Topic Archives: Theology

Over the past weeks I have been reading through The Letter to the Hebrews. It has, as ever, been a fascinating, sobering and richly encouraging read. The Letter, as you will know, was written to Hebrew Christians who had become influenced by false teaching and were under pressure to give up on Christ and return […]

‘Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.’ [Ephesians 5:25-27] For fifty years I have believed that […]

In his address ‘Modern Theories of the Atonement,’ given in 1902, B. B. Warfield observed the revolt against penal substitution that gained momentum in the late nineteenth century. He noted that this revolt prompted an immediate and equally powerful defence. However, ‘this defense only stemmed the tide, it did not succeed in rolling it back.’ […]

John Owen’s classic work ‘On Temptation’ has recently been published by Banner of Truth in an updated edition as Temptation Resisted and Repulsed.1 The church which I serve used this newer version as the basis for a series of adult Sunday School classes over a course of months. It became quickly apparent that the material […]

Jeremy Walker provides an outline of John Owen’s Temptation: Resisted and Repulsed,1 from the Trust’s Puritan Paperbacks series. Author’s Preface – Aim stated. – Reasons given. – Warning and exhortation to the carnal, casual, or careless reader. – Warning and exhortation to the careful, Christian reader. Note that although the forms of temptation alter with […]

Some selections by Mack Tomlinson of Texas from Rutherford’s The Loveliness of Christ.1 The great Master Gardener, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in a wonderful providence, with his own hand, planted me here in this part of his vineyard; here I grow and here I will abide till the great Master of the […]

With some illustrations in colour, others in black and white, this book glorifies our Creator God. Big bold words written in rhyme accompany expressive illustrations beautifully drawn in ink and coloured pencil. Based on the Bible telling of the Creation of the World, Alison Brown has drawn a delightful and child friendly portrayal of Genesis […]

Samuel Rutherford lived and preached in the first half of the seventeenth century and yet his life and work are still held in high regard. First published in this form in 1909 this beautifully presented little book is one to treasure and keep close for referring to continuously. These short pieces taken from Samuel Rutherford’s […]

There are some things that we can do that our God cannot do. We can lie, he can speak nothing but truth; we can sin, he can only do righteousness; we can die, he has lived and will live forever. Our capacity to do such things does not make us greater but infinitely less than […]

Justification in the Court of Conscience: Biblical Truth or Dangerous Error?1 What Exactly do we Celebrate on Reformation Day? Wednesday, October 31, 2007 marked the 490th anniversary of the Reformation and no doubt this event was observed by many churches which trace their origins to this great movement of the Spirit. Sermons will have been […]

There’s a lot of talk in the Christian world concerning humility and the handling of God’s Word. Prominent in this discussion are some of the statements emanating from America’s branch of the Emerging Church. According to this school of thought, humility as applied to Scripture entails a sense of uncertainty about Scripture’s meaning, message, or […]

Dr. Edward J. Young was one of the greatest Christian scholars, and the godliest of Christians whom I ever met. I came to Westminster Theological Seminary in 1964 for postgraduate work. I had just completed a master’s degree at Princeton and was tired of the liberalism that seemed to permeate all the lectures and grading. […]

…and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things. Ephesians 3:9 The 16th century Reformation, which brought so much good to Europe, which delivered people from ignorance, poverty, superstition, and the darkness of paganism and idolatry, had a catch phrase […]

to proclaim … the unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians 3:8 Recently four teenagers, three of whom were entering their last year at high school, were killed in a car accident. I cannot imagine the grief and heartache of the parents of these young people, knowing that their children’s lives were snuffed out at such a […]

Horace Bushnell, the 19th-century Congregational minister from Hartford, along with Universalist Hosea Ballou, and Unitarian William Ellery Channing altered the way many people thought about Christ’s atonement. Until that time, the conventional view in the church of Christ was God-centred and objective. That is, the sovereign Triune God who created man requires obedience from mankind. […]