Richard Baxter

The Saints' Everlasting Rest 1650 Baxter's influential treatise on heavenly rest, expounding the blessed state of saints in glory and motivating believers toward holiness through contemplation of eternal reward. → Baxter's Apology 1654 Baxter responds to theological objections from Blake, Kendall, and others, defending his positions on doctrine and ecclesiastical matters with detailed refutations. → Aphorisms of Justification 1655 Baxter explains justification through aphorisms and detailed exposition, clarifying covenants, satisfaction, righteousness, and faith for his Kidderminster congregation. → The Quakers Catechism 1655 Baxter questions Quaker doctrines and answers their objections, addressing both committed Quakers and vulnerable novices susceptible to their seduction. → The Reformed Pastor 1656 Baxter's pastoral manual addressing ministerial duties, particularly private instruction and catechizing, with confession of clerical failures and reformation proposals. → A Call to the Unconverted 1658 Baxter's evangelistic exhortation calling unconverted sinners to repentance and acceptance of divine mercy while opportunity remains in this life. → A Holy Commonwealth 1659 Baxter's political theology envisioning Christian commonwealth principles, integrating biblical governance ideals with practical civil administration. → Five Disputations of Church-Government and Worship 1659 Baxter's systematic disputations on ecclesiastical government and worship, addressing controversies over church polity and liturgical practice among Protestants. → A Sermon of Repentance 1660 Baxter preaches repentance before Parliament during the 1660 fast for national settlement, calling for moral reformation and divine favor. → A Treatise of Death 1660 Baxter examines death as humanity's final enemy, demonstrating how Christ destroys its enmity through salvation, illustrated by the life of Elizabeth Baker. → Catholic Unity 1660 Baxter's irenic proposal for achieving religious unity among Christians through emphasis on essential doctrines and charitable forbearance on secondary matters. → The Christian Religion Expressed 1660 Baxter's concise exposition of Christian faith through ancient creeds, commandments, and prayer, promoting doctrinal simplicity and primitive Christian practice. → The Successive Visibility of the Church 1660 Baxter's defense of Protestant church visibility and succession, arguing Protestants represent the true church against Catholic and sectarian objections. → The Vain Religion of the Formal Hypocrite 1660 Baxter condemns formal hypocrisy and unbridled speech as destructive to religion and social order through sermons preached before Parliament and at Westminster Abbey in 1660. → A Petition for Peace with the Reformation of the Liturgy 1661 Baxter petitions bishops for liturgical reformation on behalf of royal commissioners, seeking modifications to the Book of Common Prayer. → An Account of All the Proceedings of the Commissioners of Both Persuasions 1661 Baxter documents the proceedings of royal commissioners appointed to review the Book of Common Prayer, representing both conformist and nonconformist perspectives. → The Mischiefs of Self-Ignorance and the Benefits of Self-Acquaintance 1662 Baxter's sermons on self-knowledge and spiritual self-examination, addressing human ignorance of sin and promoting introspection for Christian growth. → Short Instructions for the Sick 1665 Baxter's pastoral guide for the sick and dying, especially those deprived of ministerial comfort, offering spiritual counsel and preparation for death. → Directions for Weak Distempered Christians 1669 Baxter's spiritual directions for weak Christians, addressing spiritual infirmities and providing encouragement toward confirmed faith and spiritual maturity. → The Cure of Church-Divisions 1670 Baxter's pastoral guidance for preventing church divisions, addressing weak believers prone to schism and instructing pastors in conflict resolution. → The Life of Faith 1670 Baxter's sermon and instructions on faith as living principle, expounding Hebrews 11:1 and providing practical guidance for exercising faith in daily Christian life. → The Certainty of Christianity Without Popery 1672 Baxter defends Catholic-Protestant faith as more certain than papal Catholicism, equipping believers against papist challenges and demonic temptations to their salvation. → The Christian Directory 1673 Baxter's comprehensive practical theology addressing Christian duties, temptations, and moral cases of conscience across all dimensions of believer's life. → Catholick Theology 1675 Baxter's irenic theological synthesis promoting doctrinal peace by distinguishing revealed truths from verbal disputes and unrevealed speculations among contentious theologians. → Of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness to Believers 1675 Baxter defends Protestant understanding of Christ's imputed righteousness against libertine distortions and responds to Thomas Tully's opposing theological arguments. → The Christian's Infant 1676 Baxter's reconsideration of infant baptism and covenant membership, examining whether children should be admitted to Christ's visible kingdom through baptism. → Naked Popery 1677 Baxter exposes Catholic errors regarding unwritten tradition and clarifies distinctions between Puritans, prelatical Protestants, and papists against false characterizations. → Which Is the True Church? 