Thomas Boston
The ministry of Thomas Boston of Ettrick (1676-1732) was one of the most blessed ministries of Scotland at the turn of the eighteenth century. His work Human Nature in its Fourfold State has been described as having 'an influence second to none in the religious life of Scotland for well over 100 years' (D. Lachman, article 'Thomas Boston' in Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology).
So we are going to glean from Boston's fields in this series of studies. The lectures will not be written out in full, but in outline form, since the aim is to introduce readers to Boston and read him for themselves. I hope these outlines will whet the appetite.
There are some useful and helpful Boston resources available. Andrew Thomson's biography of Thomas Boston (c.1895) has been republished by Christian Focus (see www.christianfocus.com for further details - ISBN 1-85792-379-0). There is also a good website dedicated to Boston at www.thomasboston.net.
I hope to add a short biography here soon, but meanwhile, click on the links below to access the studies as they become available.
HUMAN NATURE IN ITS FOURFOLD STATE
This book deals with the Bible's teaching on the nature of man, in his state of innocence (as God created him), in a state of nature (as a result of the Fall), in a state of grace (when he comes to Christ), and in the eternal state (either in Heaven or Hell). The meaning of these should become clear in the outlines on the following pages. Page references are to the 1957 edition of the Fourfold State published by The Sovereign Grace Book Club, Evansville, Indiana).
