Volume Four of The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter contains the second part of A Christian Directory. In this volume, perhaps more explicitly than anywhere else, Baxter links practical Christian ethics with the doctrine of justification, earning Baxter the reputation of a maverick among prominent Protestant theologians in the decades following the Reformation.
Baxter writes extensively on family life, marriage, and social relationships—all in relation to the church. He gives practical advice about how to conduct family devotions, how to provide for a child’s education, how to wisely spend time, and how to maintain a stable and sustainable household. Yet his ethics remain connected to theology, because a stable family and a well-ordered society provide the best context for a right relationship with the church and a right relationship with God.
This volume also includes Baxter’s works on liturgical topics, such as the place of prayer in public worship and the benefits of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
