For ACT3 Forum Attenders, and Anyone Else

Here is an article for ACT3 Forum attenders on James 2:14-26 to ponder. In light of Professor Norman Shepherd's lectures on November 1-3, last week, reflect upon and critique "Faith without Works does not count before God! James 214-26" by Professor Thorwald Lorenzen of Rüschlikon, Switzerland. To read the article for free, during the month of November, you will need to register here first.

To whet your interest, here are a few lines from the author's concluding remarks.

The Exegesis has shown beyond doubt that James is very critical of faith alone and insists that works are necessary for salvation. This raises many problems. Has James departed from the Pauline and Protestant emphasis that salvation comes by faith alone? If this is so, should this have consequences for the canonical status of James? What does it say about theology and preaching as such if two authors at different times and in different situations can say things which are apparently contradictory?

TRSBU, Not Read or, Not Understood By Some Readers?

Particular Redemption, The New Perspective, and More with John Piper (and Bruce Ware!)
By: Dr. John Piper 3/1/2007

John Piper offers his thoughts on the New Perspective and other prominent topics today. He also briefly interacts with Bruce Ware on the extent of the atonement.

At 108:20 a question is asked of John Piper concerning my beliefs that justification is fundamentally eschatological in orientation. Given the response, one may reasonably wonder if he has read The Race Set Before Us. It seems quite reasonable, given Mark Dever's question, that he has likely not read The Race Set Before Us.

HT: JC

What do I mean when I say that justification is fundamentally eschatological? What do I mean when I say that justification fundamentally derives its character from the Last Day?

For answers, look here and here.

Briefly put, justification is fundamentally eschatological or fundamentally derives its character from the Last Day because justification is fundamentally and inherently forensic in nature. Justification has to do with judgment. Justification is God's verdict of "not guilty," "acquitted," and "declared righteous" from God's judgment seat in the Last Day. Must we wait until the Last Day to hear God's verdict? Of course not. Why not? This is because God's Son, has brought forward God's verdict of judgment from the Last Day into this Present Evil Age. This is the good news, that God has already rendered his Last Day judgment over everyone who is in Christ Jesus. Likewise, as justification is already issued to all who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 5:1), so also, condemnation, God's Last Day verdict over all who do not believe in Jesus Christ, is already spoken over them, too (John 3:18).

Think of the court room. There is no waiting for God's verdict. God's verdict is in. The verdict is in because God has issued his Last Day verdict of judment in Jesus Christ. This is what the gospel, the good news, is about; it is God's Last Day verdict announced already in the proclamation of Jesus Christ.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God (John 3:17-21).

Does this subvert assurance? No! Absolutely not! Rather, belief in Jesus Christ is inseparable from and integral to assurance that when I stand to be judged in the Last Day, I shall stand acquitted. Already, I am confident and assured that I shall stand acquitted in the Last Day.