My first article began with the observation that Satan ambitiously aims to attack the church at the very points that are intended by God for its defence. He seeks to bring the world into the church through its elders, and at the heart of its public worship. Having considered the problems of distractedness, the desire to appear normal, and hostility to religion, in this final article I turn to reflect on how a worldly lawlessness may have infected the church. We live in a lawless age. The modern and post-modern turn inward that I mentioned in my last article is also a turn away from external moral responsibility and any kind of external moral regulation of the self's desires continue

A passage from Calvin's commentary on Ezekiel 18:14-17 has the distinction of being among the last, perhaps the last, of his comments on the relationship among justification, faith and works. Apparently written shortly before his death in 1564, it is perhaps as pointed as any of his comments on their interrelationship and so, highly instructive concerning his matured understanding. An excerpt of some length from his comments on verse 17 is provided here, because, seen in its immediate context, it needs to be read carefully and digested (bolding added). Note that when Calvin speaks here of "works" he clearly has in view, as the plural shows, the believer's good works or obedience done over time, in other words, seen in terms of God's work in the believer, sanctification as ongoing or progressive, what he regularly includes elsewhere with "regeneration," a word he uses in a broader sense than later Reformed theology. continue

Four Views on The Role of Works at the Final Judgment. Counterpoints: Bible and Theology. Edited by Alan P. Stanley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013. 234 pp. $17.99. This book, edited by Alan Stanley, addresses four major views on the role of... continue

The function of the literary imagination is to incarnate meaning in concrete images, characters, events, and settings rather than abstract or propositional arguments.  To use the formula of Dorothy Sayers, the imagination images forth its subject, and in turn it... continue

Introduction In the Fall 2005 issue of the Westminster Theological Journal, Dr. Nicholas Perrin published a review of my book, Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul (J&NPP).[i] The WTJ invited me to reply to Perrin's overwhelmingly negative review.... continue

The Banner of Truth Trust has performed an invaluable service for the Christian community by publishing Cornel Venema's little work Getting the Gospel Right. He had previously submitted several well written posts to www.monergism.com on the so-called "New Perspectives on... continue

The theology of Richard Baxter has an intriguing complexity to it. Baxter has been described by his opponents as a Calvinist, an Amyraldian, an Arminian, a Roman Catholic and even as a Socinian. As a result many have simply resorted... continue

The "New Perspective (or Perspectives) on Paul" (NPP) has come to be a mainstay within academic discussions of the apostle Paul, but it has also recently begun to attract attention within the evangelical church. Ministers and teachers cannot help but... continue

Martin Luther was an outsized personality, with great faith and some great flaws. Living with this great person has a good effect on you. Let me commend his little book, The Freedom of a Christian. When he challenged the... continue

Francis Turretin was the grandson of a Protestant Italian merchant who had emigrated to Beza's Geneva. When Turretin died in Geneva in September 1687, nearly 170 years had passed since Martin Luther had sparked the Protestant Reformation by posting... continue

I have often taken comfort in the fact that the Apostle Peter said that Apostle Paul wrote "some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15-16).... continue

Biblical studies have undergone something of a seismic shift over the past three decades. Noted scholars such as James D.G. Dunn, E.P. Sander and N.T. Wright have questioned whether the theologians of the Reformation have properly understood the theological arguments of... continue

This year we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when the German Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed a long series of academic debating points about the medieval Roman Catholic penitential system (the 95 theses) to... continue

As there has been no small debate in recent decades over the doctrine of justification, I was delighted to come across a treatment of the once-for-all nature of justification in Geerhardus Vos' Reformed Dogmatics. Having introduced the subject by explaining... continue

The Protestant Reformers, following Scripture's lead, roundly rejected the notion that believers might be justified in part or in whole by their own good works. Sinners, they maintained, are justified wholly on the basis of Christ's perfect righteousness imputed... continue

"One thing," Martin Luther writes in the Freedom of a Christian (1520), "and only one thing, is necessary for Christian life, righteousness, and freedom. That one thing is _______." Knowing Luther to be the author, we're quick to assume that "faith" belongs... continue

