Willem Teelinck, The Path of True Godliness, trans. Annemie Godbehere, ed. Joel R. Beeke (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2006). $11.00.

Reviewed by Rev. Shane Lems

In a word, this book is a workout. It is a workout because many Christians today are only accustomed to books full of “steps;” how to have a better marriage, how to be successful in the workplace, how to hear the Spirit’s voice in a noisy world, and so on. It is a workout because this is not another moralistic manual written at an eight-grade level. Teelinck’s Path of True Godliness is a book about sin, about mortification, about the difference between heaven and hell, about living Reformation theology every day. This book is a workout because it hurts to hear about the reality of sin and eternal death, yet it is a profitable workout because it highlights the truths of the things of God, the unseen things that never pass away.

Joel Beeke’s introduction helps set the stage for the book. Beeke rightly notes that the reader must take two important factors into mind when reading this book. First, the historical context in Teelinck’s pastoral ministry was full of laxity and indifference about matters of the faith. People came late to church if they came at all; often they would chat during the service or put off the baptism of their children. Parents were not teaching their children the truths of the faith and the Lord’s Supper was treated as a trivial nicety. Secondly, he was writing to encourage Christians and exhort them not to be conformed to this world, not to love this world, and other similar biblical exhortations on sanctification.

The Path of True Godliness is separated into nine sections:
bq. 1) The character of true godliness
2) The kingdom of darkness opposes the practice of godliness
3) The kingdom of grace promotes godliness
4) Godly living is the true goal of life
5) The means to attain the true purpose of life
6) Using God-given means to practice true godliness
7) Motives to practice godliness derived from God’s attributes
8) Motives to practice godliness derived from our own condition
9) Three more reasons for practicing godliness.

There is not a Scripture index nor is there a detailed breakdown of the table of contents, both of which would have been helpful, but there are section headings throughout the book, which makes for ease of reading and referencing.

One of my favorite parts of the book is Teelinck’s section on suffering and affliction in chapter three (for reasons of brevity, I will limit the description to a few sentences, though the entire section is outstanding). Teelinck wrote that the Spirit offers suffering believers three assurances in their suffering: 1) They are precious in God’s sight, 2) They will greatly benefit from their afflictions, and 3) They will not be given more than they can bear (1 Cor 10.13). Under this third point, he reminds us that the cup of suffering sent our way will never be stronger than we are able to bear (p. 115). It will be prepared not according to our merits but according to our strength. “Although a loving father uses a stinging switch to bring his child to his senses, he does not wear the rod out on the back of his child or beat him mercilessly but uses it with restraint. God’s children would lose all courage if they saw a sharp rod such as Assur…or the devil assault them unless they know that God’s hand was holding the rod. Knowing that consoles them and gives them hope” (ibid.).

One area that Teelinck disappointed was in chapter six, where he discussed using God-given means to advance in godliness. Here I thought he would strongly emphasize the means of grace—preaching, and the two sacraments. Instead, he focused on private prayer, devotions, and daily self-examination–of course these things are very important for the Christian, but the means of grace are the chief means to godliness (Cf. WLC Q/A 155). On the other hand, private habits of godliness in the Christian life are sometimes neglected, so it can be beneficial to emphasize these things as Teelinck did. Also worth noting is the fact that Teelinck wrote extensively about the Lord’s Supper (p. 23).

In summary, this book is not an easy or comfortable read. It does not make a person feel good about himself because Teelinck calls sin what it is and describes the devil in stark terms. However, he also makes the reader look away from himself to the Scriptures, the gospel, God’s attributes. For that reason, it is worth the read: in this book the reader is surrounded by Scripture and shown the stark difference between worldliness and godliness as well as the mercy, love, and grace of God. Here is Teelinck’s emphasis in one sentence: “We must therefore begin to practice all this, not in our own strength, which means absolutely nothing, but in the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the strength of our life and by whom we can do all things…(Eph. 6.10)” (p. 39).