenth century. They were not egotistical, believing that their way was the only right way, but rather, they were subordinate, believing that Gods way was the only right way and that He had revealed it to us in the Holy Scriptures. They were certainly not uneducated for they were the most eminent scholars of their day. And to the charge of religious fanaticism one can only say that this is a highly subjective opinion. They were careful to live their lives to the glory of God in every arena, be it churchmanship, community service or statesmanship; financial, familial or sexual; occupational, recreational or philanthropical. If this be viewed as fanaticism, then so be it; but for my part, I view it as consistent and praiseworthy faithfulness to the God who is so consistent, praiseworthy and faithful to us. The strength of this book cannot be overstated and neither can the benefits of taking its message to heart. I know, for my own part that what I have read here will be of value throughout the rest of my ministry and throughout the rest of my Christian life. I would also venture to say that the benefits would be of the same value to all Christians if they would take the time to think these issues through. The truth of this thesis and the realization of his purpose has, for this reviewer, prevailed quite marvelously. J. I. Packer has done an excellent job once again and has given the church another invaluable resource from which to draw.

J. I. Packer is the perfect author for a near-perfect book on the Puritans. "A Quest for Godliness" shreds the lies that besmerk the Puritans. In it you'll find the truth about the Puritans from their own words in their own historical context.

As the subtitle suggests, "The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life" highlights their teaching on sanctification: how to grow in grace as a believer in Christ. Packer neatly packs and unpacks their spirtual theology in ways that reach believers of all types and education.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," "Biblical Psychology," "Martin Luther's Pastoral Counseling," and "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

Packer's purpose for compiling his years of learning and writing about the Puritians was to introduce modern readers to their spirituality and encourage us to read their writings for ourselves. Well, I am convinced, and I look forward to delving into this neglected selection of Christian writings.

Packer does a great job of spanning the years the Puritans were influential as well as covering the similarities and diversity of their thoughts on things from church life, theology, to family and gender issues.

The only reason I did not give this book five stars is that I reserve that honor for books that keep me riveted. While I could easily put this book down it gave me a lot of food for thought, and challenged me to examine myself for inconsistencies of thought and behavior. This is a must read.

This volume consists of a collection of papers, many of which were delivered during at the annual Puritan and Reformed Studies Conference in Westminster Chapel, London during the 1950's and 1960's. Following a three chapter introduction, Packer groups these papers under five headings as we see the Puritans in relation to the Bible, the gospel, spirituality, practical Christian living, and the ministry. Puritanism is seen as a renewal movement designed to honor the God of the Scriptures. Packer views the Puritans through the eyes of its leaders, especially Richard Baxter, John Owens, and Jonathan Edwards, the latter being included even though he lived and ministered after the era of the Puritans. Packer refers to Edwards as a Puritan "born out of due time."

We are presented with both the strengths as well as the failings of the Puritans as Richard Baxter is described as the father of modern liberalism in the Church of England and Jonathan Edwards' revival is seen to be a short-lived flash which quickly cooled following his generation. It is John Owen who comes across as the hero of the book and the Calvin of the Puritan movement (Pg 191). Packer defends Owen's cumbersome and tortuous style of writing as being "a Latinized spoken style" after the tradition of Cicero. We are continually urged to ignore the burden of his writing style because it is worth the extra effort.

The practical emphasis of this book is a call for revivalism in the church today. Puritanism was exactly such a call and Packer suggests that the church is in need of this call again in this day and age. I found especially noteworthy the section dealing with assurance. The Puritan view of assurance is not merely a matter of believing the gospel and its promise of eternal life. Rather, they viewed assurance as being only for the one who has been walking faithfully with the Lord for a very long time and even then, it was pictured as a "crown that few wear."

The book is a collection of essays on the Puritan's quest for godliness. He covers various aspect of Puritan life and ministry. Some of the essays appear in different collections. The book is challenging and informative as is typical of Packer's books. He quotes the Puritan writers extensively (e. g. Baxter), but he throws in other theologians such as Spurgeon and Augustine as well. The last chapters that focus on the last of the puritans, Jonathan Edwards, is extremely interesting. Packer brings in theology, history and exhortation into his writings. If you don't understand the strength of "Reformed Theology," this book will definitely help.

The book is very good, but for me it started out slow because I read some of the essays before. But the more I read, the more I realize what he is trying to do and I am deeply impressed. Packer is giving us a peek into the puritan world view so that we may purify our worship today.

In 336 densely packed pages and over several chapters, Packer, in his book, 'A Quest for Godliness,' brings the reader face to face with many different facets of Puritan life and ministry with historical precision and keen theological insight. Packer insists that an encounter like this with the Puritans is essential for Christians today who have all but lost any true sense of what Puritans believed, lived for, and sought to give to the church.

