Title: The Puritan Faith / Romans 8:31-39
Content People hear the word Puritan a lot, but when they ask what a Puritan is, they don't know much, so they're confused. Puritanism can be said to be a kind of religious policy that emerged from the religious resistance of Calvinists against the Queen's diplomatic policy after Elizabeth became Queen of England in 1558. Queen Elizabeth, who promoted the revival of the Anglican Church, enacted and promulgated the 39 theses in 1563, which became the basis of the Anglicanism creed. Although <39 theses> contains many Calvinist elements, Elizabeth has established herself as the ruler of the Anglican Church (Anglican Church) as the 'supreme ruler'. This religious policy was challenged by the Roman Church and at the same time being challenged by the zealous Puritans. Puritan thought was formed under the influence of Calvinism in Geneva.
The Puritan's argument can usually be summarized in seven points.
1) God’s absolute sovereignty
2) The absolute authority of the Bible
3) Preaching is a means of God's grace
4) The purity of the church (purity of life)
5) strict morality
6) Civil liberty and egalitarian ideas
7) Consistent religious education
Putting all these spirits together, some people say 'Puritanism' is the idea that people led by the Holy Spirit maintain the purity of their faith centered on the Word of God and sublimate the church into a single spiritual community to build a nation and society on top of it. ideology" was defined. The United States was built on the basis of this spirit and ideology of the Puritans.
1. God's Absolute Sovereignty
God's absolute sovereignty means that all the sovereignty of history belongs only to God, so all glory should be given to God as far as human beings can. If man's chief end is to glorify God, as stated in the first sentence of the Westminster Catechism, then we must be well aware of at least two facts.
First, this doctrine I believe should not be insulted by the unbelieving world, and second, we must practice a holy life so that we believers can stand out in front of everyone's eyes. Miller said very proudly of the Puritans: "The Puritans were never emaciated, black hats and long hair." We must live proudly and holy in order to receive recognition as the light and salt of the world. This is the life tenet of the Puritans.
In your work life, you must be diligent, honest, just, truthful, and compassionate. In family life, a wife should be the best wife to her husband, and the husband should be the best husband to his wife. Parents should also be the best parents for their children, and children should be the best children for their parents.
In this context, Puritans were first-class citizens, first-class office workers, first-class wives, first husbands, first-class parents, first-class children, and work students. I have never heard of the Puritans having a marital quarrel, the Puritans breaking up families, the Puritans ruining society, or taking other people's money and running away. They were all honest, industrious, honest, and trustworthy, so that the God they believed in would not be insulted by the world.
2. The absolute authority of the Bible
In the heart of the Puritans, there was always a light of the heart that never went out. For the Puritans, the word of God became the driving force to rule the life of the saints, to train the life of the saints, and to modify the life of the saints. Puritans not only believed the words of the Bible, but lived according to the Bible, believed according to the Bible, and preached according to the Bible.
“The Bible is the most expensive pearl, the holiest well left on earth, and undoubtedly the living Word of God,” said Clamer.
3. Preaching is a means of God's grace
The Puritans firmly believed in the importance of preaching, believing that preaching was a means of God's grace. Thus, the sermon was at the center of the worship service, and the order of offerings, advertisements, and praise was excluded. Sermons were usually long, about an hour, but the congregation found God's Word in those sermons. They never expected the preacher's knowledge or experience or the gifts the preacher had. So the preachers all had high academic standards, but they always kept their human gifts in check.
Famous preachers such as Chrysostom, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, and John Wesley were always careful while preaching that their gifts might interfere with the Word of God. But today's churches are "turning away their ears from the truth, and following myths," as 2 Timothy 4:4 says. Preaching does not pay attention to the knowledge, experience, gifts, gestures, or illustrations of the preacher, but to deliver the word of God hidden in it.
Cornelius invited Peter from the house of Simon Joppa to his house and said to Peter, "We are present before God to hear what you have commanded" (Acts 10:25).
The way the Puritans listened to sermons was very solemn. It is said that there were even cases where Calvin was punished for laughing while leading a church in Geneva. During the sermon, there must be a noble spirit of receiving the grace from God.
4. The purity of the church (purity of life)
The purity of the life of the Puritans was one of the most important characteristics. The purity of the Puritan life was key to the Puritan ship (the Mayflower).
They made chastity the basic ideal for building individuals, families, churches, schools, and governments. The church that was built under the influence of these Puritans the most is the Korean church. So, from the early days of the mission, the Korean church emphasized smoking, abstinence, wedding favors, gambling, usury, and the abolition of superstition, and each denomination conducted a temperance movement. He encouraged church attendance, disciplined harshly on Sundays, and forbade entertainment, walks, travel, and even preparing for sermons on Sundays.
5. Strict morality
It is said that the Puritans were so conscientious that, even if they were teased by people, they were not distrusted by others. They never cheated, did anything wrong, or engaged in unfair trade or anything like that. One of the reasons for the rapid spread of Christianity in Korea was that the high morality of the Puritans and the characteristics of the Korean people were in common.
The concept of God worked with each other, the concept of good punishment and evil, filial piety to parents, reconciliation between brothers, harmony between husband and wife, and sincerity between neighbors. In other words, because our nation's morality, refined through the three rivers and five circles, was well connected with the morality of the Puritans, Christianity was able to spread quickly in Korea.
No matter how good a person is, if truth, honesty, chastity, cleanliness, humility, and conscience do not work, nothing will work.
6. Civil liberty and egalitarian ideas
The Puritans were composed of people of various classes and denominations, but they trusted God, proclaimed the principle of equality of all people before God, and respected the personalities of others by the agreement signed on November 11, 1620.
His principles are said to have been the basis of the American Declaration of Independence and the spirit of the Constitution. Lincoln's three principles of democracy, "of the people, by the people, for the people," are in line with the original Puritans. According to historians, not a single country that believes in Calvinism has ever been communist. Rather, it is said that communism arose in countries that believed in Catholicism or in countries that believed in the Greek Orthodox Church. Even now, there are many communists in France and Italy, where there are many Catholics. However, there is no need for reaction or revolution because Puritans and Calvinism thoroughly practice egalitarianism for all people.
7. Consistent religious education
As we saw above, he lived with the highest goals in a thoroughly reformed spirit based on the Bible in many ways. So two-thirds of the people at that time were Calvinists.
However, from the end of the 18th century, as humanistic ideas of the Enlightenment began to enter the American continent, the claims of the Puritans began to crumble one by one. Still, everything has not been broken, so there is a lot of possibility to bring it up again.
Let us all pray for God's sovereignty to stand again on this earth. Let's pray that we Koreans will become the second Puritans in this land.
"Stay in what you have learned and are convinced of!" Amen.