Why Read the Puritans?

This is Apologetics Live. To answer your questions, your host, from Striving for Eternity Ministries, Andrew Rappaport.

Howdy. We really have to stop meeting like this, because I am not Andrew Rappaport. That's right. I am Drew Bonita. I have been helping out Andrew Rappaport, and usually my little description thing at the bottom says Matter of Theology, because I am one of the hosts of Matter of Theology.

But tonight, it says the Dead Guys Reader Society, and you're going to find out why. But before we get there, just so you know, Apologetics Live is a podcast ministry from Striving for Eternity, where we seek to handle your tough biblical questions, whether it be on God, the Bible, whatever it may be.

Come on in. Just go to apologeticslive .com. Click the duck. Make sure your audio is set up, and also make sure your video is on. That's how we know that your audio is set up. And then come on in, and we will talk to you.

But I'm going to bring in, of course, Chris Hough, because usually when I'm here, Chris is here. And you have changed yours from Matter of Theology to Dead Guys Reader Society as well.

I did. I did. It's almost like we talked about that just a minute ago.

I know. I know. Now, in case you don't follow us, which I don't know why you wouldn't, but we started kind of a side podcast that's kind of in our other podcast, and it's called the Dead Guy Reader Society.

Why We Started the Dead Guy Reader Society

Matter of Theology presents the Dead Guys Reader Society.

That's right. And the whole purpose is, well, let's just get a little backstory. Yeah. Send it. We had someone that we know in a sermon say that he loves reading the dead guys, but the dead guys don't argue with you.

Right. Whatever you get out of them is what you get out of them. They don't argue with you. And so you and I were talking after we were reading some of these dead guys going, that argues with me. Oh, yeah.

And so what we did was we came up with another side podcast. And so where we give kind of a little biography, just a little biography of whoever we're looking at. And then we look at one of their works.

And people love it. People seem to.

Yeah. Yeah. We've gotten a lot of great feedback about the Dead Guy Reader Society. And and I mean, any of the negative feedback that we've gotten is is just because, you know, it's people's pride. I mean, honestly, it's I mean, it's we the whole reason that we started doing the Dead Guy Reader Society is just that, because there unfortunately are a lot of Mark Driscoll's and Dollar General Mark Driscoll's out there who will tell people that, you know, you don't need to you don't need to read the dead guys.

You don't need to read the Puritans. All the Puritans did was create division. And that's a that's a bunch of crap. And and that they don't argue with you. And as we're going to show tonight very clearly, the Puritans show you how to.

And I'm going to go and give one of my points away, how to truly live a spirit filled spiritual life and how to battle true spiritual warfare, which spiritual warfare starts in the mind and in the heart as you're mortifying sin.

I'll stop there because I want to keep going because I know we got other stuff to get to as well. But but yeah, that's that's kind of where that started. And we've done four or five of the Dead Guy Reader Society.

We've got some more coming, which I need to I need to lock this guy down. But I'll go ahead and tell the Apologetics Live listeners that Daryl Harrison is going to be coming on. And he and I are going to be talking about Keeping the Heart by John Flavel.

I've read this twice this year.

I have it on my Kindle, but I haven't. I just haven't read it.

Dude, it will really argue with you.

Because every time I go to start it, I'm like, yeah, but I want to go back to this other one. And so I go back to another one. But let's real quick. Our friend Pastor Darren Stitt, by the way, I told you guys last week in prayer for Darren.

Continue to be in prayer for Darren. He's now in Atlanta receiving treatment for his concussions. Continue to be in prayer for the A bro. Yeah. Welcome to the A. Peace up. That's how we roll. But he says, why read the Puritans?

Because they have superior eschatology, of course. I'll give a salute and an amen to that. And in fact, if you want a good, you know, kind of view at the Puritan eschatology, they they held to like a historical post-mill view, which if you look right above my head, this three volume set right here, James Durham, that actually his commentary on Revelation that actually presents the kind of historical post-mill view.

