Book Reviews

A review by Paul Helm, Professor Emeritus of the University of London, of John Calvin’s Sermons on the Beatitudes.1 Calvin’s sermons were delivered extempore, taken down by the remarkable Denis Raguenier, published by the diaconate of Geneva, and the proceeds used to support refugees. Initially, Calvin was not keen on them being published, but when […]

A review by Donald S. Whitney of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.1 I had never watched an entire episode of Oprah until her programme on The Secret. In the promo for the show, Oprah announced that the programme would present ‘the secret’ to making more money, losing weight, finding the love of your life, and […]

A review by Philip Eveson of The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ: An Assessment of the Reformation and New Perspectives on Paul by Cornelis P. Venema.1, 2 Yes, this is yet another book on justification! It is a fresh and helpful account of the Protestant understanding of this crucially important gospel truth in the […]

Elizabeth, the fifth child of Dr Edward Payson and his wife Louisa was born in Portland, Maine, USA in 1818. This is the story of her childhood development, her marriage in 1845 to George Prentiss and their subsequent life and work. I had no previous knowledge of this truly Christian lady, prior to reading this […]

Some thoughts from Iain H. Murray arising out of Alan Clifford’s Calvinus: Authentic Calvinism, A Clarification (Charenton Reformed Publishing, 8 Le Strange Close, Norwich, 1996), 94pp.1 This title from Alan Clifford is a monograph of twenty-six pages, plus end-notes, pages of quotations from Calvin, and refutation of some opposing views. It continues the discussion whether […]

Just over half of A Scottish Christian Heritage1 by Iain Murray consists of biographical accounts of five Scottish ministers, a form of writing at which Mr Murray excels. Each chapter is slanted towards highlighting specific lessons which the author considers its subject exemplifies. The second part has two chapters dealing with missionary themes. One focuses […]

A review by Rev William Macleod of Cornelis P. Venema’s The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ.1 This is a book for which I have been waiting. The subtitle describes it as ‘An Assessment of the Reformation and New Perspective on Paul’. Having heard many recent references to the New Perspective and lectures on the […]

A review by Austin Walker of John Diodati’s Doctrine of Holy Scripture by Andrea Ferrari (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books Inc., 2006), ISBN #1-892777-98-3). Among Christians John Diodati (1576-1649) is hardly a household name compared with men like Martin Luther or John Calvin. He belonged to the third generation of reformation theologians in Geneva, […]

Charles J. Brown was born in Scotland in the year 1806. He belonged to that valiant group of men who broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland in 1843. He was one noted for his piety and godliness. It was said of him that he possessed, “a rare […]

A review by Rev Hugh M Cartwright of T M Lindsay’s The Reformation: A Handbook, published by the Trust.[1] Thomas Lindsay was ordained in 1872 as Professor of Church History at the Free Church College, Glasgow, where he continued until his death in 1914. Since 1902 he had been Principal of what had become the […]

The Banner of Truth Trust has performed an invaluable service for the Christian community by publishing Cornelis Venema’s little work Getting the Gospel Right.1 He had previously submitted several well written posts to www.monergism.com on the so-called “New Perspectives on Paul,” but this book condenses the essential points of the controversy into a very readable […]

Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey and Andrew Sach have together written an explanation and defence of the doctrine of penal substitution under the title Pierced for our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (IVP, March 2007). Here they explain briefly the background to the controversy, and give a few examples of the kinds of arguments […]

A review by John Brentnall of John Calvin’s Sermons on the Beatitudes: Five Sermons from the ‘Gospel Harmony’, delivered in Geneva in 1560.1 Those who read Calvin’s works for their sweet taste of sound doctrine and sharp application will welcome this new and fine translation of the Reformer’s five sermons on the Beatitudes. While the […]

Having been reading these letters in an old well-worn volume printed many years ago I was delighted to see this recently published edition by the Banner.1 It is beautifully presented and contains all the hitherto published letters as well as a biographical introduction by Andrew Bonar and a glossary that is so useful when encountering […]

A review by the Rt Revd Dr J. Barry Shucksmith of Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, Volume 6 (Acts 8:1-35) by Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.1 This is the final volume in a set of six excellent books on the Acts of the Apostles. The first volume was issued in 1999. Those […]