Many factors contributed to the Protestant Reformation, but one of the most significant was the debate over the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In fact, Martin Luther argued that justification is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. This comprehensive volume of 26 essays from a host of scholars explores the doctrine of justification from the lenses of history, the Bible, theology, and pastoral practice—revealing the enduring significance of this pillar of Protestant theology.
Many factors contributed to the Protestant Reformation, but one of the most significant was the debate over the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In fact, Martin Luther argued that justification is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. This comprehensive volume of 26 essays from a host of scholars explores the doctrine of justification from the lenses of history, the Bible, theology, and pastoral practice—revealing the enduring significance of this pillar of Protestant theology.
The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls (Foreword by D. A. Carson): Justification in Biblical, Theological, Historical, and Pastoral Perspective
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The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls (Foreword by D. A. Carson): Justification in Biblical, Theological, Historical, and Pastoral Perspective
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Overview
Many factors contributed to the Protestant Reformation, but one of the most significant was the debate over the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In fact, Martin Luther argued that justification is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. This comprehensive volume of 26 essays from a host of scholars explores the doctrine of justification from the lenses of history, the Bible, theology, and pastoral practice—revealing the enduring significance of this pillar of Protestant theology.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781433555442 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Crossway |
| Publication date: | 03/14/2019 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 912 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine and the host of the Credo Podcast. He is the author of several books, including None Greater; 40 Questions About Salvation; God’s Word Alone; and Owen on the Christian Life. He is the editor of The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls and Reformation Theology.
D. A. Carson (PhD, Cambridge University) is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is a cofounder and theologian-at-large of the Gospel Coalition and has written and edited nearly two hundred books. He and his wife, Joy, have two children and live in the north suburbs of Chicago.
Gerald Bray (DLitt, University of Paris-Sorbonne) is research professor at Beeson Divinity School and director of research for the Latimer Trust. He is a prolific writer and has authored or edited numerous books, including The Doctrine of God; Biblical Interpretation; and God Is Love.
Chris Castaldo (PhD, London School of Theology) is the lead pastor at New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is the author of Talking with Catholics about the Gospel and coauthor of The Unfinished Reformation.
Leonardo De Chirico is professor of historical theology at Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione in Padova, Italy, and pastor, at Breccia di Roma. He is the author of Evangelical Theological Perspectives on Post-Vatican II Roman and A Christian's Pocket Guide to the Papacy.
J. V. Fesko (PhD, University of Aberdeen, Scotland) is the Harriet Barbour Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He was the pastor of Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Woodstock, Georgia, for ten years. J. V. lives in Escondido, California, with his wife, Anneke, and their three children.
Jason C. Meyer (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor at Urban Refuge Church in Minneapolis. He is the author of Preaching: A Biblical Theology and a commentary on Philippians in the ESV Expository Commentary.
Andrew David Naselli (PhD, Bob Jones University; PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of systematic theology and New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis. He is planting Christ the King Church in Stillwater, Minnesota.
Sam Storms (PhD, University of Texas at Dallas) is the founder and president of Enjoying God Ministries and serves on the council of the Gospel Coalition. Sam served as visiting associate professor of theology at Wheaton College and is a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is the author or editor of 37 books and blogs regularly at SamStorms.org. Sam and his wife, Ann, are the parents of two daughters and grandparents of four.
Mark D. Thompson (DPhil, University of Oxford) is the principal of Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia, where he has been teaching Christian doctrine for thirty years. He is the chair of the Sydney Diocesan Doctrine Commission and a member of the GAFCON Theological Resource Group. He is the author of A Clear and Present Word. Mark is married to Kathryn, and they have four daughters.
David VanDrunen (PhD, Loyola University Chicago) is the Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido, California.
Willem A. VanGemeren is director of the Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies program and professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
Stephen J. Wellum (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. Stephen and his wife, Karen, have five adult children.
Brian J. Vickers (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament interpretation and biblical theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the assistant editor of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He is actively involved in leading short-term mission trips and teaching overseas. He is also a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Institute for Biblical Research.
R. Lucas Stamps (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian studies at the Clamp Divinity School of Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina. He serves as an executive director for the Center for Baptist Renewal, a fellow for the Research Institute of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and a senior fellow for the Center for Ancient Christian Studies.
