J. I. Packer and the End of an Era

The news broke this past week that legendary British-Canadian theologian, writer, teacher, and speaker, J. I. Packer is retiring from ministry at age 89. For the past ten years, Packer has been losing the sight in his left eye thanks to macular degeneration. Over Christmas, his right eye became afflicted with the same disorder, rendering him virtually blind. Given his reliance upon the written word for his work, Packer is now no longer able to write or teach.

To those who have known Packer’s work, this is the end of an era. I haven’t always agreed with him, but he has frequently and eloquently expressed views I share, and been a stalwart defender of orthodox, evangelical Christianity. Among those of a Reformed persuasion, his most well-regarded work is probably the introduction he wrote to the 1958 reprint of John Owens’ THE DEATH OF DEATH IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST. While Owens’ work is a worthy read for a defense of the Reformed doctrine of Limited, or Particular Atonement, Packer’s introduction alone is almost worth the cost of the book. Of course, it is now available to read online (as is Owens’ book, since it’s nearly 400 years old!).

In a Q&A on the Gospel Coalition site, Packer says this loss doesn’t concern him. Citing Job 1:21 (“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away”), he says, “Now that I’m nearly 90 years old he’s taken away. And I won’t get any stronger, physically, as I go on in this world. And I don’t know how much longer I’ll be going on anyway.”

He goes on to say Ecclesiastes has taught him…

… that we wear out, physically we come apart. You get old, and getting old means the loss of faculties and powers you had when you were younger. And that is the way God prepares us to leave this world for a better world to which he’s taking us. The message of Ecclesiastes 12 is “Get right with God as early in life as you can; ‘remember the creator in your days of youth’ (Eccl. 12:1). Don’t leave it until some time in the future when you’re not likely to be able to handle it well at all.”

And his final words to the church?:

I think I can boil it down to four words: “Glorify Christ every way.”