One of my favorite places to go for a day trip is St. Louis, Missouri. From where I live at in Henderson, Kentucky, it takes about two and a half hours to reach the east side of the city. Two of my favorite attractions are the St. Louis Metropolitan Museum and St. Louis Metropolitan Zoo. One Saturday morning, while wandering along the various art exhibits, I encountered one of the museum’s star bronze statues – called The Puritan. As I took the picture above, I remember overhearing a couple of young people commenting that the statue looked menacing, judgmental, and angry. As I thought about what the young girls said, I knew that the reason they felt this way was because of the world’s perception of Puritan life and culture.
During his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ did teach his disciples and all that listened in that day, Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets (Luke 6:22-23). What is it about the Puritans of Colonial America that the lost world still hates? What is it about the Puritans that the lost world ridicules, mocks, and scorns? What is it about the Puritans that the lost world sees as menacing, judgmental, and angry? The answer is simple from the perspective of a Christian – it is their stand on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The legacy of the Puritans in Colonial America bears witness to the very thing that Christ taught – If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:18-19).
As an American historian by trade and training, I have always enjoyed studying the faith and life of those early American settlers. Because of this background, when I saw that sculpture I didn’t see the same things that the young people saw; in fact, I saw someone who was sincere, dedicated, firmly rooted in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a staunch defender of his faith hating the very things of the flesh that tend to weigh down the typical Christian of our day. In fact, the Puritan faith of Colonial America can be summed up in three verses: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mark 12:30), But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37), and No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). These three verses are the keys to understanding the reason for the stand of the Puritan.
Because of their love and devotion of God and the things of God, they tended to live a life as close to their understanding of Biblical principles as possible. While a part of their faith was based on the concept of Calvinism – the belief that God has predestined some to Heaven and others to eternal damnation – they did believe that one’s lifestyle determined their eternal destination. This was driven by the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16-20). While I do reject the teachings of Calvinism, I do believe that a holy lifestyle does show a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The drive for a holy and chaste lifestyle also came from a second scriptural reference: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). Their dedication to the teachings of Christ, especially the importance of drawing others to Christ was also based on this verse: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). In their personal lives, and as a community of believers, they felt compelled to live a lifestyle that reflected the holiness and love of God and would serve to remind the lost world of the offer of salvation available to those who were willing to submit their lives to God.
