Topic Archives: General Theology

The Church of Jesus Christ has been entrusted by God with the very words of Scripure, and all those who disseminate that Word, whether from pulpits or printing presses, hold a sacred trust. On May 27, 1997, twelve men meeting at the headquarters of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs issued a statement that […]

CONCERNS ABOUT NIV REVISIONS The various NIV translations are being affected by a feminist agenda. “The latest revisions are not the words God originally caused to be written, and thus they are not the words of God,” Wayne Grudem has written. “They are human words that men have substituted for the words of God, and […]

There are 7 characteristics that qualify Spurgeon as a helpful guide to preachers who need strength to preach through adversity. At five minutes past eleven on Sunday night, January 31, 1892, the prince of preachers, CH Spurgeon, died. The following useful summary of his ministry was written by John Piper. SPURGEON WAS A PREACHER He […]

NEO-CALVINISM The question is not whether Christians have a task in this world or not, but what this task consists of and what is the Scriptural basis and warrant for it Cornelius Pronk is a graduate of Calvin Seminary and pastor of Brantford Free Reformed Church, Ontario. He is radio pastor of the Banner of […]

‘THE ATTRACTIONS OF POPERY’ When they tire of the banality of modern evangelicalism, North Americans will become the ripest of prey for Romish ritualism [The Banner of Truth have reprinted the three volumes of the Discussions of Robert L. Dabney, the third, and more neglected volume, appearing fifteen years after the first two, in 1982. […]

THE SHEER ORDINARINESS OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE What is so striking about the story of Esther is the sheer ordinariness and unobtrusiveness of God’s providential workings The book of Esther is vastly encouraging and reassuring. Nowhere is God’s name mentioned, but his presence is everywhere evident. Simply reading through Esther confronts you, at every turn, with […]

THE ALPHA AND THE CHRISTIANITY EXPLAINED COURSES Among Christians Alpha has earned a rapidly spreading reputation based on its effectiveness. On 24th May 2001 at All Soul’s Church, Langham Place, a new evangelistic course called Christianity Explored was launched. Adapting and expanding an earlier course run at All Soul’s called Christianity Explained, Rico Tice has […]

PREACHING THE MORAL LAW – REFORMERS AND PURITANS There is the importance of understanding the biblical antithesis of law and gospel The annual Westminster Conference was held at Westminster Chapel London on December 11 and 12. The usual number of men and women were present, over two hundred, and mainly men. As we walked to […]

THE DAYS OF GENESIS: 24 HOURS? DAY-AGE? FRAMEWORK? The publishing of the book will not end the debates in the church. Perhaps it will lead to greater clarity in thinking and help provide an atmosphere where calm discussion can take place. A new book has appeared entitled “The Genesis Debate – Four Views” edited by […]

THE OPENNESS OF GOD VIEW REJECTED BY THE ETS “The cost to doctrine and faith by open theism’s denial of exhaustive divine foreknowledge is too great to be accepted within evangelicalism” COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP) – After three days of heated debate, the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) voted November 16 overwhelmingly to affirm what almost […]

EVANGELICALS AND CATHOLICS TOGETHER? Perhaps one of the most encouraging signs about this document is the reaction of some evangelicals who feel left out. Since the 1994 publication of Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT), the Evangelical body has been convulsed periodically over the doctrine of justification. The patient, to strain a metaphor, sustained a second […]

SIX DAY CREATION CONFERENCE EVOLUTION HAS EXPLANATORY STORIES BUT DESTROYS THE CAPACITY TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING ‘In the beginning the Word of God was formidable and void of error. Then Sci-Man said, “Let the book of Genesis be an inspiring story of the creative power of the universe over billions of years. “And there was grieving, […]

THE TEACHING OF CLARK PINNOCK PINNOCK PLACED A GREATER EMPHASIS ON THE HUMANNESS OF SCRIPTURE AND THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT These are crucial and strategic days for the evangelical movement, which represents the fastest-growing segment of the church world-wide. Its great watershed issue in our post-modern and relativistic era is the nature and […]

ARE YOU SURE YOU LIKE SPURGEON? “The doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works…” , C.H. Spurgeon Praised by many evangelicals as a great preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon is considered a successful and “safe” example of a “non-theological” ministry. His works are recommended as […]

James E. Adams Mesa, Arizona Introduction What is Regeneration? “Except a man be born again (1), he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 33). Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that the new birth is so important that no one can see heaven without it. Mistakes concerning this doctrine have been very destructive to the […]

Continued from Part I of this article. The phrase, “O Lamb of God, I come, I come,” has been widely used to encourage people to “come” down the aisle. But it is significant that Miss Elliott wrote the hymn for the infirm and that it first appeared in a hymnal prepared especially for invalids, (9). […]

APOSTASY WE MUST START FROM THE ‘GREAT POSITIVE STATEMENTS OF SCRIPTURE’ John Owen is one who has written comprehensively on this subject. I have, therefore, taken his writings as the basis for what I want to say, while drawing on the contribution of others here and there, and interjecting some comments of my own. By […]

THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE SEMINARY PROFESSORS ARE REALLY AMAZING PHENOMENA One of the many privileges of my seminary education was to sit at the feet of Dr. Cornelis P. Venema, professor of doctrinal studies at, and recently named president of, Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. Seminary professors are really amazing phenomena. Although you […]

BOOK REVIEW WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE? by Philip Yancey, (Zondervan, 1997) “Grace [is] ‘the last best word,’ the only unsullied theological word remaining in our language.” (p.232) So writes Philip Yancey in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace? Other words, like love and charity, for instance, have all but lost their original theological […]

It is very odd how difficult it seems for some persons to understand just what Calvinism is. And yet the matter itself presents no difficulty whatever. It is capable of being put into a single sentence; and that, one level to every religious man’s comprehension. For Calvinism is just religion in its purity. We have […]

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD Prof. John Murray 4 volumes of his Selected Writings are published by Banner of Truth The sovereignty of God I take to be the absolute authority, rule, and government of God in the whole of that reality that exists distinct from Himself in the realms of nature and of grace. It […]

A Sermon of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Romans 10:3 “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” “Saving Faith” An Exposition of Chapter 10, published by The Banner of Truth Trust: 1997 1.800.263.8085 (pp.28-39). “For they being ignorant of […]

At the end of the Banner of Truth ministers’ conference in Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, on June 1, Sherman Isbell took me to Baltimore airport and on the way we called in at the Green Mount Cemetery to visit the grave of Dr J. Gresham Machen. He is buried next to his parents and his […]

In 1964 the Banner of Truth was encouraged by the Rev. J. Marcellus Kik of Silver Spring, Maryland, then an associate editor of Christianity Today, to republish Samuel Bolton’s “The True Bounds of Christian Freedom.” It is a classic study of the law of God and its relationship to the Christian. This is the book’s […]

A number of writers of late have been trying to drive a wedge between Calvin and the Puritans. Thomas Torrance and R.T. Kendall are among the chief of them, while Paul Helm and Carl Trueman in particular have refuted their claims. The following quotations may shed some light on the issue. While we believe that […]