Articles

(See also 'The Gospel of God')

Here are various articles and Bible studies. There are even one or two complete books. The shorter articles can be read on screen - longer ones are best printed out or downloaded as a file for reading offline (in Internet Explorer right click on the article name and choose 'Save Target As...' to do this). Some of the links are to articles stored on other websites and are indicated as such.

Click on an author's name below to see articles by that author.



John Bunyan, the 17th century preacher, is probably best known for his work 'The Pilgrim's Progress' reproduced here. Click here for more of John Bunyan's works (external link).


Donald S. Fortner is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Danville, Kentucky. Our thanks to Don Fortner for his contributions here.

Click here for more of Don Fortner's articles (external link).


The 19th century preacher William Gadsby (1773-1844) was greatly used by God to proclaim the Gospel in his day and was one of the ministers used to found the group of churches known as 'Gospel Standard' Baptist churches. See the biography of William Gadsby by B.A. Ramsbottom on the "Books" page.

Click here for more works by William Gadsby (external link to the website True Gospel Resources).


The 18th century preacher James Hervey has been referred to as the 'Prose Poet' for the beauty of the language he used in his preaching. Hervey was an Evangelical who firmly preached the Gospel of Free and Sovereign Grace and is known for his defence of the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of God to the believer through Christ.


Herman Hoeksema (1886-1965) pastored a number of churches in the USA and preached and wrote extensively. He strongly defended the truths of Sovereign Grace and one of his classic books is provided here called "Whosoever Will". This book takes the text in Rev 22:17 as its starting point, and faithfully expounds its true sense and meaning. Copies of this book can also be purchased from the CPRF Bookshop. Read Sonia Hill's review of the book here.


These articles are by the 18th century preacher William Huntington. Huntington came from a humble background (he used to be a coalheaver) but was mightily used by God in the preaching of the Gospel. See the biography of William Huntington by George Ella on the "Books" page.

Our thanks to Ron Thompson of Sovereign Grace Articles for providing the following samples of Huntington's works.

Click here for more sermons by William Huntington (external link).

See also our new publication "The Fountain of Life" by William Huntington, details of which are on the "Books" page.


Martin Luther was greatly used by God in the 1500s as part of the 'Reformation' in which the church was brought back again from the errors of Roman Catholicism and salvation by works to the foundational truth of 'Justification by Faith'.


Peter L. Meney is the pastor of Egglesburn Baptist Church, County Durham. He is the editor of "New Focus" magazine and partner of sovereign grace publishers GO Publications.


The following sermon is by the 19th century preacher J.C. Philpot. See the "Books" page for details of 'Through Baca's Vale' and 'Ears from Harvested Sheaves' by J.C. Philpot. Our thanks to Ron Thompson of Sovereign Grace Articles for providing this sample of Philpot's works.

Click here for more sermons by J.C. Philpot (external link).


The following articles are written by Ian Potts, the editor of this website.

A number of these articles comprise the chapters contained in our publication "Christ, the Sun of Righteousness" details of which are on the "Books" page.

A number of articles on the Epistle to the Romans can be read together on the following website.
The complete set of articles comprising the chapters of the book "Christ, the Sun of Righteousness" are now available for reading on the following dedicated website.

The following are various questions answered on the Questions and Answers page.

This sermon was preached by the 19th century preacher William Tiptaft in 1855. Tiptaft was a great friend of J.C. Philpot and was one of the early preachers used by God to establish those Baptist churches which came to be known as 'Gospel Standard Strict Baptists'. Sermons in print by Tiptaft are rare and hard to find and this particular one was found in a small booklet, now out of print. We have scanned it and reproduced it here in order to introduce the ministry of William Tiptaft to a wider audience. May it prove to be a blessing to God's people.

Click here for more writings by and about William Tiptaft (external link).


Miscellaneous Articles

In this section we intend to present articles on various topics by different authors.