In an introductory chapter, Packer explains why we need the Puritans; his reason is clear and unmistakable. "The answer, in one word, is maturity. Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity. The Puritans exemplified maturity; we don't. We are spiritual dwarfs" (22). In an earlier chapter, Packer compares the Puritans to giant Redwoods. Packer writes,

"As Redwoods attract the eye, because they overtop other trees, so the mature holiness and seasoned fortitude of the great Puritans shine before us as a kind of beacon light, overtopping the stature of the majority of Christians in most eras, and certainly so in this age of crushing urban collectivism, when Western Christians sometimes feel and often look like ants on an anthill and puppets on a string (12)."

To some, this description of the Puritans sounds exaggerated and contrived; a depiction not even close to the original. This is not surprising. The word `Puritan' was originally coined as a smear word implying, "peevishness, censoriousness, conceit, and a measure of hypocrisy...it's primary reference...was...to what was seen as odd, furious, and ugly form of Protestant religion" (21). Many of the word's negative connotations have endured and hardened a prejudice toward the Puritans in much of the Western world. Fortunately, at the time that Packer wrote this book (1990), scholars, for the past half-century, had already begun to unearth the lost and forgotten treasures of Puritanism, while "meticulously wiping away the mud" from the original portrait. Since then, much ground has been regained in Puritan studies, and we now have a host of resources to which we can turn for insight into what the Puritans were really like.

Nevertheless, I think Packer's book is still very important, despite the recent growth in Puritan literature. For one, Packer writes from the burden to demonstrate why we need the Puritans. Although it is wonderful to have Puritan resources at our fingertips and in abundance, it is equally important to understand why we should make it a priority to study them. Packer's explanation of why we should dig deep into the Puritans in chapters one and two of this book should be required reading for Christians of all walks of life.

The remainder of the book is devoted to exploring five different aspects of these godly people we call the Puritans. Packer examines, in three chapters a piece, the Puritans and the Bible, the Puritans and the gospel, the Puritans and the Holy Spirit, and the Puritan Christian life, and the Puritans in ministry. Within the section on the Puritans and the gospel, one will find Packer's famous essay from his introduction to John Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Packer's heart-felt and rigorous defense of Calvinism and it's inexorable relation to the gospel is worth the price of this book alone.

A fair and thorough reading of the section on the Puritan Christian life would probably help to dislodge our misconceptions about the so-called ridged formality and prudishness of the Puritans. Far from dull and unloving, the Puritans were those who cared deeply for the physical and spiritual well-being of their families, who sought to live all of life with great passion (not merely passion as a feeling, but passion for Christ), who desired to work with diligence and excellence in their calling, and who treasured marital devotion and fidelity.

That is not to give the impression that the Puritans were flawless and worthy of emulation in every respect. They had their faults, and Packer deals with several of these squarely and with grace. But, in their case, the good far outweighs the bad, and their example in a multitude of areas should be admired and followed.

Packer's book, overall, is excellent. His careful choice of words to describe the Puritans ("sweet, peaceful, patient, obedient, and hopeful," is just one edifying string of adjectives) and his insight into what makes the Puritans a valuable model for Christians today are only two of the many reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One weakness I did perceive (and this is minor), is the lack of chapter to chapter coherence in some cases. 'A Quest for Godliness' is not a book that Packer sat down and wrote from start to finish. Rather, it is a collection of essays on the Puritans previously written by Packer that have been tied together by a some introductory chapters and an identifiable theme. This, however, is only a small weakness, if one could call it a weakness. Regardless, Packer's book is definitely one that is worthy of close attention; not for the sake of raw information and an educated historical perspective, but for the good of our souls, as we learn from a group of men and women who walked near to God.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews exhorts the readers in the last chapter to "remember" their leaders, "consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." There is a value, great value in learning biography of great servants of God in the past, the giants of Christianity; some of whom are the Puritans, whose theology and lifestyle are still relevant to this day, in our days when it is getting real difficult to define and find what and where true Christianity is. Professor Packer has done a superb work in expounding Puritan themes on doctrines, practical theology, which Perkins defines as "the science of living blessedly forever. Blessed life ariseth from the knowledge of God", ministry and evangelism. In regard to doctrines, a particular emphasis was placed on John Owen whom I regard as one of, if not the best dead Christian apologists where his treatises on the doctrine of limited atonement, spiritual gifts, communion with God, the beauty of piety and holiness are treated exquisitely. Pastor Richard Baxter, though somewhat erroneous in doctrines, seems to be a role model of a compassionate, God-serving, people-loving, talk-the-walk, walk-the-talk-type of minister and evangelist where pastors have much to learn from in our days of quick decision, quick conversion, prosperity gospel, emphasis on fun, numbers, and programs in running the church, exhorting people to go to Afghanistan to preach the gospel while the pastor himself enjoys the glamour of rich congregation in Aspen.