So, Darren, I agree with you right there, my brother. And man, we got we got a lot of comments coming in today. Brother John says, is Andrew not on today? He's not. He's not. And in fact, he was actually supposed to be writing ATVs today.

And I said, make sure you wrap yourself in bubble wrap. Boy, what happened last time? So that was no bueno. So hopefully he he listened to to that advice. Melissa Bonserver for Jesus says our church had a book from a Puritan called The Jewel of Christian Contentment.

Yeah. Jeremiah Burroughs. It's one of the great classics that everyone must have. Jason Cave representing the A as well. So Jason is an Ackworth or should I have Crackworth? Little A. Get on the wrong side of the bridge over there.

Glade Road. Glade Road. It's not called Glade Road or they're changing. I know it's not Glade Road anymore.

All of you are not from Georgia. You're like, guys, what are you talking about?

But he says hashtag Puritan lives mattered. Yes. Yes, they do. That's right. Amen. That's right. So so we're going to get into why read the Puritan Puritans. I don't know how long this episode is going to to go, but we'll just go ahead and dive right in.

And honestly, I expect Kofi to come in and at least in the comments. I talked to Kofi today. Okay. Did he say he was going to come on?

We didn't talk about that. We talked about something else, but it was just good to talk to him.

Well, do we get to do in the news? Actually, I mean, I didn't prepare anything for. Do you have anything in the news? You know, I do. I do.

And this this actually kind of pertains to what we're talking about and why read the Puritans. And the in the news segment for today is is as follows. Let me let me pull it. I can pull it up very quickly here.

So in in a tweet sent a couple of days ago, there was a lady by the name of Natalie Winters who tweeted this. She said, quote, The federal government has already begun buying COVID -19 equipment and hiring consultants to enforce pandemic era safety protocols.

Some of these contracts are scheduled to begin in September and October. Period. Close quote. That's the end of that tweet. And so I figured we could kind of talk about that for just a second, just because that it is it is a couple of things we could talk about as far as in the news.

Number one, there's that. Yeah, I flew to Virginia this past Saturday and flew on Delta. Hello, Atlanta. So but on on the on the flight there and on the flight back, the flight attendants, you know, they come on and make their announcement.

You know, hey, welcome. Our flight time is going to be X, Y and Z. Cruising altitude is going to be X, Y and Z. And the last thing that they said on both flights, I flew there in the morning, flew back that afternoon just for an event up there.

And and they they mentioned masks and for the health health and safety of you and for all on board, if you would like to continue wearing your mask, you can. And I was like, that's interesting. Of course, I was face diaper free.

Hashtag face diaper free. We should start that hashtag, bro. And so so this stuff's being talked about again. And thankfully, thankfully, I don't I don't think really anything's going to come of it. I don't think enough people.

No, no, no. People are going to comply with it. But I mean, the thing is, it's like, you know, you know, you've you've thankfully you've got the New York Post. Somebody wrote an article and it was published at the New York Post that this covid variant is no different than the covid.

From what I heard on I actually did hear this on the news this morning that it's not as severe.

Right. It's not as severe, but they're watching another variant and all this stuff. And it's like, you know, they're they're talking about this stuff to to stoke fear. And and for for you and I and I think for the majority of the listeners of Apologetics Live and Matter of Theology, they're going to look at it and go, no, heck no.

Like I will. No, I'm not going to travel. I will not be forced to comply. I'm not wearing masks. This is stupid. But think about I am preparing for this. I read I read this quote that that is paraphrased, but a mind mindless Christianity leads to spineless Christianity.

And. For for a lot of us, you know, we're not we're not mindless about this and we're not going to be spineless about it and say, no, no, this is the vessel that the Lord has given me to steward. And based upon the facts, masks don't work.

Right. So so you've got that. So everybody have fun with that. But then, you know, you've also got, you know, political prisoners being taken in our country right now for for simply moving within the confines of the Constitution.

