Articles

Thomas Scott1, the commentator, that holy man of God, in The Force of Truth2 (which is his personal testimony), says Till the 16th year of my age, I do not remember that I ever was under any serious conviction . . . but about my 16th year I began to see that I was a […]

1. Singing is the music of nature The Scriptures tell us the mountains sing (Isa. 44:23); the valleys sing (Psa. 65:13); the trees of the wood sing (1 Chron. 16:33). No, the air is the birds’ music-room, where they chant their musical notes. 2. Singing is the music of ordinances Augustine reports of himself that […]

The question of whether or not God will on the Day of Judgment expose to the world of men and angels the secret sins of his redeemed children is one that vexes many and is somewhat unclear to all men. On the one hand, there are passages in Scripture that appear clearly to say that, […]

By ‘posture’ I do not refer to the alignment of one’s body when standing. Good posture, of course, is advisable, for one breathes better, projects his voice better and shows respect for the uprightness and symmetry with which God created his image-bearers. No better instruction on this feature of pulpit address can be found than […]

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. (Proverbs 31:10) Richard Baxter, the tireless, heavenly minded Puritan minister of the seventeenth century, was a confirmed bachelor,1 devoting himself completely to the ministry of the gospel in Kidderminster, England. When going there in 1641 the parish was notorious for godlessness and […]

Back in 2009, Pastor Reggie Weems from Johnson City, Tennessee challenged the men of his congregation at Heritage Baptist Church to buy the entire 14-volume set of Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Romans and commit to reading it, following a reading schedule that he had developed, that would take them through the next 18 months. Now, in […]

Preach the word. (2 Timothy 4:2) If you would be a deep divine, I recommend to you sanctification. Samuel Rutherford We are to be labourers, not loiterers, in the Lord’s vineyard. Charles Bridges Christ’s servants have always been the world’s fools. George Whitefield The vows of God are upon us. Thomas Scott Brethren, it is […]

I have been constrained to consider the crucial importance of humility in the life of the Christian leader. My friend James has been urging on me the value of meditating on the life of Brownlow North, a major evangelist in northern England, Scotland, and Ireland during 1858 and afterwards1. North was the great torchbearer of […]

Just as the world finished marking the 5th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, another natural disaster of epic dimensions shattered the snow-laden news broadcasts within the United Kingdom. A 7.0 earthquake struck just 13kms below the surface of the earth close to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on 13th January, bringing down over […]

One of the most distressing experiences of the people of God is their lack of assurance. They cannot say with confidence: ‘My Beloved is mine, and I am his.’ (Song of Sol. 2:16) At times they barely regard themselves as children of God or heirs of heaven. The most they can say on the matter […]

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not […]

I begin with two texts from the Old Testament which we can see are very similar. Psalm 124:1 ‘If it had not been the LORD who was on our side’. Isaiah 1:9 ‘If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors’. What if the Lord were not on our side? Have you […]

During this year [2009] of commemoration of John Calvin and the many discussions of his remarkable work for the Lord, one element of his ministry has been neglected. Calvin was a counsellor – par excellence. I have just read through all of his letters as they were carefully collected, edited, and published by the Parker […]

What is the Doctrine of Election to Salvation? Election is the holy and loving choice by God of those who are to receive his grace. (Ernest F. Kevan) God chose his people in Christ before the foundation of the world . . .(Arthur Pink) God’s elect were the definite objects of his eternal love. (Arthur […]

Introduction In all the extant biographies of England’s worthies, we rarely hear of one who was ‘more devout and godly’ than the writer ever knew, who not only led ‘a heavenly life himself’, but also ‘very earnestly and heartily’ laboured ‘to persuade others’ to do the same. Yet such a man was John Bradford1 – […]

It1 was customary among evangelical Christians at this date [the 1920s] to encourage the practice of giving ‘testimonies’ as a form of evangelistic witness, and equally common for ministers to include personal references of various kinds in their sermons. Given Dr Lloyd-Jones’ unusual career and its interest for the general public; given also, the spiritual […]

Thus Noah did, according to all that God had commanded him, so he did. (Genesis 6:22) God has surveyed the corruption of mankind at the time of Noah, saying that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Consequently he told Noah that he would destroy every living thing from the […]

I gave this paper on Monday November 23, 2009, in Bala at the first conference to be held in Wales specifically for ministers who had been in the pastorate for under five years. I am not sure that there are important differences between ministers who have been in the ministry five years and those who […]

Objections Answered1 The major objections to limited atonement are based on textual and practical considerations. The textual objections include the following: 1. Texts in which the word world is used to describe the objects of the death of Christ’s death, as in John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2: ‘And he is the propitiation for our […]

Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9) John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress1, The Holy War, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and many others books,2 was born into a poor family in England in 1628. He was a tinker, a blue collar worker in […]

Whom Do We Shepherd? Whom do we pastor? We evangelize the community; we pastor the congregation. WE PASTOR OURSELVES Paul in his farewell to the elders in Ephesus exhorts them to keep watch over themselves (Acts 20:28). That is to be their first priority, and then he adds, ‘and all the flock over which the […]

As we approach the end of 2009, the religious and moral outlook in Britain remains bleak. God continues to be very largely ignored by Government and people. Year after year, legislation pours out of Parliament but never, it seems, is it considered remotely possible that God may have declared his mind on some aspect of […]

My father, William Francis Brady, died in hospital in Pontypool just after 2 pm today – Sunday, November 29th. He was 80 years old. Everyone called him ‘Bill’. He’d been unwell for several months and we knew that death would probably take him from us before the end of the year. Obviously, my immediate thoughts […]

Having seen the faultiness of the Arminian position on atonement1, let’s look at how the Calvinist view of atonement is biblical and more positive than many think. Then we will answer some common objections to the Calvinist view.2 Biblical and Theological Support for Definite Atonement Biblical terms, tenses, and testimonies make a sure case for […]

The Foreword to Kenneth B. Wingate’s new Banner of Truth book1 There is a long and honourable tradition in the English-speaking world of lawyers who have distinguished themselves not only in their profession as attorneys, but in the exemplary way in which they have served their cities, states and nations with great distinction. The southern […]