Lecture 6 Some Outstanding Puritan Leaders in New England

NEW ENGLAND THEOLOGY
Lecture 6
Some Outstanding Puritan Leaders in New England

Throughout the colonial period New England was blessed with exceptionally
gifted leaders both civic and ecclesiastical. We begin with the former, the greatest
civic leader of early New England, Governor John Winthrop.

Background
John Winthrop was born in 1588 and grew up in a God-fearing family. His
mother was a fervent Puritan who gave Biblical instruction to her children during
the long absences of her husband on his business trips to London. John, the second
born, had three surviving sisters and the household included at least eight servants
who helped with life at Groton Manor. After completing grammar school he
enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he often heard the great Puritan
William Perkins preach. Although he was brought up in a Christian home and knew
the Gospel way of salvation he wasted his adolescent years pursuing sinful pleasures
His own testimony later was that he had been “lewdly disposed to all kinds of
wickedness, except swearing and scouring religion.” At the age of twelve he began
to hunger for true Religion and read some of the Puritan books of the day.
His marriage in 1605 to Mary Forth cut short his academic pursuits. After
giving him six children, four of whom survived, she herself died in childbirth John
remarried quickly but his second wife also lost her life in childbirth along with the
baby. Happily his marriage to Margaret Tyndal, in 1618 lasted until her death two
years before his own.
Like many Puritans Winthrop wrestled with lack of assurance of salvation.
Although he came to saving faith in Christ he seems to have been susceptible to
various temptations throughout his life. As he wrote in his diary one time: “O Lord,
crucify the world unto me, that though I cannot avoid to live among the baits and
snares of it, yet it may be so truly dead unto me and I unto it.”.
Winthrop first considered becoming a minister but eventually settled on a
career in law. He became justice of the peace at Groton and then lord of Groton
manor. Having acquired a reputation of being a capable lawyer he was appointed to
the Court of Wards where he often had to decide difficult cases having to do with
disputes between the Crown and commoners about land ownership John became
known as a wise and fair arbitrator so that his respect among the people grew
steadily.

Migration
In August of 1629 after much prayer, reflection and discussion with his wife

and Puritan friends, John decided to emigrate to New England What caused a man
of his stature and age (he was forty-two years old) to leave the comforts of England
for a dangerous and uncertain life in the new world? There are several reason for his
decision. The first one was that being a Puritan he was disappointed at the lack of
progress that had been made so far to reform the Church of England. The advent of
Charles I to the throne had made things worse for the Puritans than they had been
under his son James I. Life under this king and especially his archbishop William
Laud was becoming unbearable. Laud demanded that all members of the clergy
adhere strictly to the prescribed liturgy and ceremonies in the Church of England
which meant reading public prayers according to the Prayer Book, and wearing the
surplice. Any who refused were barred from their pulpits and sometimes imprisoned.
Another motive for leaving England was that Winthrop was struggling
financially. He had serious debt problems and economic prospects in England were
not good while they seemed much better in New England. But another reason for
leaving was that Winthrop was a very gifted leader who would certainly have risen
to a place of prominence in England but since he was a Puritan this was highly
unlikely. John Winthrop, always seeking to read God’s providence, put all these
factors together to believe that God was leading him to New England.
When some Puritan friends invited him to become a partner in the
Massachusetts Bay Company which had been chartered by the King, John agreed to
do so Because the charter did not specify where the company should be
administered, the members conveniently interpret this to mean they could do so
from New England. Not surprisingly Winthrop was elected as the Massachusetts
Bay first Governor.
Shortly thereafter, John Winthrop, leaving his wife and all but his two oldest
sons behind, departed in April 1630 on the Arbella for the new world, arriving on
June 12, 1630. His wife and the rest of his children would follow a year later.

Perseverance
After arriving in Boston, John wrote to Margaret, his wife, telling her that their
son Henry had drowned in a river while trying to retrieve a canoe. Meanwhile, back
in England John’s son Forth, who was about to be ordained to the ministry suddenly
became ill and died. While John was still on the Arbella, Margaret gave birth to a
baby girl whom they named Anne, but when later she and the baby were on their
way to New England, little Anne became ill, died and was buried at sea. Several
more of John’s children died before he did. Of John’s six daughters four died as
infants, one as a toddler, and the only surviving daughter died in 1643. John wrote to
Margaret while she was still in England, telling her that at least 200 of those who
had come with him to Massachusetts Bay had died between April and December,
1630 . Yet in spite of all these adversities John was able to tell Margaret and others

that New England was a bountiful place, that God had led them there, and that to get
to heaven we must sometimes go through hell.

