A Necessary Distinction by Jim Butler (via Sola Scriptura)

It imperative that Christians understand and distinguish the doctrines of justification and sanctification.

The doctrines of justification and sanctification are both necessary components of the Christian faith.  There is no such thing as a justified but unsanctified sinner and no such thing as a sanctified but unjustified sinner.  Both are essential.  There is, however, a tendency in the church to confuse the doctrines, to combine the doctrines, and to fail to recognize the distinction between the two.  Justification is concerned with Christ’s work fo … Read More

via Sola Scriptura

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Horton, Wingren, and Luther on Working for Your Neighbor

I finally finished reading The Law is Not of Faith yesterday. In the volume’s final essay, “Obedience is Better than Sacrifice,” Michael Horton endeavors to show the importance of the doctrine of the imputation of Christ’s active obedience. Although not exactly his primary point, I found the following passage particularly interesting (emphasis in bold is mine):

“No longer paralyzed by anxiety in a debt economy [since Christ has paid our debt -PTMcW] we are free to live imperfectly yet joyfully in the eucharistic economy, between Christ’s finished work and our final glorification. We are no longer debtors to God in any respect — not even to his grace, but are grateful heirs. For this first time, we can render obedience that comes from the heart of sons rather than slaves. In Christ, the Great King finally has received the human service in which his fatherly heart delights. And the whole creation will enter with thanksgiving behind its new Adam (Rom. 8:18-24).

A Response to J.I. Packer on the “Two Tones” of Faith

In the course of an ongoing conversation with a good friend concerning so-called “Lordship Salvation,” my friend pointed me to a blog entry posted by Justin Taylor. The post quotes renowned Reformed Anglican J.I. Packer, in a discussion of the “two-tone” nature of Christian faith. My friend was interested to see my response. After finally having the chance to read the post, here are my thoughts:

The object of the Christian faith, Packer writes, is threefold:

first, God the Three-in-One, the Creator-become-Redeemer, who throughout history has been, and still is, transforming sinners into a new humanity in Christ;
second, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate and Saviour, now absent from us in the flesh but personally and powerfully present with us through the Holy Spirit; and
third, the many invitations, promises, commands and assurances that the Father and the Son extend to all who will receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and become his disciples, living henceforth by his teaching in his fellowship under his authority.

Packer is confused about the nature of generic faith, which leads to confusion about Christian (or “saving”) faith. If we want to get technical, the “object” of any faith must be a proposition, or set of propositions. Only propositions have truth value (either true or false), and thus only propositions can be believed.