Tag: salvation
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FROM BIRMINGHAM, WITH LOVE: FEDERAL VISION POSTCARDS
FROM BIRMINGHAM, WITH LOVE: FEDERAL VISION POSTCARDS By Rich Lusk [This essay was originally published in the book A Faith That Is Never Alone, edited by Andrew Sandlin.] The book Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry (CJPM) is yet another frontal assault in the latest Reformed Civil War. According to the editor, Scott Clark, there is…
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The Reformed Doctrine of Justification by Works: Historical Survey and Emerging Consensus
[This essay was originally published in a festschrift for Norman Shepherd.] It is well known that the Protestant Reformation unearthed the glorious biblical truth of justification by faith alone. But it is not as well known that the early Calvinistic Reformers taught a “second justification”[1] by works, based on texts such as Mathew 25:31–46, 2…
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Circumcision, Baptism, and Colossians 2:11-12
What is the circumcision made without hands in Colossians 2? How does it relate to circumcision as the sign of the Abrahamic covenant? How does it relate to baptism? “[11] In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,…
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Thread on the Imputation of Christ’s Active Obedience
It’s time for a mega-thread on the doctrine of “the imputation of Christ’s active obedience” (IAO). The doctrine is spelled out in various ways by those who adhere to it, but basically it goes something like this: Christ’s actively obeyed the law, thus accumulating righteousness (or merit, on some formulations); that righteousness is then imputed…
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4/28/24 Sermon Follow-Up: Justification by (fill in the blank)
Justification by (fill in the blank). My sermon was based on the premise that justification is not just a Christian concern, but an innate human concern. All people operate out of a desire for justification — to be declared in the right, to be innocent, to be validated, to be vindicated. A great deal of human…
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