1994 Issue 4 - The Puritan Vision II, The Six Great Truths That Formed the Puritan Vision - Counsel...
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The Puritan VISion ll) What was it that drove thousands of Christians to leave the familiar surroundings of their homeland and cross a wild sea, to dwell in a wilderness ? It wasn't m ere ly the desire for adventure or the hankering to see the world It was a desire to have a hand in building a nation which would conform to the Word of God and seek to advance His purposes. The central th eme of the R eforma tion, Sola Scriptura, dro ve hundreds of men and women to seek refonnation in all areas of ife. Christ was Lord of all and thus all things should be conformed to His Word. The crown rights of King Jesus demanded a reformed sOciety. Thus, the goal of the Pilglims and Puritans was expressed not merely by a desire to found a godly church, but to establish a City, a city on a hill. A place where there wou ld not only be faithful worship of the living God, but fai thfu l, covenant liv ing und erth e God whom they worshipped. Last month, we began a consideration of s x great Reformation truths that formed the PUlitan v s on and formed th e foundation upon which this country was built. We only considered three (the c ovenant, the absolute sover eignt y of Go d, and the total depravity of man). This month we conclude by looking at three more truths whic h were rooted in the hearts of the majority of those who carne to this continent in the 17th century. 4 The Preeminence o the Law o God Since God is King, all areas of life must e ruled by Hisla w . ThePuritans dealt honestly and realistically with God's Word. Since it is God's Word, it must be true and righteous altogether. It cannot be evil or mischievous to fol low it. Furthe r, since God' s Word is tru th, it mnst be the only stand ard of truth and error , justice and injustice , and good and evil that we have. The Word of God teaches us not only what we are to beli e ve but how we are to live in evelY area of life (as individuals before God, as members of f a milies, churches, and as citizens of the State). The Puritans therefore opposed all forms of theological and political antinomianism. Demo c racy was despised and condemned. Democracy ( rule by the majority ) was opposed because it displaced God'sinfa lliblewisdom with the opinions of fifty-one percent of he population. Since the majority could theoretically establish anything as lawful (r ega rdless o f what God had declare d in His Word), the voi ce of the people in effect became the voice of God . To people steeped in the authority of God 's Word as the sole rule of faith and life, this was blasphemy and idolatry rolled into one. The Puritans referred to democracy as the devil's own government since it allows men to determine forthemselv es good and evil according to the devil's temptation to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5). Theocracy was viewed as the only proper form of government. Contrary to the shrieks of modern egalitarians, theocracy does not mean rule by the Church (that would be ecclesiocracy ), but rule by God through His appointed represen-tatives. All the institutions of society ought to e theocracies in this sense . The home is ruled by God through the husband and fathe r. The Church is a theocracy ruled by God through faithful elders. The State is a theocracy ruled by God through faithful magistrates who operate as His ministers (Rom. 13). Under the theocratic form of government, the Church and the State were legitimately separ a te (each having diffe rent jobs and roles in society), but bot h were under God's sovereign rule and both were bound to operate accordingtoHisWord . Dr . Greg Singer has observed: The Church and State were to cooperate in the attainm en t of their respective goals, for they were both subject to the same God. I t was for this reason that the State was to punish blasphemers and heretics. The magistrate, in he discharge of his office, was a stewar d unto Godand he was to May, 1994 l' THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9
1994 Issue 4 - The Puritan Vision II, The Six Great Truths That Formed the Puritan Vision - Counsel of Chalcedon
