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And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ,’ Acts 24:24. This was a most favorable opportunity for duty faith and universal invitations to have been advanced and enforced; and such an opportunity too, as could not have justly or innocently been suffered to pass by un- embraced and unimproved, had any such doctrines, sentiments, principles, thoughts or ideas been contained and known in the apostle’s great commission `to bear the Lord’s name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel,’ Acts 9:15. But is there anything of the kind to be found here in Paul’s address? No, not one word, for at verse 25, chap 24 it is said, `And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled.’ Here was no duty faith nor universal invitations in this, but a fair and honest statement of facts, supported by sound and solemn reasoning. This was a mode of address to a Gentile sinner that needed no reconciling with the counsels of God and other truths of the faith of Christ.

And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds,’ Acts 26:29. Here was a good opportunity, and one in which we might reasonably expect to find something of duty faith and universal invitations principles, in some one form of countenance or another, if any such thing had been in either Paul’s creed or commission. For ‘Agrippa said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,’ verse 28. And why did not Paul snatch up this opportunity that was so…

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Yet another former sturdy defender of the faith now endorses a deceitful gospel which outclasses the errors of older Liberalism. David Silversides has joined such modern apostles as John and Iain Murray, Malcolm H. Watts, Phillip R. Johnson, Errol Hulse, David Gay and Ken Stebbins in their campaign to alter radically the Christian’s view of God and His Word. Pastor Silversides traces the roots of opposition to his new divinity in the formation of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the nineteen-twenties under the leadership of Herman Hoeksema (1886-1965), arguing that the PRC presented a caricature of the free-offer position thus fostering controversy and confusion. Instead of giving acceptable proof of this, Silversides caricatures those who do not use his, as yet undefined, free-offer tactics as if they preached by rote with no true heart to plead with dead sinners to turn to Christ and live.

Though Silversides exaggerates grossly the failings of his opponents, he fails to examine the enormous lack of evangelical fervency in modern free offer circles still sailing under a Reformed flag where method is often ranked higher than message and denominational law-discipline is disguised as holy living. Nor does he examine why many sound Christians, dubbed ‘Antinomians and Hyper-Calvinists’ by the BOT school of neo-evangelists are constantly witnessing to the…

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AN ORDER OF SERVICE FOR DIVINE WORSHIP; DESIGNED FOR PRIVATE DEVOTIONS, FAMILY GATHERINGS AND CHURCH MEETINGS.

Sermon—“By What Authority?”

For the full order of service, including hymns and reading, please follow this link…

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“To the praise of the glory of his grace.”—Ephesians 1:6

As the Lord shall be graciously pleased to give me wisdom and strength, I shall endeavor to call your attention to three leading particulars;

I. What is grace, God’s rich and free grace.

II. Point out some branches of the glory of God’s grace.

III. Make a few remarks on some things as connected with our text, which the Lord has done to the praise of the glory of his grace.

I. What then is God’s free grace? The word grace is in almost everybody’s mouth who makes a profession of religion. “Salvation is all of grace; we must be saved my grace,” are words frequently spoken. But if you will allow the bulk of professors to tell their own tale but for a few minutes, you will find that they either do not understand the meaning of grace, or else they do not mean what they say. There is a large body of professors of religion who say that salvation is all of grace, and then roundly assert that if God does not give all men a chance of being saved, he is an unjust God. What a horrible idea! God unjust if he does not give all men a chance of being saved! If that be true, then instead of salvation being all of grace, it is a debt that God owes to rebel man, and if he does not pay the debt, he is an unjust God; and upon that ground there can be no real thanks due to him, for he only does that which to leave undone would impeach his justice; and if so, how can it be of grace? Grace is free, unmerited, undeserved favor; and if God would be unjust if he did not give guilty man a chance of being saved, then it cannot be of grace, but of debt. (Rom. 4:4)

Salvation is either entirely of grace, entirely of works, or of works and grace together. Now let us hear what God the Holy Ghost, by the apostle, says upon this subject: “Even so then at this present time also there is a…

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The Gospel is of the nature of a DECLARATION or PROCLAMATION.^[1]

This appears from an examination of the terms by which it is described in the New Testament.

It is “the word of God,” (Acts 13:44;) the “word of His grace,” (Acts 19:3;) and “the word of this salvation,” (Acts 13:26.) A word is the expression of a thought—the vehicle in which an idea is conveyed: and the Gospel is the oral or written expression of the gracious thoughts of God concerning the salvation of men.

It is a testimony, (Acts 22:18;) and the vocation of the preacher is to testify (or bear witness, or give evidence) to the great facts which the grace of God has originated, (Acts 20:21, and 33:11.

It is a declaration—a ‘making known’ to men in current speech, of the things which concern their peace. (Acts 20:21, and 23:11.)

It is a proclamation—a “forthcrying,” or urgent and earnest statement of the…

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A Transcript Of The Video Study

In our previous study, I pointed out the remaining thirty books of the Old Testament fit into one of three sections of history—the United Kingdom of Israel, the Divided Kingdom of Israel and the Exile/Return of Judah. The book of 1 Samuel belongs to the first of these time periods, and is the tenth book to appear on the timeline.

The time period covered by the book of 1 Samuel is around 115 years. There are 31 chapters, and it takes approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes to read in a single sitting.

We believe there are three authors of the book—Samuel, who wrote chapters 1-24; Nathan and Gad, who wrote chapters 25-31. We read in 1 Samuel 10:25, ”Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD.” The death of Samuel is recorded in the twenty-fifth chapter, which means the last seven chapters must have been written by someone else. According to 1 Chronicles 29:29,30, these last seven chapters were most likely written by Nathan and Gad. We read, “Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer…”. Henceforth, we have good reason to conclude the book of 1 Samuel was written by these three men—Samuel, Nathan and Gad.

Now, as interesting as the human authorship may be, I must hasten to point out that 1 Samuel is a divinely inspired book, meaning God breathed out His words through Samuel, Nathan and Gad. The words of this book, therefore, are the…

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The Sovereign love of God the Father, the free gift of his Son Jesus Christ, the saving, irresistible and abiding operations of the Holy Ghost, together with the revelation and application of them to the mind, and consciences of his own elect, and none other, irrespective of any worth, worthiness, state, or condition whatever, are the truths testified and maintained in this work, in opposition to pretended Calvinistic preachers of the Gospel; who in his, as well as our days, are the greatest opposers of the cross of Christ, for instead of being content to stand in the counsel of God, and point sinners to Christ; as John did, with “behold the Lamb of God,” or, as the Apostles did, showing the way of Salvation; or as the Spouse did, describing Christ’s beauty, till someone falls in love with him, leaving our Lord to make his own choice.

They, under pretense of extra-liberality, go a step, one awful step further, than the Counsel of God, by offering Christ to all their hearers; and very often, that none may mistake their presumptuous generosity, will then intently urge upon their hearers, one in all, to accept, and not to miss, but at that very moment to accept their offer of Christ.

How men came by such authority I know not, and how the transfer can be made without the Holy Ghost, who is generally left out of the question on such occasions, would be as difficult for me to explain, as for them to perform. If this is not spiritual wickedness in high places, and Popery in the abstract, I know not what is!

Such conduct, such offers, such proffers, may very well agree with the traders of Rome, who have Christs in wood and in stone, hanging at the girdle of every popish priest. Such Christs as these, such preachers may offer and proffer to all men; such men may and can accept such Christs, and may as easily part from them again, when they have got them.

A popish Christ is a Christ of wood, a false preacher’s Christ is…

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