In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul wrote, “And we ought to give thanks to God for you brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you (to be) the first fruits1 unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and in faith of the . . . Continue reading →
“Produce fruit worthy of repentance” ( “ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας”) these were the words of John the Baptizer to the many Pharisees and Sadducees “coming unto (the) baptism” (Matt 3:7). John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He . . . Continue reading →
“[T]his double justification doctrine (initial justification by faith alone, followed by a second justification according to works in the eschatological judgment) is re-emerging as a “consensus position” among today’s leading evangelical and Reformed biblical theologians. Rich Lusk, “The Reformed Doctrine of Justification . . . Continue reading →
John Piper, Foreword to Daniel Fuller, Law and Gospel: Contrast or Continuum? (1980) (HT: Pat Abendroth)
As I mentioned in an earlier post in Romans 2:13 Paul writes, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (ESV).1 The chapter begins with matter . . . Continue reading →
John Piper, “Does God Really Save Us By Faith Alone?” (September 25, 2017)
In the American criminal justice system, for many charges, after one has been arrested and booked (photographed for a “mug shot,” fingerprinted, and paperwork completed) one goes to jail to await a preliminary hearing and after that a trial of the charge. . . . Continue reading →
If final justification is dependent on something we have to complete it is not possible to enjoy assurance of salvation. For then, theologically, final justification is contingent and uncertain, and it is impossible for anyone (apart from special revelation, Rome conceded) to . . . Continue reading →
…Then “the books” (that is, the consciences) will be opened, and the dead will be judged according to the things they did in the world, whether good or evil. Indeed, all people will give account of all the idle words they have . . . Continue reading →
52. What comfort is it to you, that Christ “shall come to judge the living and the dead”? That in all my sorrows and persecutions, with uplifted head, I look for the very same one, who before offered Himself for me to . . . Continue reading →
Q. 83. Does it give any delight to our conscience that Christ will one day be the judge of the world? A. Indeed singular delight. For we know assuredly that he will come only for our salvation. Q. 84. We should not . . . Continue reading →
Hence arises a wonderful consolation: that we perceive judgment to be in the hands of him who has already destined us to share with him the honor of judging [cf. Matt. 19:28]! Far indeed is he from mounting his judgment seat to . . . Continue reading →
170 Q. You are not saying, then, that good works are useless? A. They do not serve to make us right with God, either wholly or in part, but they do serve this purpose: after we have been freely and graciously justified . . . Continue reading →
Vers. 13. (For not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified.) Reas. 3. Especially intended against the Jews, who according to the rule of Righteousness, cannot be accounted for Righteous before . . . Continue reading →
II. However, we must premise here that God, the just Judge (dikaiokritēn), cannot pronounce anyone just and give him a right to life except on the ground of some perfect righteousness which has a necessary connection with life; but that righteousness is . . . Continue reading →
Verse. 13 For * ‖ not the hearers of the Law are just with God: but the doers of the Law ‖ shall be justified. RHEM. 5. [ 13. Not the hearers] This same sentence agreeable also to Christs words (Mat, 7. . . . Continue reading →
13. For ties this in with the preceding and explains it. Those who hear the law reminds us of the circumstances of the day. People did not normally read for themselves (the scribe was a member of a skilled profession). They heard . . . Continue reading →
We turn now at last to Romans. The first occurrence of ἔργα νόμου is in 3:20: διότι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, διὰ γὰρ νόμου ἐπίγνωσις ἁμαρτίας. Dunn explains ἔργα νόμου here as meaning quite specifically those observances . . . Continue reading →
VIII. Although our justification will be fully declared on the last day (our good works also being brought forward as the sign and proof its truth, Mt. 25:34–40), still falsely would anyone maintain from this a twofold gospel justification—one from faith in . . . Continue reading →