Yearly Archives: 2007

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 Saviour had been crucified. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had laid Him in the grave. The chief priests and Pharisees recalled that Jesus had foretold His rising from the dead on the third day. They went their unbelieving way to Pilate, claiming to be afraid that the disciples would “come by night and steal […]

Alexander Somerville (1813-1889) was a close friend of Robert Murray M’Cheyne. They went to school and university together. As divinity students, they met for the study of the Bible using both the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) and the Hebrew original. More often still they met to pray and share their Christian […]

This is the final article in the series on Jonathan Edwards.1 Last time we looked at the communion controversy, which resulted in Edwards’ ministry in Northampton being brought to an abrupt end. From June 1750 Edwards was without a charge, though for some time he occupied the Northampton pulpit when no one else was available. […]

Most church denominations today ordain women as pastors, elders, and deacons. The Presbyterian Church in America, the denomination to which I belong, is not one of them, and for this reason we, and a few other like minded ones, are increasingly held in disdain by people both within and without the professing church. Those denominations […]

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 […]

Easy access to abortion was supposed to improve lives. It failed in that purpose and is now just another form of contraception, argued Mary Kenny in The Daily Telegraph, February 16, 2007. It is a sober and painful article.

No one can answer such a question with confidence. All we can do is consider where we are at the moment and where current trends point to. This article is being written on the day after more than 200 people were slaughtered in Baghdad, most in a series of co-ordinated bomb attacks, and just a […]

A reader wrote to Iain Murray: “I have a request. I am seeking Puritan or Reformed authors and books that deal with the pursuit of holiness, practical godliness and a deeper walk with Christ. I want more experimental power over sins, attitudes and the core inner failures that plague me. Any authors that you may […]

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 […]

A reader wrote to Iain Murray: “I have a request. I am seeking Puritan or Reformed authors and books that deal with the pursuit of holiness, practical godliness and a deeper walk with Christ. I want more experimental power over sins, attitudes and the core inner failures that plague me. Any authors that you may […]

We take up the story1 during Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle ministry … During this period of sustained growth and massive expenditure of effort, the health of Mrs Spurgeon failed quite drastically, leaving her substantially invalided. At the same time, Spurgeon’s health began to suffer. He was prone to depression, combined with and brought on to some […]

A friend of mine asserts that no truth of Scripture moves him like that of election. When he thinks of the ignorant home in which he grew up, his friends and relatives still in darkness and his good-living neighbours still on the broad road to hell, tears of joy well up in his eyes at […]

Question: Is it any surprise to you that there is currently controversy in Reformed and Evangelical circles over the doctrine of justification, or did you see it coming? Rev. Roberts: I was rather slow in realizing the danger, probably because I ministered in a somewhat remote situation. So I did not see it coming, alas. […]

We hear a lot about unconditional love these days – “Jesus loves you, no strings attached,” etc. Does God love unconditionally? Can Christian parents love their children even if these children do not wish to walk in God’s ways? In a popular children’s video series, each show ends with one of the main characters telling […]

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 […]

Arianne Arianne* had heard something of the Gospel in a congregation some distance away from us, but in terms that were even further away. All she needed to do was to recognize that God existed, that he loved her and that Jesus is the Messiah, sent to Israel in fulfilment of divine promises. There was […]

[I wrote this letter recently to a friend who is now living in Canada, who asked the reasons for the spiritual decline in Europe.] You ask, “why the decline?”, and have waited patiently for my response. I don’t know the book you mentioned and would not feel it had much to say to me … […]

In September of 1840, Scotland’s famous praying pastor, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, wrote a letter to William Chalmers Burns.1 He wrote, I am deepened in my conviction, that if we are to be instruments in a true revival we must be purified from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Oh, cry for personal holiness, constant […]

The life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon was so full of grace, gifts and labour, and so much has been written by and about him, that we must leave out much that is of interest and usefulness in reviewing his life and ministry.1 He was born in Kelvedon, a village in the county of Essex in […]

In a corner of the Churchyard at Montgomery, Wales, is a space known as The Robber’s Grave. There lie the remains of a young man named JOHN NEWTON, (not the hymnwriter) who was hanged in 1821 at Montgomery for highway robbery. In token of his innocence he asserted, “The grass for one generation at least […]

What a mercy it is to be able to sing, “Rock of Ages cleft for me”. That is, that we recognise that the Lord Jesus is the Rock that was cleft, who was wounded, who shed His precious blood, for us as individuals. The hymn is based on a number of scriptural analogies. Firstly, it […]

Franco was born on the 7th of July, 1937, in Turin, Italy. From an early age, Franco had a deep hunger for God. For a time he followed a hard life in a monastery near Rome. After that he trained as a priest. His motive was always the same. He wanted to find God for […]

Paul says, “An overseer must be above reproach,” (1 Timothy 3:2) and yet we hear of pastors falling into sin all too frequently. How should such pastors (and I would add Ruling Elders and Deacons) be viewed by the church and how should they be disciplined? Surely most evangelicals believe these pastors ought to be […]