Articles

The day before John Owen departed to be with Christ (23 August, 1683), he dictated his last letter to a friend: ‘I am going to him whom my soul has loved, or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love, – which is the whole ground of my consolation.’ The following day William Payne […]

The allusion would be lost on most. ‘Here I raise my Ebenezer …’ Who or what is Ebenezer? Those of a more literary turn might remember the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. But the action itself – raising my Ebenezer – would leave just about everyone these days scratching their head. The words […]

Contentment is the proper attitude we should have to our position in life; The Shorter Catechism (Ans. 80) includes ‘full contentment with our own condition’ among the duties that are required by the Tenth Commandment – which declares: ‘Thou shalt not covet’. Matthew Poole (on Col. 3:5) explains covetousness as ‘an immoderate desire after, and […]

Some years ago I was sitting in a ministers’ conference enjoying very much hearing God’s Word preached with grace and power. The preacher, a dear friend, paused and said something that riveted me. He quoted some words of Geerhardus Vos, ‘The reason God will never stop loving you is that he never began.’ Vos was […]

Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:25). Most of us, most of the time, have little or no zeal for intentional evangelistic outreach. We will talk about what is important to us. I live in Alabama and most of the people here have no […]

I wonder if it has ever struck you in reading the New Testament how often faith and love are mentioned in the same breath. Again and again you find that where the one is the other is as well. Let me give you some examples. In one place, Paul declares that ‘we ought always to […]

What qualifies me to write on this subject? Simply the fact that I have been the pastor of Childs Hill Baptist Church in London for the last 30 years. How have I been able to do that? Firstly, I was converted when I was still only about to turn 13. Then, by the time I […]

A recent writer complains that ‘contemporary gospel preaching . . . rarely explains the cross of Christ;’ that is, it fails to tell us that ‘He died bearing the transgressions of His people . . . suffering the divine penalty for their sins . . . forsaken of God and crushed’ beneath God’s wrath. It […]

What should a church be looking for when it seeks a pastor? This is a question that should deeply exercise not only elders but every church member. What qualities should a search committee have uppermost in their minds as they look to God to provide them with a man after his own heart? Perhaps before […]

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting (Psa. 126:5). Read carefully. If your church does not evangelize, then it will surely perish. I say this even if you have several hundreds or thousands of members and are presently a vibrant, fast growing church. We all know of churches that fifty or one […]

Eugene Peterson published The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary English in 1993. A whole Bible version was finally completed in 2002. The casual shopper in the average Christian book shop today could be forgiven for thinking that it is yet another of the veritable flood of English translations of the Bible that have been […]

What do we make of Alexander Whyte? His books, unlike those of many of his liberal contemporaries, are still in print and are popular with Christians all over the world. Christian Focus publish his famous Bible Characters. Other books of his in print include: Lord Teach Us to Pray, Samuel Rutherford and some of his […]

Although Robert Murray M’Cheyne did not take his place among the founders of the Free Church of Scotland (he was taken to glory just before the Disruption) he fully sympathised with their rejection of state control of the Church of Christ in Scotland, and would have been among them when their Deed of Separation terminated […]

David Cameron will almost certainly get his Syrian war. Who will fight it, let alone who will win it, remains unclear. But who will lose it is already known – the Christians. The relentless persecution of Christ’s followers is foretold in the Gospels. Suffering is portrayed as the pathway to triumph. The global position today […]

Some Christians are doubtful of the help they can find in a Puritan book written some 400 years ago. Tom Richwine, a trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust, addresses this concern with a recent example.