It should not be forgotten that the duty of separation, whether primary or secondary, is laid upon us in the Bible by the infinite kindness of God. Far from being loveless, it is a Gospel-preserving and a church-protecting duty. It…

It is the will of God that people will be consciously awakened and convicted to experience a sincere desire for God’s mercy and a change of thinking. They must see their need, and what Christ has done, and come (as…

As we come to the narrative beginning at John 12.12 and continuing to verse 29, we see a number of events and statements recorded, and we ask what they have in common. What unites them? At first we may think…

When we speak of the sufficiency of Scripture, we mean that the Word of God provides all that we need to know in order to be saved, to be sanctified, to worship, and to organise and operate the church of…

There is nothing quite like the Ten Commandments for stimulating progress in sanctification, once our minds are primed to see all that they teach. In the New Testament we read that keeping them is an act of love to Christ (John…

There is a verse in 1 John 5 which is written for those who doubt whether they have been forgiven and saved by God. It is directed to those who have trusted in Christ, but do not feel that anything has come of…

Where will your church be five or ten years from now? With the adoption of contemporary music worship, many have already changed beyond recognition. Yet more will do so. Our manner of worship is one of the most important issues…

Only thirty years ago this question would never have been asked by Bible-believing Christians, because the need to seek God's guidance in all the major decisions of life was firmly fixed in the minds of those who followed Christ. But…

Around 1375 BC Joshua proclaimed his ‘farewell’ address to all the elders and heads of the families of Israel. Speaking by divine inspiration the aged leader gave the people sixteen profound and heart-searching resolutions that stand to this day as…

A new form of Calvinism took the shape of a movement from about 2005, but it differed from the original in its acceptance of ‘the world’. This critique written in 2009 was sharply attacked by New Calvinistic preachers but strongly…

In the Book of Leviticus, the Lord speaks authoritatively to Moses, prescribing very precisely the order and manner of worship. They were not to devise services for themselves, and even in our day of greater liberty we are not to…

Of all the Christian virtues, love is named in the New Testament as the greatest and first, but when several virtues are presented as the Christian’s armour, sincerity is the piece which must be donned first as foundational to all…

As we are all aware, we live at a time when a ‘new society’ is under construction, with new thinking and an entirely new morality. A massive revolution has been under way for years. God has been dismissed and most…

‘For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead’ (John 20.9). In the verse quoted above there is a small but vital word that is the foundation of this short article – the…

Is our continuing sanctification impeded by worldliness? Has the ‘moral resurrection’ of which Paul speaks come to a halt? Here is how we may rediscover the secret power. There are doubtless many things we can employ and enjoy in this…

The third major departure from biblical principles of worship is the modern refusal to accept the great gulf between sacred and profane, so that the entertainment forms of the world are imported into the church for the praise of God.…

When the Holy Spirit first works in our lives, he does not communicate joy, but sorrow. He stirs our complacent and indifferent hearts, giving a deep sense of spiritual bankruptcy and need, and enabling us to see ourselves as we…

‘Humility of mind’ – what a term! We do not always see this on the evangelical scene today. We see ministers revelling in what they call authority and power and gifts, endlessly expressing their opinions and devising new methods of…

Ecstatic worship is completely different to rational worship. Ecstatic worship takes place when the object of the exercise is to achieve a warm, happy feeling, perhaps great excitement, and even a sense of God’s presence through the earthly, physical aspects…

The devil’s self-assumed task is to bring down the human race in order to prove that God has failed in its design and creation. He has brought about the Fall by his lies, and if he can keep all people…

Aesthetic worshippers believe that genuine praise needs a ‘physical’ dimension greater than mere unison singing. It assumes that God is an ‘aesthete’ – sitting in the heavens and looking down with appreciation at the skill and beauty that we bring…

How could it be that God allowed the Fall, and all the evil, disobedience and horror that was brought into the world, when our first parents fell? How was it that sin was ever permitted in the first place? Our…

We constantly need the help of God in different situations, and we continually pray for individuals, but why does the Lord cause us to have to pray for some things repeatedly, often over a long period of time?

It is an astonishing concept for us that Christ Jesus the Lord of glory, the second person of the Trinity, should dearly love his people. Here is an opportunity for us just to skim the surface of that mighty, unspeakable…

The personal indwelling of the infinite, eternal Holy Spirit in the believer is such an amazing blessing and privilege that the mind never wholly grasps it. A daily succession of joys, sorrows, temptations and trials produces various reactions in us,…

Does the Bible teach definitively that the charismatic gifts have ceased? The ceasing of revelatory and sign-gifts in the time of the apostles is very plainly taught in God’s Word, so plainly, in fact, that the opposite view has only…

The concept of pilgrimage is tremendously important to the Christian, especially at the present time, when an increasing number of evangelicals advocate being ‘culturally progressive’ or ‘culturally relevant’, exhorting us to get much more into the world. The very word…

Christ has purchased us out of eternal debt, freed us from condemnation, and given us a better life and a glorious eternal home, by His precious blood. How readily we should now pay our due debts to the one God…

Our starting point is Paul’s letter to the Galatians 3.28, where the apostle writes, in Christ ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ…

‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad’ (2 Corinthians 5.10). Will believers be…

