Old Evangelicalism

Old Truths for a New Awakening

Author

Iain H. Murray

Category History & Biography, Theology Books

Look Inside

Binding

Clear

Add to wishlist

Weight	0.88 lbs
Dimensions	8.8 × 5.75 × 0.8 in
ISBN	9780851519012
Binding	Cloth-bound, eBook (ePub & Kindle), Cloth-bound & eBook (ePub & Kindle)
Topic	General Theology, Church Issues/Unity, Historical Theology
Original Pub Date	2005
Banner Pub Date	Mar 1, 2005
Page Count	226
Scripture	Whole Bible
Format	Book

‘This is a good book, and the truths it proclaims are urgently needed for our day when Evangelicalism is in a state of theological free fall and utterly unsure of its identity. Here, we have for us what that identity looked like in the past so as to guide readers into biblical living in the present.’ — MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN

‘It is always very profitable to read any book by Iain Murray. This one is no exception. Every minister or Christian worker should read everything he has ever written. Accordingly, I could wish that every preacher, pastor, missionary, and Christian worker could have [Old Evangelicalism] placed in their hands.’ — MACK TOMLINSON

‘The chief dangers that confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God and heaven without hell.’ — WILLIAM BOOTH

‘In 1901 the Salvation Army General, William Booth, was asked about the chief dangers for the 20th century, and he replied: “Religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” According to Iain, the Arminian Booth got it tragically right.

Iain Murray tackles the issues of the need for conviction of sin in conversion, the imputed righteousness of Christ, the love of God seen in the cross, the general love of God for all, assurance of salvation, and Christian unity. The approach is more historical and pastoral than expositional, but the result is a balanced and fair treatment of each of the issues raised.

Murray has worked from a goldmine of quotations that should stimulate the reader’s thinking. Thomas Robinson wrote that “sin is nowhere seen so terrible, nor the law so inflexible, as in the cross of Christ”. God’s attitude to sin can be seen in the law, but even more graphically, in the cross. Yet the cross is also described by Augustine as “a pulpit in which Christ preached his love to the world”. Indeed, “Rabbi” Duncan speaks of God’s love for the lost in a most striking way: “Men evangelised cannot go to hell but over the bowels of God’s great mercies. They must wade to it through the blood of Christ.”

There is an interesting and helpful chapter on “What can we learn from John Wesley?” Such is the appreciation that Iain has come to of Wesley that he once exchanged a fine china figure of Wesley for a second-hand set of Daniel Neal’s History of the Puritans, and now regrets it. I rather think that he got the better of the deal, but it is true that Wesley deserves his due. This volume has much to commend it, and deserves to be widely read, digested, and re-read.’ — PETER BARNES

‘Orthodox Presbyterian pastors and people in the pew should read this book to sharpen their understanding of Calvinism compared with the approach of the new evangelicalism.’ — MARK R. BROWN in NEW HORIZONS

‘Iain Murray’s writings are always stimulating. He has an excellent, clear, English style, is well-read in the best of theology, has travelled the world interacting with the leading Reformed thinkers, is now an old man of mature thought and yet has a liveliness and excitement in his Christianity.’ — FREE CHURCH WITNESS

Book Description

Sin, regeneration, justification by Christ’s righteousness, the cross, and the love of God, assurance of salvation – these are the truths that once thrilled churches and changed nations. Yet, where evangelicalism continues to affirm these truths, without such results, it is often assumed that she must have needs that cannot be met without something new.

