Showing posts with label EP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EP. Show all posts
Appendices
In five of the six books I have published there have been appendices. These are short essays that contribute to the subject but that are a little outside the immediate orbit. The appendices are as follows
1. Historical Exposition of the Song of Songs (Heavenly Love)
2. Regeneration under the Law of Moses (What the Bible teaches about being born again)
3. Sample historic confessions or creeds that support a monergistic view of regeneration (What the Bible teaches about being born again)
4. Early heresies and kenotic theories (What Jesus is doing now)
5. Understanding the Lord's Supper (What Jesus is doing now)
6. John 16:26-27 (What Jesus is doing now)
7. Intercession of the saints (What Jesus is doing now)
8. For whom does Jesus intercede? (What Jesus is doing now)
9. An untitled appendix listing the ejected ministers by area, based on Colman and Matthews (1662 The Great Ejection)
10. A list of legitimate illustrations used to describe conscience and its workings (Candle in the Wind)
11.The argument for God from conscience (Candle in the Wind)
12. A brief history of Christian thought with regard to conscience and casuistry (Candle in the Wind)
Evangelical Times Review of What the Bible teaches about being born again
Some of the great teachings of Christianity have surprisingly little written about them. The ‘new birth’ is one of these neglected areas, which is why this book is very welcome.
Gary Brady sets out the doctrine of the new birth, first positively – and then negatively in the light of current misconceptions. Having explained other biblical pictures of regeneration, he tells us why it is necessary to be ‘born again’ and explains that it is a work of God.
He next deals with the ‘evidences’ of regeneration (the fruit it bears in a person’s life) and its place in the order of salvation. Then he considers its significance for eternity and ends with a plea for non-Christians to take this truth seriously and to seek God’s mercy.
This is a comprehensive treatment for a small book. Throughout, the author quotes the relevant Scriptures and many other writers, old and new, including confessions of faith and hymns.
The style is that of mutual exploration, the material having originated in a series of midweek church Bible studies. The book is clearly written and easily readable.
Matters on which Christians disagree, such as the connection of the new birth with effectual calling, or its timing in relation to conversion, are well argued in a brief compass. The necessity and marks of the new birth, and its origin in God’s will, are clearly and helpfully set out here.
This is an excellent book for anyone, believer or unbeliever, who seriously wants to know what God says in his Word about being born again.
John Palmer, Tredegar 2008
Nice Postcard
A friend in Germany sent me the above postcard at the end of last year. He had been in Switzerland and had found my commentary on Proverbs among some other purchases. The book has a new cover these days and is in its second edition. I believe EP are committed to keeping the Welwyn series in print. It's good to be found in the company of Ryle, Spring, etc. Thanks Stefan.
Kind review of Candle in the Wind
Gary Brady is a present-day John Flavel. Like Flavel the Puritan, a minister in Dartmouth, Gary has been the pastor of an urban church for many years, and as Flavel became used to the ups and downs of such a life so no doubt has Gary. He has been pastor of Childs Hill Baptist Church in north west London since 1983. And like Flavel he is a considerable author, with five books already, and now a sixth, Candle in the Wind – Understanding Conscience in the Light of God’s Word. (EP Books, 2014, 242 pages). This post is by way of a modest celebration of it, and of Gary’s gifts as an author on this great but neglected topic.
Conscience is a permanent resident in every person, a personal moral and spiritual reflex of that very person that it is the conscience of. You have your conscience and I have mine, and mine does not throw a light on you, nor yours a light on me. Properly understood, it is the voice of God, which can be fine-tuned - sometimes too finely - or almost drowned out. It can excuse or accuse. It can thunder or whisper. Whisperings can become full-throated. But it can be almost subverted by the culture, by upbringing, by friends or by the boss, by what we read and by the media.
A strong conscience, how about that? This is a conscience informed by the word of God. God is Lord of the conscience. Gary thinks that Christians with such a weapon, who know what they believe and what and what not to do, should be careful of not bullying the weaker brethren. That is, those sincere believers whose conscience is ill-informed in some way. But a sound conscience is nevertheless a great good. There is a greater thing that parading your conscience, however, and making a thing of it, and that is love or concern for the weaker brethren. ‘…If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, I am nothing’. This is the best section of the book, thoughtful and wise.
