A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

Dr. James Innell Packer was born in Gloucester, England on July 22, 1926 to a clerk of the Great Western Railway. Having won a scholarship, he received his education at Corpus Christi College of Oxford University, where he earned a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. While at Oxford, C.S. Lewis and the Puritans had a great affect on Packer's spiritual life. In a meeting of the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, Packer committed his life to Christian ministry.

Once he finished his education, Packer spent a brief time teaching Greek at Oak Hill Theological College in London, and in 1949 entered Wycliffe Hall, Oxford to study theology. In the Church of England, he was ordained a deacon in 1952 and a priest in 1953. He was Assistant Curate of Harborne Heath in Birmingham from 1952-1954 and Lecturer at Tyndale Hall, Bristol from 1955-1961. Furthermore, Packer was Librarian of Latimer House, Oxford from 1961-1962 and Principal from 1962-1969. In 1970 he became Principal of Tyndale Hall, Bristol, and from 1971 until 1979 he was Associate Principal of Trinity College, Bristol.

In 1978, Packer signed the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which affirmed the infallibility of the Protestant Bible. In 1979, he moved to Vancouver to take up a position at Regent College, eventually being named the first Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology. He held this title until his retirement.

Throughout these years of teaching, training, and serving in theology, Packer became a prolific author and coveted professor. He is largely known throughout Evangelicalism; and is arguably one of the most important Evangelical theologians of the twentieth century. His book Knowing God has become a Christian classic that is trans-denominational. Currently, he is the Board of Governors Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also serves as contributing editor for Christianity Today.

Summary

In this book J.I. Packer longs for his readers to benefit from the Puritans' theology and holiness by encouraging them to be as passionately concerned with God and godliness as the Puritans were (28). His hope is that his readers will be impacted by the Puritans as much as he has been. In order to accomplish this, Packer details the Puritans' personal holiness and theology as it relates to the Scriptures, the Gospel, the Holy Spirit, daily living, and ministry.

Packer begins by pointing to the Puritans as disciplined men who trusted that the Scriptures were authoritative (88-89). These men thus emphasized the priesthood of the believer through the illumination of God the Holy Spirit (84). Packer then shows that John Owen affirmed the verbal plenary inspiration of the Scriptures (87). Because of the Scriptures' perfect authority and inspiration, this naturally followed then that they are the ultimate source of divine truth (89). Packer further iterates that the Puritans believed the literary and historical context of the Scriptures intrinsically demanded that readers understand them in light of the specific genres and histories in which they were written (101). According to Packer, the Puritans furthermore believed a man's conscience needed to be informed by the Scriptures in order to be properly spurred to holiness (108).

Not only does Packer detail the Puritans and the Scriptures, but he also explains their views concerning the Gospel. He begins by pointing to the Puritans' Calvinistic/monergistic emphasis upon the good news of salvation in Christ alone. They viewed salvation as ultimately the work of God, not man. Packer follows this by explaining the Puritans' belief in justification by faith alone. The Puritans did not emphasize decisionism according to Packer, but rather sought to teach their hearers the full counsel of God over an extended period of time (167-169).

Packer then proceeds to the Puritans' beliefs concerning the Holy Spirit. He begins by explaining what it means for God the Holy Spirit to seal Christians in Christ (188-189). He then proceeds to explain John Owen's spirituality in relation to communion with God the Father through God the Holy Spirit. He finishes this section unveiling John Owen's theology of spiritual gifts as abilities divinely given and sustained for the purpose of understanding and communicating the realities of the spiritual world, and the knowledge of God in Christ, in order to mature others and oneself (225).

Revealing the natural result of these Puritan beliefs, Packer then details some ways their lives were affected. He begins this section exhausting the Puritans' Sabbatarian view and resultant practices surrounding the Lord's Day. Packer then proceeds to detail the Puritans' emphasis upon the regulative principle of worship, in that God has prescribed the elements with which He is to be worshipped. He concludes this section explaining the Puritans' biblical understanding concerning relationships, with a special emphasis upon marriage and family.

