Meet the Puritans

“Follow your heart.” We hear this time and again, the world’s mantra to find assurance in emotion and intuition. Yet this is hardly a consolation for the Christian who knows that the heart is ever-fickle and oft-misleading. When the weight of sin overwhelms, or when doubts arise, or when fears...

As Thanksgiving approaches, we Christians, above all others, ought to be marked by a spirit of joy and thankfulness. The reason is simple: We have received innumerable blessings from the hand of our God and Father. In fact, the key to cultivating genuine gratitude in the Christian life is to...

The term "Socinianism" has recently appeared in various theological discussions, especially as it relates to topics such as the doctrine of the Trinity and biblicism. At the same time, many have little familiarity with the history or definitive marks of Socinian thought. This is in part due to the...

Editor’s note: this is the first in a four-part series and was originally published on the author’s website. Used with permission. In the history of the church, and particularly counseling within the church, there has been a house, of sorts, that is being constructed. Faithful, competent men and...

Calvin once said that we listen to ourselves too much, and we talk to ourselves too little. Specifically, Calvin meant telling ourselves the truth of the Word of God. Many Puritans followed Calvin in this encouragement, including Thomas Hooker Use the Word of God aright. For as you must, in all...

Is it possible to undervalue Christ’s sufferings by overemphasizing the cross? In his Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man , Herman Witsius (1636-1708) includes a profound section on the extent to which Christ’s sufferings make satisfaction for our sins (1:210-234). Witsius begins this...

Satan is the great enemy of our souls. When he realizes that he cannot stop God’s saving a person, he does all that he can to trouble and vex that soul. Recognizing this, the Puritans spent a great portion of their sermon ministering to wounded souls in their congregation. For example, consider...

I once spent a cracking day at the Evangelical Library in London, attending a "Reading John Owen" conference. Those lectures (including Nigel Graham's exceptional popular introduction to the life of Owen) left me hungry to do more reading and re-reading of John Owen. I was reminded, by my own...

As more and more people are beginning to read the Puritans, there seems to be a natural inclination towards what I call “the hard and heavy” writings of the Puritans. One reason is that more of that kind of material is available, having been reprinted several times over the last few centuries...

In his classic work, The Doctrine of Repentance , the great Puritan Thomas Watson lists six ingredients necessary for true repentance: Sight of sin Sorrow for sin Confession of sin. Shame for sin. Hatred for sin. Turning from sin. According to Watson, “if any one is left out it [i.e. repentance]...