The beauty of Puritan principles in regard to family, keeping the Sabbath, marriage, and revival are covered impressively as well. The views on family and marriage are sober yet happy ones, for me personally, but I think are good for singles and married couples alike. If Puritan lifestyle were to be summarized in one statement, in my view, it is as follows: "a joyful compassionate, careful, thoughtful, serious, God-dependent commitment to live a life as pilgrims on earth journeying toward the blessed eternal residence of God in heaven, that expresses delight, reverence, worship of God, and display of the glory of God expressed in the gospel, particularly in the work of redemption carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross." I'm grateful to God to have the privilege to read some of their texts and biographies; some of which I thoroughly enjoy are those by Jonathan Edwards (Christian Pilgrims, Charity and its Fruits, The Excellency of Christ), John Owen (Overcoming Sin and Temptation, edited by Prof. Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor), Thomas Watson (The Art of Divine Contentment, All Things for Good, A Treatise on the Beatitudes), Jeremiah Burrough (The Jewel of Christian Contentment); and look forward to read more. O how I long to fellowship with brothers and sisters in and be cared under a Puritan-like ministry, and if the Lord ever calls me to be a minister, or work in ministry, I desire to be like Owen when it comes to solidity and depth of understanding of biblical doctrines, and Baxter when it comes to counseling, ministering, loving and caring for people.

J.I. Packer's insight into the life of the Puritans and his passion for God-centred theology of the Puritans has produced this excellent book... This book will inspire anybody who chooses to live a God-centred life and the life of a single-minded passion for God's truth.

'In illumination, the Spirit both enlightens the mind, making it capable of receiving spiritual things, and impresses on the mind the objective reality of those things of which the Word of God bears witness.' p 180

JI Packer is a gifted scholar. Not because he has any unusual knowledge or superior intellect (although he does possess these in abundance!) - but because he has chosen to make the past accessible to us.
This past is not an everyday event. The age of the Puritans was uniquely God-seeking and Lord-exalting. These Puritans knew Whom to fear, knew Whom to turn to, knew Whom to extol, knew Whom to obey. 'The Puritans themselves sought clear certainty as to God's truth in its practical bearing, and believed they had been given it. Their very quest sharpened both their moral sensibilities and their insight into the Bible. They would not have been interested in vague moral uplift; what they wanted was to grasp God's truth with the same preciseness of application with which they held that He had revealed it...the first Puritans were dubbed 'precisians'. If there were such a thing as a Puritan crest, this would be its motto - a precise God - a God, that is, who has made a precise disclosure of His mind and will in Scripture, and who expects from His servants a corresponding preciseness of belief and behavior.' pp. 113-114

In a century of persecution and The Great Assizes, during turbulent and antagonistic reigns, they made it known that they served only under One's rule. These men and women of the past, were fearless and absolutely committed to the Reformation. They were not satisfied with half-measures or the petty pay-offs their lords so regularly gave into. Even in their everyday life, they suffered trials of incredible variety. It is only an attestation to God's providence, His gracious benevolence, that they withstood the adversity of their time. 'A good conscience is a tender conscience...an index, in other words, of the real quality of our spiritual life.' p 116

And so this is the premier work on those Giant Redwoods. It is inescapable in its scope and God-revering in its content.

'The doctrine of revelation is in the melting-pot; the historic evangelical belief in verbal communication from God through the Bible is at a discount; can Owen, the greatest British divine of his day, if not of all time, help us recover and re-establish the truth?

Or is he himself vulnerable to criticism? One feature of the contemporary theological scene is the polemic of Karl Barth and some of his followers against expositors of Reformed orthodoxy for having, as they allege, foreshortened their doctrine of divine communication by 'freezing' the Spirit in the Scriptures.

In fact, we shall find that the criticism, as applied to Owen, is wholly invalid, and that the point at which Barth regards Owen's generation deficient, is actually the point of Owen's greatest mastery.' p 84

The Puritans are being heard from the pulpits again, thanks to men like Packer and Lloyd-Jones. Their legitimate voice has many a word of advice to a complacent, under-achieving Western world, where once they ruled in submissive allegiance to a glorious God. They are the intellectual giants of our Christian culture.

'The underlying theology is clear. We sinners cannot change our own hearts, but we can employ means of grace via which God changes hearts.' p 175

'God hath appointed means for the cure of blindness and error. Come into the light, with due self-suspicion and impartiality, and diligently use all God's means, and avoid the causes of deceit and error, and the light of truth will show you the truth.' Richard Baxter, Works 1:116