Articles

Discipleship Sermons by John MacArthur – PDF

A Series of Sermons on the The Radical Nature of Christ’s Call to Discipleship and True Conversion By John MacArthur A PDF text copy of the sermons Used by Permission of Grace to You   DOWNLOAD

The Papacy and the Facts of History

Facts of History Which Refute and Contradict Roman Catholic Claims for the Papacy William Webster   One of the major issues in the ongoing debate between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox and Protestant Churches is that of authority. The Roman Catholic Church has long claimed to be the one true Church with an infallible […]

Papalism

Papalism by Edward Denny   In the year 1870, the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican Council I officially decreed the dogmas of papal jurisdiction and infallibility. These particular dogmas were decreed by the Council to be the essential aspect of the Divine Constitution of the Church established by Jesus Christ, and were thereby defined […]

Discipleship Sermons by John MacArthur

A Series of Sermons on the Radical Nature of Christ’s Call to Discipleship and True Conversion By John MacArthur   A PDF text copy of these messages can be accessed here Used by permission of Grace to You We live in a day when the biblical gospel has been tragically distorted and watered down. The […]

Discipleship PDF

The Radical Nature of Christ’s Call to Discipleship and True Conversion   A Pdf copy of the text of sermons by John MacArthur Used by permission of Grace to You     DOWNLOAD

A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Facts of History and of the Writings of William Webster on the Canon by Roman Catholic Apologist, Art Sippo

A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Facts of History and of the Writings of William Webster on the Canon by Roman Catholic Apologist, Art Sippo By William Webster   Roman Catholic apologist, Art Sippo, has written a response to my article on this web page titled The Canon: Why the Roman Catholic Arguments are Spurious. The following article […]

Man’s Need for Salvation: The Nature of Sin

Man’s Need for Salvation: The Nature of Sin By William Webster For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) Return to Gospel Articles Page   Scripture teaches that we were created by God, for God (Col. 1:16). We were created for a purpose—his glory. The law of God is […]

Stephen Ray: A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Writings of William Webster and of the Church Fathers by Roman Catholic, Stephen Ray, in His Book Upon This Rock

A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Writings of William Webster and of the Church Fathers by Roman Catholic, Stephen Ray, in His Book Upon This Rock By William Webster   Stephen Ray is a Roman Catholic who has written a biblical and patristic defense of the papacy in a book entitled Upon This Rock. It was published […]

Eastern Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy An Evangelical Assessment Eastern Orthodoxy: Coming Home? Evangelical Issues for the Eastern Orthodox An Evangelical Analysis of the Claims of Protestant Converts to Orthodoxy (such as Peter Gilquist and Frank Schaeffer) to have found the True Church by Lawrence Carrino. This Article analyzes Orthodox Teaching on the Key Topics of Authority, Scripture and […]

THE EUCHARIST: Its Historical Development and Roman Catholic Teaching

THE EUCHARIST Its Historical Development and Roman Catholic Teaching By William Webster   The Roman Catholic position on the Eucharist was first given dogmatic expression at the 4th Latern Council in 1215 A.D. when the Church formally set forth the teaching of transubstantiation as the official teaching of the Church. This was further affirmed by […]

Book Advertisement – The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha: A Survey of the History of the Apocrypha from the Jewish Age to the Reformation

    The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha  A Survey of the History of the Apocrypha from the Jewish Age to the Reformation  Publisher: Christian Resources (February, 2002)Author: William Webster Paperback: 185 pages (6″ x 9″) Price: $15.00 plus shippingThe subject of the Old Testament canon has been a matter of debate between Protestants […]

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha:  Part 3: From Jerome to the Reformation

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha Part 3: From Jerome to the Reformation William Webster   For the endnote references please refer to Part 3 Endnotes This article provides extensive translations of the writings of many of the major Western theologians from the fifth to the sixteenth centuries on their view of the Canon for […]

Lordship Salvation: Biblical or Heretical?