Bruce Baugus (PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is associate professor of philosophy and theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He serves as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is the editor of China’s Reforming Churches: Mission, Polity, and Ministry in the Next Christendom.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
"He Believed the Lord"
The Pedigree of Justification in the Pentateuch
Stephen Dempster
It is indisputable that the Pauline doctrine of justification is grounded in a reading of the Old Testament. The apostle did not create the doctrine ex nihilo. As with other doctrines formulated by New Testament authors, they have their start in Genesis if not in other parts of Israel's Scriptures. These sacred writings gave Paul common ground with his theological opponents. They never argued over the fact of their authority or their extent, but they did argue about their interpretation.
Paul uses a number of texts in seeking to prove his doctrine that God justifies the wicked through faith in Christ. But the most important for him is Genesis 15:6, where we read these words: "He [Abram] believed in the Lord, and he reckoned/credited it to him for righteousness." Paul cites this verse three times (Rom. 4:3, 22; Gal. 3:6; cf. Rom. 4:9), and it provides the conceptual substructure for his discussion of faith, grace, works, and law. In fact, one commentator's statement could be viewed as representative of many: "For Paul this Old Testament verse is the classic passage for justification by faith alone apart from the works of the law." And another is not far off the same mark: "Genesis 15:6 is the hermeneutical key for Paul's reading of Abraham's story, and the one act of Abraham that Paul ever emphasizes is Abraham's faith." Still another scholar in no way understates the significance of this verse: "No other Old Testament text has exercised such a compelling influence on the New Testament."
It is often mentioned in this discussion that James uses the same text to prove that with God justification is by works, not by faith (James 2:23), a distinctive early Christian perspective that seems to directly contradict Paul's view. A significant number of modern scholars would agree that Paul has essentially distorted the meaning of Genesis 15:6 in the interest of his view of justification by faith. Reinhard Feldmeier and Hermann Spieckermann write in their magisterial God of the Living, "Neither does God make Abraham just, nor does Abraham effect anything for other people through his faith." Another commentator states explicitly, "The verse [Gen. 15:6] has no relation to the dogma of 'justification by faith.'" Paul thus reads this verse "through Christian glasses." James Barr, ever the contrarian, argues that
the most prominent example of Christianizing [the Old Testament] ... lies in the conception of justification by faith. ... Justification by faith is, among the convictions that Christian Old Testament theologians have most often held, the one where they have been most reluctant to give up the "Christianizing" of the Hebrew Bible.
Part of Barr's argument is that the entire doctrine may be based on a mistranslation of the Hebrew of Genesis 15:610 and that another "correct" translation has developed somewhat of a following and provides "a new perspective" on this Old Testament text.
Along with Barr's criticism coming from a Christian direction in Old Testament studies, another comes from a more Jewish angle. In an important essay, Jon Levenson criticizes the traditional Christian reading as exemplified in Gerhard von Rad's exegesis of Genesis 15:6. He argues that such a reading privileges a part of the narrative and is essentially in conflict with another part, Genesis 26:5, where it states that Abraham kept the law — that is, Abraham had established a reservoir of merit through his good deeds and was therefore justified in God's sight. Von Rad thus is accused of taking 15:6 in "isolation from the rest of the Abraham material in the Hebrew Bible and indeed from the Hebrew Bible itself." Thus, we have two types of interpretation, "a Pauline type which takes the verse in isolation and insists on the autonomy of faith and a Philonic type, in which faith and the observance of commandments are each predicated of Abraham on the basis of texts in Genesis." Indeed, this "rabbinic" view has received further support from Walter Moberly, who argues that, contrary to von Rad, the best way to interpret Genesis 15 is through the lens of another text, Psalm 106:30–31, where Phinehas is credited with righteousness as a reward for his act of zeal on behalf of Yahweh. Thus, Abram's faith is more about his faithfulness than his faith, more about obedience than any one act of faith, and this provides a solid basis for this text to be understood in line with the rabbinic doctrine of merit. Thus, Moberly accounts for a significant Jewish strand of interpretation that connects Abram's faith in Genesis 15 with his act of obedience in Genesis 22. While Moberly still believes that the Pauline understanding has a place at the interpretive table, it is only one option.
In light of these concerns, this essay seeks to examine the evidence afresh and explore this influential text to determine its meaning and significance within the Pentateuch.
