Archives: December 2009

29 Dec 2009, Comments Off

Fishing with Gospel Promises

Author: Elijah Layfield

“People must be caught like fish by gospel promises. Ralph Erskine said that the preacher, who is a ‘fisher of men,’ must let down ‘a bundle of promises’ as hooks on a line to catch people” (Joel Beeke, Puritan Reformed Spirituality, 271).

26 Dec 2009, Comments Off

Before Execution: Seek Understanding

Author: Elijah Layfield

Jonathan Parnell writes a moving post over at Reading to Walk. Muslim extremists should at least grant the charity of seeking to understand those that they seek to blow up.

[T]here could be absolutely no Christians on a plane full of Americans. The terrorist bad guys need to get the same thing that liberal Protestants need to get, not to mention the Southern Bible-belt at large: Being American or Western does not mean being Christian. Living in some form of ‘christian’ morality does not mean being Christian.

I wish those guys would get this. I wish they would learn something about the gospel and not listen to American TV or Rome. Blowing up a plane is not executing infidels, it is just killing people.

Read the rest of the article.

26 Dec 2009, Comments Off

Christ’s Chariot: Preaching

Author: Elijah Layfield

“Preaching is the chariot that carries Christ up an down the world,” Richard Sibbes wrote (Puritan Reformed Spirituality, 269).

25 Dec 2009, Comments Off

Here I Stand, by Roland Bainton

Author: Elijah Layfield

225 Book Reviews

Book Reviews in 225 Words

Just the naked and unashamed truth

(Genesis 2.25).

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther

Roland H. Bainton.

Meridan Book Publishers

336 pages.

Hie stehe ich. Ich kan nicht anders. Got helffe mir. Amen.” These words are synonymous with not only Martin Luther, but also the Reformation itself. “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen. It was the cry of the Reformation because it was founded on the Bible. Luther would say that unless he was convinced by Scripture, he would not be swayed. Here he stood. It was on the Holy Bible. Thus, a Reformation was born.

Roland Bainton’s work is often seen as the foundational text on Luther’s life. It’s a popular level biography that is both easy to read and enjoyable. Bainton paints Luther in both positive and negative shades, as every good biography should. Although, at times there does seem to be uninvited liberal views on the inerrancy of Scripture that seem to come from the author’s views and not Luther’s. And, in light of the popular level that the biography is written at, there are no footnotes given in the text. Though, there is an extensive bibliography in the back. All in all, a flawed, but commendable work.

4 out of 5 stars.

24 Dec 2009, Comments (1)

Christmas in Ezekiel

Author: Elijah Layfield

“Among the hundreds of woodcuts [in Luther's German Bible] the only portrayal of the nativity of Jesus is located not in the Gospels, where one would expect to find it, but on the title page to Ezekiel” (Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, 261).

22 Dec 2009, Comments Off

A New Passion for Treasuring Christ

Author: Elijah Layfield

I’m trying to update the website to make it easier to use. It’s going to take awhile.
So, please be patient with the problems that come from progress.

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