Richard Baxter on "Family Religion"

The Reformed Pastor is English Puritan Richard Baxter's stirring treatise on Acts 20:28 written to the ministers of the county of Worcestershire in 1656. Rarely have I enountered a book that combines readability, practical helpfulness and devotional inspiration in such measure. Baxter, in addition to being eminently beneficial, is also a pleasure to read! Whereas John Owen, who though a superior theologian to Baxter, had a writing style the reading of which can be akin to Chinese water torture. One such example of Baxter's inimitable style and bold directness may suffice to prove my point.

If any minister who hath two hundred pounds a year can prove that a hundred pounds of it may do God more service, if it be laid out on himself, or wife and children, than if it maintain one or two suitable assistants to help forward the salvation of the flock, I shall not presume to reprove his expenses; but where this cannot be proved, let not the practice be justified.
And I must further say, that this poverty is not so intolerable and dangerous a thing as it is pretended to be. If you have but food and raiment, must you not therewith be content? and what would you have more than that which may fit you for the work of God? It is not 'being clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day,' that is necessary for this end. 'A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth.' If your clothing be warm and your food be wholesome, you may be as well supported by it to do God's service as if you had the fullest satisfaction to your flesh. A patched coat may be warm, and bread and water are wholesome food. He that wanteth not these, hath but a poor excuse to make for hazarding men's souls, that he may live on dainties.*

Baxter instructs his readers to direct their energies as ministers to four classes of people within the flock, and in this order of priority: the unconverted, the inquirer (what today we might call the seeker), the converted (and he breaks this down into classes i.e. the weak Christian, the declining Christian, the strong Christian, etc.), families, and the sick. From the section on families I offer this lengthy excerpt, which I believe gets to the heart of the reformation in pastoral ministry that Baxter was seeking to accomplish with the writing of this book.

We must have a special eye upon families, to see that they are well ordered, and the duties of each relation performed. The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all. What are we like to do ourselves to the reforming of a congregation, if all work be cast on us alone; and masters of families neglect that necessary duty of their own, by which they are bound to help us? If any good be begun by the ministry in any soul, a careless, prayerless, worldly family is like to stifle it, or very much hinder it; whereas, if you could but get the rulers of families to do their duty, to take up the work where you left it, and help it on, what abundance of good might be done! I beseech you, therefore, if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people, do all you can to promote family religion. To this end, let me entreat you to attend to the following things:
(1) Get information how each family is ordered, that you may know how to proceed in your endeavours for their further good.
(2) Go occasionally among them, when they are likely to be most at leisure, and ask the master of the family whether he prays with them, and reads the Scripture, or what he doth? Labour to convince such as neglect this, of their sin; and if you have opportunity, pray with them before you go, and give them an example of what you would have them do. Perhaps, too, it might be well to get a promise from them, that they will make more conscience of their duty for the future.
(3) If you find any, through ignorance and want of practice, unable to pray, persuade them to study their own wants, and to get their hearts affected with them, and, in the meanwhile, advise them to use a form of prayer, rather than not pray at all. Tell them, however, that it is their sin and shame that they have lived so negligently, as to be unacquainted with their own necessities as not to know how to speak to God in prayer, when every beggar can find words to ask an alms; and, therefore, that a form of prayer is but for necessity, as a crutch to a cripple, while they cannot do well without it; but that they must resolve not to be content with it, but to learn to do better as speedily as possible, seeing that prayer should come from the feelings of the heart, and be varied according to our necessities and circumstances.
(4) See that in every family there are some useful moving books [I love that phrase!], beside the Bible. If they have none, persuade them to buy some: if they be not able to buy them, give them some if you can. If you are not able yourself, get some gentleman, or other rich persons, that are ready to good works, to do it. And engage them to read them at night, when they have leisure, and especially on the Lord's day.
(5) Direct them how to spend the Lord's day; how to despatch their wordly business, so as to prevent encumbrances and distractions; and when they have been at church, how to spend the time in their families. The life of religion dependeth much on this, because poor people have no other free considerable time; and, therefore, if they lose this, they lose all, and will remain ignorant and brutish. Persuade the master of every family to cause his children and servants to repeat the Catechism to him, every Sabbath evening, and to give him some account of what they have heard at church during the day.
Neglect not, I beseech you, this important part of your work. Get masters of families to do their duty, and they will not only spare you a great deal of labour, but will much further the success of your labours. If a captain can get the officers under him to do their duty, he may rule the soldiers with much less trouble, than if all lay upon his own shoulders. You are not like to see any general reformation, till you procure family reformation. Some little religion there may be, here and there; but while it is confined to single persons, and is not promoted in families, it will not prosper, nor promise much future increase.*

Much has changed since Baxter's era, both in family life and society, but may we 21st-century Christians not learn something from Baxter's "family religion"? I'm picturing a family in my own church, something like Baxter's ideal. It would be saying too much to describe them as the backbone of our church, but from oldest to youngest, the contributions to the life, vigor and godliness of our church would be exceedingly difficult to replace. Would that we had more such! Whether pastor or layperson, married or single, parent or child; let us endeavor to be less careless, less prayerless and less worldly; to the praise of Christ and his church.



*Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, Banner of Truth Trust (1974)