Packer finishes this book revealing the Puritans' beliefs and practices concerning ministry. He starts this section detailing the Puritans' views and practices in preaching, specifically, their positive view on expositional preaching. Then, Packer shows the supremacy of the Puritans' monergistic view of evangelism as opposed to the synergistic emphasis of Arminianism. He finishes this section explaining Jonathon Edwards' formula for revival, showing that revival is brought about by the sovereignty of God through the means He has determined, while producing the results He has detailed in His Word.

Critical Evaluation

Packer's personal desire for the edification of his hearers is clearly present in this work. Having been impacted by the Puritans himself, he clearly longs for his readers to benefit as he has. This writer believes he achieved his intended purpose, at least from an inerrantist's, pro-Puritan, pro-Calvinism perspective. Non-inerrantists will receive little value from this book for they can simply dismiss it because it is based on Scripture; Arminians will receive a little more benefit; partial Calvinists will receive a little more; and four and five point Calvinists will benefit the greatest. These different levels of benefit are due to Packer's clearly purported inerrant and Calvinistic presuppositions; and the Puritans' reformed theological presuppositions and emphases as well.

Packer's presentation and emphasis upon the passion of the Puritans really jumped off the page through the works he chose to reference and the various illustrations he used to prove his points. This writer knew little concerning the day-to-day living of the Puritans before reading this book. So, concerning whether or not Packer succeeded in convincing his readers of the passion and emphasis the Puritans placed on God's glory, the answer is a resounding yes, he did succeed. Readers are forced to examine the Puritans firsthand, at least in reading and interpreting Packer's perspective, along with his primary source emphasis. Allowing the Puritans to speak for themselves is a great strength of this book.

Though there is much strength in this work, the unfortunate reality concerning the typical western view of the Puritans is that their presuppositions are largely negative. This is one of the concerns that seems to motivate Packer's book. Though he does deal with negative presuppositions, it is questionable if he presents enough information to overturn the years of formulated negativism towards the Puritans in the western world. Packer does detail much positive information about the Puritans, but he does not deal with the negative writings and assumptions against the Puritans enough to overturn some people who may be approaching his book as the first positive work they have read on the Puritans.

In spite of the aforementioned negative statement concerning Packer's lack of dealing with negative assumptions, this writer does believe that he presented his arguments well, and that he faithfully supported them to the point of convincing most readers. First, Packer was wise to choose well-known Puritans. John Owen, Richard Baxter, and Jonathan Edwards are arguably three of the most popular Puritans. Most people in the western world have probably heard of at least one of these men. Owen is well known in England, and Edwards is well known in America. Baxter is probably the least known, though his book The Reformed Pastor is extremely popular.

Second, Packer's book is lengthy and is saturated with primary sources. Due to this, readers cannot argue that Packer does not prove his points. The only critique in this section is with Packer's general definition of what a Puritan is. Even those with limited knowledge of Puritans, will wonder if all those who passionately sought God's glory alone were inerrantists as Packer purports. Furthermore, readers will probably wonder if all the Puritans believed the various doctrines mentioned by Packer-Richard Baxter is questionable and arguably theologically dangerous in some of his doctrines. Furthermore, readers may wonder if all the Puritans lived the same lifestyles as the few key Puritans Packer quotes.

On top of these concerns, Packer's biased towards Reformed Theology is obvious. It must be noted however that he shows this primarily through the Puritans; and he often answers Arminianism through the theology of the Puritans instead of directly relating it as his own theology. One does however pick up that he is an unashamed Calvinist. He furthermore is an Evangelical who is an inerrantist; and he does not approach the Puritans on neutral ground. Packer is clearly biased in favor of the Puritans.

In conclusion, Packer teaches his readers that the Puritans are possibly the "lost Jewel" missing from today's Evangelicalism. Regardless the assumptions, one cannot deny the theological and pious depth of the Puritans. Packer is correct in his estimation of western Evangelicalism for they are largely immature. The maturity of the Puritans will be of great benefit to those Christians who apply their theology and piety to their daily lives. The areas where the truths in this book can be applied are thus numerous. Holiness should be a desire for all Christians; and the Puritan approach to the Scriptures is thoroughly biblical. Furthermore, this book is a great introduction to Puritan thought and lifestyle. As a result, every individual who wants a basic understanding of the Puritans should read this book, whether they are Christians or not.

Bibliography Packer, J. I. A Quest for Godliness. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1990.