LORDSHIP SALVATION Biblical or Heretical? By William Webster The past 40 years has seen an ongoing debate within the evangelical community on the issue of lordship salvation. There have been a number of works published addressing the subject but there is still much confusion within the evangelical Church concerning this issue. There is much contradictory […]

De Unitate Ecclesiae: On the Unity of the Church: English Translation

  AD CATHOLICOS EPISTOLA CONTRA DONATISTAS VULGO DE UNITATE ECCLESIAE LIBER UNUS. [Note: [Col. 0391] Liber de Unitate Ecclesiae castigatus olim per Lovanienses ex collatione Endoviensis manuscripti, et nunc per nos emendatus est denuo ex veteris codicis Floriacensis, ac editionum Am. Er. et Lov. lectione.] [Note: [Col. 0391] Comparavimus praeterea eas omnes editiones initio Retr. […]

De Unitate Ecclesiae: On the Unity of the Church: Introduction

  De Unitate Ecclesiae: On the Unity of the Church Click here for the full English translation Click here for the full Migne Latin text It is an astonishing fact that this treatise by Augustine has never, before now, been fully translated into English. One can find portions of the letter translated in various scholarly […]

AD CATHOLICOS EPISTOLA CONTRA DONATISTAS VULGO DE UNITATE ECCLESIAE: Migne Patrologia Latina

  AD CATHOLICOS EPISTOLA CONTRA DONATISTAS VULGO DE UNITATE ECCLESIAE Migne Patrologia Latina MPL 43:0391-0446 Author: Augustine   [Col. 0391] AD CATHOLICOS EPISTOLA CONTRA DONATISTAS VULGO DE UNITATE ECCLESIAE LIBER UNUS. [Note: [Col. 0391] Liber de Unitate Ecclesiae castigatus olim per Lovanienses ex collatione Endoviensis manuscripti, et nunc per nos emendatus est denuo ex veteris […]

Worship Wars: Are We on the Right Battlefield?

Worship Wars: Are We on the Right Battlefield? Maureen Bradley   Maureen Bradley is the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress Study Guide (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company); Keeping the Heart Study Guide (Soli Deo Gloria, 1998); and, The Fearing God Study Guide (Soli Deo Gloria, 1999). Are there times when you come out of a “contemporary” worship service feeling […]

Robert Sungenis – The Lutheran/Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification 

The Lutheran/Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification By Robert Sungenis    About a year ago, I wrote an article for Our Sunday Visitor’s “The Catholic Answer” on the Lutheran/Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification. Since then, there have been a few significant developments, one being the signing of the Joint Declaration on October 31, 1999 by officials […]

A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Facts of History and of the Writings of William Webster on the Canon by Roman Catholic Apologist, Art Sippo

A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Facts of History and of the Writings of William Webster on the Canon by Roman Catholic Apologist, Art Sippo   By William Webster Roman Catholic apologist, Art Sippo, has written a response to my article on this web page entitled The Canon: Why the Roman Catholic Arguments are Spurious. The following […]

The Meaning of Saving Faith and Repentance from the Writings of Reformers and Evangelical Theologians

  The Meaning of Saving Faith and Repentance The Comments of the Following Evangelical Theologians:   Louis Berkhof, James Montgomery Boice, Martin Bucer, John Calvin, Walter Chantry, R.L. Dabney, John R. DeWitt, Jonathan Edwards, John Flavel, John Gerstner, William Hendriksen, A.A. Hodge, Charles Hodge, D. James Kennedy, R.C.H. Lenski, J.B. Lightfoot, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, John MacArthur, […]

The Reformers on the Necessity for Repentance and the Works of Sanctification

The Reformers and Major Evangelical Theologians on the Necessity for Repentance and Sanctification A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Teaching of the Reformation by Roman Catholic Apologists By William Webster It has been the consistent assertion of Roman Catholic apologists from the time of the Reformation up to the present day that the Reformation teaching […]

The Roman Catholic Teaching on Salvation and Justification

The Roman Catholic Teaching on Salvation and Justification by William Webster Return to Gospel Articles Page   Roman Catholic theology does not embrace the interpretation of salvation and justification as that presented by Scripture and the Protestant Reformers. The Roman Church does teach that we are justified by grace through faith on account of Christ. […]

The Necessity of Roman Catholic Dogmas for Saving Faith

The Necessity of Roman Catholic Dogmas for Saving Faith   It is important to understand that, according to the Church of Rome, apart from an embracing of its Dogmas there is no salvation. This is clearly seen from the teaching of Vatican I on the meaning of saving faith and the role of the Church […]

Salvation And The Roman Church: No Salvation Outside the Church of Rome

Salvation And The Roman Church No Salvation Outside the Church of Rome   Pope Boniface VIII (1302 A.D.) So, when the Greeks and others say that they were not committed to the care of Peter and his successors, they must confess that they are not of Christ’s sheep, even as the Lord says in John, […]