You know, Jenna Ellis, Donald Trump just flew into Atlanta within the last hour of this broadcast.

Yeah. Melissa right here says, I think Donald Trump. Oh, well, Dee says it's called the flu. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. But she says, I think Donald Trump got arrested. Now, I have a question about this.

Maybe if anyone in the comments knows anything about law, maybe if you're a lawyer, how this stuff works, you can. Jacob Arthur, you can you can talk to me or correct me on this. Now, from what I understand, right, you are you're innocent until proven guilty.

That's correct. Now, in order to be arrested, you have to have evidence presented. Right. And that would lead to a cause of arrest. Correct. So now they filed charges. They filed an indictment, which is a list of charges against people for certain things.

But those things have not been proven. Correct. So why are they having to turn themselves into a jail before there's ever even any trial? And if they're still innocent until proven guilty, why are they having to have themselves be detained for a period of time before posting bond in order to go to a trial?

It's political theater. It's because it seems like it's backwards, right? It seems like first you're accused, then you do your you go to trial or you go to your arraignment, then you go to your trial, then that decides whether you're arrested or not.

Yep. Yep. Yeah, man, it's crazy. It's crazy. And what's even crazier is the more they do this, the more popular certain individuals get. And people are having it, man. They're over the nonsense. And I think that's good.

I think it's a good thing. So but it's definitely a like I saw that somebody had a video of they called it Trump force one. I've never heard that before. It made me laugh. Landing at Hartsfield. And I'm just like to turn himself in to Fulton County authorities.

And I just I shook my head. I'm like, what a time to be alive. Right?

But that's what gets me. Why are you turning yourself in if you're not convicted of a crime? You're just there's just an accusation officially charged. Yeah, but so he has to. Yeah, but just because you're on.

Let's see. Let's see what Darren says here. He says the mere fact that we even have jails to begin with demonstrates the injustice of our justice. True that. True that. And I think Darren Darren's choosing choosing violence.

I mean, but think about our think about our jails. Right. It is injustice because you're taking all these people, you're throwing them in a dog kennel. And then now all the taxpayers have to pay for them.

Yep. When in biblical justice, let's just say someone steals a car, right? Someone steals a car, go out joyriding, whatever, they crash it. That person, instead of having to go be locked away and someone else pay for them to live, that person would have to go work for the person that whose car he stole until he worked off the value of the car plus 10%.

Yep. See, you know, at some points, it does seem like, you know, if we had if we did have, you know, theonomy biblical law, it could help some things out.

You know, I'm thinking I'm thinking we need to use money. I'm thinking again with with the hashtag and then maybe a t shirt. Make justice biblical again. I like it. That's a hat. Yeah, yeah.

You know, you know who else sought to be biblical with the law? Oh, who's that? Samuel Rutherford. He wrote a book called Lex Rex. The law is. That's right. He sure did. See, I told you, bro. I told you all this applies to the Puritans.

That's right. Yeah.

And and the king did not like it and he threw. Yeah, dude, there's some comments. Tracy Brulette, I'm sorry if I'm mispronouncing your last name, but but she as far as the legality of everything is like she put she said if if if I have a warrant, I have to get booked and released and then a court date is scheduled.

So good call. Good call there. You have to get booked first, she said. So, yeah. And then Darren, Darren said can of worms opened. Open it up, bro. Thanks there. Thanks, Darren. Okay, so. So now I guess we can get into the Puritans now.

Okay, that's fine.

We've got six, 15 minutes, 16 minutes. That's good. Kind of back and forth. Okay, hold on, Darren. Darren's talking about Lex Rex. Okay. First of all, Darren, you're supposed to be limiting your screen time per the doctor's orders.

Okay, so I don't know what you're doing. Continuing to comment on here. I'm just looking out for you. Hand the phone to your wife and I think I think it's I think it's him in Malachi. I think. Oh, okay.

Okay. But it says Lex Rex is my favorite Puritan work, hands down one of the most quoted sources among our founding fathers. And that's true. That is very true. And it's, it's important because when you're living at a time when the king thinks he is above God's law.

