The Complete Works Of Richard Sibbes

The Puritan John Dod wrote that this book is 'so full of heavenly treasure, and such lively expressions of the invaluable riches of the love of Christ' that it kindles 'in the heart all heavenly affections unto Jesus Christ'. Indeed it does! And that was very much what Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) was about in all his ministry. The Love of Christ is a series of sermons preached on Song of Solomon 4:16-6:3. For Sibbes, this Bible book 'is nothing else but a plain demonstration and setting forth of the love of Christ to his church, and of the love of the church to Christ'. The Song of Solomon does not simply mouth a doctrine: its sensuous imagery sings its message. It is as if this love story is played on violins. The reader is thus brought, not simply to understand, but to taste and share the delights of the lovers. This is precisely what Christ's people need, as Sibbes knew: it is not enough to be aware of Christ's love; we must sense, grasp and enjoy it. Only then will we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts. That is one reason why so many avoid books like this one: they want information, and they want it fast. But Sibbes intends to affect you, to hold your eyes on Jesus that you might develop a stronger appetite for him. Such work cannot be fast work, but it is profoundly transforming.

In a time of political turmoil and religious upheaval, Richard Sibbes sought to consistently apply the riches of Reformation theology to his hearers' lives. He emphasized the security of God's covenant, the call for assurance of salvation, and the place of the heart in the Christian life. In The Affectionate Theology of Richard Sibbes, Dr. Mark Dever gives readers a penetrating look into the life and theology of this fascinating figure.

English Puritans of the Stuart era were divided by a number of questions. The greatest of these asked what constitutes salvation and restoration from sin. All agreed that it was by grace through faith. But few could agree on how to define sin, grace, and faith. Richard Sibbes consciously followed Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Calvin in defining sin as self-love and grace as God's redemptive love in Christ. His theology centered on the love of God expressed through Christ and offered by the Spirit; and faith as a response to that love. This produced a winsome and transforming theology of union with Christ and communion with God. In this he was a counterweight to the spread of moralistic Puritan theologies in his day.