Winthrop the Governor
The terms of office of governor of Massachusetts being only one year, he was
elected governor for the first four years, after which he was defeated by Thomas
Dudley his rival. John barely kept a seat as a magistrate. Though painful for him,
John nonetheless brought all the magistrates home for lunch that day, as a sign of
Christian charity. He lost the governorship on several other occasions too. It seems
that some thought John too lenient, not hard enough on those failing to obey the
laws of the Colony, while others respected John’s leadership but were reluctant to
have him serve indefinitely, lest he become a tyrant and control the people. This was
a great disappointment to John, but he humbly took the abuse and rejection.
Winthrop did his best to govern with the Bible as his guide, but he also
realized that Scripture did not always give specific guidance for specific cases.
Therefore he often judged cases based on precedents of British law. He also believed
that since this was a new colony some would violate the law unknowingly. Thus he
sought to use prudence and wisdom in how best to judge individual cases. He would
discretely decide when to prosecute and when to be lenient. This was highly
offensive to some of the Puritan leaders who insisted on judging cases strictly
according to Scripture, especially by O.T. laws and regulations Consequently John’s
style of leadership frustrated many.
In the midst of his many trials, two things remained constant for Winthrop- his
loving wife Margaret and his faith in God. His perseverance in the midst of
incredible deprivation, accusation, and heartache evokes awe. A deep and abiding
faith in his great and faithful God characterized him throughout his life.

Controversy
Winthrop’s name is and reputation has suffered considerably from the way he
handled two very difficult cases. I am referring to the problems surrounding Roger
Williams and Anne Hutchinson. Roger Williams was a godly, pious, and able young
man who had studied at Cambridge and was tutored by the great Puritan theologian
John Owen. Williams came to New England in 1631, one year after Winthrop
arrived there. Pastor John Wilson of the Boston church had returned to England to
fetch his wife, and it was not long before the congregation voted to call Roger
Williams to be their pastor. Williams surprised them by declining their offer, saying
that theirs was not a pure church, because they had not completely separated from
the Church of England and that he consequently could have no fellowship with those
given to impurity. He claimed the Church of England admitted whores and
drunkards into the church and the Boston church’s unwillingness to denounce the

Church of England made them party to such licentiousness.
Williams then went to the Salem church and they also extended him a call to
be their pastor. Winthrop, knowing that Williams held the extreme views just
mentioned, urged the congregation to withdraw the call which they did. Williams
then made his way to the Plymouth Colony hoping that the Pilgrims would invite
him to be their pastor. But they soon found out that he held views which even they,
Separatist as they were, thought extreme. Williams charged the church with worldly
compromise in that the members, when returning to England, worshipped in Church
of England churches. But what provoked the greatest opposition to Roger Williams
was his claim that the Massachusetts Bay had received its charter to gain land by a
lie from King Charles I, and that it must abandon the project and return to England
or demand the King repent of his lie.
By this time Williams was back in Boston and the upheaval he was causing
had to be addressed. Winthrop was not Governor at the time but he was a magistrate
and heard the case with the other magistrates. Williams was put on trial, found
guilty, and banished from the Massachusetts Bay. He traveled to Narragansett Bay,
modern day Rhode Island, and continued his separatist practices. At one point
Williams had become so separatistic that he doubted the spirituality of all in his
church but his wife and refused to take communion with any but her.
Then there is the case of Anne Hutchinson who came to Massachusetts Bay
with her husband, William, in September, 1634. She was not a separatist and she had
a nimble mind, quick wit, was well versed Biblically, and could sustain theological
argumentation with the best of men. She followed her favorite preacher, John
Cotton, to the new world. Cotton had been silenced by William Laud, and was a
highly respected Puritan preacher known for his clear and unambiguous expositions
of the doctrines of grace. While he stood firmly against antinomianism, he was
equally opposed to its opposite danger, namely legalism While Calvinism teaches
the doctrine of election and effectual calling, that people only respond to the gospel
if the Holy Spirit draws them, many Puritans had fallen into preparationism, that one
ought to seek God, often for a long period of time, grieving over his sin and
repenting, in hopes that God would have mercy on him. This seemed to Anne
Hutchinson, and John Cotton for that matter, to border on the hated heresy of
Arminianism, that man by his own free will could choose for Christ. Shortly after
arriving in Massachusetts Bay, Anne Hutchinson began leading a weekly bible class
for women. She would start with discussing the previous Sunday sermons by Cotton
but then move into talk of her peculiar doctrines. Among other things she taught that
one’s outward life of sanctification was no guarantee of one’s salvation or election,
and that people could be deceived. The Puritans taught that sanctification could be a
very strong evidence of sincere conversion but she was not convinced. She also
taught that conversion involved a direct influence of the Holy Spirit which made the

