The Magazine Podcast

Reformer John Calvin (1509–1564) is principally associated with Geneva, where he pastored and preached for 23 years. It is easy to forget that he was French, and that he fostered and maintained a great love for his homeland and people throughout his life. This week in the podcast, we read a selection from W. J. Grier's Life of John Calvin, getting a sense of Calvin's early work in France, before turning to Paul Wells' account of how Calvin's Institutes has fared in the country of his birth.   Featured Content: – Excerpt from The Life of John Calvin, by W. J. Grier (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2012) – 'Remaking Calvin's Institutes in Modern French', Paul Wells, The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issue 606, March 2014.   Buy Grier's The Life of John Calvin: https://banneroftruth.org/uk/store/history-biography/the-life-of-john-calvin/ Buy 'Institution de la Religion Chrétienne [Relié]': https://www.xl6.com/articles/9782755000870-institution-de-la-religion-chretienne   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

Paul confessed, 'The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.' (Galatians 2:20). Paul knew that Christ Jesus not only loved Paul personally, but that he had given himself on the cross to save Paul individually. Developing and extending this biblical idea, we come to understand that the Lord Jesus did not die for a 'category' of persons who, of their own free will, would appropriate salvation for themselves. No. The Lord Jesus died for real people on a personal, definite basis. He died for those whom the Father had given him (John 6:38–40). This week's two selections help us better to understand, and rejoice in, this definite atonement made for all those the Lord has appointed to salvation.   Featured Content: – For Whom Christ Died, Charles H. Spurgeon, featured in The Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 5, April 1957. – Extract from Particular Redemption: The End and Design of the Death of Christ (Sermon 1, pages 10–17). Buy the book: https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/particular-redemption/   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

This week's episode delves into the mysterious world of Freemasonry, and addresses the important question of whether its practices, beliefs, and oaths are consistent with the Christian confession.   Featured Content: – Freemasonry, A. W. Rainsbury, featured in The Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 273, June 1986. – The Conversion of a Freemason, from Personal Reminiscences of the Life and Times of Gardiner Spring, Volume 1, 1966, pp. 186–93. Featured in The Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 273, June 1986.   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast    

Archibald Alexander (1772–1851) was the first Principal of Princeton Theological Seminary. A preacher and a theological educator par excellence, his commitment to scholarship and to the preparation of men for ministry made his contribution foundational to the long season of fruitfulness that Princeton enjoyed in the decades after his death. Alongside of his classroom teaching and preaching ministry, Alexander constantly counselled those who came to him in spiritual distress or need. His wise, spiritual counsel and sanctified commonsense led one onlooker to describe him as the 'Shakespeare of the Christian Heart'. These qualities are on full display in this week's second selection, from his Thoughts on Religious Experience.   Featured Content: – The Rediscovery of Old Princeton, David B. Calhoun, featured in The Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 365, February 1994 – Extract from Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience (Chapter 8, pages 105–109). Buy the book: https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/thoughts-on-religious-experience/   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast    

This week we hone in on Thomas Goodwin, 'The Atlas of Independency', and read Ian Hamilton's recent article, Thomas Goodwin: The Evangelical Puritan, before turning to an extract from Goodwin's own Christ Set Forth, As the Cause of Justification and as the Object of Justifying Faith (Puritan Paperback).   Featured Content: – Thomas Goodwin: The Evangelical Puritan, Ian Hamilton, featured in The Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 725, February 2024 – Extract from Thomas Goodwin, Christ Set Forth, As the Cause of Justification and as the Object of Justifying Faith (Chapter 3, pages 15–26). Buy the book: https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/christ-set-forth/   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast    

We continue this week with J. I. Packer's piece 'Puritan Evangelism'. Having outlined 'modern evangelism' as it was pioneered by Charles G. Finney, Packer proceeds to shine a light on the better way pursued by the Puritans. Convinced that salvation was, from first to last, the sovereign and gracious work of God in the souls of men, the Puritans sought to shape their practice of evangelism accordingly.   Featured Content: – 'Puritan Evangelism', J. I. Packer, Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 4, February 1957. (Part II).   Listen to Part 1: – 'J. I. Packer on Puritan Evangelism, Pt. 1'   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast    

Among those who rediscovered the power of Puritan faith and piety in the 20th Century, the name of J. I. Packer stands out prominently. This week, we read Ian Hamilton's editorial 'The Essential Packer', and proceed to the first portion of a probing article from Packer on 'Puritan Evangelism'.   Featured Content: – 'The Essential J.I. Packer', Ian Hamilton, editorial of Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 685, October 2020. – 'Puritan Evangelism', J. I. Packer, Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 4, February 1957.   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

This week's selections take us to Genesis, and the account of Lot's deliverance from the Lord's righteous judgement of Sodom. There is much that we can learn here, particularly through a consideration of what the text teaches us about Lot's compromise and sin, and the incredible grace and faithfulness of God towards him. God's unconditional election of Lot shines brightly, even as the text witnesses clearly against Lot's wavering, lukewarmness, and disobedience, which had dire consequences for him.   Featured Content: – "Remember Lot": The Fruits of Compromise in the Sodom Narrative, Joonas Laajanen (First published at TruthScript (https://truthscript.com/family/remember-lot-the-fruits-of-compromise-in-the-sodom-narrative-2/) and featured in The Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 725, February 2024) – Exposition of Genesis 19:15–21 from John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis (Originally published 1554, Banner of Truth edition, 1965). To buy: https://banneroftruth.org/store/commentaries/genesis/   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

'The suddenness of the Lord’s second advent', wrote J.C. Ryle in the present piece, 'is a truth that should lead every professing Christian to great searching of heart.' This week's episode is a reading of Ryle's exposition of Matthew 25:1–13, often called the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. With crystal-clear explanation and earnest calls both to hell-bound sinners and perilously sleepy Christians, Ryle expounds the crucial truth that the Lord Jesus will come again, and will come at an hour we do not expect.   Featured Content: – "Coming Events and Present Duties", J. C. Ryle (Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 3, October 1956)   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

Godly fathers are marked by concern for their children's wellbeing, and especially their spiritual condition. This week's first selection offers a number of compelling examples of this concern in faithful men of the past, from Jonathan Edwards to Charles Spurgeon. The second selection, from Martyn Lloyd-Jones's 'Raising Children God's Way', takes us to the practical and vital topic of how we may best serve the spiritual needs of our children.   Featured Content: – "A Godly Father's Counsel to His Children" by Richard Brooks (Banner of Truth Magazine: No. 364, January 1994) – Excerpt from Chapter 5, "Godly Upbringing", of Martyn Lloyd-Jones's Raising Children God's Way (Banner of Truth: 2007). Excerpt can be found between pages 80 and 85. Buy the book: https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/raising-children-gods-way/   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast