Book Reviews

‘Newton’s practical and Biblical guidance in these letters epitomize the role of spiritual leadership given in Ephesians 4:12 “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”‘ (Jeremy Walker on Wise Counsel) Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles posted during November and December 2009. […]

I sat down to read From Grief to Glory on a busy day, expecting to read only a chapter or so. As I began reading, I reprioritized my agenda and got through the entire book (and a stack of tissues) in one sitting. I expected this book to be good, but I did not expect […]

This is a book for children (aged 8-11), and we feel it is a good one. Briefly, simply and clearly the story is told, from creation, through the Old Testament, down to the New. Special emphasis is given to Genesis and the Gospels. Great reverence is shown for the authority of Scripture and much stress […]

This is a little gem – by which we mean that though small, its value is great. James Fraser (1639-1698), usually known as ‘Fraser of Brea,’ was a well-known Covenanter preacher. In the recently published Scottish Puritans, volume 2, there is a long, interesting account of his life, written by himself. This reaches almost 300 […]

Lloyd-Jones: Messenger of Grace1 This is not a summary or rehash of Mr Murray’s two-volume biography of Lloyd-Jones,2 also published by the Banner of Truth Trust. Apart from one chapter and a book review, none of this material has previously appeared in print. The book sets out ‘to restate some of the main lessons of […]

Archbishop Loane is an excellent writer. He has a thorough knowledge of his subject and writes in a pleasing style, which along with the importance of the subject makes the book profitable. Makers of Puritan History1 deals with Alexander Henderson, Samuel Rutherford, John Bunyan and Richard Baxter. The times were stormy and the seventeenth century […]

Yet another work by Calvin to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his birth – but we must confess we really liked it, and in many ways were pleasantly surprised. This is an abridgement of Calvin’s massive, five-volume commentary on the Psalms, and is about a quarter of the original size. The author, in a very […]

According to the author, Iain Murray, this book is not intended to be in praise of things Scottish as such, nor is it a summary of Scottish Church history. The author, acknowledging his indebtedness to the writings of Scottish divines, sets out to remind his readers of the great heritage available in the older Scottish […]

‘A wonderful book . . . a real treasure. Here are lessons for preachers and pastors, lessons for churches and lessons also for all those who seek to grow in grace! (Stephen Richardson on Iain Murray’s A Scottish Christian Heritage) Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles posted (mainly) during September and […]

This work was first published in 1882 by Dr Cuyler (1822-1909), who studied at Princeton Seminary during its ‘golden age’ in the 1840s when Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller, Charles Hodge, and J A Alexander were professors (see Princeton Seminary, David B Calhoun). Graduating in 1846 he entered in 1860 on his last and longest charge […]

The three series of lectures by the famous Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, bound together in Lectures to My Students1, are doubtless familiar to many in this country and overseas. They were originally published between 1875 and 1894, and therefore were particularly relevant to that time, yet they represent Spurgeon’s mature thoughts on important aspects […]

These handsome volumes1 are full of edifying matter relating to the great revival in Wales in the mid-eighteenth century and the subsequent development of Methodism in the Principality. First published in Welsh in 1897, they have recently been translated into English and will hopefully reach those who were previously unable to benefit from them and […]

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: 1859-2009 By Gregory Wills New York: Oxford University Press, 2009 592 pages, hardback, $35.00. ISBN: 978 0 19537 714 9 This long-anticipated history of Southern Baptists’ oldest Seminary will not disappoint those who have savoured its coming with heightened interest. Greg Wills has given the kind of historical investigation and […]

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism By Timothy J. Keller New York: Dutton, 2008 xxiii + 293 pages, hardcover, $24.95. ISBN: 978 0 52595 049 3 John R. Muether’s fine biography entitled Cornelius Van Til: Reformed Apologist and Churchman suggests that Van Til was marginalized by Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) and […]

I have just completed preaching through the twelfth chapter of Romans, thirty years after I had first preached through the letter. It is the Everest of New Testament ethics, corporate and individual, ecclesiastical and personal. I preached fifteen sermons on it and found much helpful material available compared to thirty years ago. There is the […]

The Banner of Truth has published Scottish Puritans: Select Biographies, edited by W. K. Tweedie, and when we began to read this set, we expected something similar to the much appreciated Calvinistic Methodist Fathers of Wales, We could not have been more mistaken; the two sets are completely different. Yet Scottish Puritans is a real […]

‘The believer’s faith, love and hope would all be well-served by prayerful and meditative reading of this little volume . . . it is full of the gospel, and the aroma of Jesus rises from it sweetly.’ (Jeremy Walker on Marcus Loane’s Jesus Himself) Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles (mainly) […]

The Banner of Truth has printed for the first time in English Songs of the Nativity: Selected Sermons on Luke 1 and 2*, by John Calvin. Calvin was without doubt a great man. Past generations have prized his writings, especially his Institutes and his commentaries. His very name (‘Calvinism’) has become almost synonymous with the […]

‘one of the most beautifully named Puritan books, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment . . Some of [Burroughs’] insights and comments are challenging. I don’t like some of them! But maybe it’s the ones I don’t like that should instruct me the most! (Lex Loizides). Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner […]

A number of you possess and have read a small selection of John Newton’s1 letters published in paperback by the Banner of Truth. The Letters of John Newton reviewed here is not the same book. This is a much larger and quite separate selection. It was first published in 1869 and was edited by Josiah […]

The title comes from the premise that ‘Liberal theology offers us a handful of pebbles; the God of the Bible offers us Jesus Christ – ‘the Bread of Life’. In this slim volume Peter Barnes sets out clearly and succinctly what he sees as theological Liberalism, warnings in the Bible that he sees as directly […]

‘Truth For All Time may quite simply be the best, most concise summary of the Christian faith ever written . . . (Calvin’s) writings reflect the love and passion he has for God and for his people . . . a beautiful reminder of both the simplicity and majesty of the redemption we have in […]

Apparently extempore, these sermons were delivered in course, in Geneva from the summer of 1549 to the New Year of 1551. Indeed the series went on over the next few years until the Acts of the Apostles was preached through. Only these forty-four sermons survive in this transcribed form, however. The aim is expository, not […]

The author, President of Mid-America Reformed Seminary gives an explanation of the ‘Reformation Perspective on Paul.’ Then he looks at what is known as the ‘New Perspective on Paul’, very clearly setting out what scholars such as E.P.Sanders, James D.G.Dunn, and N.T.Wright have written, before critically assessing these claims and explaining that he remains convinced […]

‘Calvinism is not inconsistent with evangelism; it is only inconsistent with certain evangelistic methods . . . In order for evangelism to be pleasing to God, it must be consistent with the whole system of biblical teaching. But what does such evangelism look like? A classic answer to that question is found in R.B. Kuiper’s […]