This mini-guide to the bible provides an entry point for those who know little about the ‘Book of books’; but it does so in a way that encourages those who know it better to explore it more fully.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Reviews

• Review by Josh Hill

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
The Christian Mind
Salvation
The Church
Sanctification
Regeneration

The post The Bible appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Can we be saved without any personal knowledge of the Bible’s teaching?

Is it necessary to think clearly and precisely about such teaching?

Is God’s love such that no one will ultimately suffer the everlasting loss of body and soul?

These are very important questions; the answers we give to them will have temporal and eternal consequences for us. The first thing we need to know is, where we stand before God. J. C. Ryle is absolutely right when he says, ‘To understand our position in the sight of God is one step towards heaven.’

Steps Towards Heaven is designed to help the reader take that step. Its five chapters, which clearly explain what the Bible teaches about Sin, Salvation, Conversion, Justification, and the necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit, will help to dispel the darkness of misunderstanding and bring the reader into the light of God’s truth. Above all, this book will leave the reader in no doubt that real Christianity is the outworking of a supernatural work of the Spirit of God in the human soul.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post Steps Towards Heaven appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

‘I’ve given away hundreds of these to people that I meet. It’s written so simply, so well — it’s such an evangelistic tool. It’s a great book also for how to preach evangelistically.’ — JOEL BEEKE

Book Description

Before a man becomes a Christian he has many false ideas about God’s way of salvation. These errors frequently prevent seekers coming to Jesus Christ and trusting him wholly.

In Advice for Seekers Spurgeon deals with these problems one by one. Before his own conversion he found many difficulties in coming to Christ, even though he had much biblical knowledge. The seeker will find a sympathetic counsellor in Spurgeon.

It is out of fashion to be a seeker in our day. Any real interest in the Christian gospel is often mistaken for faith itself. The seeker’s problems are driven ‘underground’, and he is treated as though he were a Christian when he is not. This book will help these ‘almost Christians’.

But believers will also be helped. Doubts and fears will be removed and many trembling Christians will be brought to full assurance.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post Advice for Seekers appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Son muchos los que poseen un cierto conocimiento de Jesucristo y que hasta afirman creer en Él y ser cristianos. ¿Pero cuántos de ellos tienen una fe verdadera? En este librito, el autor nos muestra la naturaleza y los requisitos de una fe genuina en Cristo y cómo llegar a alcanzarla. Con un lenguaje sencillo y directo, se nos explica claramente quién es Dios, qué es lo que nos separa de Él, quién es Jesucristo, cuál fue su obra y cómo podemos tener una relación personal con Él. Un librito muy recomendado para todos aquellos que buscan sinceramente a Dios.

The post Cómo llegar a Creer en Cristo appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Tomando como base el texto de Efesios 2:1, el autor analiza el estado espiritual del ser humano, llegando a la conclusión de que todos estamos espiritualmente muertos por estar separados de Dios y ajenos a la vida de nuestro Creador.

Demuestra que, por tanto, todos necesitamos ser vivificados como la única manera de poder tener una relación personal con Dios y gozar de su presencia.

En vista de esto, explica la forma en que el alma puede pasar de muerte a vida.

Finalmente hace una aplicación directa y personal de estas verdades al lector, haciéndole ver su necesidad de recibir vida espiritual.

The post ¿Vivo O Muerto? De Muerte a vida espiritual appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

If Christian teaching is ever dull, part of the explanation is likely to be that it has failed to contain such stories and illustrations from daily life as were always found in the teaching of Christ himself.

