β
First, then, Puritan preaching was thoroughly biblical. The Puritan preacher found his message in Godβs Word. βThe faithfull Minister, like unto Christ, [is] one that preacheth nothing but the word of God,β said Puritan Edward Dering.[1] John Owen agreed: βThe first and principal duty of a pastor is to feed the flock by diligent preaching of the word.β[2] As Miller Maclure noted, βFor the Puritans, the sermon is not just hinged to Scripture; it quite literally exists inside the Word of God; the text is not in the sermon, but the sermon is in the text.... Put summarily, listening to a sermon is being in the Bible.
β
β
Joel R. Beeke (Puritan Evangelism)