Trevin Wax Summarizes the Beliefs of John Piper and of N. T. Wright Concerning Justification

I am very pleased to see Trevin Wax's brief article finally published by Christianity Today. I commend this to everyone, for I know that Trevin worked hard to make sure that he accurately summarizes the beliefs of both John Piper and N. T. Wright. Once again, Trevin has done us all a wonderful service.

This past spring Trevin submitted his summary of John Piper's beliefs to John Piper and his summary of N. T. Wright's beliefs to N. T. Wright to have them independently assess and correct any elements within his summaries that were inaccurate, inadequate, or misdirecting. At the same time Trevin submitted his summaries of the two men's beliefs to several scholars that he trusts. Evidently he trusts me, for he sent his summaries to me for my assessment. I was happy to oblige Trevin. I made some crucial observations which some others made as well.

All in all, I believe that Trevin serves the church very well with his piece: The Justification Debate: A Primer--Two of the world's most prominent pastor-theologians on justification—and what difference it makes. John Piper and N.T. Wright, compiled by Trevin Wax.

As I read the piece at first and now again, in published form, I cannot let it pass without saying at least two positive things. First, I am struck by how much John Piper and N. T. Wright complement one another's expressions of beliefs. Each offers his own emphasis in each of the categories. Second, once again I am struck by how much overlap and agreement the two express. To be sure, there are differences, but the differences do not appear as enormous as when the two engage one another toe to toe, as in Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision and in The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright.

See also "Not An Academic Question" by Tevin Wax and Ted Olsen.