This work came along and said, No, even the king is subject to God's law. He is not above God's law. So, and that's one of the things our founders wanted as well, which people will say that our founders were mostly deist.

I would disagree with that. Because many of them were praying men, especially George Washington. Washington was a praying man. And if you're a deist, you have no reason to pray. If you think God just set everything up, put it all in motion, and then left.

And who are you praying to and for what, right? If that's your, if that's your worldview, praying does nothing. But, but, yeah, I mean, what's the guy's name Samuel Adams would quote john Adams would as well.

These were men of conviction. Jason cave says 98 evangelical Christians, I would agree with that. Okay, now we're getting in. Why read the Puritans, why now, now let me get into, because you, you made a statement, what was the point you got into earlier that you kind of gave away.

Oh, reading the Puritan shows us how to truly live a spiritual, spiritual and spirit filled life.

Okay. Now, I think we can sum everything up under one umbrella. And then, and then when I say that we can then just start picking things out. Okay, pushing it out. So, why read the Puritans. First and foremost, this is going to cover everything that we're going to end up drawing out.

Because they had that what they displayed in their writing was an experiential theology, meaning it was a theology, that is to be lived out. So you had these great doctrines that were almost rediscovered in the Reformation.

Right. But then the Puritans came along and they actually wrote down and showed you how to live these things out in every aspect of life, no matter what you're dealing with. So their writings are very practical.

They're sermonic. They have, well, many of them, many of them are sermonic. So you have kind of the typical format. So you would have the text, the explanation of the text, you would have the doctrine.

Then you would have the uses. Right. So this is where they're getting into application. You have the uses of the text, you have objections to the uses, and then you have answers to the objections to the uses.

Right. So what they're really doing is they're taking a text, opening it up, flushing everything out, bringing the application, and then saying, okay, but you may say this in objection, but then we're coming back.

Right. So they're covering all the bases in their sermon. So when you read a lot of sermon Puritan writings that are sermonic, what you're reading is Puritan preaching. Right. And that's important. And that's important because what do we see today with some of the guys that you and I follow, right?

The John MacArthur's, the Steve Lawson's, right? Puritan preaching, the Joel Beekings. Now you just see it in a different way. Right. You see the text, the explanation, you see the doctrine, you see the application.

Yeah. So, yeah. So I think maybe just kind of surmising that is, you know, when you read the Puritans and then let's go back to something that we, you know, that you and I heard from General Mark Driscoll is, you know, all the Puritans do is create division.

That's all they do. They just, they just start, they just start division and then they start wars. And, you know, the first thing that, that we need to remember is that, that when you read the Puritans, they are insanely biblical.

Yeah. I mean, what is it that Spurgeon said about Bunyan? When he, when you prick him, he bleeds Bibline. And this is true for, for a whole host of the English Puritans, Scottish Puritans, American Puritans.

It was everything that was biblical.

They wouldn't want to be called Scottish Puritans, okay? They would want to be called Covenanters.

Yes, yes, yes. You're absolutely right. I have that pin somewhere. That lapel pin. But I mean, every, everything, all of life was centered in, on, and around the scriptures. And, and, and you said something a second ago that I also wanted to pause and, and, and highlight is they would wring the towel when it comes to scripture, they would, they would take a passage of scripture, a verse, a sentence, a word, and wring the towel of meaning.

They would explain the meaning of the text, why it's there. And then, and then you also just nailed something, man. You nailed something to where they were thorough in showing how the orthodoxy drawn from the scriptures drives orthopraxy and everything you think, say, and do.

Yeah.

They are so good at that. Darren says, wouldn't be a Puritan discussion without some Covenanter snobbery.

True. So, but no, man, I just, I just wanted to pause there for a second and, and, and say reading the Puritans will help, will help you think more biblically. Yes. Therefore speak with biblical terms, with biblical definitions, and then act accordingly if you're following through and being obedient.

