It has been suggested in recent years that the true sense of Rom 2:13 is that it intends to say that there are two stages to justification, an initial justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone and an alleged “final” justification (of which Scripture as understood by the Reformed confessions knows nothing) in which our “Spirit-wrought” sanctity will have a role. In this scheme God is supposed to recognize what is intrinsically true of us and declare us righteousness partly on the basis of Christ’s righteousness for us and partly on the basis of our inherent, Spirit-wrought sanctity. This quasi-Romanist view is being peddled as if it were Reformed. OPC pastor and WSC grad Joshua Martin dissents from this view and explains why here.
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R. Scott Clark
R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.
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Scott, I wasn’t kidding, obedient faith is not Sola Fide contrary to the FV notion. I’ve always like a lot of what Wilson has said regarding family and such, but after looking at the Anglican Articles more closely and what the FV men are saying about an obedient faith, I see a difference. From what I see, there is obedience involved, but it’s not ours, it’s Christ’s own obedience alone by which we rest in and our justified by faith only.
Thank you, Ken.
kenbrec
There is the Tridentine ‘fides per caritatem formata’ which runs along similar lines in terms of a potential justification as opposed to actual justification. Schaff has a good discussion in this three volume ‘Creeds’ -II,519-542.
R. Scott Clark, I’ve been looking historically at the Reformation and I can’t find the Latin Statement for “Obedient Faith alone”. Maybe you can help me, have you found such a statement in the Reformation? I’m just doing a little study on the Solas and FV myself.
Thanks,
Ken
P.S. I can only find Sola Fide so far…….
Ken,
I can’t tell if you’re facetious but just in case you’re not kidding (I can’t tell) the answer is that there was no such thing.
Lee Irons has a good paper on Rom 2:13 http://www.upper-register.com/papers/Rom213.pdf called “ROMANS 2:13: IS PAUL COHERENT?”