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          Martin Luther's posting of his  95 Theses  sparked one of the most incredible movements in human history. It stirred the consciences of men and women to come back to the authority of Scripture and by doing so, brought to light the excellent and holy doctrine of justification by faith alone. In 1517, the Roman Catholic church sold partial and plenary  indulgences . These indulgences gave the Roman Catholic church prosperity at the expense of burdening the souls of men and women with a false gospel. Indulgences coincided with the Roman Catholic doctrine of  purgatory , a place of temporary punishment. The  95 Theses  inadvertently challenged the papal claim of the existence of the  treasury of merit , and led to the Reformation, the  5 Solas , an abundance of Bible translations, and a Catholic Reformation. Climate, Luther, and the 95 Theses           Leading up to the Reformation, one of the many groundwork elements was the production of both Greek and Latin New Testaments ...

We continue our series on the writings of John Bunyan. In today's post we look at the first three of Bunyan's "dying sayings" (slightly modernized) which he wrote while on his death bed. Historical records show that in 1688 Bunyan was caught in a storm while on the way to London, after which he became ill with a serious fever. He died on August 31, 1688 and was buried in a tomb in Bunhill Fields nonconformist burial ground in London. It was during these last days that he wrote the following sayings. It is truly a remarkable testimony of Bunyan's faith that he was not angry at God for what some may view as a needless illness and death for a great servant of God. Not only did Bunyan accept God's will, but he used his final days to continue teaching the truths of God and His Word.   OF SIN Sin is the great block and bar to our happiness, the procurer of all miseries to man, both here and hereafter: take away sin and nothing can hurt us: for death, temporal, spiri...

For Christians it's important to read.  It's important to read the Bible, books on the Bible, books about Christian living, and books to know more about God. But sometimes one's life gets very busy. How can the busy Christian find time to read? This post is meant to be a pastoral, practical and encouraging answer to that question. 

Scripture Deuteronomy 10:21 (NASB) 21  He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. Deuteronomy 32:3-4 (NASB) 3    “For I proclaim the name of the  Lord ;      Ascribe greatness to our God! 4    “The Rock! His work is perfect,      For all His ways are just;      A God of faithfulness and without injustice,      Righteous and upright is He. 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 (NASB) 8     Oh give thanks to the  Lord , call upon His name;      Make known His deeds among the peoples. 9     Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;      Speak of all His wonders. Psalm 18:46 (NASB) 46  The  Lord  lives! Praise be to my Rock!      Exalted be God my Savior! Acts 16:25 (NASB) 25  But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; Colossians 3:16 (NASB) 16  Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and h...

(This article is part of a modernized series in which John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, discusses four observable characteristics of Christian behavior) I begin with the first . That good works flow from faith . This is evident in several ways. First, from the impossibility of their flowing from any other thing; they must either flow from faith, or not at all: 'For whatsoever is not from faith is sin' (Rom 14:23). And again, 'Without faith it is impossible to please him' (Heb 11:6). Every man by nature, before faith, is an evil and a corrupt tree; and a corrupt tree cannot produce good fruit: 'Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?' (Matt 7:16,17). Now a man is made good by faith, and by that produces the fruits that are acceptable to God (Heb 11:4; Col 1:4-6). For this reason, sinners, before faith, are compared to the wilderness, whose fruits are briars and thorns; and whose hearts are the home of dragons; that is, of devils (Isa...