Resources

When interest in the churches begins to centre round the visual and the sensual it is commonly a sign of impending apostasy. By ‘sensual’ I mean that which appeals to the senses of man (sight, smell, hearing), as opposed to ‘spirit’, that is, the capacity that belongs to those born of the Spirit of God. […]

This is a marvellous read. Based on sermons given at various conferences by the author, the book focuses on three areas of Biblical truth: the character of God, the salvation of God and the church of God. Each of the 16 chapters is a model of Christ-centred expository preaching. There is a clear structure to […]

It was about four o’clock one October morning. I had been sleeping well, but was awakened by the sound of a wind such as I had never heard in my life before. From the rooftop of my house, tiles were being blown about and seemed to make a most frightening noise as they came crashing […]

Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings James R. Payton Jr. Downers Grove: IVP, 2010 240 pp, paperback, $23.00 ISBN: 978 0 83083 880 6 The Reformation is dear to Reformed people – after all, it contains our historical and theological heritage. However, it is possible to hold misguided notions about this significant sixteenth-century event. […]

There is a God and it is possible for us to know him. But he may be known only because he has revealed himself. He has done so in creation. As we look at the world around us and the heavens above us, we should conclude that it was impossible for any part of the […]

Anyone familiar with the writings of John Newton (1725-1803) will welcome this collection of his letters to John Ryland Jr, Baptist pastor in Northampton and Bristol. Most of the letters were either previously unpublished or had appeared only in rare nineteenth-century periodicals. The 83 letters span the period from 1771 to 1803, by which time […]

And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. (Acts 2:3) If Brett McCracken’s observation is correct – that seventy per cent of those age eighteen to twenty-two, who grew up in the church, leave it never to return again,1 then surely we can agree […]

The text of a letter written by Charles Hodge of Princeton Theological Seminary on behalf of the two General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, explaining why the Pope’s invitation to Protestants to send delegates to the first Vatican Council of 1869-70 was being declined. To Pius the Ninth, Bishop of Rome, By […]

All of you must surely have noticed the great emphasis there is on doctrine in the New Testament, the many exhortations given to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Equally, there are many solemn warnings given. ‘If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into […]

How we welcome this complete Works1 of one whose name should be held in grateful remembrance for his selfless, God-honouring life, martyrdom and translation of Holy Scripture. Here are doctrinal treatises (against popery, prelacy and the persecutor Thomas More) and on behalf of true biblical godliness, introductions to and expositions of the Word of God […]

It is natural for us to take pleasure in the obvious and pleasant blessings of the Lord and to dread and do all we can to avoid his more dark and painful providences. It is natural for us to expect and even to demand only the pleasant blessings while holding the trying times in contempt, […]

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the martyr John Bradford (1510-55). As a broken-hearted sinner, a self-condemning saint, a firm believer, a man of prayer, a sharp reprover of sin, a preacher with power, a comforter of others and a staunch martyr ‘for Christ’s gospel’s sake’ (his own words), Bradford was […]

Become doers of the word. (James 1:22) Jean Jacques Rousseau, one of the major architects of the French Enlightenment and consequently the French Revolution, was born in Geneva in 1712. He grew up in a Calvinist home and attended church regularly, later converting to Roman Catholicism so that he could stay in the good graces […]

They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. Westminster Confession of Faith God sovereignly decrees that none of his elect shall perish. As a […]

When thinking ‘Puritan,’ we will limit ourselves to the period 1600-1688 (alas, no Ryle!). In addition to the evangelical party of the Church of England (‘the Puritans’ proper), we ought also to consider the works of Independents, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc. My goal here is to whet your appetite from each of three areas: the praying […]