The Significance of Genesis 15
Genesis 15 is a pivotal text in the Abraham story, and of course, the Abraham narrative is crucial for the book of Genesis and the Torah as a whole, because it is the first of the so-called patriarchal narratives, which describe the beginning of the nation of Israel. This chapter contains the first account that formalizes the divine-human relationship between Abram and God in the form of a covenant, it is the first major dialogue that takes place between these two "partners," and it is in this text that Abram for the first time speaks directly with God. Before this time, he has heard the word of God and simply obeyed, but now for the first time he actually addresses God. From a narrative point of view, the first time that a speaker talks in a story is often considered revelatory of the person and his or her state of mind and is extremely significant for the events as they unfold. God is the first speaker in Genesis, and his words are "Let there be light!" (1:3). The serpent's first words are "Has God really said ...?" (3:1). Cain's first words are "Am I my brother's keeper?" (4:9). In this text, Abram, the prospective father of the nation of Israel, speaks his first words to God, and they reveal an anxious state of mind that has been bothering him for some time (15:2–3), and his second word to God, a year before Isaac will be born, amplifies this anxiety (17:17–18). So, obviously, this text is a critical one in the Abraham story.
Moreover, in this text there are some significant differences from the surrounding context. It is the first example in the Abraham narrative where the author uses asyndeton to indicate a major break in the flow (15:1 begins without a conjunction), and the text contains another example at the ending of the episode (15:18), which functions to explain what happened in this particular section. This text in a sense functions as an important transition marker in the narrative. Before this time, the narrative has focused explicitly on the promise of land. This text formalizes that promise with a covenant and a divine oath that secures the future land for Abraham's descendants, but it also introduces the theme of the next chapters that focus on seed and concludes with another divine oath securing the future for the seed. Unlike many of the narratives in Genesis, chapter 15 contains explicit theological reflection, or narrative explanation. The events in the story are not just left to explain themselves, as one finds in many of the stories of the patriarchs; the narrator provides commentary: "This means that ..." Moreover, here appear the only reference to faith and righteousness in the Torah and the first mention of the Abrahamic covenant, both of which become important themes in the Scriptures. Furthermore, in this text the writer is aware of the remainder of the Pentateuch, as there is a prophecy of the nascent Israel's descent into Egypt, an allusion to the burning bush, and predictions of the liberation from Egypt and even the conquest of Canaan (Gen. 15:13–16)! Moberly's comments in no way understate the significance of Genesis 15: "Genesis xv gives the impression of being the fullest and most formal portrayal of Yahweh's commitment to Israel (both people and land) in the whole Abraham cycle, a portrayal of unusual and imaginatively suggestive character."
The Abraham Narrative in the Torah
In the larger story of the Torah, the patriarchal narratives, of which the Abraham story is the first, "are set within the framework of the primaeval history on the one side (Gen 1–11), and the establishment of the nation [of Israel] on the other [Ex–Deut]." Abram has been called out of Mesopotamia by God (Gen. 12:1–3). He has been promised that he will become a great nation, receive a great name, and be blessed, as well as be a source of universal blessing. Those who bless Abram will in turn be blessed, and the one who curses him will be cursed. All this suggests that Abram and his future descendants are set on an unstoppable mission of universal blessing.
The syntax of Abram's call is straightforward: two imperatives to Abram followed by three promises each:
Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land I will show you.
I will make of you a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great. (12:1–2a)
Be a blessing —
I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse the one who curses you,
All the families of the earth will be blessed in you. (12:2b–3)
Thus, there are two distinct sections, each introduced by an imperative followed by a trio of verbs. The first trio emphasizes becoming a great nation, and the second stresses a role among the nations, culminating in the mother of all blessings — blessing for the entire world. In other words, the promise to Abram reaches its goal "when it includes all the families of the earth."