This article presents the traditional view that we are to seek real guidance from the Lord in all the major decisions of life, and he will certainly clarify our thinking, or overrule our circumstances. ‘Shew me thy ways, O Lord;…

Growth means dependence upon God, communion with Christ, daily engagement in holiness, prayer and proclamation. We cannot select one or two of these but must engage in all. 'But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and…

Like no other agency, Sunday Schools enable us to reach a large part of the rising generation, and to draw children and teenagers to the Saviour. Indeed, whether or not a congregation contains young people saved from the neighbourhood will…

In the light of recent Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations might I offer these comments.  All manifestations of racial disrespect are disgraceful to sincere Christian people. They flow obviously from the Fall of man. All hatred, all superiority, all disdain,…

Perilous times In the course of his prophetic words in 2 Timothy 3, Paul moves swiftly to list the chief features of behaviour that will come to the fore in a perilous season, naming nineteen prominent sins which will take over…

In reviewing the sins of the flesh (in Galatians 5.19-21) the apostle mentions witchcraft, often today translated sorcery. He actually uses a word which we have in English, although for us it has a much nobler meaning.    The Greek word is…

'And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord' (Ephesians 6.4). It hardly needs to be said that ­­­­parenthood is a tremendous responsibility, and we are glad of every…

Some benefits and common mistakes of consecutive expository preaching What exactly is ­expository preaching? It is preaching that draws the message from the biblical text, clearly and methodically, honouring the sense of the text, and the style of communication employed.…

And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest…

From the beginning of the ­Bible we read of divine covenants, the word covenant being used twenty-five times in the book of Genesis alone. A divine covenant is an undertaking, a pledge by God, to relate to mankind on certain conditions. It…

Three thousand years ago an outstanding king pointed out the way to know God, saying – ‘Stand in awe!’ But what is awe?      I remember a teenage boy who went to see the Niagara Falls and was over­whelmed…

  After these many weeks it may seem rather late to comment on this, but it is now that doubts begin to rise, and various voices in the Christian world begin to question the almost universal compliance with government rules on…

The call that makes all the difference to pastors and all converted men and women. All true believers should be aware of a personal commission to the service of the Lord. ‘Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year,…

These are momentous days when we find ourselves in the midst of a worldwide ‘discipline’ or warning from God, calling us to acknowledge and seek Him. And although we shrink from the thought, this is the reason for all unexpected…

Towards the end of Christ's most famous speech He uttered these striking words: ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves’.     The most famous speech ever made was the Sermon…

'Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God' (2 Corinthians 1.4). The apostle is about to unfold the…

With Calvary before Him, the Lord spoke these remarkable words – ‘Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.’ He was referring to His imminent suffering on Calvary’s cross, which would…

Over the last 40 years, there has come in among Christians a great craze for counselling borrowed from the ideas of secular psychology, largely formulated by militant atheists holding a view of human personality and morality altogether opposed to biblical…

This article will sweep through Deuteronomy 29 – 30 to demonstrate that it records how Moses presented an ‘evangelical covenant’ which was set beside and distinct from the covenant of Sinai, the latter being a ‘works’ covenant that could only…

'Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people' (Leviticus 19.16). 'He that uttereth a slander, is a fool' (Proverbs 10.18). 'An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour' (Proverbs 11.9). Gossip has been defined as idle talk…

Here are some of the personal spiritual benefits of understanding God’s covenants: 1 First, they provide a clear view of how God deals with mankind, so as to preserve his own holiness, and to explain the basis of either judgement or…

‘Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble’ (1 Peter 5.5). What an amazing exhortation…

Wonderful things had happened at Corinth, six years prior to Paul writing these words. As their founding pastor, his preaching had resulted in many remarkable conversions; trophies of grace. This enormously wealthy Greek city, proud of its beautiful buildings, its…

Towards the end of Paul's remarkable letter to the Colossians, written during his first imprisonment in Rome, he names seven men who assisted him at that time, men whose lives continue to challenge and encourage us today. These were not…

'And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in…

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s…

Biblical separation from denominational heresy and apostasy (nowadays including homosexual immorality) is no longer widely followed by evangelicals. Evangelical Anglicans remain in their deeply corrupt denomination no matter what; the Evangelical Alliance happily harbours numerous people who deny penal substitution;…

The title of this article is obviously not meant in a charismatic sense. We offer no advice on how to cast out demons, rather on how to help true believers who have been heavily influenced by charismatic ideas, and who…

‘Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them’ (Genesis 2.1). It is often claimed by those cynical toward the Bible that Genesis 1 is contradicted by Genesis 2. Naturally, such claims find their way…

'In the last days perilous times shall come' (2 Timothy 3.1) Perilous times The remarkable picture of the present age given in the prophecy of Paul in 2 Timothy 3 is breathtaking both in scope and detail. Humanly speaking, not even…

The book of Genesis is in every way the foundational book of the entire Bible. It is the supreme book of beginnings, chronicling the origin of the universe and the human race, the entry of sin into the world, and…

Perilous times Following the evils of self-love, the apostle lists ten more evils, all of which are about relationships between people. A prominent feature of any perilous time is that of relationship wickedness. Once people choose to despise the authority…

Years ago we used to say that we are ‘saved to serve’, but that little maxim is out of fashion today. It is, however, biblical and right. This article is intended as a call to the tremendous work of the…