William Perkins On Pastoral Theology

William Perkins was a scholar, pastor, and faithful follower of Christ in a tumultuous time. He gave himself to the study of Scripture out of an abiding love for the glory of God among the people of Christ as well as for the training of future ministers in the doctrines of the faith. William Perkins’s works have greatly influenced Christendom in the centuries that have passed. He writes with a scholar’s mind and a pastor’s heart. This book examines William Perkins’s view of the biblical role of a pastor in the life of a local church in comparison and contrast to the viewpoints of the Reformers as well as others who proceeded after Perkins. The goal is to understand and evaluate William Perkins’s thought, from Holy Scripture, in light of biblical pastoral theology.

William Perkins and the Making of Protestant England presents a new interpretation of the theology and historical significance of William Perkins (1558-1602), a prominent Cambridge scholar and teacher during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Though often described as a Puritan, Perkins was in fact a prominent and effective apologist for the established church whose contributions to English religious thought had an immense influence on an English Protestant culture that endured well into modern times. The English Reformation is shown to be a part of the European-wide Reformation, and Perkins himself a leading Reformed theologian. In A Reformed Catholike (1597), Perkins distinguished the theology upheld in the English Church from that of the Roman Catholic Church, while at the same time showing the considerable extent to which the two churches shared common concerns. His books dealt extensively with the nature of salvation and the need to follow a moral way of life. Perkins wrote pioneering works on conscience and 'practical divinity'. In The Arte of Prophecying (1607), he provided preachers with a guidebook to the study of the Bible and their oral presentation of its teachings. He dealt boldly and in down-to-earth terms with the need to achieve social justice in an era of severe economic distress. Perkins is shown to have been instrumental to the making of a Protestant England, and to have contributed significantly to the development of the religious culture not only of Britain but also of a broad range of countries on the Continent.

This seventh volume includes three treatises that strike a helpful balance of emphases on theology, history, and practice. A Reformed Catholic exists as a systematic, theological presentation of Perkins’s Reformed soteriology in contrast with the Church of Rome. Perkins’s Problem of the Forged Catholicism is an exercise in historical theology, proving from the primary source documents of church history that the Roman Catholicism articulated at Trent is not supported by the first twelve hundred years of the church’s witness. A Warning Against Idolatry handles worship practices—including liturgies, ceremonies, customs, and rites—concluding that all the externals of worship must be regulated by Scripture in the strictest sense. Taken as a whole, Perkins’s polemical work against the Church of Rome draws a clear dividing line between Roman Catholicism and the Reformed tradition.

William Perkins was a scholar, pastor, and faithful follower of Christ in a tumultuous time. He gave himself to the study of Scripture out of an abiding love for the glory of God among the people of Christ as well as for the training of future ministers in the doctrines of the faith. William Perkins’s works have greatly influenced Christendom in the centuries that have passed. He writes with a scholar’s mind and a pastor’s heart. This book examines William Perkins’s view of the biblical role of a pastor in the life of a local church in comparison and contrast to the viewpoints of the Reformers as well as others who proceeded after Perkins. The goal is to understand and evaluate William Perkins’s thought, from Holy Scripture, in light of biblical pastoral theology.

Once a highly influential preacher in the Elizabethan Church and the international Reformed world, William Perkins (1558–1602) has become a rather surprisingly neglected figure in the history of the church. In this book, Joel Beeke, Sinclair Ferguson, Greg Salazar, Geoff Thomas, and Stephen Yuille seek to recover the importance of Perkins by situating his life, priorities, ministry challenges, and influence within their original seventeenth-century context. They help readers “to peer behind the veil” to see the real Perkins as he contended for the faith and attempted to shepherd God’s people in the midst of profound challenges. In this way, this volume will be both a reservoir of theological and practical truth and will foster a greater experiential knowledge of and love for the great God who William Perkins proclaimed and served. Table of Contents: 1. Preface: Joel R. Beeke and Greg Salazar 2. Life and Ministry: Sinclair B. Ferguson 3. Pursuit of Godliness: Geoffrey Thomas 4. The Greatest Case of Conscience: Joel R. Beeke 5. The Wholesome Doctrine of Faith and Love: Stephen Yuille 6. The Primacy of Scripture, Preaching, and Piety: Greg Salazar 7. Conclusion: Joel R. Beeke and Greg Salazar

This sixth volume begins with three important works on predestination. The first is A Golden Chain , which treats the main points of theology with an emphasis on “the order of the causes of salvation and damnation.” The second is A Christian and Plain Treatise of the Manner and Order of Predestination , which gives a strident defense of the sovereignty of God in election and reprobation. The third, A Treatise on God’s Free Grace and Man’s Free Will , examines the responsibility of man and how that harmonizes with the will of God in ordaining all things. These treatises showcase Perkins’s scholarly and pastoral concerns on matters vital to the salvation of sinners. Table of Contents: Golden Chain (Foldout poster in the front) Manner and Order of Predestination Treatise on God’s Free Grace and Man’s Free Will Fruitful Dialogue Concerning the End of the World Against Alexander Dickson On Memory

This tenth volume brings together seven treatises that demonstrate Perkins’s core conviction that the gospel touches all of life by bringing it under the rule of Scripture. Treatise on How to Live Well in All Estates opens the volume with a description of the reign of faith in Christians’ hearts so that they avoid sin and pursue the will of God in all they do. Treatise on Vocations explains how God calls Christians to live out their faith in whatever responsibilities they hold within society. Right Manner of Erecting and Ordering a Family applies the concept of vocation to life in the home. Calling of the Ministry applies vocation to the church, describing the duties and dignities of the ministers of Christ. Art of Prophesying equips those called to the ministry with the proper manner and method of preaching God’s Word. Christian Equity exhorts Christians to maintain justice and preserve peace, whether in families, church, or the greater commonwealth. Having finished with principles of living by faith, the volume ends with Treatise on Dying Well , which discusses the importance of faith at the end of life.