Monthly Archives: January 2008

‘History and Theology of the Puritans’ lecture series by J I Packer (audio)

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My wife and I have recently finished listening to Dr Packer’s lectures on the Puritans, recorded about 20 years ago at Reformed Theological Seminary. The Puritans did not conform to the misleading stereotypes that we have of them, but had a zeal for making the most of life by putting into practice what they found in Scripture. Dr Packer is engaging on this important subject, and we give the series our wholehearted recommendation.

You can hear this series for free via RTS on iTunes U. You can access the series here, or, once you’ve managed to get to the iTunes U area in the iTunes Store, navigate to Reformed Theological Seminary > RTS/Virtual Courses in Church History > History and Theology of the Puritans.

Saying a prayer doesn’t make you a Christian

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A big lie in evangelical circles is that you can be saved by saying a prayer. But it is not what we do that saves us, it’s what God does for us. This is comforting; if our salvation depended upon our work, then we would be lost indeed. Our obedience to God is evidence of our salvation, not the cause of it.

I’ve only recently come across Paul Washer, but I like what I see of him in this video. It’s well worth 59 minutes of your time to watch. Paul isn’t afraid to preach the whole Gospel, having properly prepared the way by crushing us with the Law. He understands that the message of the cross doesn’t make sense unless our desperate sinful condition is first explained.

Why ‘Better Than Sacrifice’?

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In 1 Samuel 15, we read God’s instruction to King Saul to punish the city of Amalek by utterly destroying it. Not one man, woman, child, ox, sheep, camel or donkey was to be spared. Saul carries out the command – almost. But, he does not execute Agag, king of the Amalekites, and he spares the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs and ‘all that was good’.

The prophet Samuel confronts Saul with his sin, and pronounces God’s judgment with these words:

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