These addresses by Iain Murray challenge that mindset. While the Bible not history is the textbook in these pages, Murray draws on the best authors of the old evangelicalism to confirm what a glorious message the gospel is.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

	Preface	xi
1.	PREACHING AND AWAKENING: FACING THE MAIN PROBLEM IN EVANGELISM	1
	No One Will Become Concerned about Himself until He Learns about God	8
	Under Conviction Individuals Commonly Endeavour a Change of Behaviour	9
	By the Law Men Learn Their Helplessness	11
	The Initial Need in Evangelism Is Not to Win an Acceptance for Christ	15
	Regeneration and Conviction	18
	Conclusions: 1. The Case Demonstrated by History	24
	2. What Preachers Need	28
	ADDITIONAL NOTES:
	John Brown of Wamphray: What Preparation Is Not and What It Is	33
	Thomas Scott: The Offence of the Cross Ceasing	35
	Alexander Whyte: Preaching to the Conscience	36
	D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The Law	37
2.	SPURGEON AND TRUE CONVERSION	39
	Conversion, Profound and Mysterious	42
	Where Conversion Has to Begin	46
	How the Law Came to Be Put Aside	49
	Why Law Preaching?	52
	What is Regeneration?	54
	Preaching for Conversion	60
	Conclusions: 1. True gospel preaching is multi-faceted	64
	2. When there is a wrong conversion model a sense of sin and the fear of God disappear	65
	ADDITIONAL NOTES:
	D. M. Lloyd-Jones: Evangelism and Conviction of Sin	69
	A. W Tozer: ‘Conversion’ without Regeneration	70
3.	‘CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ – GOD’S WAY OF SALVATION	71
	The Importance of the Doctrine	73
	All Mankind in Darkness	76
	Why ‘the Righteousness of Christ’ is Good News	82
	Imputation – the Old Testament Gospel	86
	Conclusions: 1. The danger of modifying the doctrine	89
	2. Justification not to be preached alone	90
	3. The doctrine always in need of recovery	92
	4. Justification opposes man’s root sin	94
	5. The solution to contemporary weakness	95
	ADDITIONAL NOTES:
	George Herbert: Judgement	97
	John Bunyan: My Righteousness in Heaven	97
	Charles Simeon: Conversion Testimony	98
	Martin Boos: Words He Never Forgot	99
	Frances Ridley Havergal: Personal Testimony of 1864	99
4.	THE CROSS – THE PULPIT OF GOD’S LOVE	101
	Two Truths	106
	At Calvary We Learn of Forgiveness Consistent with Holiness and Justice	108
	By Christ Crucified the Love of God Is to Be Made Known to All People	110
	Particular Love and General Love	115
	Conclusions: 1. Not all truth is equally important	123
	2. The unexplainable not to be ‘explained’	124
	3. The practical, not the theoretical, is Paramount	125
	4. Care needed in controversy	127
	5. The priority of love	127
	ADDITIONAL NOTES:
	John Calvin: Gospel Preaching	131
	Thomas Chalmers: God Is Love	131
	William Nevins: The Extent of the Atonement	132
	John Bonar: The Universal Offer and the Compassion of God	132
5.	WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM JOHN WESLEY?	135
	Wesley Is a Necessary Reminder of How Upbringing and Education Prejudice Our Minds	139
	Wesley Has Something to Teach Us on the Relationship between Zeal for the Gospel and Church Government, Procedures and Practices	143
	In Wesley and Methodism We Are Taught that Persuasion of the Love of God for Men Makes Churches Truly Evangelistic	151
	A Parallel Witness from Scotland	158
	Wesley Challenges Us on the Focus of Our Doctrine of Sanctification	162
6.	ASSURANCE OF SALVATION	167
	The Truth and Usefulness of Assurance	170
	The Holy Spirit and Assurance	172
	The Twofold Basis of Assurance	175
	‘Legalism’	179
	A Third Way to Assurance?	181
	Unbalanced Teaching	190
	Conclusions: 1. Assurance and feelings	194
	2. The non-Christian has no right to assurance	195
	3. Assurance and service for Christ	196
	4. The importance of assurance	198
	CHRISTIAN UNITY AND CHURCH UNITY	201
	Denominations and Unity	204
	When Church and Denomination Are Confused	207
	The Unity That Comes First	210
	ADDITIONAL NOTES:
	John Owen of Thrussington: Uniformity and Unity	215
	William Gibson: Unity and the Holy Spirit	215
	Index	217