These two sections anticipate two "panels" in the Abraham narrative, the first one focusing on land and concluding with a covenant in response to the patriarch's great faith (12:4–15:21) and the second one focusing on descendants and the patriarch's great act of obedience (16:1–22:23). Moreover, the beginning of the Abraham narrative is echoed near the end of the story, when his second call, to offer his son as a holocaust offering, uses the same language of divine demand as his first call, to depart Mesopotamia (Genesis 22). These are the only times this linguistic construction occurs in the Bible, and thus it provides bookends for the Abraham story. Thus, the first divine call commands the patriarch to give up his past, represented by three descriptors: country, kindred, and father's house (12:1). The second call asks him to give up his future and raises the stakes with four descriptors of Abraham's miracle heir: your son, your only son, the one whom you love, Isaac (22:2). Significantly, the second call reemphasizes that Abraham's descendants will be the means of universal blessing, this time because of Abraham's obedience (cf. 12:3; 22:18).
This call to personal and universal blessing at the beginning and ending of the Abraham story, of course, is set against the backdrop of a world gone awry. The world in fact lies under curse and not under blessing. The pristine world of harmony and goodness that was created for the first human couple to thrive in and be blessed has turned into a world of sin, death, and alienation. The stunning world of harmony and wonder whose goodness filled God's vision with delight has become a horror show that tears apart the divine heart as he sees his creation being violated. Adam and Eve have sinned and been sent into exile from the garden (3:23–24), Cain has killed his brother and been exiled (4:10–16), and the flood has "exiled" a sinful human race from existence (Genesis 6–9). Even after the flood, the human community en masse has revolted by seeking to storm heaven and make a name for itself, and it has in turn been exiled from that location and scattered across the face of the earth (11:8–9). In each example, with the exception of the last, God has shown grace — in providing clothes for the first couple and giving them a promise, in providing Cain with a mark of protection, in saving Noah and his family and the creatures of the earth in an ark. And this salvation is because Noah, the tenth generation from Adam, is clearly a righteous person (6:9; 7:1). Because of this righteousness, God has made a covenant with all creation.
Righteousness is absolutely central to covenant and creation, and without it the created order cannot continue. Yet it is clear that after the flood and the covenant with Noah, nothing has changed in terms of the general human condition. Humanity is as evil after the flood as it was before, although Noah, the world's savior, is righteous (6:5–8; 8:21; see also 6:9; 7:1). Although God promises that he will never destroy the world by flood again, humans continue to rebel, the paradigmatic example being the Tower of Babel, where the building of this huge tower is a gargantuan expression of human hubris to make a name for itself (11:1–9). Yet even here, God disperses the builders of the tower across the face of the earth. In many of these cases, God has been concerned with "damage control." But it is with Abram that God makes a significant new start, moving beyond "damage control" to decisively restore the lost conditions of Paradise and reverse the curses of Adam.
Whereas the presence of curse has been explicitly mentioned five times in the narrative of Genesis 3–11 (3:14, 17; 4:11; 5:29; 9:25), with the call of Abram in 12:2–3, blessing appears in a rapid-fire succession of phrases, in fact, five times. Moreover, the promise of universal blessing is repeated another four times in the narrative of Genesis (18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14), matching the fivefold blessing in 12:2–3! Against a context of death and disorder, God decisively blesses Abram; against a backdrop of people questing for fame and glory in the construction of a tower, Abram will receive a great name; against a backstory of exile and alienation, Abram is going to get land and become a great nation; against the dark canvas of a world that has descended once again to being [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] (1:2: "without form and void" [KJV]; "formless and empty" [NIV]; "a formless void" [NRSV]), God is going to shine his light of universal blessing through Abram.
But it is extremely significant that as Noah represented the tenth generation from Adam, Abram is the tenth from Noah. Noah's righteousness saved not the world of his time but only his own family and the animals, but it is said of Abram that through him all the families of the earth will be blessed — not just one. Yet as the story unfolds, nothing is heard about Abram's righteousness, nor about a covenant. Not only do the questions about Abram's progeny and possession of the land drive the narrative forward to seek an answer, but also do the closely related questions of righteousness and covenant. Prior to his call, given the context, it can be assumed that Abram can be classed as unrighteous just as everyone else was, with the exception of Noah in the distant past, with whom a covenant with creation had been made. Although he is never called "unrighteous," that is a clear implication of his backstory. But if he is to be the savior of the world in a far greater sense than Noah, will God work differently now because of the problem of sin? What about another covenant, and what about righteousness? The reader must wait to hear the answers to these questions.
