Adam Gib was an important Scottish Secession Church theologian.  Gib discusses how common benefits to humanity flow from Christ on the throne in heaven.  He distinguishes Christ’s relation as God, Creator and Preserver, from his office of redemptive Mediator and the benefits of his death for his people (in a Limited Atonement).  Gib makes 7 helpful distinctions in this very clear and classic piece.

Gib, Adam – Christ’s Mediatorial Kingdom and Common Benefits  1747  7 pages, from his The Present Truth: A Display of the Secession Testimony, vol. 2, Appendix 2, Section 4, pp. 299-302

Many Jewish commentaries on Scripture are very valuable.  Reformed commentators such as John Calvin, Matthew Poole and John Gill quote from them constantly.  

Here is the start of what will be a growing collection of them.  One to note is that of Elias Levita, which is a commentary on the Massoretic Notes (the traditional notes to the Hebrew text that we have inherited from the Massoretes).

Jewish Commentaries

Dr. Donald MacLean’s recent dissertation on James Durham and the Free Offer is now (largely) online and available for purchase.  Please enjoy! 

Maclean, Donald – James Durham (1622-1658) and the Gospel Offer in its Seventeenth Century Context  Buy  2015  311 pp.   

‘The free offer of the gospel has been a matter of significant debate within Reformed theology. However, despite this controversy, Reformed theologians such as James Durham preached a gospel offer which was a sincere and free invitation from God to all, to embrace Jesus Christ as Saviour. This gospel offer expressed God’s grace and goodness to all. Donald MacLean argues that Durham’s doctrinal position is representative of the Westminster Standards and embraced by his contemporaries and evidenced by the later disputes concerning the meaning of the teaching of the Westminster Confession of Faith.’

‘It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that Durham (1622-1658) teaches that God desires the salvation of all men.’

What Bible version is the most faithful to God’s Word?  That question primarily hinges on two points: (1) the Greek and Hebrew textual base for the version, and (2) the version’s translation philosophy.  Here is an introduction to (1), the most faithful textual base for the Greek New Testament: the Majority Text.

In the 1800’s 3 or so ‘Critical Texts’ were found in Egypt that differed 8-13% from the texts that the Church historically had always been using.  Almost all Bible versions are largely based off of these inferior critical texts today.  Read here as to why the majority Church history view is correct (1 Tim. 3:15): 

The Majority Text

Sometimes the claim is put forward that John Murray’s thesis on the Sincere, or Well-meant, offer of the Gospel in the mid-1900’s (that the Gospel Call to particular, unconverted sinners reflects God’s gracious nature and will for them to come to Him, and that God, by his Revealed Will, desires the salvation of all men) was novel and does not broadly represent historic, reformed theology from the days of the reformers and puritans in the 1500’s and 1600’s (the post-Reformation).  

So, to demonstrate that Murray’s position is broadly reflective of the majority, historic reformed viewpoint, we have summoned the testimony of one of the world’s leading authorities on the history of reformed theology during the post-Reformation era: Dr. Richard Muller.  

Below, for the sake of comparison, quotes from Murray have been provided followed by quotes from Muller summarizing the thought of the 1500’s and 1600’s, under 12 topical questions.  As will be seen, every element of Murray’s position on the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel was standard fare during the puritan era.  

John Murray Compared with the Post-Reformation on the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel

Muller is one of the leading reformed historians in the world today.  In his Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms and Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols., he summarizes the majority reformed views of the 1500’s and 1600’s.  It would be hard to quote a more authoritative name on the history of reformed theology than Richard Muller.  