What makes someone a heretic? This topic may be more important than we might think, especially in the world of online discourse. There is a distinction between willfully committing a soul-destroying heresy and committing a theological error. To call someone a... continue

Never say "never", and never say "always" when making a claim about the Reformed tradition. That's rule number one, and it can save you from a lot of embarrassment. I plan to post on this in the future and bring... continue

Part 1: Justification by Precision Alone?Part 2: Act and Habit of FaithPart 3: Justification is an act that cannot be revokedPart 4: Arminian vs. Reformed on justification Part 5: One or Two Justifications? Part 6: Judgment According to Works (see below)It is... continue

"And a good work it is, no doubt, to pare off all unnecessary occasions of debate and differences in religion, provided we go not so near the quick as to let out any of its vital spirits." John OwenPart 1:... continue

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was discussing the necessity of works to salvation when a fellow Reformed minister accused him of legalism.  This pastor, noted for promoting a radical version of Lutheran soteriology, cut him down... continue

I've been told that some folk are taking issue with John Piper's Foreword to Thomas Schreiner's book on justification. According to Piper, who agrees with Schreiner, we are "right with God by faith alone" but we do not "attain heaven... continue

Systematic theology must make sure that each doctrine it teaches is biblical. It must also make sure that each doctrine it teaches reflects an appropriate proportion and order in relationship to other doctrines. This proportion and order is determined by... continue

WCF 11.1 ... nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness ...Part 1: Justification by Precision Alone?Part 2: Act and Habit of FaithPart 3: Justification is an act that... continue

Can justification ever be revoked if someone is justified? There are many reasons why this is impossible. I want to offer two (and perhaps some others in a future post). First, because we are justified by faith alone. Second, because... continue

I've been meaning to write a book on important theological distinctions and how they can be of practical use to ministers and lay Christians. In the past I've discussed the distinction between God's absolute power and God's ordained power. Today... continue

Some recent defenders of justification by faith have appealed to the concept of Adamic merit because of what they perceive to be the obvious parallels between Adam and Christ. Christ merited as the second Adam, ergo...How do we understand the... continue

My wife's step-father has attended a Roman Catholic church his whole life. But he has just been moved to palliative care, and likely has days or weeks to live.He has a book beside his bed where he lies dying: not... continue

Why do we love justification and sanctification? And do we love one more than the other?If you've ever been in a position where you think you might die, your theology really begins to matter, and you learn a great deal... continue

Fides sola est quae justificat; fides quae justificat non est sola. Latinisms can have a wonderful way of crystallising issues in theological reflection - so with this one: 'It is faith alone that justifies; but faith that justifies is never alone!'... continue

Having been away on holiday for a week (yes, delightful, thank you for asking), I return to find that things continue much as they were, except that Mark Jones has joined Team Reformation21, and Paul has allowed him to write... continue

(I first posted this about two years ago, but it seems germane, so I am going over the ground again.)Consider the man born into a family of terrorists. The man's father had rebelled against the King of the kingdom in... continue

Thanks to Carl (sort of) for the Introduction. But the man he speaks about is not me, I promise. I have lots of friends on Facebook, but do plan to purge some of the less trustworthy ones. I hope to... continue

I have benefited from reading the comments on the wide variety of blogs that have picked up the discussion between Tullian Tchividjian and me on the subject of total depravity, the Christian, and the doctrine of sanctification.  In some respects,... continue

Been following the Wright/Schreiner/Thielman exchange over justification at ETS last week in Atlanta?   Among the many good points from Tom Schreiner's criticism is the challenge to Wright's insistence on making justification an ecclesiological issue and not a soteriological one, to... continue

Well, how did I miss that? Scott Clark already had an excellent post on the subject. Here. At any rate, astute ref21 readers will have already correctly put their finger on the Pope's crucial ambiguity. What does he mean when... continue

Well, Joseph Alois Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) preached an interesting sermon back in November, on Paul and justification. I've had a number of inquiries about it. Here's an English translation. Carl, I'd love to hear your assessment. In one portion, he... continue

Paul Helm has a new post online, looking at John Piper's The Future of Justification. Here is his summary:The first is to draw attention to what I believe is one of the most significant methodological points that Piper makes, but... continue