Grace Now and Not Yet
As heirs of the Reformation, we rightly champion salvation by grace alone. If God was not gracious to us we would have no hope. The simplest definition of grace is: favor extended where wrath is deserved. Others have made the…
Tag Salvation
Here at the Cross I Bide
“And he said, Nay; but I will die here.”— 1 Kings 2:30 In his sermon on the above text, Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) points out that participation in outward Church activities and ordinances cannot save, no more than Joab was saved…
Avoiding Extremes
Westminster divine Anthony Burgess addressed Antinomianism in his book Vindiciae Legis: A Vindication of the Moral Law and the Covenants. In a passing comment, Burgess noted that God may have allowed “Antinomian errour” to grow in popularity in order rebuke…
Little Greek Gems: To Bind or Beg?
He surely saw him from the boat. The Lord watched the erratic and unstable demoniac who was as unruly as the storm he had recently silenced. The man’s appearance alone made him an imposing figure against the otherwise peaceful shores…
Saved from Idolatry
David Clarkson and Soul Idolatry, Part 2: The Remedy Applied Our last post identified the problem of soul idolatry from David Clarkson’s book, Soul Idolatry Excludes Men out of Heaven. For Clarkson, soul idolatry occurred in general “when the mind and…
Augustus Montague Toplady and His Defense of the Gospel
Augustus Montague Toplady and His Defense of the Gospel Augustus Montague Toplady was one of the many young people who turned to Christ through the ministry of John Wesley. He was also one of the many who called Wesley…
Adoption and Edward Leigh
Adoption has been occasionally undervalued and neglected in church history. Yet Paul treated adoption as the end to which the Father predestined his elect (Eph. 1:5). Adoption is the sum of our privileges, or our “inheritance,” in Christ. Our adoption is in…
Katherine Parr and Her Role in the English Reformation
Katherine Parr and Her Role in the English Reformation Katherine Parr (1512-1548) is often remembered as the last of Henry VIII’s wives. But she was much more than that. She was an important writer and a major player in the English…
Discipleship
This month, the Alliance is pleased to offer a free MP3 download of Discipleship from the Alliance Teaching Series. Curated from years of biblical teaching, Discipleship presents listeners with thirteen encouraging messages on sanctification, the Church, and the Christian life. Download your copy…
Those Words of Desolation
Last April I had the chance to hear D.A. Carson speak at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. Speaking on the subject of redemption, Carson made reference to a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) titled “Cowper’s Grave.” The poem…