Stories may hold our attention when nothing else can especially when they speak to the needs which lie closest to our hearts and lives. As a window brightens a room, an illustration familiar to us from daily experience can become the means of our seeing truths which we never recongnized before.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post Windows Of Truth appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

The world is a sea of glass: a pageant of fond delight, a theatre of vanity, a labyrinth of error, a gulf of grief, a sty of filthiness, a vale of misery, a spectacle of woe, a river of tears, a stage of deceit, a cage full of devils, a den of scorpions, a wilderness of wolves, a cabin of bears, a whirlwind of passions, a fained comedy, a delectable frenzy; where is false delight, assured grief; certain sorrow, uncertain pleasure; lasting woe, fickle wealth; long heaviness, short joy.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post The Pundit’s Folly appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Este libro contiene un mensaje de ‘Buenas Nuevas’ para el que esta buscando una vida ‘sobre abundante’. Una vida que en si tenga una razon de ser. Muchos lectores de este libro han indicado que a traves del mensaje presentado, han alcanzado a conocer de cerca ‘La vida’. El autor, John Blanchard, analiza el problema del hombre, desde la perspectiva de la Biblia. El problema esencialmente es la falta de relacion entre el Hombre y Dios. Nos presenta a un Dios personal, eterno, soberano y santo. Al mismo tiempo nos hace ver la dignidad y el valor que tiene en si el hombre. Pero lo triste es, que el hombre por su rebeldia busca su propio camino y ahora solo goza de una existencia deprimida. El Hombre por su cuenta ha tratado de encontrar muchas soluciones sin ningun exito. El fango de su existencia cada vez mas le hunde en su pecado; su inclinacion hacia el mal. En si no tiene la fuerza, ni la habilidad de deshacerse de esta fuerza pecaminosa. Pero, gracias a Dios, El inicio la liberacion del Hombre en Cristo Jesus. El autor conciente de la gran solucion que Dios ha dado al hombre describe con todo detalle la ‘Buena Nueva’. El que esta buscando una relacion con Dios, en la cual encuentra esta gran liberacion para ser el ‘Hombre Nuevo’, debe leer este libro. Tiene la respuesta!

The post Aceptado Por Dios appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

This book was previously published by the Trust under the title ‘An Alarm to the Unconverted’.

When the spiritual history of the Western World in the 20th century is written, it may well be seen as the epoch of spiritual sloth and slumber. Eternal realities seemed vaguely-defined and far-removed from daily life, and conformity to the world took the form of carelessness and neglect of spiritual issues. That is why it is no anachronism to republish a book from a day when men were more deeply conscious of the world to come, written by a servant of God whose preaching and writing were used to alarm and awaken many to the concerns of life and death.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

Review

• Review by Jonathan Bunnett

The post A Sure Guide to Heaven appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

‘One of the greatest divines that ever wrote.’ — JOHN OWEN

‘It has long been the favourite work of our peasantry in Scotland. One admirable property of [The Christian’s Great Interest] is that, while it guides, it purifies.’ — THOMAS CHALMERS

Book Description

All of Guthrie’s teaching and pastoral experience were poured into The Christian’s Great Interest – his only book. The remarkable fact that is has gone through more than eighty editions and been translated into several languages testifies to its value. This book describes in a clear and attractive style what it means to be a Christian, and how to become one.

This book is all about Christ: the Christian’s great interest should be Christ; the unbeliever needs to develop an interest in Christ. It describes in a simple, clear, and attractive style what it means to be a Christian, and how to become one.

Preaching on Revelation 22:2, C. H. Spurgeon once said:

our Lord Jesus Christ is life from the dead, and life to his own living people. He is All-in-All to them. And by him and by him, alone, must their spiritual life be maintained…Jesus Christ is a Tree of Life and we shall so speak of him in the hope that some may come and pluck of the fruit and eat and live forever.

This too, is Guthrie’s purpose. In the first part, he looks at how someone is drawn to Christ, what the evidences are of true saving grace, and the difference between a true Christian and a hypocrite. In the second part he describes how to ‘close’ with Christ, and deals with various objections, difficulties, and doubts.

Rhett Dodson onThe Christian’s Great Interest

Table of Contents Expand ↓

Review

• Review by Cornelis Pronk
• Review by Matthew Vogan
• Review by Wil Owens

The post The Christian’s Great Interest appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

‘An evangelistic classic. It is meticulously biblical in both its arguments and its illustrations.’ — GRACE MAGAZINE

Book Description

This book is written for seekers – for people who want to give sensible and honest thought to the whole question of their relationship to God. It is not an examination of all the world’s religions which ends by saying, ‘Now choose the one you like best’. It is not a scientific text-book, which turns religion into equations and faith into a formula. It is not a vague and airy-fairy collection of various points of view.

