Fear and Trembling

See here and here for summaries of the Tabletalk Issue dealing with the teaching of N. T. Wright. [2/6/10]  See more links and info. on Wright and justification in general  here.

Thanks to Cranach: The Blog of Veith for the link to the article here . Here’s an excerpt from an article written by a Chinese who was willing to go to prison as a consequence of the article. Please be aware that the Olympic Games will be held in a country where there are no elections, no freedom of religion, no independent courts, no independent trade unions; where demonstrations and strikes are prohibited; where torture and discrimination are supported by a sophisticated system of secret police; where the government encourages the violation of human rights and dignity, and is not willing to undertake any of its international obligations. Please consider whether the Olympic Games should coexist with religious persecution[,] labor camps, modern slavery, identity discrimination, secret police and crimes against humanity. As the Beijing Olympics slogan says, we live in "one world" with "one dream." We hope that one day the Chinese people will be able to share univers...

I have spent many hours contemplating the relationship between faith and works. I have found it difficult to establish this relationship in my mind. Christ often speaks in such a way as to warn us that works are the basis of our judgment before Him (e. g. Matthew 16:24-26 and Matthew 25 ). Jesus also speaks of the fact that we are justified by faith ( Luke 18:9-14 , John 5:24 , 6:47 ). I have found one illustration to be helpful to me, and I have come to the place where I accept the truth behind the illustration completely. I am taking this example from a series of lectures by John H. Gerstner on sale from Ligonier Ministries here . Another example of Gerstner’s writing on this subject is here . The relationship between faith and works in church history can be summarized by three equations: FAITH + WORKS = SALVATION FAITH – WORKS = SALVATION FAITH = SALVATION + WORKS I’ll take these in turn. FAITH + WORKS = SALVATION This is a summary of the traditional Roman Catholic approach. ...

I found the article here regarding the New Perspective on Paul by M. S. Horton to be very helpful.

Keith Mathison in this month’s TableTalk magazine weighs in on the controversy surrounding N. T. Wright’s interpretation of the atonement: “…Wright argues that the church has misunderstood the doctrine of justification for centuries. Justification, he argues, does not deal with how one becomes a Christian. instead it is a declaration that one is already a Christian. Also, according to Wright, justification does not involve the imputation of Christ’s righteousness because such an idea is nonsensical. Furthermore, our future justification is based on our whole life, or as Wright says, on the basis of our “works.” This future verdict, based on works, is received in the present by faith. The reason for the controversy should be evident.” [“When Wright Is Wrong,” Keith A. Mathison, in Tabletalk, Ligonier Ministries, January 2008, p. 74-75.] He goes on to recommend a book by John Piper called The Future of Justification . I am working my way through it now, and I find it helpful. It applies ...