Stephen Ray: The Papacy: A Third Response to Stephen Ray

    The Papacy: A Third Response to Stephen Ray An Examination of Stephen Ray’s Rebuttal to the Web Page Articles of William Webster and a Refutation of His Misrepresentations of the Teachings of Vatican I and the Writings of Augustine and John Chrysostom By William Webster I recently posted a response on this web […]

Purgatory

Purgatory   The Council of Trent Decree Concerning Purgatory: Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, following the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in this ecumenical council that there is a purgatory, and that the souls there detained are aided by […]

The Assumption of the Virgin – Latin Narrative of Pseudo-Melito

The Assumption of the Virgin Latin Narrative of Pseudo-Melito   Melito, servant of Christ, bishop of the church of Sardis, to the venerable brethren in the Lord appointed at Laodicea, in peace greeting. I remember that I have often written of one Leucius, who, having along with ourselves associated with the apostles, turned aside through […]

The Priesthood

The Priesthood   The Council of Trent Session XXIII: The True and Catholic Doctrine Concerning the Sacrament of Order Chapter I: On the Institution of the Priesthood of the New Law. Sacrifice and priesthood are, by the ordinance of God, in such wise conjoined, as that both have existed in every law. Whereas, therefore, in […]

An Ecumenical Council Officially Condemns a Pope for Heresy: Historical Facts Proving That the Bishops of Rome Are not Infallible and Were Never Considered So by the Early Church

An Ecumenical Council Officially Condemns a Pope for Heresy Historical Facts Proving That the Bishops of Rome Are not Infallible and Were Never Considered So by the Early Church By William Webster   The Roman Catholic Council of Vatican I in 1870 is renowned for its dogmatic teaching that the Bishops of Rome, when teaching ex […]

The Papacy: Primacy and Infallibility

The Papacy: Primacy and Infallibility Primacy  The Bull Unam Sanctam by Pope Boniface VIII (1302 A.D.) Boniface, Bishop, Servant of the servants of God. For perpetual remembrance: Urged on by our faith, we are obliged to believe and hold that there is one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. And we firmly believe and profess that outside of […]

Coming Home?: Evangelical Issues for the Eastern Orthodox

COMING HOME? Evangelical Issues for the Eastern Orthodox Lawrence W. Carrino   Material for this article is adapted from a series of papers delivered at an Orthodox Conference on Evangelism.   Having been a student for some time of Church History in general and Historical Theology in particular, I have been forced to develop an […]

Just Say No: An Evangelical Assessment of Eastern Apophaticism

Just Say No An Evangelical Assessment of Eastern Apophaticism By Lawrence W. Carrino   Material for this article is adapted from a series of papers delivered at an Orthodox Conference on Evangelism.   Among the various distinctives of Eastern theology, apophaticism is perhaps among the most compelling and distressing. It is compelling because it employs a […]

The Church Fathers’ Interpretation of the Rock of Matthew 16:18

The Church Fathers’ Interpretation of the Rock of Matthew 16:18 A Historical Refutation of the Claims of Roman Catholicism Includes a Critique of Jesus, Peter and the Keys By William Webster   Matthew 16:18 is the critical passage of Scripture for the establishment of the authority claims of the Roman Catholic Church. It is upon the interpretation of […]

The Roman Catholic Teaching on Grace And Merit

The Roman Catholic Teaching on Grace And Merit Ludwig Ott The God–Man Jesus Christ, by His vicarious atonement and His merit in the Redemption, achieved the reconciliation of humanity with God in principle and objectively. The Objective Redemption must be accepted by each man so that thereby he may bring to fruition in himself the […]

The Mass

The Mass The Council Of Trent Session XXII: Doctrine on the Sacrifice of the Mass Chapter I: On the Institution of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Foreasmuch as, under the former Testament, according to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, there was no perfection, because of the weakness of the Levitical priesthood; there […]

The Marian Dogmas

The Marian Dogmas   The Immaculate Conception The Decree of Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception of Mary From the Bull Ineffabilis Deus (1854 A.D.). Since we have never ceased in humility and fasting to offer up our prayers and those of the Church to God the Father through his Son, that he might deign to […]

Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

Final Proposal LUTHERAN – ROMAN CATHOLIC JOINT DECLARATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION   Preamble 1. The doctrine of justification was of central importance for the Lutheran Reformation of the sixteenth century. It was held to be the “first and chief article”[note]The Smalcald Articles, II,1; Book of Concord, 292.[/note] and at the same time the “ruler and […]

The Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification: An Analysis

The Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification An Analysis Includes a Critique of the Comments of Roman Catholic, Robert Sungenis, on the Joint Declaration By William Webster   The full text of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration can be accessed here.   The Lutheran–Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification has fueled much speculation that the […]

Experiencing the Love of God

Experiencing the Love of God by William Webster   The most precious reality in Christian experience following the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is personal knowledge of God. This is a promise of the new covenant and it becomes ours through Jesus Christ: ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the […]

Rome’s New and Novel Concept of Tradition: Living Tradition

Rome’s New and Novel Concept of Tradition Living Tradition: (Viva Voce – Whatever We Say) A Repudiation of the Patristic Concept of Tradition by William Webster In the history of Roman Catholic dogma, one can trace an evolution in the theory of tradition. There were two fundamental patristic principles which governed the early Church’s approach […]

The Life of Faith

The Life of Faith By William Webster   The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives always gives rise to a life of faith. In fact, from beginning to end the Christian life is a life of faith. Without it there is no true Christianity. Faith is necessarily a distinguishing mark of the life […]

Justification and the Sacraments

Justification and the Sacraments   The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification is a cooperative work between God and man. It explicitly condemns the truth of the imputed righteousness of Christ himself as the basis for justification. But scripture teaches that man is justified by the righteousness of God (Rom. 3-5; 10:1-4; Phil 3:8-10). This […]

The Biblical Teaching of Justification

The Biblical Teaching of Justification By William Webster   One of the great truths of salvation is that of justification. But what is justification? The heart of the Reformation controversy was over the meaning of this word and despite the impression given by ECT, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are still very much at […]

The Supremacy and Majesty of the Person of Jesus Christ

 The Supremacy and Majesty of the Person of Jesus Christ Scriptural Titles and Attributes   Jesus is God Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, […]

The Source of Salvation

  The Source of Salvation By William Webster I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst (John 6:35)   Return to Gospel Articles Page   We are all sinners separated from God. Because of this we are faced with a […]

Salvation and Sanctification

Salvation and Sanctification By William Webster Pursue…sanctification without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14) Return to Gospel Articles Page   Like justification, sanctification is an essential part of the overall work of salvation. It must be noted again that scripture teaches that sanctification cannot be separated from justification. There is no salvation […]

The Gospel and Repentance

The Gospel and Repentance By William Webster Unless you repent, you will…perish (Luke 13:3)   Return to Gospel Articles Page   Repentance is a major emphasis in the teaching of the New Testament. Jesus came ‘to call sinners to repentance’ (Mt. 9:13) and his gospel presentation included both repentance and faith: ‘The time is fulfilled, […]

Salvation and Regeneration: The New Birth

Salvation and Regeneration: The New Birth By William Webster Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3) Return to Gospel Articles Page   Regeneration is the exclusive work of God by which he imparts new life to an individual. There is no sanctification […]

The Roman Catholic Teaching on Salvation and Justification

The Roman Catholic Teaching on Salvation and Justification by William Webster   Return to Gospel Articles Page   Roman Catholic theology does not embrace the interpretation of salvation and justification as that presented by Scripture and the Protestant Reformers. The Roman Church does teach that we are justified by grace through faith on account of […]

The Nature of Sin

  Man’s Need for Salvation: The Nature of Sin By William Webster For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)   Return to Gospel Articles Page   Scripture teaches that we were created by God, for God (Col. 1:16). We were created for a purpose—his glory. The law of […]

The Biblical Meaning of Salvation

The Biblical Meaning of Salvation By William Webster But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30) Return to Gospel Articles Page   To have a correct understanding of the gospel we must have a proper view of the […]

The Biblical Teaching of Justification

The Biblical Teaching of Justification By William Webster   Return to Gospel Articles Page   One of the great truths of salvation is that of justification. But what is justification? The heart of the Reformation controversy was over the meaning of this word and despite the impression given by Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT), the […]

The Gospel Under Assault

The Gospel Under Assault By William Webster   Return to Gospel Articles Page   In his opening chapter to the Romans, the apostle Paul states that ‘the gospel is the power of God for salvation’ (Rom. 1:16). Few statements can equal this one in importance. Paul is underscoring both the priority and importance of the […]