It is a plain, straightforward book showing how a person who is honestly seeking for God can find him.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

Review

• Review by Bob Thomas (page 13)

The post Right with God appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

The cross of Jesus Christ proclaims a powerful and timeless message to all men and women everywhere. Through careful and patient explanation, Fred Leahy convinces us of its relevance for life in the twenty-first century. Here is a man who has good news to share with others. His book draws our attention to some of the events surrounding the death of Jesus. Every chapter highlights what is central and most significant about the passion of the Christ, calling on us to stop and think about issues we cannot afford to ignore.

‘Is is nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger’ (Lam. 1:12).

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post Is It Nothing To You? appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

The theory of evolution burst like a great storm cloud on the intellectual world of the mid-nineteenth century, and brought widespread public controversy and debate with it. Soon, however, the evolutionary way of viewing life became almost all-pervasive; scientists of all kinds, historians, sociologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, anthropologists and many others would all adopt its tenets in order to interpret the world in general and the human race in particular.

Reactions in the Christian church varied from immediate acceptance to long-term hostility. Today the controversy continues unabated and is the subject of many debates, seminars and publications.

Green Eye of the Storm offers a unique and fascinating introduction to this debate, seeing it through the lives of four distinguished men who struggled with the evolutionary theory in very different contexts: Philip Henry Gosse, George John Romanes, Arthur Rendle Short and his son John Rendle-Short the author of this book. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the life, times and intellectual development of these men and will be of interest to all who have an interest in them or the religious and scientific movements with which their names are associated.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post Green Eye Of The Storm appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

In his book A Brief History of Time, the famous Cambridge cosmologist Stephen Hawking held out the prospect of a complete theory of the universe by means of which we would know ‘why it is that we and the universe exist…then we would know the mind of God.’ Christian mathematician John Byl disagrees: ‘Hawking overestimates the value of a Theory-of-Everything, while underestimating the content of God’s mind.’ We already have in Scripture a source of knowledge superior to all other sources and already know ‘the mind of God’. so far as He has been pleased to reveal it to us. On this basis, Byl questions much of modern cosmology, including the Big-Bang theory of origins. He deals with the limitations of human knowledge, biblical teaching relevant to cosmology, the quest for extra-terrestrial intelligence, the existence of the spiritual realm, heaven, angels, life after death, and much else. Byl’s approach is a refreshing counter to the dreary and ultimately meaningless outlook of modern cosmology.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post God and Cosmos appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

This world is divided into two groups – those who know God and those who do not. Though there are many other differences between people, this is the greatest. To be ignorant of God has a profound influence on the way we think, work, and live our entire life; more still, on the way we die and what will happen to us after death.

Maurice Roberts calls us to give our most serious attention to this vital issue. Plainly and clearly he explains the Bible’s teaching about the importance of being saved, life after death, heaven and hell, and knowing what to believe.

‘For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea’ (Hab. 2:14).

The post Can We Know God? appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Since the Beginning of time man has challenged God’s supremacy, striving to dethrone God and reinterpret the universe according to his own standards and purposes. In response God, who is determined to destroy the wisdom of the wordly wise and to unmask it for the foolishness that it really is, issues his own challenge to sinful man. Arrogantly, modern scientific man takes up that divine challenge, arming himself with scientific knowledge and technological power. Indeed, man has convinced himself that this rational wisdom has made foolish the wisdom of Scripture, with its tall tales of a personal God, of life after death, and of heaven and hell. ‘Such notions’, Einstein declared, ‘are for the fears or absurd egoism of feeble souls.’

