William Perkins

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.

Endorsement

“This is an absolutely wonderful volume that merits all the superlatives that we can imagine. In the academy, it is customary to hear colleagues say that they need to be ‘at the top of their game’ when speaking at an esteemed scholarly conference. The contributors to this volume were at the top of their game when they spoke at a Perkins conference held at the Round Church in Cambridge, England, where William Perkins ministered at the time of the Reformation. These essays are a treasure trove of information about the life and work of Perkins, and at the same time this monument to scholarship can be read devotionally. I found it to be a page-turner.”
—Leland Ryken, author of Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were

Contents

Preface — Joel R. Beeke and Greg Salazar

1. Life and Ministry — Sinclair B. Ferguson
2. Pursuit of Godliness — Geoffrey Thomas
3. The Greatest Case of Conscience — Joel R. Beeke
4. The Wholesome Doctrine of Faith and Love — Stephen Yuille
5. The Primacy of Scripture, Preaching, and Piety — Greg Salazar

Conclusion — Joel R. Beeke and Greg Salazar