Here are some questions which I don’t think Gary touched on, though he touched on most things, I reckon, The question of whether the operation of conscience leads or follows what we do. Conscience seems to behave in either of these two ways. When you consider doing something, the conscience kicks in, telling you that this is the right thing to do it, and so you do it, or at least try to do it. At other times it is like a rear-view mirror, telling you that what you did was or wasn’t OK. Is this before – or after – behaviour significant? Or does it simply show dull or quick wittedness, as the case may be? The Christian’s conscience, like other things, is imperfectly regenerated, subject to ignorance, bias and weakness. The Christian is a ‘wretched man’ who has a conscience, he or she does not yet possess a perfectly judging and operating moral sense.
Most of Gary’s concerns are with the conscience as it operates within the sphere of the church. Here very definitely God is ‘Lord of the Conscience’, as Perkins and Ames and the Westminster Confession had it. But what about Gary’s hearers when they are at work or at leisure? If things are operating as they should then one cannot expect the same standards at meetings at work to the meetings at church. Ought conscience to operate differently in different circumstances? Is this dangerous, like having double standards? In one place Paul writes ‘I wrote to you in my letter [which unfortunately we do not possess] not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the sexually Immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, nor idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.’ As Augustine might have put it, church and world are two ‘cities’. Ought a Christian to have two sets of standards, two consciences, one for each city? Don’t we in practice have two standards? When in Rome, do as the Romans do? Is this the place for some casuistry?
As a Baptist, Gary has an interest in liberty of conscience. He notes its development in England in the seventeenth-century. Particular Baptists have a confessional position advocating such liberty from the beginning, though in a restricted form. (Of course as he notes, any freedom of expression must have restrictions.) In this Independents and Baptists were distinct from the Presbyterians and Anglicans, who edged their way to social liberty as it became clear to the powers that be that good Christian people could differ from each other on various matters which did not imperil the integrity of the state. (Socinians and Roman Catholics were another question!) Gary is quite keen on Roger Williams. Gary is uncertain about whether liberty of conscience is the teaching of the New Testament. But surely it can be considered as an application of the principle of 'Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets'. Indeed it might be argued that freedom of conscience is like sanitation and public hygiene, an obvious good. But, alas, a good that it is hard for societies who enjoy it to retain, as we are currently seeing.
What Gary mainly does in his book – tho’ he does not say that he is doing it - is to treat the Christian life from the vantage point of the conscience. In conviction of sin, the voice of conscience is the voice of God. In penitence and faith, the troubled conscience, troubled by sins, can through exercising the faith which justifies, come to enjoy a good conscience, not a witness to failure but to Christ’s victory. But even then it can lapse through carelessness into an ill-formed conscience, a seared conscience, unfeeling. Watchfulness is needed. A Flavelian theme.
Gary takes us through all this in a clear, unassuming style. He has a light touch, chatty and unpretentious. Bags of quotations, and much good sense. His favourite writers on the theme seem to be Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), and John Bunyan in his Holy War. Thanks, Gary, for a wholesome, entertaining and insightful read. May you continue preaching and pen-wielding for many years to come!
Gary’s other books are - Heavenly Wisdom, The 1662 Great Ejection, What Jesus is Doing Now, The Song of Songs and Being Born Again
Book on being born again now only £3.99
Hard to believe I know but you can get my book on being born again (along with my other books all at reduced prices) for only £3.99 at ICM. See here.
New book now to be out in May 2015
EP are currently changing their distributors from IVP to Tenofthose and so the book on conscience is set to be published now in May. I'll write something on patience next, maybe.
1662 The Great Ejection
1662 The Great Ejection
- Publisher: Evangelical Press
- Publication Date: 2012
- Pages: 165
What Jesus is doing now
What Jesus is doing now
- Publisher: Evangelical Press
- Publication Date: 2012
- Pages: 224
From his early ministry, via the ascension to his place of authority at the right hand of God, this book explores the vital subject of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is right now. The vital ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ as priest and his intercessary role are covered in this vital book.
What the Bible teaches about being born again
What the Bible teaches about being born again
- Publisher: Evangelical Press
- Publication Date: 2008
- Pages: 175
In many parts of the world today you will meet people who say they are ‘born again Christians’. Numerous individuals claim to be ‘reborn’ or ‘regenerate’. Every so often, the media report that some celebrity or other has been ‘born again’. Pollsters suggest that as many as 80-90 million Americans claim to be born again. This book is written with the intention of helping those who want to study the subject from a biblical point of view. If, as we believe, the new birth is entering ‘a new world, a new state of existence’, with ‘a new capacity for action’ — then it is something we all need to know about and something we all need to understand clearly, whether we have experienced it or not.
