Articles

From beginning to end the Christian life is a life of faith. ‘We live’, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, ‘by faith and not by sight’ (2 Cor. 5:7). But what did Paul mean? What does it mean to live by faith and not by sight? To live by faith is to live your […]

A personal perspective on the 2014 Westminster Conference by Pastor Geoff Thomas. We were up at 4.30 a.m. and walked through the quiet dark streets to the railway station to catch the 5.15 train to London (changing at Birmingham). We got into Euston at 10.15; Iola was whisked away by daughter Eleri Brady and I […]

. . . his blood I will require at your hand (Ezekiel 3:18). I have been saying for a long time now that what young people of this generation need, what they have always needed, is a direct, passionate, declaration of the truth as it is in Jesus. David Murray, in citing an article by […]

The First Service in the Grace & Truth Church in Israel A few weeks after completing all the municipal requirements, we began our worship services in the new building! This was after consulting with both our architect and a lawyer. It has been a long-anticipated event for the congregants. So many times we thought we […]

The Inadequacy of Modern Man’s View of Sin Eddie, 39, wants compassion from the general public. He fears that the world judges him and his type, and it is high time that better understanding was directed towards him. He is concerned at the caricature that often surrounds people like him, and is pressing for greater […]

It is good to have something to look at when thinking about holiness. Or better, someone. It might be a fellow Christian whom you know. Or someone from the past who by grace lived a very holy life. Best of all is Jesus. For in him we have perfect holiness. And we have it displayed […]

Humphrey Mildred, the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Edinburgh (and formerly with the Banner of Truth Trust for over forty years) provides an introduction to and comments upon A Lifting Up for the Downcast1 by William Bridge. Seven encouraging reminders by a Puritan physician of the soul. YOU KNOW YOU REALLY SHOULD READ THIS ARTICLE! […]

We seem to be in a stalemate in church and state today. Problems are multiplying. The situation becomes more confusing year by year and we are in danger of losing heart: people are at a loss what to do. There is a great deal of activity but where is the substance? Maurice Roberts has said: […]

What is our hope for loved ones who, in the language of Scripture, now ‘sleep in Jesus’ (1 Thess. 4:14 ESV)? We are sure that, like the thief on the cross, they are at this very moment with the Saviour in paradise. But what of the future? In a glorious section of his first letter […]

An address given at the Banner of Truth Borders Conference in Carlisle, Cumbria on November 8, 2014. The conference theme was ‘Teach us to pray’. The Lord Teaches His Disciples to Pray Luke 11:1-4 ‘One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach […]

An address given at the Banner of Truth Borders Conference in Carlisle, Cumbria on November 7, 2014. The conference theme was ‘Teach us to pray’. Darius the Mede, like hundreds of other people mentioned in the Bible, is an unknown figure from secular historical records, at least so far. Attempts have been made to identify […]

I would like to ask you a question. But before I ask my question, I want first to prepare the way. The Bible has many ways to describe what a Christian is. A Christian is a forgiven sinner, a new creation in Christ, an adopted child of God, a heaven-bound pilgrim. One of the most […]

J. I. Packer says that the Puritans are the theological and devotional Redwoods of the western world.1 My own experience is that no one comes close to the skill they have in taking the razor-like scalpel of Scripture, and lancing the boils of my corruption, cutting out the cancers of my God-belittling habits of mind, […]

John Bunyan was born near Bedford, England in 1628, just a few years before the Puritan revolution began. He grew up very poor and had no formal education. He taught himself to read and write, however, and enjoyed immensely medieval novels of the day. He was so foul-mouthed that even wicked men were embarrassed by […]

REFORMATION DAY 2014 The date that marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation is October 31, 1517. No one could have known it then, but what happened that day set in motion an earthquake whose aftershocks are still being felt in the western churches today. That earthquake had three epicentres, one in Wittenberg with Martin […]

It is strange to write about a life-changing experience that I cannot remember. However, I am told that around 5.45 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, 2013, I was riding my Harley home from the church to lead a Bible study at our house when a car turned and hit me broadside on my left. Then […]

‘The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9). We are considering the perfections of God. When the Puritan Stephen Charnock considers the attributes of God he lines up this beautiful string […]

I first read this gentle little quiz in the Friendly Companion, the children’s magazine of the Gospel Standard Baptists. I rearranged it a little and then spoke to the children in our congregation and asked them if they could work out the answer. What is this? 1. It is one word with seven letters. 2. […]

An edited transcript of Pastor Edward Donnelly’s message at the 2005 Banner of Truth USA Ministers’ Conference in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Many men approach preaching Christ from the Old Testament with a sense that it is difficult, unnatural, complicated, and a matter of learning and applying very rigid, technical rules. The results are predictably disappointing. But […]

Scripture and history tell us that the destruction of men’s best interests is brought about by the reception of error. When churches embrace a lie rather than God’s truth there is an inevitable spiritual and moral decline. R. L. Dabney wrote towards the end of the 19th century: ‘While German scholarship has been busy with […]

An address given at Bethel Chapel, Luton, on Lord’s Day afternoon, 8th June, 2014, on the occasion of the Sunday School Anniversary. Usually on these occasions I try to speak of something that is topical, but something that will be profitable and for the honour and glory of God. For a long time, my thoughts […]

Paul’s Letter to the Romans is a pastoral tour de force. It is of course richly theological. Nowhere does Paul more deeply and beautifully open up to us the gospel of God’s saving grace in Christ. But Paul’s theology of grace is not an abstract exposition of doctrine. He is concerned to explain to the […]

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel (Zechariah 3:3). An estimated one in four women, and one in six men were sexually assaulted before the age of eighteen.1 Perhaps you were sexually molested as a child. If so, then the chances are pretty good that you battle with a […]

Tim Challies interviews Dr. Joel Beeke 1. When the Puritans spoke of zeal, what were they referring to? By zeal they meant the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, exercised to a high level in the soul and activity of life. Thomas Manton said that godly zeal is ‘a higher degree of love,’ indeed the […]

As one who owes a debt of gratitude to the ministry of the Rev Kenneth A MacRae (1883-1964) it would not be right to let the 50th anniversary of his death (5th May) pass without a short tribute to his memory. He exercised a powerful ministry over 50 years in the Free Church of Scotland […]