My Favourite Christian Writers

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My list of favourite Christian authors would look something like this (in roughly chronological order, not order of merit):-

  1. John Calvin – commentaries, Institutes
  2. Thomas Watson – Body of Divinity, Beatitudes, Lord’s Prayer, Ten Commmandments
  3. William Gurnall – Christian in Complete Armour
  4. Matthew Henry – Commentary
  5. C.H. Spurgeon – The Treasury of David, Lectures to my Students, An All-Round Ministry, Commenting and Commentaries (plus, of course, his many printed sermons)
  6. J.C. Ryle – Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Holiness, Knots Untied, Old Paths, Practical Religion, Christian Leaders of the 18th Century
  7. J.
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Seven Synoptic ‘Problems’

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Writing on the Historical Reliability of the Gospels in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (IVP), Craig Blomberg discusses seven areas of apparent disagreement between the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).  For each, Blomberg indicates how the apparent difficulty might be resolved:-

(1) The theologies of the Evangelists may seem to conflict. Mark portrays the disciples as without understanding following Jesus’ walking on the water (Mk 6:52); Matthew has them worship him as the Son of God (Mt 14:33).…

Paul’s view of the Cross

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By God’s marvelous grace Paul had come to view [the] cross as:

a. The Mirror, and this not only of his own unworthiness but also of God’s resplendent attributes, that is, of such “excellencies” as God’s righteousness which must receive its due (Rom 8:3-4); God’s power and wisdom (1 Cor 1:24); and his love, mercy, and grace (2 Cor 5:19-21; Gal 2:20); all of these in sublime harmony with each other (Psa 85:10).

b. The Means of Redemption in its most comprehensive sense (Justification, Sanctification, Glorification).…

Quotes on Providence

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God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
(William Cowper)

The longer I live, the more faith I have in providence, and the less faith in my interpretation of providence.  (Jeremiah Day)

God’s providences often seem to contradict his purposes, even when they are serving them.  (Matthew Henry)

Everything that happens to me can help me along in my Christian life.  (E.…

A word of warning

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As a young Christian, I was very struck by some words of J.C. Ryle, the ‘Evangelical Bishop’.  I think that his passionate call to ‘fight valiantly’ still needs to be heeded today:-

I fear much for many professing Christians.  I see no sign of fighting in them, much less of victory.  They never strike one stroke on the side of Christ.  They are at peace with his enemies.  They have no quarrel with sin. – I warn you, this is not Christianity. …

Puritans on Providence

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What is Providence?

There are three things in providence: God’s foreknowing, Gods determining, and God’s directing all things to their periods and events.  (Thomas Watson)

Providence is the perpetuity and continuance of creation. (Richard Sibbes)

Tell me, if God had never a creature to look to in all the world but thee, wouldst thou believe that He would regard thy heart. and words, and ways, or not? If He would, why not now as well as then!

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‘The word of their testimony’

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According to Revelation 12:10,11, a loud voice from heaven announces that the ‘accuser of our brothers’ has been ‘hurled down’, and that ‘they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.’

The idea of ‘testimony’ is often taken to mean ‘speaking about what God has done for me in my life.’  A quick Internet search will throw up web sites devoted to, for example, ‘publishing testimonies of persons who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and who have experienced miracles in their lives.’ …

Prophets today?

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‘Christ,’ says Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians (Eph 4:11f), ‘gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.’

Most Christian teachers would agree that the office of apostle was limited to those who were the first witnesses of Christ’s resurrection.  On the other hand, they would take it for granted that evangelists and pastor-teachers are found in every era and place.…

Donald Macleod to retire as College Principal

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Back in 1982 or thereabouts, I hired a car and drove from my home in Norwich (in the South-East of England) – to Carlisle (in the North-West of England) in order to attend a conference organised by the Banner of Truth Trust.  I particularly wanted to hear Donald Macleod speak.  I was not disappointed.  To be sure, you don’t listen to Macleod for the beauty of his voice (once referred to as a cross between a fog-horn and a set of bagpipes), but rather for his penetrating insights into the Christian faith.…

Tom Wright – a biography

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Shame on me.  The name of Tom Wright features prominently on this web site, and yet I missed, until very recently, the excellent biography that has been posted on alistair.adversaria.  This tracks the development of Wright’s thought, and offers some insightful comments on his relationship with evangelicalism.

The ways in which Wright has deliberately set out to question and re-think his evangelical heritage is well set out.  He himself is quoted as saying:-

I continue to respect the Reformers, and men like Charles Simeon, of 200 years ago, John Stott, Jim Packer and Michael Green, at whose feet I was privileged to sit, and whose work in a variety of ways created space for me to do things differently.

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