Theology / Justification

  • Faith Alone by J.V. Fesko

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2012

    In 1647, a group of Reformed pastors and theologians meeting at Westminster Abbey in London completed a set of documents we now know as the Westminster Standards, which include the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The …Read More

  • Jesus: The Only Savior by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2012

    I cannot imagine an affirmation that would meet with more resistance from contemporary Westerners than the one Paul makes in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man …Read More

  • The Price of Our Redemption by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2011

    The story is told of Abraham Lincoln, who went down to the slave block and there noticed a young black girl up for auction. Moved with compassion, he bid and won her. Upon purchasing her, Lincoln told the disbelieving young …Read More

  • Justified by His Blood by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

    Have you ever wondered why God loves you and desires you in His eternal blessed presence? Have you ever contemplated (seriously) why God would look favorably on you and bless you rather than condemn you? Most of us (dare I …Read More

  • Justification by Death? by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2010

    In the sixteenth century, Christendom underwent one of the most extensive and serious schisms in its history. The chief article that caused the controversy to end in division was the doctrine of justification by faith alone. The Protestant Reformation was …Read More

  • Making Molehills Out of Mountains by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2010

    The crisis regarding the doctrine of justification that provoked the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century has not yet been resolved. Thus, the Reformation is by no means over. The dispute over justification that split the church back then threatens …Read More

  • The “Nonsense” of Justifying the Ungodly by David Mathis

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    There are at least three problems with N.T. Wright’s claim that imputing God’s righteousness to a defendant is a category mistake and “makes no sense.” First, Wright’s definition of the righteousness of God is too shallow …Read More

  • “Faith” and “Faithfulness” by D.A. Carson

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    The Greek word pistis can mean, in English translation, both “faith” and “faithfulness”; no one disputes that fact (for the latter, see Rom. 3:3). N.T. Wright, however, takes two steps that cannot be fairly evaluated without understanding how …Read More

  • “Works of the Law” in Paul by J.V. Fesko

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    The definition of Paul’s phrase “works of the law” is one of the more significant disagreements between N.T. Wright and the Reformation understanding of justification by faith alone. On what basis can Wright claim that Paul does not …Read More

  • Justification and Ecumenism by Michael Horton

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    One of the great connections that N.T. Wright emphasizes in his work is the one between soteriology (how we are saved) and ecclesiology (the church: who are the true people of God?). He properly (and repeatedly) reminds us that …Read More

  • Has the Church Misunderstood Justification? by Guy Waters

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    For all their differences concerning the doctrine of justification, Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church have agreed on this: justification fundamentally concerns the salvation of the sinner. To draw this observation is not, of course, to minimize the importance of …Read More

  • A New Luther? by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    The accusation that systematic theology (doctrinal formulations of the Reformation period in particular) overly governs (distorts) exegesis is not new, and Bishop N.T. Wright trots it out with renewed zeal in his latest book, Justification: God’s Plan and …Read More

  • Two Birds, One Stone by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    When error comes into the church we face a set of obligations. First, we must confront the error. The world has embraced a live-and-let-live relativism that will accept any foolishness, but will not accept the wisdom of calling foolishness by …Read More

  • Salvation and the Life After Life by Paul Helm

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    How do we estimate what a person is primarily interested in? Perhaps by seeing how often they return to the subject, or what they mention on important occasions. And perhaps, also, by the manner in which people write about things …Read More

  • Christ, Our Righteousness by Roger Nicole

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    N.T. Wright in his advocacy of a “new perspective” on Paul and his teaching makes a special plea that “justification” should relate to the question “who belongs to God’s covenant with the world?” rather than “how can you …Read More