And that's important because when you read them, they are thoroughly scriptural. Correct. So you read their works and their scripture all over the place. Yep. Yeah. I mean, even, even if it's not, even if it's not quoted or cited, you know, that that's a biblical principle.

Oh yeah. That's a biblical principle. Yep. So every, every part of their writing is biblical. Correct. But there was something, you know, there was something, this got me thinking earlier today when I was thinking about this, because last week you and I talked about Christian nationalism.

Right. When we look at the Puritans, we kind of see in looking at their story, their struggle, the things that happen, their dealings with persecution. We see how to combat tyrannical governments. And all they, all they were was faithful to the gospel and faithful.

Those who are pastors, which was a good many of them faithful to doing the duty of a pastor and shepherding their flock. Yeah, man. Why do we study church history? So we can learn from, from those who went before us.

Yeah. So we can not make the same mistakes. Right.

Right. So when we study the Puritans, take, take, so take what we just said a second ago, the hyper-focus on being biblical. I mean, that was why they were given the name Puritans. Right. They were given the name, the Puritans.

It was given, the nickname was given is, is kind of a jab. And the church. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and then it stuck and, you know, it's, it's very true. But we study church history because we, we want to know what happened, who went before us, where does, where do we trace our lineage back to?

But then how do we, how do we learn from that? How do we learn from them? And, and I mean, gosh, I think about the essential church documentary. When the way that they, the filmmakers, Shannon and the filmmakers, they, they mirrored what happened in 2020 with Grace Community Church, Grace Life Church in Canada.

And then Tim Stevens Church, I can't remember. I think it's Grace Baptist is the name of his church, but what they all, what they all, and the church, big C church dealt with in 2020. And they, they, they showed that how the covenanters dealt with this.

And these, these couple of stories that I had never heard before and how to deal with and prepare for that. And so it's, it's, it's, it's very, very important to, to read church history and to study the Puritans.

Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, cause you mentioned Dollar General Mark Driscoll. I did. Talking about the, the Puritans, they just wanted to cause division. Okay. Well, ask the question. Why the division?

What was it? Right. Well, you had a church, you had James King, James, who, who was Calvinistic in a soteriology, but held to Catholic worship. Right. And the Puritans in their, their desire to purify the church wanted to rid the church of any type of potpourri.

They wanted to get rid of the mass. They wanted to get rid of anything that reeked of Catholicism. Yep. Because they viewed it as idolatrous in another, another religion. Now, funny story. Some may view them as one of the fathers of Puritanism, but maybe a pre Puritan, but this is a John Knox.

John Knox. Knox is a Puritan. Yeah. But John Knox was a, there was a time where he was a slave on a French galley ship. He was one of those under rowers and they would bring them up from time to time to do the mass.

And they would pass this picture of Mary around as they did the mass. And when it came to John Knox, it said that he took the picture and he threw it overboard. And he said, he said, you believe your trusted Mary can save you from your sins.

Let's see if she can save herself from sinking. This is one of my favorite stories. Knox. And that's how Knox lived, dude. He was bold.

He was bold like that. What did Mary Queen of Scots say about John Knox's prayers?

That she feared the prayers of John Knox more than the army, all the armies of England. Teach me how to pray like that. Right. I don't pray like that. Straight up. Like I'll just, yeah. That's right. But, you know, just finishing my thought there talking about why, why the division, because you don't allow false worship and idolatry to come into the church.

That is something worth dividing over. So it's not a thing that they wanted to purify the church. Bro.

Don't even get me started on false unity. Don't even get, what, what a great reminder, man. It's, you know, unity at the cost of truth is no unity. It's what did, what did, oh gosh, was it? I think it was Owen that said that unity at the expense of truth and paraphrasing is, is unity that's set on fire by the flames of hell.

Something to that effect. Maybe it wasn't Owen. I'm gonna have to look. I thought it was Martin Luther that said something like that. Let me look real quick. I'm gonna, I'm gonna look what we're talking.

