The next critical book on Federal Vision, due out soon, is By Faith Alone, edited by Gary Johnson and Guy Waters. I have it on order, but there has apparently been some delay according to the good folks at Amazon. The current plan is to review it thoroughly in this space. By “review it” I …
The Bubble Bath of Orthodoxy
Scott Clark is at it again on his blog, and since he disabled the comments feature there, it is not possible for me to comment in that venue. So I will comment in this one. My comments are bold. “How I am redeemed from all my sins and misery.” The Heidelberg Catechism was written not …
One Last Thing
Not a lot of complaints about the last essay in this volume, a chapter on justification and pastoral counseling by Dennis Johnson. Like some of the the others, this chapter was just great also, with a sub-standard federal-visiony footnote jury-rigged into the argument. Like I said, not a lot of complaints about the text proper. …
Stuff I Heard in the Hallways
The next chapter in CJ&PM (should’ve done that before) is by Julius Kim and is entitled “The Rise of Moralism in Seventeenth-Century Anglican Preaching.” What might this have to do with the current federal vision controversy? Well, nothing, but that doesn’t keep it from being a fine and instructive article. A very good article, in …
Do This and Live, or Live and Do This
The next chapter by Scott Clark begins oddly, but the latter part is just a standard discussion of the law/gospel issues. First the oddity. We have heard a great deal about how the gospel itself is under attack in this controversy. This is because certain settled Reformed shibboleths have been pronounced funny, and anyone who …
Recapitulation Drives Out Grace
The next two essays in Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry are by Hywel Jones, and are tightly related, and so I will treat them together. As with Robert Godfrey’s contribution, there is not a lot to disagree with here. The bulk of what is written here is good, sturdy Reformed stuff. At the same time, …
The Screaming Moralistic Fantods
Taking one thing with another, Robert Godfrey’s contribution to Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry was really quite good. Entitled “Faith Formed by Love or Faith Alone?” Godfrey summarizes the original Reformed response to the medieval definition of faith (made complete and salvific when formed by love), and discusses the grounding of the Protestant response in …
Story Telling as Subversion
Story telling is a subversive activity. Every culture, every society, has a story to tell of itself. Idolatrous societies tell stories that vindicate their idols, presenting them in the best possible light. You, as Christians, will always be allowed to worship as you please, just so long as you do not do anything to subvert …
Take the Grilled Cheese Sandwich Away
The next chapter in Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry is by Scott Clark, and is entitled “Do This and Live.” In it he argues for the active obedience of Christ as (an essential part of) the ground of our justification. Okay, I agree with that. So how hard could this be? But alas. On p. …
Not Nearly Scrupulous Enough
God pronounces a blessing for those who do not lean on their own understanding. Of course, in one sense, our own understanding is the only thing we have. The proverb does not mean that God somehow requires us to think with someone else’s mind, to look out at the world with someone else’s eyes. This …