I’m giving away some excellent Puritan works! See below for details.

I love the Christian writings by 16th-17th century Puritans! They, by their works, though dead, yet speak. I wish that we have more authors like them today. I still remember the first time I was drawn to read them. It was when I picked up The Forgotten Trinity written by one of my favorite (and erudite) Christian apologists, Dr. James R. White. (I had to slip in the word “erudite,” cause one of my friends Josh never fails to be impressed whenever I use the word. Ha ha ha…) For those who may not know yet, Dr. White was the first author whom God graciously used to introduce me to the Doctrines of Grace and who sparked my journey in the Reformed faith. In his book, Dr. White shared the Puritans as his favorite authors and heroes of the faith. Since I admired Dr. White so much, I thought, “Mmm, maybe I ought to check their writings!”

I must admit, at first I was quite intimidated about reading old works written in old language. But after reading the recommendations and references made by other good Bible teachers and preachers (e.g. John MacArthur, Charles Spurgeon, etc.), I decided to give it a try. The writings of these 16th-17th century “heroes of the faith” are just as relevant today as they were centuries ago, for they cover timeless truths concerning the depravity of our human nature, our need of Christ, and the holiness and sovereignty of a glorious God. In fact, we probably have a greater need of them in our modern day and age. The writings convicted me of my sins, yet encouraged me at the same time to try to set the bar a little higher in my spiritual walk. I admire the Puritans’ deep devotion to God, their understanding of His truth, and the way they passionately sought to live every single arena of life to the glory of God. Their beliefs concerning different areas of life (including worship, the Sabbath, family, money, work ethics, social action) and how they incorporate them into daily life are something I’d like to emulate.

I’d like to give away for free some Puritan books to those who are interested!  I hope you’ll be blessed and encouraged by them. It gives me joy to know that someone else may enjoy or benefit from it. Please let me know which title you’d like to have. I just have one copy of each title to give away, so they’re only available until supplies last. Here are the books:

John Owen’s The Mortification of Sin is a wonderful book that teaches us how to fight and kill sin. J.I. Packer once told the story of his earlier years as a new Christian. He had a very sensitive conscience, and was on the verge of committing suicide due to feelings of frustrations and failures in his Christian walk. The Lord used two books to help and save him from committing suicide: Owen’s On the Mortification of Sin and J.C. Ryle’s Holiness.

John Piper also spoke of John Owen as the spiritual doctor for the soul. As Dr. Owen says: “Be killing sin, or [sin] will be killing you.” One of my favorite quotes from the book is: “Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death.”

John Owen teaches us that fighting sin with human strength will produce only self-righteousness, superstition and anxiety of conscience. He shows us how victory can be only be certain with faith in Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

J.I. Packer’s A Quest for Godliness is a good intro on the theology of the Puritans. It gives a glimpse of their beliefs and vision of the Christian life. A quote from the back cover:

Drawings on a lifetime of study, Dr. Packer takes the reader on a survey of the lives and teachings of great Puritan leaders such as John Owen, Richard Baxter, and Jonathan Edwards. He offers a close look at such subjects as the Puritan view of the Bible, spiritual gifts, the Sabbath, worship, social action, and the family. He concludes that a main difference between the Puritans and ourselves is spiritually maturity–the Puritans had it; we don’t.

Thomas Watson’s A Body of Divinity is an exposition of the Westminster Assembly’s Shorter Catechism. Thomas Watson is one of my favorite Puritan writers. If you notice my Daily Gems section in this blog, I think I may have quoted Thomas Watson more than anyone else on there. An excerpt from the back cover to describe why this book has been one of the best sellers and the most useful and influential of the Banner of Truth publications:

1. The Subject of the book. It deals with the foremost doctrinal and experimental truths of the Christian Faith.
2. The means of the instruction used. It is based on the Westminster Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, in which the main principles of Christianity that lie scattered in the Scriptures are brought together and set forth in the form of question and answer. This Catechism is unsurpassed for its ‘terse exactitude of definition and ‘logical elaboration’ of the fundamentals.
3. The style of the author. Watson conveys his thorough doctrinal and experimental knowledge of the truth in such an original, concise, pithy, pungent, racy, rich and illustrative style that he is rightly regarded as the most readable of the Puritans.

Thomas Watson’s The Ten Commandments is a continuation of his exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Here’s the description from the back cover:

There are few matters about which the Puritans differ more from present-day Christians than in their assessment of the importance of the ten commandments. The commandments, they held, are the first thing in Christianity which the natural man needs to be taught and they should be the daily concern of the Christian to the last.

In The Ten Commandments Thomas Watson continues his exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. He examines the moral law as a whole as well as bringing out the meaning and force of each particular commandment. In view of the important function of the law in Christian life and evangelism this is a most valuable volume.

Well, there they are! I would like to share more free things in the future for your benefits (e.g. other books, Christian documentaries or DVDs, etc.), and will post them here when available. May God bless your day!

Posted: Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 2:31 am. Category: Books, Giveaways.
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