John byl argues that the Christian worldview provides the only foundation for logic, mathematics, science and morality. The Divine Challenge aims to substantiate this bold claim. Byl shows the failure of today’s predominant philosophies to provide a coherent worldview that can yield a plausible account of the various aspects of life as we experience it. Only a Christian worldview, squarely based on the truth of the Bible and the comprehensive sovereignty of God, can give our lives coherence, meaning, purpose and hope.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post The Divine Challenge appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

‘Both Sides Now opens up the main themes of Ecclesiastes, showing how it sets out the reflections of a man who tried to live life as if God did not exist, or at least doesn’t really matter, and was led to the brink of despair. But then he turned back to the God he had abandoned and discovered that he alone is the key to understanding the purpose of our existence. BSN is a great resource for all kinds of people – from students to ageing cynics – who are struggling to make sense of life by pointing them to the message of the Bible.’ — MARK JOHNSTON

‘The emptiness of modern reasoning is thoroughly exposed, and the reader constantly and sensitively pointed in the direction of truth, and especially of gospel truth. As a book both to help the believer understand how Ecclesiastes continues to reveal the emptiness of the thinking of the world, and to give to a thinking non-Christian, this is recommended.’ — EVANGELICALS NOW

Book Description

How we understand ourselves and life in this world is inexorably linked to how we understand God. Knowing ourselves and understanding the world in which we live is something about which we are all concerned. Augustine confessed to God, ‘ I could not find myself, much less find you.’ Sixties’ folk singer Joni Mitchell sang, ‘I’ve looked at life from both sides now’ but lamented, ‘I really don’t know life at all.’ In this contemporary look at the book of Ecclesiastes, Peter Barnes takes up these issues. Life is examined honestly and perceptively, confronting us with the realities of life in a fallen world and the inevitability of death. Thinking carefully about all the apparent meaningless of life can actually be used by God, who is totally good, to lead us to himself. All else fails; God alone is worthy of our trust.

Those perplexed by the futility and emptiness of life will find much help here in their search for God, meaning and fulfillment. This book also provides a useful evangelistic resource for Christians keen to share their faith in Christ with others.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post Both Sides Now appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

It was said of Martyn Lloyd-Jones that while others preached love, or even preached Christ, Lloyd-Jones PREACHED GOD. These mighty sermons from Isaiah chapter 40 bear this out, and in this they meet one of our greatest needs today — to know our God as he really is. They show that the God of the Bible is not only the great Creator and Judge but the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort who meets us at the point of our deepest need. This all-sufficient God has already met and answered all our problems, doubts and difficulties, in the gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Those hungering to know God–or to know him better–will find great help here, while those who have already tasted the rich gospel provision in earlier Lloyd-Jones titles on Old Testament themes such as God’s Way Not Ours (on Isaiah 1) and Old Testament Evangelistic Sermons –– will need little urging to return for more!

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post The All-Sufficient God appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones spent the greater part of the turbulent twentieth century in preaching the Word of God. The convictions with which he began his ministry remained with him, and in all this time the message was the same. He preached on the words, ‘For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified’ at the commencement of his ministry in 1926, and again, from the same pulpit, in February 1977. So the sermon contained in this booklet is a historic statement. But it is more. It is a persuasive presentation of the unchanging gospel which has brought salvation to people all over the world throughout the two millennia now ended, and which remains just as vitally relevant as the new millennium begins to unfold.

The post Jesus Christ and Him Crucified appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Coming to Faith in Christ presents a straightforward summary of the gospel for those who may be considering the Christian faith for the first time. Bible references are given throughout to encourage the reader to search the pages of Scripture and see for himself the message of Jesus Christ.

The post Coming To Faith In Christ appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

‘Here is a wonderful example of how to expound the Scriptures without fear or compromise but with a heart of longing for man’s salvation. Any believer will be encouraged by this book to take their stand on the Bible, and could be happy to give it to anyone they feel might read it seriously.’ — EVANGELICAL TIMES

Book Description

‘Your country is desolate . . . Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant . . .’ (Isaiah 1:7-9)

Isaiah has been called ‘the evangelical prophet’. These sermons are a summary of his entire message and of God’s way of salvation. The root cause of human trouble and need, the false ways in which people try to escape from or meet it, are all laid out here, before the only way of real deliverance is presented. A model for evangelistic preaching, and a tract for the times.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post God’s Way Not Ours appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.