As the story unfolds, Abraham experiences many trials. His journey to the land of Canaan is derailed in Haran for a while until after his father dies (11:31–32). When he arrives at his destination in Canaan, it is occupied byCanaanites, and the promises of land and nationhood seem a remote reality. To make matters worse, as soon as he enters the land, he makes a hasty exit because of a severe famine (12:6, 10–20). In fact, the only land that Abram will personally own in Canaan will be a graveyard for his wife, purchased for an outrageous sum of money (Genesis 23). The delay in land possession requires an explanation.
Moreover, "the facts on the ground" about future progeny for the future patriarch and matriarch are not auspicious either. Their biological clocks are ticking. They are not getting any younger. Abram was called at the age of seventy-five, and his wife was sixty-five, with no prospect of an heir, except perhaps Lot, Abram's nephew, and he has now departed (13:12–13). And although Abram rescues him from Mesopotamian armies, Lot returns to Sodom (Genesis 14; 19). Now — perhaps a decade after Abram's initial call — there has been no progress in fulfillment. If the promise of receiving land seems a bit of a stretch, the prospect of descendants and becoming a great nation is doubly so. Later it will seem ludicrous and laughable, as Sarai's womb is considered "dead" at the age of eighty-nine; the aged couple then will laugh incredulously at the reiteration of the divine promise (17:17; 18:12).
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Matthew Barrett.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations,
Foreword D. A. Carson,
Abbreviations,
Introduction The Foolishness of Justification Matthew Barrett,
Part One JUSTIFICATION IN BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE,
1 "He Believed the Lord" The Pedigree of Justification in the Pentateuch Stephen Dempster,
2 Singing and Living Justification by Faith Alone The Psalms and the Wisdom Literature Allan Harman,
3 Salvation Is the Lord's Prophetic Perspectives Willem A. VanGemeren,
4 Setting the Record Straight Second Temple Judaism and Works Righteousness Robert J. Cara,
5 What Does Justification Have to Do with the Gospels Brian Vickers,
6 The Righteous God Righteously Righteouses the Unrighteous Justification according to Romans Andrew David Naselli,
7 By Grace You Have Been Saved through Faith Justification in the Pauline Epistles Brandon Crowe,
8 An Epistle of Straw? Reconciling James and Paul Dan McCartney,
9 The New Quest for Paul A Critique of the New Perspective on Paul Timo Laato,
10 What's Next Justification after the New Perspective David A. Shaw,
Part Two JUSTIFICATION IN THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE,
11 "Behold, the Lamb of God" Theology Proper and the Inseparability of Penal-Substitutionary Atonement from Forensic Justification and Imputation Stephen J. Wellum,
12 Raised for Our Justification The Christological, Covenantal, Forensic, and Eschatological Contours of an Ambiguous Relationship Matthew Barrett,
13 The Theology of Justification by Faith The Theological Case for Sola Fide Mark Thompson,
14 The Passive and Active Obedience of Christ Retrieving a Biblical Distinction Brandon Crowe,
15 A Contested Union Union with Christ and the Justification Debate David VanDrunen,
16 Faith Works Properly Understanding the Relationship between Justification and Sanctification R. Lucas Stamps,
17 Justification, the Law, and the New Covenant Jason Meyer,
Part Three JUSTIFICATION IN CHURCH HISTORY,
18 Reformation Invention or Historic Orthodoxy? Justification in the Fathers Gerald Bray,
19 The Evolution of Justification Justification in the Medieval Traditions Nick Needham,
20 Can This Bird Fly? The Reformation as Reaction to the Via Moderna's Covenantal, Voluntarist Justification Theology Matthew Barrett,
21 The First and Chief Article Luther's Discovery of Sola Fide and Its Controversial Reception in Lutheranism Korey Maas,
22 The Ground of Religion Justification according to the Reformed Tradition J. V. Fesko,
23 Not by Faith Alone? An Analysis of the Roman Catholic Doctrine of Justification from Trent to theJoint Declaration Leonardo De Chirico,
24 The Eclipse of Justification Justification during the Enlightenment and Post-Enlightenment Eras Bruce P. Baugus,
Part Four JUSTIFICATION IN PASTORAL PRACTICE,
25 Justification and Conversion Attractions and Repulsions to Rome Chris Castaldo,
26 The Ground on Which We Stand The Necessity of Justification for Pastoral Ministry Sam Storms,
Contributors,
General Index,
Scripture Index,