Richard Hays: Difficulties for contemporary Christian theology “Difficulties for contemporary Christian theology arise wherever acute awareness of continuity with Israel’s scripture is lost – whether unwittingly forfeited or deliberately rejected. Many Christian congregations today are in fact naïvely Marcionite in their theology and practice: in their worship services they have no Old Testament reading, or […]
Biddison: Conditions Precedent & Conditions Subsequent
“Since the creation of contract law within the English common law there have been the bookends of “conditions precedent” and “conditions subsequent.” Practically speaking, all contracts include conditions precedent, i.e., those conditions without whose satisfaction the contract is never consummated and its benefits are never realized. Likewise, virtually all contracts, once agreed to, include conditions […]
Goodwin: Works of Obedience Are Necessary to Salvation
“Works of new obedience are required as necessary to the possession of salvation [i.e. how we maintain it], but faith is that alone which puts us into a condition of having the title and right to it, by the blood and righteousness of Christ [i.e. how we gain it].” —Thomas Goodwin, The Works of Thomas […]
Quotable “Christian” Heresy
“My salvation rests solely in God’s faithfulness to me, not mine to Him. Sadly I am aware that at my best I fail miserably every day, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I’m saved having accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation through His death on a cross for my sins. I am […]
Priestly Activity of Worship
“The activity of Christians on the Lord’s Day is analogous to the activity of the priests on the Mosaic Sabbath; it is service to God in worship. It is this priestly activity of worship that has been transferred from the Sabbath to Sunday.” – Richard J Bauckham
Apostasy and Loss of Justification
“The reality of apostasy for real Christians (Heb 6:4-6, 10:26-30), means a justification that can be lost by real Christians (Gal 5:4).” (RSJ)
“Faithful interpretation” – R. Hayes
“Faithful interpretation of Scripture invites and presupposes participation in the community brought into being by God’s redemptive action – the church.” – R. Hayes
God’s Entire Counsel – Abraham Kuyper
“God’s entire counsel may be reduced to one thought, that in the end of the ages He may have a Church which shall understand His love and return it.” – Abraham Kuyper
The Obedience of Faith
This is from Don Garlington’s PHD dissertation: The Obedience Of Faith: “The (phrase) ‘obedience of faith’ is primarily a commitment to God’s covenant as embodied in the totality of the law of Moses; disobedience correspondingly, is predominately apostasy from the covenant. Because of this denotation of the ‘obedience of faith’ in Jewish theology, Paul’s phrase […]
Law/Gospel Dichotomy?
Dr Elmer Martens’ conclusion on Paul’s view of the Law in his essay, Embracing The Law: A Biblical Theological Perspective “Paul is fighting on two fronts: against those antinomians who hold that Christ’s coming abrogates law, and against super nationalists who maintain Jewish exclusivism on the basis of the law. So Paul can be heard […]