1679 Baxter identifies the true church as Christ-headed Christendom rather than papal Rome, examining this fundamental question in three comprehensive parts. → A Moral Prognostication 1680 Baxter prophesies the churches' future until achieving primitive concord and charity, describing the golden age of love and ultimate restoration. → A True Believer's Choice and Pleasure 1680 Baxter illustrates true believer's choice and pleasure through the exemplary Christian life and death of Mary Coxe in this funeral sermon. → The Nonconformist's Advocate 1680 Baxter clarifies nonconformist positions against misrepresentation, defending his earlier letter justifying reasons for ecclesiastical nonconformity. → A Search for the English Schismatic 1681 Baxter defends nonconformists against accusations of schism by distinguishing diocesan canons from persecuted nonconformists through careful case analysis. → A Third Defence of the Cause of Peace 1681 Baxter's third defense of ecclesiastical peace addresses accusations from multiple opponents, arguing for necessary concord against contemporary theological controversies. → Apology for the Nonconformists Ministry 1681 Baxter's defense of nonconformist ministers' preaching, justifying their ministry and urging ecclesiastical authorities to restore silenced clergy to their pastoral duties. → The Life and Death of Henry Ashhurst 1681 Baxter exemplifies Christian virtue through Henry Ashhurst's life and death, strengthening believers and exposing hypocrites through this exemplary biography. → Additional Notes on the Life and Death of Sir Matthew Hale 1682 Baxter's biographical tribute to Sir Matthew Hale, celebrating the life and Christian character of the renowned Lord Chief Justice of England. → An Answer to Mr. Dodwell and Dr. Sherlock 1682 Baxter refutes universal church supremacy as tyranny and popery, defending Isaac Barrow's treatise against Dodwell and Sherlock's ecclesiastical authority claims. → Baxter's Vindication of the Church of England 1682 Baxter vindicates the Church of England's rites, ceremonies, and discipline through faithful extracts from his writings without alteration or misrepresentation. → Gospel-Churches a Standing Ordinance of Jesus Christ 1682 Baxter proves that gospel churches constitute a standing ordinance of Christ continuing until his return, systematically addressing objections to this doctrine. → How to Do Good to Many 1682 Baxter's practical directions for Christian benevolence, motivating London citizens toward public good and social benefit as essential Christian vocation. → Of the Immortality of Man's Soul 1682 Baxter's philosophical discourses on human soul immortality and spiritual nature, defending Christian anthropology against materialist and skeptical objections. → The Last Work of a Believer 1682 Baxter's funeral sermon for Mary Hanmer emphasizes the believer's departing prayer commending the spirit to Christ for eternal reception. → The True History of Councils 1682 Baxter refutes false histories of church councils, exposing prelatic tyranny and defending primitive church governance against claims of episcopal supremacy. → The Catechizing of Families 1683 Baxter's catechetical manual for household instruction, providing systematic religious education for families and youth beyond elementary catechisms. → Schism Detected in Both Extremes 1684 Baxter identifies schismatical principles in both separatist extremes, refuting arguments for sinful church separation from both radical and conservative positions. → Paraphrase on the New Testament 1685 Baxter's practical New Testament paraphrase with doctrinal and moral notes, designed for family devotion and accessible biblical instruction for common believers. → A Treatise of Knowledge and Love Compared in Two Parts 1689 Baxter contrasts false pretended knowledge with true saving knowledge and love, examining their nature and spiritual significance in two complementary parts. → The English Nonconformity Under King Charles II and King James II 1689 Baxter's historical account of English nonconformity under Charles II and James II, documenting persecution and urging rulers toward religious toleration. → The Scripture Gospel Defended 1690 Baxter defends scriptural justification and Christ's grace against libertine antinomianism, addressing fifty controversies and responding to reprinted Crisp sermons. → Against the Revolt to a Foreign Jurisdiction 1691 Baxter's political treatise opposing English submission to foreign papal jurisdiction, defending national sovereignty and Protestant ecclesiastical independence. → An End of Doctrinal Controversies 1691 Baxter proposes reconciling theological disputes through explanatory clarification rather than contentious debate, seeking to restore peace among troubled churches. → Church Concord 1691 Baxter demonstrates substantial agreement between moderate Independents and Presbyterians, resolving ten apparent differences to promote necessary church concord. → Of National Churches 1691 Baxter describes national churches' institution, use, preservation, and remedies for their maladies, applying principles to England's ecclesiastical settlement. → The Certainty of the Worlds of Spirits 1691 Baxter proves the existence of spiritual worlds and immortal souls through documented accounts of apparitions, witchcraft, and supernatural phenomena against skeptics. → The Glorious Kingdom of Christ 1691 Baxter vindicates Christ's eternal kingdom against millenarian claims of Jewish restoration and thousand-year reigns, defending eschatological orthodoxy. → The Christian's Converse with God 1693 Baxter explores the insufficiency of human friendship and the spiritual benefits of solitude in communion with God through devotional reflection. → Universal Redemption of Mankind 1694 Baxter's theological defense of universal redemption through Christ against limited atonement, expounding the scope of Christ's saving work. → Monthly Preparations for the Holy Communion 1696 Baxter's devotional preparation guide for Holy Communion with meditations and hymns suitable for congregational and private eucharistic worship. → Reliquiae Baxterianae 1696 Baxter's comprehensive autobiography and memoir detailing his life, ministry, theological development, and historical observations across the English Reformation. →