William Perkins' Preaching Ministry (Part 5)

Precondition 3: Necessity of Holiness for Preaching

William Perkins strongly promotes the “holiness of heart and blamelessness of life” model for preachers. For him it is preposterous that a minister would approach the pulpit and proceed to preach as anything less than that. His admonition verifies this:

"Furthermore inasmuch as Ministers are Interpreters, they must labour for sanctitie, and holinesse of life… the kingdom of Assiria is saide to be sanctified or set apart, to destroye Gods enemies… If there be a certaine kind of sanctification, necessary for the worke of destruction, they howe much more is true sanctification necessary for this great and glorious worke of the edification of Gods Church? A Minister is to declare the reconciliation betwixt God & Man, and is hee himselfe not reconciled? Dare he present another man to Gods mercy for pardon, and neuer yet presented himselfe? Can hee commende the state of Grace to another, and neuer felt the sweetenesse thereof in his owne soule? Dare hee come to preache sanctification with polluted lips, and out of an unsanctified heart? Moses might not stand uppon the Mount in Gods presence, till hee had put off his shooes from off his feete. Exod. 3. & dare any man presume to come into this most high and holie presence of the Lorde, vntil hee haue mortified his corruptions, and cast off the vnrulines of his affections?"

It must be noted, however, that Perkins does not automatically reckon a “holiness of heart and blamelessness of life” individual as a qualified preacher. Rather, the point is that no individual can do the work of ministering and preaching without such venerable qualifications. He came up with five reasons why:

"1. Because the doctrine of the Word is hard to understand and practice. Consequently the minister ought to express what he teaches by his example, as a kind of model or type of his own message (Phil. 4:8; 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3). 2. A person is not godly, however much he may understand the Scriptures, if he does not possess an inward sense and experience of the Word in his heart (Gen. 18:17-19; Psa. 25:8, 9; Amos 3:7). 3. God abhors godly speech which is not joined with a godly life (Psa. 50:16, 17). As Gregory of Nazianzus (c.329-c.389) said, it is as strange to see someone who is supposed to guide others on the way wandering out of the way himself, as it is to see a physician with signs of disease in his own body. 4. It is one of the secrets of ministry that the minister ought to cover his infirmities, so that they are not obvious. Ordinary people do not distinguish between the ministry and the minister. They are not able to see the importance of the ministry without first assessing the person of the minister… Words do not make as great an impression on the soul as works do! 5. A minister who is wicked, either openly or secretly, is not worthy to stand before the face of the most holy and almighty God (Lev. 10:3; Isa. 6:6-8; Jer. 15:19). That is why the judgments of God remain for wicked ministers to tremble at (1 Sam. 2:17; 25)."

Hence, Perkins views preaching as a life-consuming responsibility, since it concerns the public ministry that must be in accord with the private life of integrity. One can surmise that it is this that caused him to doubt whether there is a more difficult challenge in the theological disciplines than the art of preaching. Remarkably, he demonstrates that he was very close to what he promotes, a preacher with a “holiness of heart and blamelessness of life.”

Notes:

• Perkins, Of the Calling of the Ministerie, Two Treatises, ed. William Crashaw, 3d ed. (London: Printed by Thomas Creede, 1606), 4.
• Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, 72-73.