Last month we began to look at Pietism - the -seventeenth century reaction against an intellectual and abstract approach to gospel truth that arose in Europe -following the Reformation. Pietism taught a practical, active piety involving good works; daily self-examination; daily Bible study (with practical application of its moral teaching); emotionalism in prayer; a…
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How people view their spending is all relative to what money they have. This morning, I brewed a cup of Ethiopian Harrar coffee. It is one of the most sought-after coffees in the world and is considered very expensive to purchase by the pound. But if you brew it at home it only costs…
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The tip of the icebergWith the 'civil partnerships' legalisation now in force in the UK, our nation has embraced a sin long associated with the names of Sodom and Gomorrah. While homosexuality is not an unforgivable sin in the sight of God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11), it is unambiguously condemned in Scripture (Leviticus 18:22;…
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big meanings! (1)I am interested in words, and I hope you are too. There are several reasons for my interest. I can still remember the sense of enlightenment when, as a young child, I was taught to read. Words began to make sense and, as it were, speak to me.A more basic reason for…
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It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63)Rejection is the most common reaction of men when they hear the gospel. The Lord himself had taught these people and done miracles in their presence, but when they…
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The Bible teaches that marriage is a creation ordinance, belonging to all mankind. As sovereign Lord over his creation, God ordained that male and female should, at an appropriate time, leave mother and father and be married: 'therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and…
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The greatest agony for the Christian parent is seeing their children walk away from the faith. The sense of helplessness and feelings of guilt are often overwhelming. As children mature into adults they pass along a dark and convoluted road where they struggle to find their own identity. Somewhere along this track many young…
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One of the most strategic and seminal approaches to missionary work is through preachers’ conferences. In these the doctrines of grace can be taught to faithful men, who in turn will teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). Conferences also strengthen bonds of fellowship and give ready access to sound Christian literature to potentiate the spoken…
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Evangelical Press’ third Romanian Conference was held on 18-19 November in the city of Oradea. As the date coincided with sessions of the Romanian Baptist Union Assembly in Bucharest, there was uncertainty about the degree of attendance we could expect. In the event fears proved to be groundless, with numbers greater than in previous…
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Massive cultural shifts within Western society have resulted in what might be called the deconstruction of 'evangelicalism'. This time-honoured and once comprehensible term for New Testament Christianity has been forced to bear new and often contradictory meanings, as we began to see last month.Then I considered 'traditional evangelicalism' and 'pragmatic evangelicalism'. This month I…
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The first Evangelical Press Conference in the USA took place on 11-13 November 2005 at Berean Baptist Church, Grand Blanc, Michigan, under the title, ‘The gospel of Jesus Christ: defended and proclaimed’. Over the past five years the church has seen several hundred people brought to Christ and the conference had a corresponding evangelistic…
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What do we look for to see if someone's faith is genuine? Some would tell us that there are two kinds of Christians - those who show their faith by holy lives and others who do not. It is almost a two-tier Christianity.To give examples: there are those who teach that some Christians (the…
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A serious shortage'Troubled. Shaken. Ashamed'. Those were my opening words in an article I wrote as long ago as 1970 in a respected Christian periodical. Unexpectedly, I rediscovered the article only a few days ago. And my response? One of surprise that it was still relevant for Christians and churches in 2006.The second sentence…
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Ever since Islam was founded in the seventh century, there have been Christian communities living as minorities in Muslim-majority contexts. Their circumstances have varied at different times and in different places, but almost always the Christians experience some degree of discrimination or hostility. This repeated pattern is not a coincidence - it arises from…
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Her husband has been trained for his task, spending years anticipating the future and the likely problems he will encounter. In other words, much thought and many prayers will have gone into his preparation. His wife, on the other hand, is unlikely to be in that position - seldom being trained for the role…
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James 2:1 makes reference to 'our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory'.This is a truly remarkable statement because the word 'glory' can ultimately only be applied to God himself - who declares in Isaiah 42:8, 'I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other'. The Westminster Confessionputs…
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Tony Okoroh, pastor of Sovereign Grace Bible Church, Lagos, writes: We give glory to God, who made this third annual Lagos Conference possibleon 3-5 November. Nigeria is desperately needy. Many evangelical pastors are strongly influenced by the word-faith movement and ignorant of the counsel of God. This year’s theme was 1 Timothy 4:16,…
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