Articles

 Adam and Eve In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1) On the sixth day of creation, the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Now the LORD God had planted a […]

An unusual conference was held in the Round Church in Cambridge on May 19th and 20th. It was organised by Dr Joel Beeke and Reformation Heritage Books, who are currently publishing the complete works of William Perkins in 10 volumes (volume 4 appeared just before the Conference). The library at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary has […]

It is now over sixty years since Professor John Murray, in his 1955 Peyton Lectures, later published in Principles of Conduct (IVP, London, 1957), spoke of the ‘eclipse of the fear of God’. It was such he said that ‘we have become reluctant to distinguish the earnest and consistent believer as God-fearing’. If that was […]

This question can be embarrassing, can’t it? Why do you worship on Sunday? Doesn’t the Bible say that the seventh day is the time God consecrated for his people? Where does the Bible say that Christians should sanctify the first day of the week, rather than the seventh day? It’s a good question, you will […]

Am I a real Christian? There is not a true Christian who has not asked himself or herself that question, in fact every Christian should be examining his life to see if redemption is his or her privilege and eternal blessedness. As we come to the Lord’s Supper we do so renewing our awareness of […]

We have made these studies of the so-called Great Heresies because they represent significant false steps in the history of Christian teaching; in each of them a true teaching is distorted, and so becomes false. Each precipitated a crisis that forced the Church to look deeper into the Scriptures and consider the fullness of God’s […]

This series is in three parts, the first (Williams’ early years and conversion) can be read here, and the second (his marriage and ministry) can be read here. The Later Years The revival of 1762 may have broken out at Llangeitho, but it was given impetus by the works of William Williams, in particular the […]

This year sees the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of William Williams of Pantycelyn, the ‘sweet singer’ of the eighteenth century Welsh revival and pre-eminent hymn-writer of Wales. The third of the great figures of the Methodist revival after Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, Williams is claimed by Wales as a whole to a […]

Sixty years ago a friend of mine was a preacher in a Reformed congregation in Grand Rapids. The practice in that congregation was that at the close of the sermon the elders stood in the front of the church and the preacher came and shook hands with each of them. Thus they showed to all […]

Grieving, Hope and Solace is the title of a book written by Al Martin (cruciformpress.com, 116 pages, 2011). It comprises a series of sermons preached after the death of his wife Marilyn after 42 years of marriage. The author sent me a copy when I experienced a similar loss last year and I found it […]

“. . . I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren.” – Romans 9:2,3 Why is there so little evangelistic zeal in today’s Reformed and Evangelical church? We love to teach our great theology, especially […]

Jerry Bridges died in his eighty-sixth year on March 6, 2016. Once or twice I shared the speaking duties with him at a couple of conferences and enjoyed getting to know him. He wrote a little autobiography, God Took Me By the Hand, which threw light on his humble origins in the Depression years of […]

The only remedy for apostasy The idea that professing Christians may not be true Christians is something not easily acknowledged in the present climate of the church. One finds it even more difficult to believe that ministers, with acknowledged gifts and abilities, whose teaching may have been blessed to many, could after all be themselves […]

Do you have a critical, jaded spirit towards the church? [1] Albert Mohler, in a 2009 episode of his talk show, asked, “Why Do Pastors Leave the Ministry?” noting the troubling trend that evangelical ministers are staying in congregations for shorter windows of time, with an average of about three years in a call. Many […]

Geerhardus Vos has been called the “father of Reformed biblical theology.” As many readers are aware, he is known for investigating and displaying the organically integrated and historically unfolded character of biblical revelation. In fact, the Bible was, for him, best understood as the revelatory record of “the history of special revelation,” all centered upon […]

‘To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen.’ -1 Peter 1:1 In 1934 German theologian Karl Hartenstein coined the term missional, what he called a living concept rooted in the Missio dei (Latin, the sending of God). Ed Stetzer (President of LifeWay Research of the Southern Baptist […]

Christians have always been persecuted. Peter reminded his readers of this in the earliest days of the church: “…knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by the brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9b). But it does seem as if the suffering of Christians – whether at the hands of Muslims, Hindus, […]

The theme of this year’s Banner of Truth Ministers’ conference is The Living and Enduring Word of God. We thought that would be a most admirable and appropriate title for this year, the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was essentially the recovery of the authority and sufficiency of Holy Scripture in the […]

‘Here I stand, may God help me’ Some of the most life-changing events in the history of the church have come about due to a stand being taken by one man at a critical juncture. In this year, 2017, we are commemorating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the door […]

Who Can Have Effectual Prayers? The righteous are not people who are better than others. Except as God looks on them in favour, they have nothing. It was so with Elijah, Moses, and Paul, as we have seen. Effectual fervent prayer, therefore, is a gift and it always will be a gift – even for […]

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary […]

“Pray, then, in this way,” -Matthew 6:9 Our Lord Jesus makes some amazing promises to us concerning prayer. He says, “And all things you ask in prayer believing, you shall receive,” (Matthew 21:22). He says, “Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened to you,” (Matthew […]

What matters most to us in life? There is a ‘right’ answer to that question, but then again there are many ‘real’ answers that lurk beneath the surface. No serious-minded Christian would argue with the truth of the Shorter Catechism’s assertion that ‘the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever’. […]

‘Pray, then, in this way.’ -Matthew 6:9 My good friend, Archie Parrish, has taught me and many others some very valuable lessons about prayer. He says that we should always pray with a kingdom focus. By this he means that even if you pray for your spouse’s healing from cancer, or for your adult child who […]

What does it mean for you that Jesus Christ is King? While many of us could give a good answer, perhaps not many of us would include the profound and powerful testimony of Scripture to Christ as King in his humiliation. This is the period described in the Apostles’ Creed: he “suffered under Pontius Pilate, […]