The Puritans are more of a federation of churches than a denomination. We have never claimed to "know it all"-and we would not make the claim now. We do believe we think with a depth and a breadth that few modern believers can match. Thus, without following pastors blindly, we can learn from the scriptures which are the very word of God. And all Christians ought to weigh the message of their pastor and the doctrines of their denomination in the light of God's Word.
The Puritan View of Church and Public Worship.
WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
Puritans try to be clear in their thinking, we are fussy about defining our terms. Thus, before saying anything about what the Church does, we shall begin with what the Church is. John Davenport provides the fullest definition,
"It is a company of faithful and holy persons called
out of the world to fellowship with Jesus Christ, and
united in one congregation to Him as members to
their head, and one with another by a holy covenant
for mutual fellowship in holy worship and edification".
Catholics define the Church with the organization. To their doctrine since Vatican II, the Church is not only the people of God, but primarily the Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and Priests who dispense the grace of God to sinners through the sacraments.
The same may be said of the Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist churches. They are a Protestant "Catholic Lite" that see the Church as God's people but also as a Christ representative administering sacraments from the altar.
Then there are the Presbyterian Christians, those of the Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ who view the Church as God's people together with the clergy living and worshiping together in community with the Church as a weekly rest and duty to God.
Puritans tear up this doctrine root and branch! It simply makes sinners dependent on the Church and not Christ!
As for the supposed reform churches? It has always occupied a middle ground between Catholicism and Puritanism. Martin Luther defines the Church as, "A congregation of faithful men". That's the formal doctrine of Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists. But, with its Real Presence in the Lord's Supper, its priesthood, its ceremony, costumes, sacred buildings, and so on, it leaves the impression-at least-that It is the Church and the people are only there to receive God's grace through its officers and ritual. No more reformed than the post Vatican II Catholics. In fact an argument can be made the Catholics in Vatican II became more Protestant than Protestants actually stopped being Catholic. They simply became vernacular liturgy Catholics.
Puritans say no to all of this "reform". The Church is the People-not everyone who comes to worship on Sunday, of course, but, as William Gouge said,
"Those who inwardly and effectively,
by the Spirit, believe in Christ".
If this is what the Church is-the People of God-how can you tell it from others who make the same claim? Remember, there were cults in those days-not much different than the ones we have today. They all said they were God's people. How can you know that your church is God's Church-and not a synagogue of Satan?
Puritans leave no doubt. Improving on the Reformers, we believe the Church is identified by three marks. Richard Sibbes tells us what they are,
"The outward marks whereby a true Christian Church
is known are the preaching of the Word purely,
ministering of the Sacraments sincerely, and eccle-
siastical discipline".
The faithful preaching of God's Word must not be confused with infallibility. Puritans do not believe that any man or group of men was above error. John Preston,
"Not to be capable of errors is the inseparable
attribute of God Himself which cannot be said
of any creature".
"The purest churches under heaven are subject
both to mixture and error".
The second mark of the True Church is "ministering the sacraments sincerely". The only Sacraments are Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Puritans baptize believers who are over 13 only, either by submersion, sprinkling, or by pouring. It depends on the construction of the church and the local customs of the congregation. A winter baptism in the river in Massachusetts is impossible in winter. A cotton mouth infested river in Texas poses problems as well.
Why not? Because Salvation by Sacrament nullifies the Gospel.
The third mark of a True Church is Ecclesiastic Discipline. If the Church is the People of God, then those who don't belong to God cannot be part of the Church. Either they're not let in at all or, if they are, they are put out after proving they're not saved by their heresies or immoral lives. That's what Church Discipline means. Without being perfect or even mature, the church is made up of, Visible Saints.
WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DO?
Now that we know what the Church is and what it looks like, we may look at What the Church does.
It worships Jesus Christ. Puritans have no King but Jesus Christ. We respect civil authority, but our first allegiance is to Christ the King. Whatever benefit we get out of going to church, it is secondary to what Christ gets out of it. And that's worship.
Worship is the Church's first priority. How do we decide what goes into worship and what doesn't? Everyone would agree that some things are appropriate for public worship and other things aren't. But how do we make the call?
