Cartographers for Christ
Imagine opening your mailbox tomorrow and finding, tucked within the pile of junk mail and bills, a document with “Open Me” stamped in bold letters on its front.
The mysterious paper is weathered and includes no information about its sender. You dare to carefully unfold the paper. You’re shocked to discover a treasure map staring back at you, with “X” marking the spot.
You might think it’s a practical joke, a cheap scam, and quickly dismiss it. It seems like pure fantasy.
But what if it was real? What if you held in your hands the promise of real riches that belonged to you, if only you were willing to do the searching and digging?
THE PURITANS AS MAP-MAKERS
The Puritan Thomas Goodwin once remarked that “In Christ are treasures that will require digging to the end of the world.” The riches of Christ pose a paradox to us: they are “unsearchable riches” (Eph. 3:8), and yet those who seek them with diligence will find them (Prov. 8:17).
In other words, the digging never ends, but in the digging, we experience the treasure of Christ himself.
It’s not always easy to mine the riches of Christ. But hunting such treasures proves much easier when we have the right tools and guides to help us find what we’re looking for. Every treasure needs a map. And the Puritans have proved to be expert cartographers in this regard, pointing the way for us to find the glorious treasures awaiting us in Christ.
Puritans—these men and women from the late sixteenth to eighteenth centuries were some of the first baton-carriers of the Protestant Reformation. Puritanism was birthed out of a “protestant” conviction that the Church of England was beyond reform and that sound doctrine needed to be recovered.
Theirs was not a perfect episode in the history of the Church (as if there ever was one), but they did much to advance the true gospel, specifically in Europe and America. There are four themes I find within the writings of the Puritans that I have found myself especially grateful for.
THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN
Piety might be what the Puritans are best known for, but it’s often meant as a critique. They are sometimes considered overly pious people who had their nose in everyone’s business, constantly dwelling on the badness of man. Their writings, if read in this light, can come across as self-deprecating, judgmental, or even hypocritical.
But here’s one thing we should all be able to agree on about the Puritans: they were not casual about sin. For the Puritans, there was never the impulse to "go on sinning so that grace may increase” (Rom. 6:1). The Puritans were not by any stretch “legalists,” but they were especially not antinomians (those who believe God doesn’t expect Christians to obey moral laws). They were keenly attuned to the total nature of their depravity.
I’m reminded of a story involving the late R.C. Sproul. During a Q&A session once, the moderator presented Sproul with a question to this effect: "Since God is slow to anger, why was his wrath against man in the Garden so severe?” Sproul replied, in his winsome fashion, “Timeout. This creature from the dirt defied the everlasting, holy God . . . and instead of dying that day, [Adam] lived another day, and was clothed in his nakedness, by pure grace . . . and the punishment was too severe? What’s wrong with you people?!”
The audience roared with laughter, but Sproul wasn’t joking. “I’m serious! This is what’s wrong with the Christian church today,” he said. “We don’t know who God is. And we don’t know who we are. The question is, why wasn’t it infinitely more severe?"
When you read the Puritans, it’s humbling to see how honest they are about their shortcomings. We’re usually too shameful to commit such things to writing. But the Puritans treated their sin with the utmost seriousness. In a day where some pastors and churches have turned grace into license, or felt God’s wrath to be too severe, we need a reminder of the weight of our sin.
Recommended Resource: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
THE BEAUTY OF CHRIST
What the Puritans arguably excelled at more than anything was awakening us to the beauty of Christ. Through their skilled and serene prose, the Puritans were master communicators, able to distill large truths into memorable words and turns of phrase. But what made their writing really shine wasn’t just technique; it was the person they spilled much of their ink pointing us to. They write of the inescapable beauty of Christ’s redemptive work in our lives.