word of God secondary at best. In other words she denied the final authority of
God’s written word in favor of what we now call extra-biblical revelation. She also
taught that the Holy Spirit sealing mentioned in Ephesians 1:4 was the true evidence
of one’s election. This was not contrary to Puritan doctrine for men like William
Perkins, Richard Sibbes, and Thomas Goodwin taught the same thing, but she went
further than they did, saying that the sealing of the Spirit rendered the word of God
redundant and unnecessary. Hutchinson also taught that those with the sealing of the
Holy Spirit had the supernatural ability to discern true believers. Only those were in
the covenant of grace and all others, who sought evidence of conversion through
keeping God’s law, were laboring under the covenant of works. She said that only
two preachers in the Bay were covenant of grace men, John Cotton and her brother-
in-law John Wheelwright. When she sought to have John Wheelwright appointed a
teacher at the Boston church, even though they already had two preachers, John
Cotton and John Wilson, a greatly alarmed John Winthrop knew he had to prevent
his election as a pastor. This was Winthrop’s right as a church member and his
persuasiveness and integrity convinced the congregation to vote against
Wheelwright, but this cost Winthrop dearly. Almost all the people of Boston were
against him.
Finally the teaching and factious spirit of Anne Hutchinson became so great
that the General Court in Boston brought charges against her, citing over 100 errors
in her teaching which threatened the security of the Bay. When brought to trial John
Winthrop did his best to bring out her errors but Hutchinson was far too nimble for
him. She turned his arguments on their head and made him look silly. Those
ministers who testified against her were asked by her to swear that they had heard
her correctly. They were unwilling to swear. This was a very humiliating time for
Winthrop; and Hutchinson certainly would have been acquitted had she not, at the
end of the trial, admitted what Winthrop and the others had sought to prove, that she
received divine revelation from the Holy Spirit, beyond the Scriptures. She said that
she had by way of immediate revelation from the Holy Ghost assurance that she
would be set free, and that God would bring a curse on these men and their posterity
for their mistreatment of her, that the mouth of the Lord had spoken. Later she was
brought before the church on charges of heresy and eventually excommunicated,
banished to Rhode Island along with her husband and John Wheelwright.

Winthrop’s New England Vision
Perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached in connection with America,
one often quoted by Presidents and other political leaders of every political
ideology, but whose author is seldom cited is Winthrop’s Christian Charity sermon
which he preached on board the Arabella just prior to his departure for the New
World.

We find here his vision for New England. Among other things he sets forth
clearly that they were not separating from the Church of England, that she was still
their mother. This was very different from the Pilgrims who proclaimed their
separatism; and as we have already seen, Winthrop later backed up his vision by
banishing Williams and Hutchinson for advocating separatism. Yet his treatment of
those convicted of wrongdoing was always measured certainly by the standards of
that time. He was keenly aware of his own sinful inclinations, as well as those of
others, and this awareness helped him deal charitably and graciously with
transgressors of the law and those who opposed him He believed that life in the New
World would be difficult and therefore demanded extraordinary cooperation and
mutual charity . Just as the human body is held together by ligaments, so the church
which the body of Christ is held together by ligaments of love.. They were to share
in each others joy, sorrow, weal, and woe. They were to strengthen, defend,
preserve, and comfort one another. They must not be content with ordinary effort for
they had entered into a covenant with the Lord for His work. If they failed to honor
the Lord He would break out against them with hardship but if they obeyed Him He
would pour blessings upon them, making them a praise and a glory, a City upon a
Hill. The eyes of all the people were upon them, that they were to do as Micah had
said, “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.”
This was classic Puritanism and would not have sounded strange or new to his
fellow travelers, yet it was the New England vision which Winthrop promoted and
upon which this nation was founded. Winthrop’s Christian charity, whether always
consciously applied or not, was the foundation for how he governed. When faced
with a ruling he sought to go to God’s word for direction, realizing at times that
some would disagree with him, seeking whenever possible to be patient and always
charitable with others, often waiting for more insight on how to decide an issue or
case.
Without question, his New England vision has been the foundation of
American democracy, whatever one’s political or religious persuasion in this
country. Winthrop was a man without guile. He readily admitted his own sin and
shortcomings. He bore patiently with others, often going further than most deemed
necessary to redeem a wayward soul, seeking privately to persuade them of their
error. Only then, and reluctantly at that, would he render judgments against them.
He gave of his own wealth, shared his food with others, and offered his life to the
people of New England.
He was of course a man of his time and therefore limited in his vision. He held
views on democracy that are unacceptable to us today. He had no problem with
government intervention in the church and vice versa. He saw nothing wrong with
slavery. He very well himself may have owned a few. The thought never occurred to
him to allow women the right to vote. He at the very least acquiesced to the

