The voice of God | Martin Holdt, Philip Craig, et al

Let great men of the past speak to us

THE VOICE OF GOD
Martin Holdt, Philip Craig et al
Westminster Conference
120 pages. £5.00 (available from the Conference Secretary, 01924 497184)

All Christians should be interested in church history; not least in the way that issues we are facing (or neglecting) today have been dealt with by godly men in the past.

Should we consider 9/11 and other terrible events as judgements from God? When did you last hear (or preach) a sermon on conscience? What is the relationship of works to faith? How serious are we about evangelism? How should we relate to Christians with whom we disagree? How should we help those struggling with lack of assurance?

These issues arise in these six papers originally given at the annual Westminster Conference held in December 2002. Martin Holdt's is concerned with God's judgements in the here and now and quotes extensively from a book written in the 17th century by the Puritan Thomas Vincent: 'God's terrible voice in the city'. Philip Craig summarises a book on conscience, The Soul's Looking Glass by another Puritan, William Fenner. Mostyn Roberts, in the longest of the papers, looks at William Tyndale's teaching on the place of obedience in the Christian life and defends him against the charge of undermining the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone by a return to legalism.

The remaining papers are an easier read and focus more on the character, life and ministry of some outstanding Christian leaders of the 18th and 19th centuries. Geoffrey Thomas writes about John Wesley, not uncritically, but emphasising most his extraordinary evangelistic zeal.

Graham Harrison recounts the sad division which arose between Daniel Rowlands and Howell Harris and their eventual reconciliation. Personally, I found the final paper the most helpful of all: Stephen Clark on Archibald Alexander, the first professor of Princeton Theological Seminary, and his outstanding skill as a spiritual counsellor.

These papers will provide a good, though brief, introduction to those unfamiliar with some of these men and the issues with which they wrestled. They are intellectually stimulating, spiritually challenging and, in parts at least, heart warming.

Peter Seccombe
Recently retired as pastor of The Independent Chapel, Spicer Street, St. Albans; now living in Herefordshire and engaged in itinerant ministry.