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The Life And Ministry Of James Keslon
I have heard him say, that when a young man, the Lord in mercy called him by grace, and gave him to see that he was as a lost and helpless sinner in the sight of a holy God. He could no longer join with his fellow-workmen in the follies and pleasures of the world; and this was soon seen by the master and workmen, all of whom joined to persecute him, and the latter tried in various ways to get him to go again with them; but all was in vain. The Lord had begun a good work, and he never did nor ever will leave his dear children, when he puts his fear in the heart, permanently to go on with old sinful…
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Henry Bullinger (1504-1575): Shepherd Of The Churches
It has long been my conviction that not half of the story of the Reformation has yet been told. Happily, great men and women of God who were true pioneers and upholders of reform are now being rediscovered causing a radical alteration in our knowledge and even convictions concerning how the true faith was revived after centuries of papal superstition. I have previously striven in these pages to rehabilitate forgotten English Reformers and introduced the great reforming work of Continentals such as Martin Bucer. Perhaps no Reformer, however, has been neglected in modern times as much as Swiss-born Henry Bullinger, once called, not inappropriately, ‘the common shepherd of all Christian churches’. Today, few seem to know that Bullinger produced far more sound Christian writings than…
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The Life And Ministry Of Job Teall
For some time past he had been suffering from excessive nervous debility and an affection of the heart. He felt persuaded in his own mind that his end was drawing nigh, and that it would be sudden; and so it proved. On the morning of the 28th of November, he remarked to the partner of his life, "You will not have to prepare any more breakfasts for me, my dear;" but she, having heard so many similar remarks on former occasions, paid no particular heed to it, attributing it to his nervous debility. He left his dwelling-house during the morning, intending to call upon a Mr. Ratcliffe, a baker, nearly opposite, when he was seen to fall; and upon friends going to his assistance, the…
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The Life And Ministry Of Samuel Slade
On October 9th, he met with a few of his fellow-members at a friend's house, and engaged with fervency in prayer for the prosperity of the church of God, more especially for that part with which he was connected. It was thought by those present that it was the last time he would meet with them, for he appeared like a shock of corn ready to be gathered into his garner. I saw him a few days afterwards on his bed, drawing near his end. I said to him, "You can say, 'I know in whom I have believed.'" He was very deaf, and I do not know that he heard what I said; but he took my hand and said, “The Lord has been…
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Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643): The Failure Of The New England Experiment
Although it might be said that civil and ecclesiastical law were one in the Old Testament Dispensation, the New Testament clearly teaches that both non-Christians and Christians have civil rights and responsibilities and the powers that be, whether Christian or not, have an ordained duty to command obedience from the populace and maintain the right. Where New Testament Churches have usurped civil and secular authority by exercising Jewish case law and the authority of a Sanhedrin, they have failed in their calling as Christian leaders and reverted to un-Christian, and therefore worldly, means. Nowhere is this abuse of New Testament principles more crassly illustrated as in the so-called New England Experiment in general and the mocked-up trial of Anne Hutchinson in particular. Here we have…
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John Albert Bengel
John Albert Bengel was born in Winnenden near Stuttgart on 24 July, 1687, the son of scholar-deacon Martin Albert Bengel. Martin Bengel took care of John’s early education but died of ‘an epidemic fever’ when John was six years of age. Then Louis XIV’s troops plundered the Bengels’ home and burnt it to the ground, destroying Martin Bengel’s valuable library which would have been a great support in John’s further education. Of these years of hardship, John testified that his best teacher was God Himself and that at his father’s death, he received a firm conviction that his Heavenly Father would be his best parent and educator. He began to pray fervently, read the Scriptures and devotional books and sought to walk worthy of God…