Welwyn Commentary Song of Solomon
Heavenly Love: Song of Solomon Simply Explained
- Publisher: Evangelical Press
- Publication Date: 2006
- Pages: 256
"In all the world there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Scriptures are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies." This statement by a second-century rabbi contrasts sharply with the attitude of some Christians today, who apparently have little place for this book in their thinking or practice. They hardly ever quote it, read it, or reflect on it. Such extremes remind us that the book has sometimes been controversial. More than one scholar has called the Song of Songs the most difficult book to interpret in the Old Testament.
Gary Brady adopts the view that, when he wrote, the biblical author had in mind both a natural and a spiritual understanding, and that those who originally received the book as Scripture understood it both in terms of human love and intimacy and as a portrait of the loving relationship between God and his people. In our own day a study of this ancient book is crucially needed in both these areas.
Firstly, in this modern world of mass media, through advertising, cinema, television, and the World Wide Web, we are inundated with false images of love, sex, and marriage. We are bombarded with misleading ideas and, even if we are able to keep our minds pure, it is still very easy for inaccurate concepts to worm their way in and have their debilitating effect on us. All of us - single, married, divorced, widowed, young, old, male, female - need to be crystal clear on this vital subject.
Secondly, there is the vital issue of intimacy with Jesus Christ. One of the purposes of this commentary is to help us see how lovely the Lord Jesus is, how attractive, how appealing. The aim is for us to see again something of Christ's beauty and glory, his comeliness and splendour, and so to be drawn to him. The Song of Songs can be of tremendous help to us in this direction.
Gary Brady adopts the view that, when he wrote, the biblical author had in mind both a natural and a spiritual understanding, and that those who originally received the book as Scripture understood it both in terms of human love and intimacy and as a portrait of the loving relationship between God and his people. In our own day a study of this ancient book is crucially needed in both these areas.
Firstly, in this modern world of mass media, through advertising, cinema, television, and the World Wide Web, we are inundated with false images of love, sex, and marriage. We are bombarded with misleading ideas and, even if we are able to keep our minds pure, it is still very easy for inaccurate concepts to worm their way in and have their debilitating effect on us. All of us - single, married, divorced, widowed, young, old, male, female - need to be crystal clear on this vital subject.
Secondly, there is the vital issue of intimacy with Jesus Christ. One of the purposes of this commentary is to help us see how lovely the Lord Jesus is, how attractive, how appealing. The aim is for us to see again something of Christ's beauty and glory, his comeliness and splendour, and so to be drawn to him. The Song of Songs can be of tremendous help to us in this direction.
Welwyn Commentary Proverbs
Heavenly Wisdom: Proverbs Simply Explained
- Publisher: Evangelical Press
- Publication Date: 2003
- Pages: 812
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical. Here is "truth in street clothes." It deals with everyday subjects such as laziness, pride, handling money, and telling lies. Here we meet familiar folk such as the bargain-hunter, the neighbor you see too much of, the practical joker, and the "morning person" who forgets that others take a while to surface.
Charles Bridges once said that of all Old Testament books it is the one which we may think of as most distinctively educational. This is its tone. A speaker speaks to his student, an old man to a young man, and a father to his son.
Above all, Proverbs points us to Christ, the one "who has become for us" who believe "wisdom from God." Here is an excellent place to begin to learn about Christ and about wisdom. It has been said that, as the Psalms give us Christ singing the law, so the Proverbs give us him meditating on it. Truly to understand him, we must get to grips with Proverbs. Truly to be wise, we must get to grips with Christ.
Charles Bridges once said that of all Old Testament books it is the one which we may think of as most distinctively educational. This is its tone. A speaker speaks to his student, an old man to a young man, and a father to his son.
Above all, Proverbs points us to Christ, the one "who has become for us" who believe "wisdom from God." Here is an excellent place to begin to learn about Christ and about wisdom. It has been said that, as the Psalms give us Christ singing the law, so the Proverbs give us him meditating on it. Truly to understand him, we must get to grips with Proverbs. Truly to be wise, we must get to grips with Christ.
For twenty years, Gary Brady has pastored an inner-city London congregation of all ages, inter-racial and multi-abilitied. This rich commentary on the book of Proverbs began its life in the regular sermons of the Lord's Day. It was written in the midst of all the pastoring, evangelism, committee work, editing, and writing of an exemplary twenty-first century minister of Jesus Christ. I stand in awe and admiration of him.—Geoff Thomas
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