slaughter of the Pequot Indians in 1637 . Neverheless Winthrop tried to bring unity
to the Massachusetts Bay in all the essentials, while allowing a great deal of
diversity in the non-essentials. He was anything but a separatist. He knew that
perfection could not be gained in this world, that all were sinners and none had
perfect understanding, that even sincere Christians disagreed on certain issues. He
walked the fine line, as many great men and women have done throughout history,
of desiring a better, more perfect and just world and laboring for it, while at the
same time realizing the limitations our sinfulness brings to the task.

Lessons Learned from Winthrop
At least four character traits stand out in the life of John Winthrop which
deserve to be emulated First is his humility. Though he had been appointed
Governor of the Bay while still in England, and though he had no reason to give the
right of vote to the majority of men who came with him, he risked anarchy by giving
it to them. When, after four years, he was voted out as Governor, being replaced by
Thomas Dudley, a younger man, much less qualified than he, never expressed his
disappointment or humiliation at losing his high position. He was voted in and out as
Governor several other times, and never complained or acted rudely. He seemed
always to see the hand of providence in all these affairs, keeping in mind his own
sinful propensities, constantly renewing his covenant with God through the blood of
Jesus. When he wrote his case against Anne Hutchinson he allowed Thomas
Shepard to review his argument and Shepard was aghast at Winthrop’s poor
exposition of theology. A great statesman you are; he said, but a very poor
theologian. Winthrop took no offense at Shepard’s rather tactless response and chose
not to publish his arguments against Hutchinson.
Second is his grace. His patience with opponents like Thomas Dudley, Anne
Hutchinson, Roger Williams, and the people of the Bay who periodically challenged
him about his rulings ought to be emulate by our politicians today. The foundation
of such grace was his keen awareness that God had been gracious to him through
Christ. He was always conscious of his sin, how capable he was of great evil, how a
sovereign God of mercy had revealed Himself to a worm like him. He understood
God’s providence in directing all the affairs of his life, that nothing was an accident,
that he had been placed in this high position by One of undeniable wisdom. He
understood well that to whom much is given, much is required. He knew that
because he was a sinner it was possible for him to misinterpret, to misread an issue,
that he may be incorrect in his judgments, and wrongly reading God’s word and law;
thus he was always slow to act, preferring when at all possible to be lenient with
those who erred
Third is his wisdom. If wisdom is knowledge applied to specific circumstances
then Winthrop was one of the wisest men of the last five hundred years. He had an

uncanny ability to look down the road at the decisions he or others made, at where
certain beliefs would take him or others, and he was then able to act or rule in ways
most beneficial to the Bay as a whole. .
And fourth is his magnanimity. One of the problems with separatism is that it
leads to a lack of charity and love. When the settlement in Virginia, which tended to
side with the King against the Puritans in the Civil War in England, and which
generally lacked the godliness present in Massachusetts Bay faced Indian invasion
and asked for powder and shot from the Bay, the General Court refused. Winthrop
reminded them, unfortunately to no avail, that Virginia’s lack of godliness and their
lack of shot and powder, were no reason to refuse help to others in need. Cotton
Mather later noted in his Magnalia Christiana that Winthrop was a veritable Joseph
who provided out of his own storehouse of grain for those in need, in times of near
famine.

Conclusion
The remarkable architect of the American experiment, the one who brought us
the vision of a City upon a Hill, persevered with faith through unimaginable
disappointment and heartache. The modern view of the Puritans as narrow-minded,
unloving, religious bigots and zealots is completely unfounded They were not
perfect to be sure. There was no monolithic Puritan ethic or view, but they still
sought to live out biblical virtues in a fallen world. John Winthrop is the forgotten
founding father who gave us this New England vision and we ought to be inspired
by him and the vision he brought.

The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop, by Edmund S. Morgan,
published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Toronto, 1958.