Dead Folk You Should Know: Richard Baxter

‘See that the work of saving grace be thoroughly wrought in your own souls. Take heed to yourselves lest you be void of that saving grace of God which you offer to others’, wrote Richard Baxter in his book for clergy in 1656.

Our own Colin Reed helps us to understand Baxter’s influence on Bible-centred ministry:

Baxter, an Anglican minister, was a Puritan – a group who believed that the Reformation in England had not gone far enough. They stressed personal piety and moral behaviour, and wanted simpler forms of worship. Biblical preaching and teaching was central. Baxter’s book urged clergy to see their chief role as teaching people the Word of God – from the pulpit and in personal visitation.

In 1620, a group of Puritan ‘Pilgrim’ families left to go to America aboard ‘The Mayflower’.

The Puritans also wanted a form of Church government without bishops. When Queen Elizabeth I died, James VI of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well. The Puritans hoped that, as a Presbyterian, he would support them, but he believed that in England he needed the bishops to support the role of the crown – ‘no bishops, no king’, he said.

After a time of political turmoil during which the Puritans gained much influence, in 1660, Charles II became king. In 1662, he reinstated the Church of England, the Prayer Book was reproduced, and an Act of Uniformity was passed: all clergy must use that book and assent to 24 other requirements. 1,760 Puritans refused and so were ‘deprived’ of their parishes. Baxter was among them.

Puritan values still resonate in Evangelicalism and Baxter’s book still provides a template for ministry today. Remember to support our ministers in prayer for such courage and grace-focus in their teaching.

Grace and peace,
Mark