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I have been reading the works of the Puritans since the late 1980s. My initial introduction to their writings was from quotes by C.H. Surgeon and A.W. Pink. My only familiarity with Matthew Mead was when Soli Deo Gloria reprinted "The Almost Christian Discovered" in the early 1990's. Since then, Soli Deo Gloria and Puritan Publications have brought back into print several other works by Matthew Mead. I guess one could say that as in most things, there are levels of impact. In my judgment, Matthew Mead is in the front rank of Puritan Experimental Preachers.

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What is the nature of faith? Enoch walked with God. Noah was a just man. They both had faith and the nature of that faith was that ". . . they desired to please God." Why was Enoch taken and did not see death? "Enoch was translated [by passing physical death] . . . because . . . he pleased God." Hebrews 11:6 declares that ". . . without faith it is impossible to please him." Those who have faith strive to live——in every aspect of their lives——in a way that pleases God. What was the evidence of Noah's faith?

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I've had the privilege of sitting under the preaching of Maurice Roberts on several occasions in the early to mid-1990s. He is one of the most gifted preachers I've ever heard in person. He was the Editor of The Banner Of Truth magazine from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. His lead articles in those years are especially helpful in discerning some of the weaknesses of Christianity in our generation.

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An area in which R.C. Sproul was uniquely gifted can be seen in the first book he wrote (it should be considered a classic in Christian literature)—The Holiness of God. His ability to seamlessly integrate Theology, Philosophy, and Church History is on display throughout the book. In thinking about Creation, he begins to expose the utter folly of an Atheistic view of Creation-"There are modern theorists who believe that the world was created by nothing." If there is no God, then there is no Creator, then how did the world come into being? The Christian believes in the miraculous.

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There is a great change that takes place when anyone is converted. Before conversion, a conscious awareness of God is not present in their mindset, but the new creature in Christ Jesus alters "The bias of the will"——"Now the man has new ends and designs. He now intends God above all, and desires and designs . . . that Christ may be magnified, in him." What brings happiness to an individual? Before being reconciled to his Maker, a man's all in all is to please himself.