Justification

One of the most striking and comforting expressions in the Scriptures is that God justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5). Nonetheless, this statement creates a theological conundrum of sorts and has led in part some Reformed theologians, including puritans, to at least suggest if not advocate a subtle...
I have been calling attention to the Puritans’ high view of good works in a number of past posts. If I could read my readers’ minds, quite a tale could be told. Undoubtedly, reactions would range from disbelief to delight to disgust. Then I got to thinkin’ that it might be helpful to know the...
In my last article I discussed that the puritans believed that good works are more than the fruit of faith, justification and salvation in that they are the way to eternal life and an antecedent condition of glorification. The minority of puritans labelled as "antinomians" not only rejected this...
While denying the Roman Catholic doctrine that love is the life and soul of justifying faith, John Ball (1585-1640) strenuously affirmed that justifying faith cannot be without love. Faith and love are distinct graces which are “infused together” by the Holy Spirt at regeneration and “the exercise...
"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 in the blank. And not without reason...
Several years ago a controversy erupted concerning the doctrine of sanctification. One of the key participants emphasized that Christian obedience is “faith-fueled.” This important point, of course, was not in itself controversial and was wholeheartedly affirmed by everyone involved as far as I...
Mark McDowell
During the sixteenth century there were many religious colloquies involving Protestant and Roman Catholic theologians. These all sought the elusive goal of a religious settlement that would enable both sides to coexist in a united church. The most famous of these colloquies took place at Regensburg...
Mark McDowell
During the sixteenth century there were many religious colloquies involving Protestant and Roman Catholic theologians. These all sought the elusive goal of a religious settlement that would enable both sides to coexist in a united church. The most famous of these colloquies took place at Regensburg...
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 "false teacher" is to say they are...
Garry Williams
This is the fourth and final article in Garry Williams' series on the Church & the World. To read the first, please find the first here , the second here and the third here ~ the Editor My first article began with the observation that Satan ambitiously aims to attack the church at the very...