If you have read the “When the Fork Floats” thread, this is a follow on to that, particularly the comments. This is what I am doing with the ordo, and for FV critics, it constitutes what I believe to be an unanswerable problem for them. I have said before in this space that the ordo …
When the Fork Floats
In the discussion over at Greenbaggins, one of the FV critics said something important. I responded to it there, but I want to amplify my response here. This is what he said: “We are not justified by a dead faith. We are not justified by a living faith, either. We have a living faith because …
Put Law and Gospel into a Story
I want to take a brief point I made in the comments section over at Greenbaggins and amplify it. The FV treatment of law and gospel creates the question of how “the law” relates to us as Christians in the course of our Christian lives. And so of course we hold that the law convicts …
Our Little Reformed Contretemps
Thanks to Randy Booth, who supplied me with some interesting quotes on general and special election from Calvin. Here, then, a twofold class of sons presents itself to us, in the Church; for since the whole body of the people is gathered together into the fold of God, by one and the same voice, all …
Some Bayly Questions
As I have said before, I respect the Bayly brothers highly, and have appreciated the integrity of their conduct in the whole FV flap, despite our obvious differences. Please take a moment to read this.
Call It a Shadow Ordo
The Westminster Standards say that non-elect covenant members partake of “common operations of the Spirit.” Calvin consistently speaks of general election and special election. Now when some in the FV have used ordo words like regeneration and applied them to those who are not of the special elect, the response from the FV critics has …
So Confusing. I Don”t Want to Pay Attention to the Adjectives.
A friend brought our attention to Calvin’s commentary on Acts 3:25, where he says, “And so, although the common election be not effectual in all, yet may it set open a gate for the special elect.” The rot is spreading. Somebody needs to bring charges, and soon. What would the charge be exactly? Well, it …
By Popular Request
In the comments in the previous post, there were a couple of requests for me to amplify just a tad. So here goes. The NPP wants to say that Second Temple Judaism was fundamentally a religion of grace, contra those folks who tend to see it as a first century version of the monkish merit-mongering …
Two Kinds of Blamelessness
In a recent conversation with a friend about the New Perspective on Paul, we were talking about the center of Sanders’ contribution to that school of thought, the point which N.T. Wright regards as “settled.” This is not to say that Wright agrees with Sanders on everything, of course, and you may insert all manner …
A Passing Cat by the Ears
It would be nice if we could work through the questions surrounding the FV without all the heat and acrimony that some are generating. But it is kind of like discipling kids. Paul says (Gal. 6:1) that if anyone is overtaken in a trespass, the one who is spiritual should correct him, considering his own …