13
Nov
2008

Thomas Hooker on Conviction of Sin and Conversion

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13 Nov 2008
Thomas Hooker, the New England Puritan, once made the astute observation that the problem with the men at Pentecost was not that they had not seen nor heard Christ enough before, but that they had not been sufficiently convicted of their sins. They had seen Christ many times before, but the Holy Spirit had to come and convict them of their sins in a saving way. Iain Murray writes:

The reason for the change in the 3,000 on the day of Pentecost was not that they had not heard of Christ before but that they had not been convicted before: ‘They were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,what shall we do?’ [Acts 2.37]. 1

Hooker wrote:

A true sight and sense of a man’s sinful condition sets men upon the search, awakens men out of that senseless security in which they were buried, makes them look about them, puts them upon the serious consideration of their own spiritual condition, not long before they had scant thought whether they had souls to be saved, or sins to be pardoned, or mercy to be looked after, they never put it to the question what they could say or shew for heaven, but now they begin to think with themselves what they are.2

[1]Iain Murray “Thomas Hooker and the Doctrine of Conversion,” http://www.apuritansmind.com/PDF/Iain_Murray_on_Thomas_Hooker_and_Seeking.pdf

[2] Thomas Hooker The Application of Redemption (London: Peter Cole, 1656) p. 560

About Post Author

Nick Batzig is the senior pastor of Church Creek PCA in Charleston, SC and an associate editor for Ligonier Ministries. Prior to serving at Church Creek, Nick was a pastor at Wayside PCA on Signal Mountain, TN. Formerly, Nick served as the founding pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Richmond Hill, GA and as the editor of Reformation21 and the Christward Collective--sites of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. He frequently writes for Tabletalk Magazine, Reformation 21, He Reads Truth, and the Christward Collective. Nick was also the host of East of Eden, a podcast devoted to the Biblical and Systematic Theology of Jonathan Edwards. You can friend him on Facebook here and follow him on Twitter @nick_batzig

2 Responses

  1. Michael
    Reply

    Nick, I am writing my Historical Theology paper on JE’s view of conversion. What’s fascinating is that JE’s own conversion experience was different than Hooker’s ‘morphology of conversion’ which led JE to reject the steps by which conversion “normally” occured. Anyhow, I’m no expert but I know that JE didn’t like Hooker on this issue very much.

  2. Nicholas T. Batzig
    Reply

    Yes, Michael! Hooker was a bit unbalanced in his understanding of conversion and the covenant. It was almost as if he thought every child in the covenant needed to have a radical conversion experience. He also was a bit of a preparationalist, I believe. Anyway, I am currently taking a course for my Th.M on the theology of the New England Puritans. Fascinating stuff!

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