Experiencing the Piety of Predestination

Though predestination was not the center or governing structure of Perkins’s theology (Christ as set forth in the Apostles’ Creed was), he strongly emphasized predestination as the decretal basis of all salvation and sanctification. However, this did not stunt his emphasis on godliness, but enlightened it with a God-centered piety. Predestination was not mere orthodox theology for him or for the Puritans. It was essential to the gospel and to godliness.¹Dewey D. Wallace, Jr., Puritans and Predestination: Grace in English Protestant Theology, 1525–1695 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1982), 43–44.

Primarily concerned with the conversion of souls to God and their subsequent growth in holiness, Perkins believed that a biblical experience of God’s sovereign grace in predestination was vital for spiritual comfort and assurance. He believed that salvation worked out experientially in the souls of believers through God’s covenanting mercies was inseparable from sovereign predestination in Christ. Far from being harsh and cold, sovereign predestination was the foundation upon which experiential faith could be built.²Experimental or experiential preaching addresses how a Christian experiences the truth of scriptural doctrine in his life. The term experimental comes from experimentum, meaning trial, and is derived from the verb experior, to know by experience, which in turn leads to “experiential,” meaning knowledge gained by experiment. Calvin used the Latin equivalents of experimental and experiential interchangeably, since both words indicate the need for measuring experienced knowledge against the touchstone of Scripture. Experimental preaching seeks to explain in terms of biblical truth how matters ought to go, how they do go, and what the goal of the Christian life is. It aims to apply divine truth to the whole range of the believer’s personal experience as well as to his relationships with family, the church, and the world around him. Cf. Robert T. Kendall, Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 8–9; Joel R. Beeke, “The Lasting Power of Reformed Experiential Preaching,” in Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching, ed. Don Kistler (Morgan, Pa.: Soli Deo Gloria, 2002), 94–128. It offered solid hope to the true believer.

Perkins’s predestinarian theology did not make him cold and heartless when dealing with sinners and saints in need of a Savior. Rather, his warm, biblical theology set the tone for the stream of Puritan “practical divinity” literature that would pour forth from the presses in the seventeenth century. It inspired generations of preachers to call men to turn from sin to a loving Savior, and to follow Him through trials to glory.

We should learn from Perkins that predestination is not the enemy of sinners but their friend. Without divine election, there would be no hope for anyone, for we are all sinners. Because of election, repentant sinners are always welcome with God. There is not a single verse in all the Bible that tells us that we will not be welcomed by God if we cast ourselves with all our sins at His feet and put all our trust in His Son. The last invitation of the Bible says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). We must not let the doctrine election rob us of comfort; rather we must let it do its God-appointed work and put solid ground under all our faith and hope as Christians.

As Perkins stressed, we must also let this doctrine of election humble our pride and magnify God’s grace and glory, for it shows us that we can do nothing to save ourselves—God alone saves sinners. Election comforts and sustains us with God’s unchangeable love for us when Satan attacks us with doubts and accusations. It grants us a vibrant vision of God’s special love to us in Christ Jesus which fills us with joy, fueling our reverence and love for Him and moving us to diligent holiness of life.

Excerpt from
The Beauty and Glory of the Reformation
What William Perkins Teaches Us Today
By Joel R. Beekeand and Andrew Ballitch