William Goold – författare

This Puritan classic by John Owen on the doctrine of the church contains the chapters below on how the church is ruled.

The first part of this elaborate work consists of a long preface, in which the author first retorts upon the Nonconformists the charge of encouraging Popery from the schism and divisions they had fomented, from their opposition to episcopal polity, which was a main bulwark against Popery, and from certain curious facts, according to which the Jesuits, it would seem, had insinuated themselves among the early Puritans, in order to excite them against the Church of England. He next mentions that he had been led to preach the sermon which had given rise to the controversy by a perusal of two works of Mr Baxter, in which the Church of England was assailed, and to which he had a right to offer a reply. He alludes, finally, to the five antagonists, Owen, Baxter, Howe, Alsop, and Barret, whom his present work was intended to answer.

In his "Discourse of Ecclesiastical Polity" Samuel Parker decried religious toleration as unfriendly to social order, and attempted to blacken the character of the Nonconformists. Owen was chosen to reply to Parker, which he did in one of the noblest controversial treatises that were ever penned by him. The mind of Owen seems to have been whetted by his deep sense of wrong, and he writes with a remarkable clearness and force of argument; while he indulges at times in a style of irony that is perhaps justified by the baseness and wickedness of Parker''s sentiments.

This book is a collection of John Owen''s four treatises on schism within the church.

It deserves attention that this pamphlet, with its humble title, "A Discourse concerning Liturgies," etc., and printed anonymously in 1662, contains the judgment of our author in regard to measures which gave rise to most important events in the ecclesiastical history of England. It is an argument against the liturgy, the imposition of which obliged nearly two thousand clergy of the Church of England to resign their livings rather than sacrifice a good conscience.

In this work fourteen practical questions on how a person is convicted of since to close with Christ an continue in the Christian life.

I. Conviction of Sin

II. Evidence of an Interest in Christ

III. Concern of Christians in Public and National Sins

IV. Recovery from Spiritual Decay

V. The Ground of an Application to Christ

VI. How to Apply to Christ for Grace

VII. On Faith as to the Answer of Prayer

VIII. When is Sin Habitually Prevalent?

IX. Is Habitual Sin Consistent with Grace?

X. How to Deal with Prevailing Sin

XI. Christian Duty in Dark Dispensations

XII. Preparation for the Coming of Christ

XIII. The Contest between Christ and Antichrist

XIV. Christian Duty under Divine Warnings

Written to answer Redemption Redeemed by the Arminian, John Goodwin, this treatise contains a minute refutation of Goodwin's views but nevertheless would, in the words of Andrew Thompson "be almost as complete were every part of it that refers Goodwin expunged, and undeniably forms the most masterly vindication of the perseverance of the saints in the English tongue."

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41). These words, which Jesus spoke to his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane, serve as the foundation for John Owen's treatise Of Temptation. Owen preached on the subject of temptation frequently during his many years of service as the dean and vice chancellor of Christ Church in Oxford--Of Temptation is the culmination of his discourses on the subject. In his treatise, Owen addresses the nature and power of temptation, the risk of entering into it, and the means of avoiding its danger. Owen defines temptation as anything with the ability to entice the Christian's mind or heart away from obedience to God and redirect it towards sin. Owen warns us that our power is not strong enough to protect us from temptation; rather, it is by God's power of preservation that we are saved. As Christians, we can guard ourselves against temptation in part by praying for God's power to help us resist it. His treatise teaches Christians how to recognize the threat of temptation and protect themselves against it.