Okay.

No, it was JC Ryle. Okay. Pharisees and Sadducees. Okay. That's what he said. Yeah. Yeah. That was one of the things he said. So, good point bro. Very, very good point. Something else about the, about the Puritans and it goes right along with, with, I mean, they're, they're Biblio centric.

And the reason that they were Biblio centric is because they were Christo centric. That's right. Everything centered on in and around the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes. And glorifying him, understanding that it's his church, understanding that we are his slave, understanding that we've been bought with a price.

Speaking of Samuel Rutherford is, here's a fantastic quote from Rutherford. He said this quote, but the beauty of 10 ,000 worlds of paradises, like the garden of Eden in one, but all trees, all flowers, all smells, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all loveliness, all sweetness in one.

Oh, what a fair and excellent thing that would be. And yet it would be less to that fair and dearest well-beloved Christ, that one drop of rain to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and foundations of 10 ,000, 10 ,000 earths.

Right. Just, they, they loved Christ and wanted to see Christ honored and wanted to see. I mean, you think about most of the Puritan writings that we have is, is their base, their sermons. And that when the Puritans preached, they wanted to see those in their care be conformed more and more into the image of Christ.

And what's the only way to do that? It is through the preached word, magnifying and exalting the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yeah. There's a comment here by Kathy. Puritans knew how to live to glorify God. Yeah, they did because they, they loved Christ so much and they wanted, like Chris said, to be conformed into his image.

And so they knew that they had to apply the truths of the gospel. They had to apply Christ to every area of life, right? It's not just on Sunday mornings. It's not just when I'm doing my devotion time or my Bible time or anything like that.

It's in every area. Yeah. So you have theologies of work. You have, you have a theology of just how we enjoy things. Right. And, and people will say that the Puritans, you know, they get a bad rap because I forgot who it was.

Maybe Minkin that said a Puritan is someone somewhere who thinks that someone might be having fun. Right. So they're viewed as like these downcast people. Yeah. They were people full of joy because they loved Christ and they lived to Christ and they wanted their life to glorify Christ.

Yeah. So, so when you say they were very Christo centric. Yeah. And in their writings, they present a big God, big God. That's good. That's good. They present a big God and they, and at the, at the very top center, the crowning jewel is the loveliness of Christ.

Yep. That's what they presented and they took everyone and they just directed their gaze up to that crowning jewel who is Christ. And see him, your life is to be conformed to him. Now live as such.

Right. Yeah, bro. Yeah. Yeah, man. And that's, that's huge, man. That's huge. Yeah. Darren Stead put that last comment by Darren up. Yeah, he did. Russell Moore, Darren Stead said that Russell Moore just made a similar statement about the Puritans today.

Yeah. Yeah. He was talking about Bunyan. I'm trying to find it now, brother. Now I can't find it. Yeah. Yeah, he did. Hang on one second. I'll find it. We can keep talking, but I'll find it. But it's, they get that maybe, maybe gracious here.

I think the Puritans get that rap. Yeah, it's on my Twitter feed too, Darren. I think they get that rap because, because they are Christo centric and because they are so, so biblical and Bible centered in, in, in what they, what they, you know, how they preached and how they lived that that flies in the face of the flesh.

And you've got so many, you know, mile wide inch deep believers today because of pragmatism and the secret sensitive, the secret oriented movement as far as churches that, that whenever they, they read the, oh no, it's too hard.

No, good night. That's challenging. Like he just, John Flavel won't stop talking about all the ways I need to guard my heart. And, and, and, you know, it needs to start with a reminder that I am, I am nothing and I can't read Edwards.

Edward was, I mean, he, he compared me to a spider that's going to be thrown into a fire. And, and, you know, I just, that's just not very loving. That's just, that's just so downcast and it's so depressing.

And it's like, you missing the point, missing the point because you don't, you don't want to get it because you love comfort too much. Yeah. That's ultimately what it is. You're pride filled and you love being comfortable and you want to be, you want to be made to feel all warm and fuzzy inside, you know?

