Topic Archives: Christian Living

Robert Strivens is Principal of London Theological Seminary. This article is based on the lecture he gave in April, 2010, at the opening of the new site of the Evangelical Library. It is in the present [November 2010] edition of In Writing, the magazine of the Evangelical Library. It has also appeared in Reformation Today. […]

The Word of God has much to say to us about ‘the deceitfulness of sin’ (Heb. 3:13). The evil that is sin will do all it can to persuade you to taste its wares, to embrace its offers, to sit at its table and eat its food. I would like in this pastoral letter to […]

The translator’s ‘Introduction’ to Faith Unfeigned – Four Sermons concerning Matters Most Useful for the Present Time with A Brief Exposition of Psalm 871 by John Calvin. The last half-century has seen a steady growth of interest in Calvin’s work as preacher. The Reformer’s sermons place us at the centre of his pastoral and theological […]

Again he measured a thousand cubits, and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water has risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. (Ezek. 47:5) I have travelled countless times over the dam at Jinja, Uganda, the source of the Nile River, on my way […]

The Dutch scholar Erasmus quipped ‘When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.’ But perhaps you may feel like the author of Ecclesiastes: ‘Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.’ How should the Christian approach the topic […]

All of you must surely have noticed the great emphasis there is on doctrine in the New Testament, the many exhortations given to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Equally, there are many solemn warnings given. ‘If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into […]

Become doers of the word. (James 1:22) Jean Jacques Rousseau, one of the major architects of the French Enlightenment and consequently the French Revolution, was born in Geneva in 1712. He grew up in a Calvinist home and attended church regularly, later converting to Roman Catholicism so that he could stay in the good graces […]

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the martyr John Bradford (1510-55). As a broken-hearted sinner, a self-condemning saint, a firm believer, a man of prayer, a sharp reprover of sin, a preacher with power, a comforter of others and a staunch martyr ‘for Christ’s gospel’s sake’ (his own words), Bradford was […]

It is natural for us to take pleasure in the obvious and pleasant blessings of the Lord and to dread and do all we can to avoid his more dark and painful providences. It is natural for us to expect and even to demand only the pleasant blessings while holding the trying times in contempt, […]

When thinking ‘Puritan,’ we will limit ourselves to the period 1600-1688 (alas, no Ryle!). In addition to the evangelical party of the Church of England (‘the Puritans’ proper), we ought also to consider the works of Independents, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc. My goal here is to whet your appetite from each of three areas: the praying […]

They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. Westminster Confession of Faith God sovereignly decrees that none of his elect shall perish. As a […]

For the promise is for you and your children. (Acts 2:39) My wife was recently walking in a West Hartford park and met a young mother with her two children. As Wini struck up a conversation with the mom it was clear that she was exhausted from the demands of motherhood. Wini then used one […]

The Christian life is simultaneously a great joy and a great struggle. The joy and the struggle are synchronous, not sequential. It is not that we somehow graduate beyond the struggle to a life of ‘joy and peace in believing.’ To think this is to fail to understand just what the Christian life is. Let […]

Recently a friend shared a top 10 book list and one of the recommendations was ‘On the Goodness of God’ in volume 2 of The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock.1 It had been a long while since I read any of Charnock, and, oh my, was it a feast for my soul […]

It was described as ‘the harshest Budget for a generation’, with its ‘harsh medicine of tax hikes and spending cuts’.1 The new Chancellor’s financial programme, presented to Parliament on June 22, was an attempt to reduce the huge deficit in the British Government’s accounts. This is not the place to discuss the wisdom or otherwise […]

How lonely sits the city. (Lamentations 1:1) The Apostle John’s vision of the glorified Christ reveals the Son of Man’s zeal for his glory and the work of his church. He is clothed with a robe, reaching to his feet, girded across his breast with a golden girdle. His head and his hair are white, […]

I recently had the opportunity to share with an unbeliever how I was converted to Christ. Some have enjoyed the privilege of having been raised by Christian parents and cannot recall a time in their lives when they did not trust Christ for their salvation. I have had the privilege of experiencing the saving grace […]

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12) Aaron Burr, Jr. was reared in a godly home of prominence. His great grandfather was Solomon Stoddard, the powerful theologian and pastor […]

One of the most striking characteristics of our era is our unassailable belief that we are better and more civilised than those who lived before us. No other age has been as enlightened, as clever, as wise, as good, as ours. We Know Better. The characteristic insult of our age is to be described as […]

The first section of this paper, given at the Theological Conference of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 2008, dealt with ‘James Fraser, the Man’, and can be found here. The third and final part – ‘James Fraser as preacher and on Preaching’ – can be found here.1 2. His Magnum Opus The great […]

But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position. (James 1:9) Are you poor? By this I do not necessarily mean financial poverty. Nor do I mean being poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), a good thing. James is contrasting the brother of humble circumstances with the rich man (James 1:9-11). So […]

This is a book from a bygone age that is bang up–to-date. The puritan writer, John Owen, deals with the subject of how to avoid being worldly and instead be spiritually-minded. This book was originally published in 1681, but this is an abridged and simplified version with modern day illustrations, direct language, and simple sentence […]

. . . but let him ask in faith without any doubting. (James 1:6) James, the brother of Jesus, the one who calls himself the slave of the Lord Jesus Christ, commands us to consider all things joy. You can never do this without perfect endurance, and without perfect endurance you will not make it […]

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. (James 1:1) In Revelation 1 the Apostle John had a vision of the glorified and risen Christ, seeing him dressed in a robe reaching to his feet, girded across his chest with a golden sash. His head and his hair were white like wool, […]

Consider what has happened in the church over the past decades. The 1970s were an exciting time. We saw an unprecedented rise in conservative evangelicalism, the explosion of Christian broadcasting and publishing, a number of excellent new Bible translations and study aids, the proliferation of small-group Bible studies, and tremendous growth in Bible-believing congregations. In […]