Book Reviews

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 […]

‘A no-fuss, no-nonsense overview of biblical teaching on heaven and hell . . . dedicates equal time to both subjects, first allowing the heart and spirit to recoil at the thought of hell but then comforting it with the knowledge of heaven. Throughout the book Donnelly is pastoral, often challenging the reader and continually returning […]

The Banner of Truth has published A Handful of Pebbles, Theological Liberalism and the Church1, by Peter Barnes. Liberalism (also referred to as modernism) is, in this context, ‘a belief system which rejects the orthodox view of the Christian faith as set out in the Bible, and summarised in the historic creeds’. A S Peake, […]

The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright By John Piper Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007 239 pp, paperback ISBN: 978 1 58134 964 1 To the numerous books that respond to N. T. Wright’s heretical ideas, John Piper, well known pastor at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, adds this. The title, […]

The Banner of Truth has published Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, chapters 1-71, by John Calvin. John Calvin was, and regarded himself as, primarily a preacher of the Word of God. He wrote theological works which have guided the Church to a biblical understanding of the truth (and we would recommend his Institutes […]

‘A precious work that no serious expositor of the Bible should be without. If you found Calvin’s commentaries valuable, you will discover his sermons to be priceless.’ [Josh Gelatt in giving Calvin’s Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 1-7 an ‘honorable mention’ in his 2008 Book of the Year selection] Below are links […]

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church By N. T. Wright New York: HarperCollins, 2008 352 pp, hardcover ISBN: 978 0 06155 182 6 Bishop Tom Wright has written a book on the resurrection entitled Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. Rejecting […]

The Banner of Truth has published Love Rules: The Ten Commandments for the 21st Century1. Originally published in 2004 by the Church and Nation Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, Australia, this volume was written by Australian Presbyterian ministers and professors. The Introduction explains that this book on the law of God was written […]

The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World By David F. Wells Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008 267 pp, clothbound ISBN: 978 0 80284 007 3 David Wells is an evangelical, and he is concerned with the state of evangelicalism. This is nothing new; he has written […]

VOLUME 1 This1 is a fascinating book which we found hard to put down. Really it tells the wonderful story of the Evangelical Revival in Wales in the eighteenth century. What amazing gatherings there were and what blessing! Originally written in Welsh in 1895 by John Morgan Jones, assisted by William Morgan, this is the […]

‘The book is valuable because it is honest about the agony of losing a child . . . And yet this book also powerfully testifies to the comfort of God, of his redemption in Christ, of victory over the grave, of sufficient promises to sustain his people in their sorrows.’ [Martin Downes on James W […]