So here's, here's something.

I think saying that in, in talking about the Puritans in their writings, I think they do right in a very warm manner. Because when you, because now, once you understand the flow of, we'll just say the Puritan sermon, once you understand the flow, once it gets to Christ and the, and the, the magnification and exaltation of Christ, once you get there.

Oh, it's glorious. Well, dude, even in, even in keeping the heart right. When, when, when, when flambles going through this man, like, I mean, there are some hard, some hard truths that you read in here and you really have to stop and, and take a step back.

And I mean, I'm flipping through my copy right now. I mean, you see the highlights and the notes and, and I mean, I've got ouch written right here on this page. And, and so, I mean, it's just talking about, I mean, in this section, right?

I'm just, if you sow the spirit, you will reap everlasting life. And so Flavel says this, he says, quote, your religious seasons are your seed times. And in the eternal world, you must, you must reap the fruits of what you sow in your duties here.

If you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption. If you sow to the spirit, you will reap everlasting life. Answer, answer seriously these questions. Are you willing to reap the fruit of vanity in the world to come?

Right? Strong stuff. But then in the next paragraph, he goes in and talks about when you reap according to the spirit, the joy that comes in this world and the next. It's like people just, they're just so downcast and so negative all the time.

It's like, well, keep reading. I would venture to say that those people who say that, I would genuinely ask them, have you ever heard the gospel? I mean, the actual gospel, the fact that you were, according to Ephesians 2, dead in your trespasses and sins.

You were an enemy of the most high God, that he is angry with your sin and you each and every day apart from him. That if he wanted to right now, he could let you die in your sin in Adam and you would go to hell and experience the unbridled, just wrath of God for all of eternity.

Like, I mean, do you understand that, Christian, professing Christian? Do you understand that apart from the salvific work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, that you have no hope?

Do you understand what Christ endured on your behalf? That he absorbed the very wrath that you and I deserved on the cross, took the scourging that we deserve, the beating that we deserved, and then had the full unbridled, unadulterated wrath of God put on him for you.

That's the gospel. Not, not, oh, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. And if you'll let him, he needs you. If you'll let him, would you pray and just ask him in your heart, would you repeat this prayer after me?

That's not the gospel. That's the, that's the, here's what that is. That's the doctrine of demons. That's what that is. That's the gospel of easy believism, which will damn you to an eternal hell just as much as the atheist who says there is no God.

And in fact, I would venture to say that that's worse because of the false sense of assurance that you have. That's why we need to read the Puritans. One of the reasons.

Sorry, I get a little fired up. Well, I mean, and I think it was, I think it was in the Puritan documentary that I think it was Leland Ryken who said it when people look at the Puritans and say that they're downcast.

Well, if you compare it to, you know, a drunkard, someone who doesn't get drunk is a buzzkill. Right. So, so what, what is it? You have all of these, and we can, we can say them in the church, right? They are in the church.

We see them on Twitter. Hello. They, they want to be fleshly and live in the flesh while attributing a, a Christian title to it. Yep. And then the Puritans come along and say, no, you must live holy in every aspect of your life.

Well, that's a huge buzzkill. Well, you mean I can't act like this person over here who said the curse word all the time? You know, I can't, I can't do that. Well, Paul said a curse word. No, he didn't.

Okay. But nevertheless, that's not a prescriptive text. We have a prescriptive text that says watch your mouth. Yeah. You know, it's this, this isn't difficult. Okay. But Darren has a good comment here.

When people have a hard time understanding Puritans, I always tell them it's Sibbes. He follows that Puritan pattern, but with great simplicity. Yeah. Sibbes, you know, Richard Sibbes was actually, I think that this right here, the bruised read, I think this was my first Puritan paperback.

And the thing, if you want to talk about the warmness that the Puritans can bring, Sibbes does that in the bruised read. If you are, if you yourself are feeling downcast, right? Read the bruised read.