Understanding the Gospel and Salvation

Understanding the Gospel and Salvation A Series of Articles Providing a Systematic Overview of the Nature of Salvation, the Gospel and its Application and a Defense of the Teaching of the Reformation  By William Webster    ARTICLES: The Gospel Under Assault The Biblical Meaning of Salvation Man’s Need for Salvation: The Nature of Sin Judgment […]

Judgment and Hell

Judgment and Hell By William Webster   And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened, and […]

The Gospel and Faith

The Gospel and Faith By William Webster For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9) Return to Gospel Articles Page   The companion truth to repentance in the divine call […]

Salvation According to Jesus

   Salvation According to Jesus By William Webster Return to Gospel Articles Page   In His teaching on salvation Jesus has a great deal to say about hell, the kingdom of God, his atonement, union with himself, conversion, faith, repentance, sanctification and discipleship. Surprisingly, he has little to say about justification. In the context of […]

The Gospel and Evangelicalism: An Assessment

  The Gospel and Evangelicalism: An Assessment By William Webster   I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with […]

The Patristic Exegesis of the Rock of Matthew 16:18

The Patristic Exegesis of the Rock of Matthew 16:18 Compiled by William Webster The Most Extensive Documentation of the Patristic Understanding of the Rock of Matthew 16 in the English Language, Spanning the Third to the Eighth Centuries Numerous Quotations Given for the First Time from the Original Latin and Greek   Documentation from the […]

Knowledge – False and True: A Warning Against Dead Orthodoxy

Knowledge – False and True A Warning Against Dead Orthodoxy A Study of 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 By D. Martyn Lloyd–Jones   This article is an excerpt from an article appearing in the book The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors published by Banner of Truth. This volume brings together the addresses given by Dr. Lloyd–Jones at the […]

The Relationship of Faith to Works: The Place of Sanctification in Salvation

The Relationship of Faith to Works The Place of Sanctification in Salvation A Study of Romans 6, 7 and 8   By William Webster   In the Book of Romans we find a systematic presentation of the gospel. In the first chapter the apostle Paul makes this introductory statement regarding it: ‘The gospel is the […]

The Eucharist

The Eucharist   The Council of Trent Session XIII: Decree Concerning the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Chapter I: On the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. In the first place, the holy Synod teaches, and openly and simply professes, that, in the august sacrament […]

ECT 2: THE GIFT OF SALVATION

ECT 2  THE GIFT OF SALVATION   “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16, […]

Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium

Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium The following statement is the product of consultation, beginning in September 1992, between Evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians. Appended to the text is a list of participants in the consultation and of others who have given their support to this declaration. Introduction We […]

Confession and Penance

Confession and Penance   The Council of Trent Sixth Session: Decree on Justification; Chapter XIV. As regards those who, by sin, have fallen from the received grace of Justification, they may be again justified, when, God exciting them, through the sacrament of Penance they shall have attained to the recovery, by the merit of Christ, […]

The Canon

The Canon   The Council of Trent The holy, ecumenical and general Council of Trent…clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the holy Ghost dictating have come down […]

The Canon: Why the Roman Catholic Arguments for the Canon are Spurious

The Canon Why the Roman Catholic Arguments for the Canon are Spurious By William Webster   It is often asserted by Roman Catholic apologists that Protestants must rely on their tradition in order to know which books ought to be included in the Biblical Canon. The argument says that since there is no “inspired table […]

Baptism

Baptism   The Council of Trent On Justification: Chapter IV: By which words a description of the Justification of the impious is indicated—as being a translation, from that state wherein man is born a child of Adam, to the state of grace, and of the adoption of the sons of God, through the second Adam, […]

The Assumption of Mary

THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY A Roman Catholic Dogma Originating with Heretics and Condemned as Heretical by 2 Popes in the 5th and 6th Centuries. By William Webster   The Roman Catholic doctrine of the assumption of Mary teaches that she was assumed body and soul into heaven either without dying or shortly after death. This […]

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha: Part 1: The Canon of the Jews

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha William Webster   INTRODUCTION The subject of the Old Testament canon has been a matter of debate between Protestants and Roman Catholics for centuries. Many relegate such a dispute to little more than an academic issue. But, in reality, the subject is one of the highest significance and […]

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha: Conclusion

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha Conclusion William Webster   The canonical Scriptures are God’s inspired revelation to man. This is the testimony of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. As such, they alone are authoritative in all matters of faith. Rome claims that the Apocrypha should be considered a part of the […]

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