“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much…” Luke 16:10a
Biography:
Samuel Rutherford, theologian, minister, and commissioner of the Westminster Confession of Faith, was born about 1600 in Nisbet, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Little is known concerning his early life, but he entered the University of Edinburgh in 1617, was appointed as a Professor of Humanity there, began his theological studies in 1626, and was appointed to minister in the town of Anwoth in 1627.
He ministered at Anwoth for nine years, during which time he lost his wife and two of his children. In 1636, he wrote An Apology for Divine Grace, which offended the authorities of the Church of Scotland, who banished him to Aberdeen and warned him never to preach in Scotland again. Though he was separated from his home and congregation, Rutherford’s exile produced a great collection of epistles, The Letters of Samuel Rutherford. He wrote these letters to members of his congregation and friends, and his former student, Robert McWard, compiled and published the letters after Rutherford’s death.
Rutherford remained in Aberdeen until 1638, when he returned to Anwoth and was “vindicated” by Church authorities. He was commissioned to be the Professor of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews in 1939, a position he took reluctantly. In 1643, he became one of four Scottish commissioners at the Westminster Assembly in London, out of which was produced the Westminster Confession of Faith. Tradition states that Rutherford greatly influenced or even wrote the Shorter Catechism. The Confession outlines the chief doctrines of Reformed Christianity and is still the statement of faith used within Presbyterianism and Anglicanism today. Baptists, Congregationalists, and other denominations have also used the Confession in their churches, often with some adjustments. The document was a major work of the English Reformation and remains influential throughout the world today.
The Westminster Confession was not the only influential document Rutherford had a hand in. While he was in London, Rutherford wrote a book called Lex Rex, Or, The Law and the Prince. He criticized the British monarchy, advocating for constitutionalism, limited monarchy, and the rule of law, ideas familiar today but still radical in his day. Rutherford returned to Scotland in 1647 to become the Principal of St. Mary’s College (the divinity school at the University of St. Andrews).
After the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell ruled England from 1653 until his death in 1658. The monarchy was restored and King Charles II crowned in 1660. That same year, copies of Lex Rex were burned by authorities as treasonous. Rutherford’s writing directly challenged the “divine right of kings” concept so prevalent in Europe and Britain. Still, he did not flee when monarchy was restored, nor did he recant his words. The “Drunken Parliament,” convened by King Charles II in 1661, deprived Rutherford of his offices and summoned him to trial, but Rutherford was on his deathbed by that time. His reply to the summons was this: “I behoove to answer my first summons, and ere your day come, I will be where few kings and great folks come.” He died on March 29, 1661.
Lessons from Samuel Rutherford’s Life:
Rutherford’s life might not be considered “successful” in the way many define the word. His congregation at Anwoth was not very large (only a few hundred), and he did not convert many souls. Yet he remained faithful “in little,” so to speak. Rutherford stayed strong in his faith through great challenges. He lost family members but continued to lovingly minister to his parish. When separated in body from his beloved congregation, he wrote letters to those not with him, serving them with prayer and encouragement from afar.
Rutherford lived in Scotland in a time of religious turmoil for Great Britain. The Protestant Reformation swept Europe in the 1500’s, and in 1534 King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England (the Anglican church) with himself as the head. Over the next century, England was plagued with religious unrest, as tension with the Catholic church grew, and successive rulers pushed Protestant reform or more high church/Catholic tradition intermittently. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, during which King Charles I was deposed and executed, a regicide which shocked the nation. Oliver Cromwell ruled, instituting many Protestant reforms in the Church of England. Eventually the monarchy was reinstated with the crowning of Charles II in 1660, followed by more turbulent years before the permanent establishment of Protestantism with the Glorious Revolution in 1688. Rutherford’s work on both the Westminster Confession of Faith and Lex Rex were influential in this struggle to reform Protestantism in Britain.
Rutherford was no fiery minister, preaching about fire and brimstone raining down or speaking to crowds of thousands at a time, but he was unafraid to express what was right. Though he was a small-town Scottish minister, he worked on both the Westminster Confession of Faith and Lex Rex. His Lex Rex was truly extraordinary at the time. The work was helped lay the foundation for Western civil liberties and the idea of rights coming from God, not men. For modern Americans used to democracy, rule of law, and constitutions, his work does not seem all that impressive. But in Rutherford’s time, these ideas were still revolutionary to many in Britain and enough to have him tried for treason when the monarchy was restored. But for his death by natural causes, Rutherford would likely have been executed by the British government for his writing. He chose to speak out—or write out—for the truth despite the consequences.
Rutherford’s actions show that it is possible to be both spiritually active and politically involved. He understood the proper role of government outlined in the Bible and wrote accordingly. And he wrote both personal letters of encouragement to friends, not expecting publication, as well as published works like his Apology, which challenged the greater Church of Scotland.
Rutherford’s legacy can be seen through organizations like The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil rights and liberties organization founded by John Whitehead in 1982. The Institute was named after Samuel Rutherford, and their mission is to “provide legal services in the defense of civil liberties and to educate the public on important issues affecting their constitutional freedoms.” Though Rutherford may be forgotten by much of the world, his work both as a minister and as a writer continues to impact the lives of believers and non-believers alike.
Rutherford’s life is a reminder to do whatever God has commanded you wherever He has placed you. Be humble, stand up for what is right, and be faithful in little as in much.
Samuel Rutherford in His Own Words:
“I must first tell you that there is not such a glassy, icy, and slippery piece of way betwixt you and heaven, as Youth.” –to his friend, William Gordon
“Have all in readiness against the time that ye must sail through the black and impetuous Jordan, and Jesus, Jesus, who knoweth both those depths and the rocks, and all the coast, be your pilot.”
“I look not to win away to my home without wounds and blood.”
“No pen, no words, no image can express to you the loveliness of my only, only Lord Jesus.”
“Your heart is not the compass that God steers by.”
“There is no sweeter fellowship with Christ than to bring our wounds and our sores to him.”
“Believe God’s word and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs and flows, but your sea.”
“Grace grows best in winter.”
“If ye were not Christ’s wheat, appointed to be bread in His house, He would not grind you.”
“[S]how yourself a Christian, by suffering without murmuring; in patience possess your soul: they lose nothing who gain Christ.”
What Others Said About Samuel Rutherford:
“For generations, Rutherford has inspired the best preaching in Scotland.” –Alexander Whyte
“He is always praying, always preaching, always visiting the sick, always catechizing, always writing and studying.” –The Anwoth congregation
“When we are dead and gone, let the world know that Spurgeon held Rutherford’s Letters to be the nearest thing to inspiration which can be found in all the writings of mere men.” –Charles H. Spurgeon
Sources:
50 People Every Christian Should Know by Warren W. Wiersbe
Digitalpuritan.net, Samuel Rutherford | Digital Puritan Press
Craigcenter.wts.edu, Craig Center
Ccel.org, Author info: Samuel Rutherford – Christian Classics Ethereal Library
1Pursuit.org, The True Christian Life – Samuel Rutherford – One Pursuit
Wikipedia.com, Timeline of the English Reformation – Wikipedia
Rutherford.org, The Rutherford Institute :: About Us |
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