Samuel Rutherford gives us one of the best examples here. He writes,
"Put the beauty of ten thousand worlds of paradises, like the Garden of Eden in one; put all trees, all flowers, all smells, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all loveliness, all sweetness in one. O what a fair and excellent thing would that be? And yet it would be less to that fair and dearest well-beloved Christ than one drop of rain to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and foundations of ten thousand earths.”
These men and women didn’t just see their Savior as useful. They were in awe of him. And when we read the Puritans, we cannot help but taste and see the goodness of our Lord.
Recommended Resource: The Heart of Christ by Thomas Goodwin
THE GRAVITY OF GOD’S WORDS
One thing I especially appreciate about the Puritans is the intensity with which they mine the Scriptures. We might think of it as nearly overboard in some cases. For instance, take Richard Sibbes’ book The Bruised Reed, which is essentially a 130-page exposition of Isaiah 42:1–3. Couldn’t Sibbes have simplified his studies just a little?
Of course, to these critiques, I would ask us to consider how many popular and best-selling “Christian" books today give Scripture little pride of place. Looking at the modern landscape of Christian Living books, there seems to be plenty of cotton candy and not so much for main courses.
The Puritans never let their own agendas get in the way of turning our eyes to Scripture—they simply invite us to feast. When we engage the Puritans, we quickly see that they not only sense the richness of God’s Word, but the richness contained in every word from the mouth of God. Every word is intentional, carefully chosen, and preserved in antiquity, loaded with meaning and implication. Their appreciation for the words of Scripture inspires us to know Scripture at a microscopic level.
Recommended Resource: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes
PRACTICAL RELIGION
We make a mistake when we consider the Puritans’ work to be outdated, irrelevant, and not timely—a mistake C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” Our impulse is to be drawn to new insights, new perspectives, and new wisdom. But the “ancient paths” (Jer. 6:16) have stood the test of time.
Perhaps surprisingly, when we read the Puritans today, we find how relevant their writings are for the twenty-first-century church. Perhaps it’s because the human condition hasn’t changed much over time that there is indeed “nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). The Puritans, just like us, understood that their faith needed to become practical. It couldn’t remain in the head; it had to be grasped in a tangible way.
The Puritans provide some of the most practical theological works in all of church history. They did not write from an ivory tower. They dealt with besetting sins, pride, failures, trials, temptations, sicknesses, and losses, just like we do. They understood their writing to be intensely practical.
Recommended Resource: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks
WHERE TO BEGIN
If you’ve never read the Puritans before, here are some places to begin:
The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions authored by several different Puritan men and women that is intended to guide your prayer life.
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan: A fictional account of the Christian’s journey. Perhaps an “easier” Puritan work to read given its narrative form.
Newton on the Christian Life by Tony Reinke: A synthesis of the life and writings of John Newton (who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”), authored by Puritan enthusiast Tony Reinke.
The Puritans by Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Written by a man whom many would call the "modern Puritan,” Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this biographical look at the Puritan era captures the movement of Puritanism, offers close-up portraits of various Puritan figures, and gives a summary of what to expect from Puritan authors.
Puritan: The Documentary: Need a visual aid to get you started? This brand-new documentary explores the Puritan movement and encourages modern Christians to look at their rich history and their relevance for the Church today.
DIGGING FOR TREASURE
Today, some of the Puritan’s are forgotten. Ohers are little-known. Most are largely ignored. The Puritans and their writings are often waved off, accused of being too archaic or too tough to relate to. But what it boils down to for most people, I believe, is an unwillingness to put in the work to engage Puritan works firsthand.
I cannot deny what the Puritans have done for me. They have exposed me to Christ’s riches in a way few others have been able to. Some will hear the news of treasure and wave it away. But if you are willing to dig, I assure you there are depths of wisdom to be found.
Zach Barnhart currently serves as Student Pastor of Northlake Church in Lago Vista, TX. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University and is currently studying at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, seeking a Master of Theological Studies degree. He is married to his wife, Hannah. You can follow Zach on Twitter @zachbarnhart or check out his personal blog, Cultivated.