WWI – Baptist Pastor on the Somme Front

The diary and letters of Pastor James Rowell.

Salvation By Grace Alone

When we speak of Salvation by grace alone, we mean that the Bible says this; every man is a sinner before God. Now we have got to take that seriously. People say well, I am really not a bad person, I don’t drink, I don’t gamble, I don’t steel, I have never committed adultery, I have never murdered etc. etc. These are all good things in a relative sense; I would rather have a neighbor who was kind and decent and good and upright and honest than have some lying rascal next door to me, that I couldn’t turn my back upon. We applaud those social virtues, but before God we are all sinners, we have broken the first and great commandment of the Law of God, which is to love god with all our soul strength and mind. We are all sinners, and not small sinners, but big sinners. We are dead in sin and corrupted in sin, we are self-centered and not God-centered.

Those who boast how good they are have lived their life in rebellion against God and in rejection of His son, trampling the blood of Christ beneath their feet. They live as if the Bible didn’t say the things that it says; that is big time sin.

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It is too often overlooked in this age of information that the gospel of Christ is beautiful in its simplicity. At thinkGOSPEL.com we focus on this simplicity, first in the evangelistic presentation of the gospel and then to encourage Christians to think biblically for devotion and direction in life. We believe this is the emphasis of the New Testament writers.

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Jonah, Jesus and the Resurrection

April 12th, 2023|0 Comments

Jonah’s ministry was characterized by disobedience, reluctance and complaint. He is unique among the prophets of Israel, but not just for this. It is also true, in the grace and providence of God, that Jonah’s [...]

On Open-Air Preaching

December 1st, 2022|0 Comments

In recent years a model of open-air preaching has developed that is controversial in nature, harsh in tone and disruptive. It will no doubt attract a large social media viewing and voluminous discussion, but I [...]

The Teacher’s Greatest Satisfaction

September 2nd, 2022|0 Comments

The Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge, New York State (Credit: Aaron Dunlop) “Early one morning in the year 1738 a shepherd boy with home-spun clothes and bare feet, stood at the counter of Alexander McCulloch's bookshop [...]

The Story of the Fall (Genesis 3:1-24)

February 23rd, 2022|0 Comments

Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash When God created Adam and his wife, he put them in a beautiful garden called Eden. It was “God’s Garden,” (Ezekiel 28:13), without sin, and as the name suggests a place “enriched” [...]

The Reformation was Missional

December 27th, 2021|0 Comments

In 1544 John Calvin wrote a letter to Emperor Charles V to be presented at the Imperial Diet at Spires. In that letter, he defended the work of Luther and the Reformation and identified a [...]

Rights Start in the Womb

October 11th, 2021|0 Comments

Photo credit: unsplash.com Abortion is one of the greatest tragedies of our time. The most dangerous place in the world today for a child is not in some third-world slum or war zone [...]

Willing to be Weak

September 18th, 2021|0 Comments

Photo by Milan Ivanovic on unsplash Today’s culture idolizes strength. In blogs and podcasts, on social media tag lines and consumer ads we hear slogans like “be a boss,” “crush’n” it,’ and ‘kill’n [...]

The Teenage Years of Jesus

April 30th, 2021|0 Comments

A group of American young people on a missions trip to Africa The teenage years are referred to as the “formative years”—the development and maturing of adolescence (Latin:adolescere meaning "to grow up"). The [...]

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