Thomas Watson
These are all of the posts containing content on the Puritan theologian Thomas Watson (c. 1620–1686).
Grace That Trains Us: Thomas Watson on Holiness and Sanctification
The Theology of Thomas Watson Series: Part 4 Grace That Trains Us: Thomas Watson on Holiness and Sanctification One of the most common confusions in modern Christianity is the relationship between grace and holiness. Grace is often spoken of warmly, passionately, even poetically. Holiness, on the other hand, is treated cautiously, sometimes suspiciously, as though it threatens joy, freedom, or assurance. Puritan Thomas Watson would not recognize that separation. For Watson, grace and holiness are inseparable. Grace does not merely…
True Repentance in an Age of Excuses: Thomas Watson on the Repentance God Requires
The Theology of Thomas Watson Series: Part 3 This third part of my Thomas Watson Series is about his view on repentance. We live in a time when almost everything gets explained away. Sin gets renamed. Conviction gets treated like trauma. Confession gets replaced with vague spiritual statements that never actually name anything. And the result is predictable: we stay stuck, we stay shallow, and we stay strangely defensive. Thomas Watson would have zero patience for that kind of Christianity.…
The God Who Is: Thomas Watson on the Attributes of God
The Theology of Thomas Watson Series: Part 2 This second part of my Thomas Watson Series is about his view on the Attributes of God. One of the reasons Puritan Thomas Watson still feels so relevant is that he never starts where modern Christianity often starts. He does not begin with our problems, our pain, our questions, or our felt needs. He begins with God. That decision alone explains much of the power of his writing. Watson believed that nearly…
Who Was Thomas Watson and Why Should Modern Christians Read Him?
The Theology of Thomas Watson Series: Part 1 The Puritans should be required reading for every serious Christian. Men like John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, Stephen Charnock, Richard Sibbes, John Bunyan, and Jeremiah Burroughs have a way of cutting through spiritual fog and forcing us to deal honestly with God, sin, and eternity. They were not writing to entertain or impress, but to shepherd souls. Out of all of the Puritans, Thomas Watson has become my personal favorite, and over time,…
My Top 20 Favorite Books of All Time (Outside of the Bible) – Revisited
I’m revisiting what I consider to be my all-time favorite books. The last time I made a blog post listing my favorite books of all time, I was still growing in my Christian walk. Admittedly, since then, I’ve outgrown a few of the titles and perhaps wouldn’t even put one or two in my top 50 books. No, there weren’t any prosperity authors, feel-good “TBN” celebrities, or hyper-charismatic nonsense polluting my list, but there were a few glaring issues that…