tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28113006.post115509493903341573..comments2023-07-13T08:48:47.109-05:00Comments on The Race Set Before Us: Is Our Faith the Basis of Our Justification before God?abcanedayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13671418539630398806noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28113006.post-1155149886659871942006-08-09T13:58:00.000-05:002006-08-09T13:58:00.000-05:00Nick,I'm sorry, I actually missed the first commen...Nick,<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry, I actually missed the first commentary portion on Romans 4: 1-5. Find it <A HREF="http://crosstalking.blogspot.com/2005/07/comments-on-romans-41-5.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>.abcanedayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13671418539630398806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28113006.post-1155149698224980632006-08-09T13:54:00.000-05:002006-08-09T13:54:00.000-05:00Nick,Have you seen the blog that Tim Porter and I ...Nick,<BR/><BR/>Have you seen the blog that Tim Porter and I share? We call it <A HREF="http://crosstalking.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">CrossTalk</A>. Tim and I have been working our way through Romans. He writes comments on each passage and then I offer further comments. Tim has been stalled for a few months because of a number of ministry demands. So, we've been stuck in Romans 5 for awhile.<BR/><BR/>You may find my commentary on each portion of Romans 4, <A HREF="http://crosstalking.blogspot.com/2005/07/comments-on-romans-46-8.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> and <A HREF="http://crosstalking.blogspot.com/2005/08/comments-on-romans-49-12.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> and <A HREF="http://crosstalking.blogspot.com/2005/09/comments-on-romans-413-16.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> and <A HREF="http://crosstalking.blogspot.com/2005/10/comments-on-romans-417-25.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> in sequence.<BR/><BR/>I believe that I address your "burning question" in those commentary notes. If not, please let me know.abcanedayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13671418539630398806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28113006.post-1155143153775249032006-08-09T12:05:00.000-05:002006-08-09T12:05:00.000-05:00Thanks for this, Dr. Caneday. It is a good challe...Thanks for this, Dr. Caneday. It is a good challenge to keep a Christ-centered perspective on justification--our being united to him in his death and resurrection being the true foundation, and faith only connects me to this, and obedience is only the expression of this and outworking of this reality experientially in my life. I know I need to be more careful in how I talk about the role of faith in these things.<BR/><BR/>However, I do have one burning question (only because you bring it up!)...what exactly ought we to make of the references to Abraham's justification/being counted righteous at several various times in his life? Every answer I have heard to this, from any view, has always seemed a bit weak and begging the question. Thanks!Nick Nowalkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16801028847236395038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28113006.post-1155131893677541642006-08-09T08:58:00.000-05:002006-08-09T08:58:00.000-05:00Adam,Thanks for raising the question. I would thin...Adam,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for raising the question. I would think that others might ask the same question.<BR/><BR/>The difference between what Gathercole and Piper have stated and what Tom and I state in <I>The Race Set Before Us</I> may seem trivial, inconsequential, and nitpicking, but I believe it is actually quite enormous. Gathercole and Piper both expressly say something that is quite sloppy, theologically consequential, but forgivable. They both speak of our being <B><I>"justified on the basis of faith."</I></B> In other words, they both lapse into using an expression wrongly that the Refomers and they themselves have strenuously fought and currently fight over which properly used should only be employed with reference to the <I><B>ground</I></B> or <I><B>basis</I></B> of our justification before God, namely the accomplished work of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23-26).<BR/><BR/>When theologians get sloppy and say that we are <B><I>"justified on the basis of our faith"</I></B>, they confound the very theological point that they are so vigorously defending, on the one hand, and opposing, on the other. John Piper and Simon Gathercole are correct to make the case that justification before God is not based in our deeds but in Christ alone. Why, then, after clarifying the water of theological dispute, do they muddy the water all over again by so poorly formulating their statements by saying that we are <B><I>"justified on the basis of our faith"</I></B>?<BR/><BR/>This brings me, then, to the portion you cite from <I>The Race Set Before Us</I>. Here it is, for quick reference: <I>"Though it is true that God has summoned us all to give account of ourselves (Rom 14:12), the Day of judgment has not yet arrived in which the eternal Judge will announce his verdict in keeping with our deeds, until that day, we now stand justified in God’s courtroom <B>by faith only</B>."</I> Observe that we do not confound the matter. When we speak of being <I>justified in God’s courtroom <B>by faith only</B></I>, we are not speaking of the ground of our justification, as does the expression, <B><I>"justified on the basis of our faith"</I></B>. We preserve the crucial distinction that Christian theologians have been historically careful to make, namely, the distinction between <I>the means</I> and <I>the ground</I>. Faith is not <I>the basis</I>. Faith is <I>the means</I> or <I>the instrument</I> by which justification before God becomes ours. Not one person who does not believe that God raised his Son from the dead will be justified. Belief, though completely indispensable, does not establish <I>the basis</I> of our justification. <I>The basis</I> of our justification before God is what Christ Jesus has accomplished on our behalf (Romans 3:23-26). God inflicted his wrath upon Christ Jesus in order that he might acquit me in his courtroom. He will not inflict his wrath upon me again, for he inflicted his wrath upon Christ on my behalf. Thus, Christ bore the penalty due to me; I receive acquittal (justification) from God that belongs to Christ who was raised on account of our justification (Romans 4:25). <BR/><BR/>This is <I>the basis</I> of my justification. I, however, must believe in order to be justified. My belief, of course, adds absolutely nothing to the ground of my justification, indispensable though belief is. Its indispensability, however, has nothing to do with the establishment of my justification. Belief is a necessary condition that the gospel requires for our justification before God. As a condition, what we mean is this, that belief must occur for justification to be present. Belief is like breathing. Breathing is a necessary condition for life to be present. Though we cannot live without our breathing, our breathing does not establish life. The establishment of life is owing entirely to God who gives it; our breathing is but a necessary instrument (not the only one) by which life is presently ours. As with our believing (Phil 1:29), our breathing is a gift from God no less than life itself is God's gift. Belief and justification are both gifts from God.<BR/><BR/>The way we formulate our theological expressions matters enormously. When those who argue against a poorly articulated doctrinal formulation concerning justification lapse into the same error as the one does whom they seek to correct, they need to be called on it. Consistency in our theological formulations is crucial. When we speak of justification, we need always to be diligent to distinguish between <I><B>the ground</I></B> or <I><B>the basis</I></B> of our justification and <I><B>the means</I></B> or <I><B>the instrument</I></B> by which justification becomes ours.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the question. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify.abcanedayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13671418539630398806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28113006.post-1155128022486344232006-08-09T07:53:00.000-05:002006-08-09T07:53:00.000-05:00I just read this the other day (I am reading your ...I just read this the other day (I am reading your book)! Thank you! <BR/><BR/>I have a question though. You and Tom said, <BR/><BR/>"Though it is true that God has summoned us all to give account of ourselves (Rom 14:12), the Day of judgment has not yet arrived in which the eternal Judge will announce his verdict in keeping with our deeds, until that day, we now stand justified in God’s courtroom <B>by faith only"</B><BR/><BR/>By saying we are justified by "faith only" are you not comitting the same error Gathercole and Piper did? Or is it even an error? <BR/><BR/>Just looking to clarify.Adam Omelianchukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02962074536479488859noreply@blogger.com