There are only three possible answers: tradition, personal preference, and God's Word.
The Roman Catholics (and to a lesser degree, Lutheran and the Church of England reformed churches) arranged their services under the guidance of Tradition. They didn't say the Bible commands us to genuflect in the service, to make the sign of the cross, to burn incense, to use holy water, and so on. But they added the Church has long done these things, holy men have always approved of them, and many have been blessed by them. And to their way of thinking that's good enough.
Evangelical Churches don't have much of that today, but their standard tends to be personal preference. The pastor wants it; the church likes it; the experts recommend it; or, it appeals to the unsaved or the culture we mission in.
Puritans rejected both the authority of tradition and the spirit of the age. As for culture, we are children of one God and one Gospel. The Gospel is the sole authority. Since it is Christ being worshiped in Church it is up to Him to decide what to put in and what to leave out!
Martin Luther was not as strict as we Puritans, but long before we were born, he explained what was wrong with most worship-
"There is an amazing confusion of religious forms
in the world. This came about because all proceeded
without the Word of God, according to the opinion of
men. God does not want to be worshiped in any way
but that which He Himself prescribed".
"The Scripture is not a partial, but perfect rule of
faith and manners: Nothing is to be observed in
the Church.but what is contained in the Scriptures"
(William Ames).
"Scripture contains all things necessary to be
practiced in the worship of God" (John Owen).
"The New Testament is absolutely perfect for
delivering the whole manner of God's worship"
(Henry Jacob).
This came to be known as The Regulative Principle. It is well summed up by William Bradshaw,
"We hold and maintain that the Word of God
contained in the writings of the Prophets and
Apostles is of absolute perfection, given by
Christ, the Head of the Church, to be unto the
Same the sole canon and rule of all matters
Of religion, and the worship and service of God
Whatseover. And whatsoever cannot be
Justified by said Word is unlawful".
HOW DID THE PURITAN DOCTRINE CHANGE WORSHIP?
Now that we know what we are aiming for and on what basis we make our decisions, it's good to ask: How did the Puritan Doctrine change the worship of the Church?
In short, it simplified things. Here's a string of quotes from Cotton Mather:
"I am of the opinion that all things in the church
should be pure, simple, and removed as far as
possible from the elements and pomps of this world. "
"If the religion be pure, spiritual, simple, and lowly,
As the Gospel most surely is, such must the face
Of ministry be."
"Our principal care and desire is to administer
the ordinances of Christ Himself in their native
purity and simplicity, without any dressing or
painting of human invention".
"The more ceremonies, the less truth".
"Our Christmas Day, Easter Day, our Ascension Day, our
Whitsuntide is every Lord's Day".
Our observance of Christmas is first in the family. Without trees, gifts, lights, and all the other distractions. We offer our family to have Christ be born as the King of the family. In our churches without tree, ornament, manger scene, or lights our pastors preach how Christ can be born into our hearts. Easter is without eggs, bunnies, baskets, candy, or fashion show. We worship Resurrected Jesus. Puritan means we "purify" the celebration of secular and pagan nonsense and get to the Christ centered celebration.
We simplified Church Music. Because singing is the heritage of all God's People, choirs were dismissed and their challenging songs were replaced with Psalms set to tunes that were easy to sing and consistent with the Glory of God.
Finally, we simplified The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church and they were replaced by the two found in the Bible, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. And these, too, were simplified, in that Puritans take the mystery (or, magic, maybe) out of them and tell the people what they really are signs of God's love and our salvation.
One last thing: What effect did the simplifying of worship have on the Puritans? It had the best effect of all: It allowed everyone to take part in the worship of God.
When the screens were taken down in front, everyone could draw near to God through Jesus Christ.
When the choirs were dismissed, everyone could sing God's praises in his own language.
When the reading and preaching of God's Word was made central to the service, everyone could know God's will for his life. William Weston was a Jesuit priest who hated the Puritans. What made him angry, made the Puritans glad,
"They held arguments, also among themselves, about
the meaning of various Scripture texts, all of them,
men, women, boys and girls, laborers, workmen,
and simpletons".
That's the Puritan view of the Church and Public Worship. It is all for Christ's glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.