Articles

John Calvin is thought of, principally, as a theologian. Of course, he was that. But, as Andrew W. Blackwood once told me, in his day he was first of all considered a preacher. Too few of his sermons have been preserved.1 English translations are mainly in 16th century English!2 Nevertheless, the more I read them, […]

The concluding piece in Iain H. Murray’s three historical articles on the Great Ejection. EVEN though Farewell Sermons had been preached in many parishes on Sunday, August 17, there was a widespread feeling of uncertainty throughout the nation with regard to the direction and character of coming events. Something of this uncertainty can be detected […]

Iain H. Murray provides an insight into the experience of the Puritan ministers facing expulsion from the Church of England in the portentous summer of 1662. Read the previous post, on the build-up to these events. THOUGH many of the Puritan ministers were far removed from the intrigues and disputations going on in London, they […]

On 24 August 1662, the English Parliament passed an Act designed to exclude and ‘utterly disable’ a group of religious ministers within the Established (i.e. Anglican) Church. The immediate effect of the Act of Uniformity of 1662 was the forced departure of over hundreds of gospel ministers from the churches they served. Moreover, it represented […]

HEAVEN IS BEING WITH CHRIST Heaven means Jesus Christ, that is, being with Jesus. That is the only heaven there is. It is Christ’s home and he is never away from his home for a moment. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was often asked why we are not told more in the New Testament about life beyond […]

The following appeared as Ian Hamilton’s editorial in the December 2022 edition of The Banner of Truth Magazine. In this, my penultimate editorial as Editor of the Magazine, I want to direct your—and my—thoughts upwards. In his fine exposition of The Excellencies of God, Terry Johnson focuses in one chapter on the Blessedness of God […]

What would you say is the fundamental doctrine of the Christian Faith? For many of us, the instinctive answer would be, ‘justification by faith alone, in Christ alone’. There is no doubt, or should be no doubt, that this is a biblical and evangelical fundamental. Didn’t Martin Luther describe justification by faith alone, in Christ […]

The publication of a complete and uniform edition of Manton’s works is a great boon to the readers of English theology. Many of his best writings have been hitherto inaccessible to all who have not long purses and large libraries. The few who know him would gladly testify, I am sure, that Thomas Manton was […]

Approximately halfway between the Scottish cities of Perth and Dundee, on the southern slope of the Sidlaw Hills above the fertile landscape of the Carse of Gowrie, nestles the small settlement of Kilspindie. Next to its seventeenth-century parish church stands the walled family tomb of the Stuarts of Annat. On the far interior wall of […]

Some books belong to the category of ‘must have’. Alexander Moody Stuart: A Memoir belongs to that category, and perhaps especially for ministers of the gospel it is a ‘must read’. It becomes clear soon enough why Robert Murray M‘Cheyne on first hearing him preach was immediately anxious for his close friends Andrew and Horatius […]

One of the remarkable features of the early church was its preoccupation with the doctrine of God. Initially the concern of men like Athanasius (300-371) was to establish and defend the deity of Christ against men like Arius who taught that Jesus was a creature. Athanasius understood that if Jesus was not God in the […]

Original Editor’s Note: Contributed by a minister to whom many other Christian workers will be grateful for expressing what they have often felt. The man in the pulpit is much more likely to be ill than the man in the pew. As an ordinary mortal and private Christian he is as susceptible to illness as […]

Recently reading Paul’s Second ‌Letter to the Thessalonians, I was struck by a word that immediately arrested me. Paul has been writing about the ‘coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (2 Thess. 2:1). He assures the church that the Lord had not yet come, and would not come, ‘unless the rebellion comes first and the […]

In the last few months, the church I serve has been working through ‌the updated version of Eshcol, John Owen’s little treatment on church life now entitled Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members. The volume is divided into two main sections. The first contains seven ‘Rules for walking in fellowship with respect […]

Today, May 24th, marks the 285th anniversary of John Wesley’s ‘Happy Day’. Bob Thomas explains the significance of this event. John Wesley was an Anglican clergyman who did his best to live an obedient life before God. He had an ardent faith, but without a real relationship with God. He had gone to America to […]