Reflecting Paul’s warning in Ephesians 4:14, the Puritans knew that if men and women remained immature in their knowledge of Christ, they would be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning…” The Puritans understood what Paul taught—that sound doctrine was the antidote the world needed to fight against the malady of the age.
A Nation at War
England in the late 1500s and early 1600s was not an easy place to live. For faithful believers, persecution crouched at the door, and as the century turned, forcibly beat the door down as the King’s soldiers were given approval to root out those who disagreed with the King’s religious policies. Puritans were imprisoned, forced to recant their beliefs, suffered their ears being severed, their livelihoods confiscated, the books they wrote publicly burned, and for some, their lives taken.
Politically, the nation was on the brink of civil war. Theologically, doctrinal confusion and ignorance reigned. In the midst of moral decline, social unrest, and the rise of false teaching, the Puritans were united in one thing: a desire for the truths of God’s Word to be proclaimed clearly for the purity of the church.
Reflecting Paul’s warning in Ephesians 4:14, the Puritans knew that if men and women remained immature in their knowledge of Christ, they would be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning…” The Puritans understood what Paul taught—that sound doctrine was the antidote the world needed to fight against the malady of the age. Rich doctrine, doctrine that reflected the depth and beauty of the gospel, was essential if the church was going to survive difficult times.
Their understanding of the necessity of spiritual maturity drove the Puritans to work for theological reformation and training in godliness for everyone in the nation, from the Cambridge and Oxford elites to the simple laborer.
However, there was a problem. The King did not want reformation, and as head of the Church in England, he held the power to stop any attempt at biblical change. So, many Puritans fled to the New World, with the hope of establishing theological training centers free from the shackles of tyranny. One Cambridge University graduate named John Harvard, for example, took the perilous weeks-long journey to a fledgling colony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He became a pastor, but only lived a year in the new town before succumbing to illness. Upon his death, he left instructions for the donation of his library to a young local college, which he envisioned as a beacon for faithful theological education for the next generation of ministers. The gift of Harvard’s library formed Harvard University, a school that still bears his name, if not necessarily his legacy.