Richard Muller on Common Grace and the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel

Murray (1898-1975) was an early professor at Westminster East Seminary and one of Reformed Christianity’s leading theologians.  Here are all of his works on the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel:

John Murray on the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel

Lutherans are our dear brothers from the Reformation.  Their theologians very much deserve a read; but where does one start?  Here are the principal systematic theologies of historic, orthodox Lutheranism, with an introduction on where to begin:

Lutheran Systematic Theologies

While James Dennison recently put together 4 volumes of Creeds and Confessions of the Reformed Churches, we do not yet know of any collection of Books of Discipline.  Here the beginning to such a collection (which will be growing in the days ahead):

Historic, Reformed Books of Church Discipline

For your reference, here is a small beginning to what will be a growing collection of primary source Roman Catholic systematic theologies and authoritative documents.  Hear what the Beast has to say out of his own mouth:

Roman Catholic Systematic Theologies

Authoritative Documents of Roman Catholicism

Here are all the whole Old Testament commentaries that a Bible-believer would be interested in:

Whole Old Testament Commentaries

Your one-stop shop for whole New Testament commentaries online, including every reformed work and all those recommended by Charles Spurgeon, amongst others.  Please enjoy:

Whole New Testament Commentaries

It is often little known how common (universal almost) that the doctrine of the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel has been in reformed history.  So here is it is documented in another major reformed figure, of whom the world was not worthy.  Brown was an early 1700’s Scotsman who learned Greek on his own as a shepherd in the fields while he was young man, became a theological professor in the Secession Church, and is most well known today for his Systematic Theology (or, Natural and Revealed Religion, as it was originally published).

John Brown of Haddington on the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel

Colquhoun (pronounced Cal-houn) was one of the evangelical lights in the Church of Scotland during the dim night of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.  He was a proponent of the Marrow Theology of the early 1700’s.  All of his writings are rich and are highly recommended. 

The Works of John Colquhoun

We have also been beefing up our Lord’s Supper page.  Much more will be put on there in the days ahead.  Hopefully soon we will finish the Preparing for the Lord’s Supper page, which will be a collection of resources that will be helpful to spiritually preparing to take the Lord’s Supper.

We have been adding Suggested Reading Lists to our Suggest Reading page.  Take a look!  Much more will follow in the days ahead.

Somehow we left out a few works when we compiled the Every Reformed Systematic Theology Online (in English) page, so we added:

John Marbeck, Thomas Cartwright, William Bucanus, John Edwards, John Downame, John Dury, Francis Roberts, B.J. Kidd, and John Leith.

Please enjoy.

Do you spiritually prepare to meet God in his public ordinances?

Bible Verses on Preparation for Communion with God

God declaring and sealing his Covenant of salvation with us in the Lord’s Supper entails His closest intimacy with us.  For this reason, many of the most tender and comforting adddresses from God’s ministers, opening God’s loving heart to his dear saints, have come at the Communion Table.  Such short devotional addresses before and after the Supper have been known as Table Addresses.  Here is a collection of them, along with other sermons before, at and after the Lord’s Supper, to better help us receive by faith all the grace that God comes to us with in this meal of fellowship between God and believers.

Communion Sermons and Table Addresses  

John Dury (1596-1680) grew up with connections to the heads of state, and was advised by an eminent chaplain that to reconcile the divisions of the protestant churches would be the greatest work of peacemaking (Matt 5:9) that one could do.  Dury subsequently devoted his entire adult life’s work to this end, with indefatigable journeys, letter writing and conferencing among the leading church figures of the day.  The titles of his many writings also bear out this purpose. 

This particular work is the first part of a brief summary outline of practical scriptural living and ethics, intended as an ecumenical effort to unite churches abroad.  Previous to this work, a letter was written by William Gouge, Obadiah Sedgwick and others to James Ussher asking him to lead a joint project to write such a body of divinity.  Ussher was favorable to the project but it was interrupted by the English Civil War.  Other signers to this effort included: John Downame, George Walker, Adoniram Byfield, Sidrach Simpson, Richard Culverwell, George Hughes and Joseph Symonds.  Dury ended up writing the desired outline of practical divinity.  HT: Andrew Myers.

Dury, John – A Summary Platform of the Heads of a Body of Practical Divinity  1654, 12 pages, with a letter from Archbishop James Ussher recommending that such a body of practical divinity be written