  • Examining the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ by Steve Lehrer and Geoff Volker (external link)

    This article discusses the subject of the "active obedience" of Christ which is often regarded by "Reformed" theologians to be part of the basis of that justifying righteousness which is imputed to the believer through the death of Christ. However if scripture be examined this is found to be based on a misconstruction of very few passages in scripture. As the authors of the article say "Without imputed righteousness, acceptance with God (justification) is impossible.  This paper deals with the imputation of Christ's righteousness and the forgiveness of sin and presents the case that both are the result of the passive obedience of Christ (his death on the cross for the elect), and are not the result of His active obedience (His perfect and sinless life under the Old Covenant law).  We believe that the doctrine of the imputation of the active obedience of Christ is driven by Covenant Theology's Covenant of Works and cannot be supported from Scripture." Although some of the fine details in the article could do with clarification (eg. sin was not just imputed to Christ at the cross - He was "made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" - see 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Don Fortner's article "He hath made him sin" above) nevertheless this article presents a clear scriptural case for justifying righteousness being wrought by Christ at the cross in His death - not by His life under the law.

    This article can be found on the website In Depth Studies.

    (John Metcalfe's tract "Justifying Righteousness" or his book "Deliverance from the Law: Westminster Confession Exploded" are highly recommended on this subject.)

  • Faith, Grace and the Love of God by Ian Potts

    This article examines the particular nature of faith, grace and the love of God as taught in the Bible in contrast to the teaching of some who use similar terms in a general sense ("duty faith", "common grace" and "universal love") in order to apply similar words to all men in their preaching. Is this in keeping with the usage of such terms as found in the word of God, words which were inspired by the Holy Spirit?

  • John Kershaw on Election by Cliff Wade

    This short article by our friend Cliff Wade presents some helpful and encouraging extracts from John Kershaw's autobiography on the subject of God's election of sinners unto salvation.

  • The Gifts of the Spirit by Ian Potts

    Many today have much to say about the 'gifts of the Spirit' and their manifestation in the church. This article examines this subject by considering the Biblical teaching regarding such gifts and their historical and present day importance.

  • SALVATION by John Metcalfe : A Review Article by Ian Potts

    This article reviews this excellent treatment of the vital subject of salvation and provides an example of the thoroughness of the author's Biblical exposition by providing an extract from the chapter on 'Salvation from sin' which deals with Christ's substitutionary work on the cross - that 'thorough exchange' of places in which Christ was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

  • Christ the Saviour of Sinners by Gary Shepard

    A short but pertinent article by Gary Shepard regarding the death of Christ by which He saved His people from their sin.

  • Christ the Great Paymaster of All the Debts of His People by Tobias Crisp

    Tobias Crisp, the 17th century preacher, has a number of sermons published in a collection called 'Christ Alone Exalted'. This is sermon XVII from that collection and in it Crisp carefully demonstrates how Christ in His death did not just take the punishment due to His people because of their sins, but also bore those sins themselves in order that God would be just in punishing Him in their place. By such an exchange of places God saved His people in Christ through substitutionary atonement, as described in Romans 8:3-4: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

  • What is the church? by Ian Potts

    In these days of many 'religions', many 'churches', many beliefs and ideals, the question may well be asked, and rightly asked, which of these is the true church... indeed what is the Church?

    This article addresses such questions.

  • Thou shalt call His name Jesus by Michael Wade

    Our friend Michael Wade has provided this helpful devotional article on Matthew 1:21.



Online Books

An increasing number of books are now available to read online. We much appreciate the efforts of those involved in scanning these works and reproducing them in electronic format. The following are recommended. Some are reproduced as files designed to be downloaded to your PC, others can be read online. These books are also available for purchase - which is also recommended as reading online can become tiresome (treat these online versions as 'samplers' before purchasing the real things!).


Evangelical Tracts

In this section we hope to include a series of 'Evangelical Tracts'. These are short pamphlets which set forth truths from the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a simple and straightforward manner. We hope that they will prove a blessing to readers of this website and also prove helpful to those who might wish to print them out and distribute to others. The tracts may be freely copied, printed and distributed, but we request that the contents are not altered without seeking prior permission first. Each tract is provided as a standard HTML article designed for reading online, but also as a PDF document which can be read by clicking on the (PDF) link or downloaded for printing by right clicking on the (PDF) link and choosing 'Save Target As...'. To view PDF files on your PC you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar. The PDF document is designed as a double sided A4 page to be folded in two places in 'concertina' fashion.









"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
John 1:17