Good Works Necessary for Salvation?

Before making my move across the Tiber to Reformation21, I thought I’d offer some thoughts on a typically vexing question.

Having edited a book on the diversity of the Reformed tradition in the seventeenth century, I am fully aware of the places where there are differences of opinion among Reformed theologians. Some differences were significant; some were relatively insignificant. Anyone interested in those debates can check out, “Drawn into Controversie.” (I am also editing a companion volume for Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht on debates in the Long 18th century).

It never occurred to me, however, to include a debate on whether good works are necessary for salvation. Without wishing to commit the oft-made error, “all Reformed theologians say this…” – a good way to end one’s scholarly career – I will say that of all the Reformed theologians I have surveyed on the matter of good works, the vast majority affirmed that they are necessary for final salvation.    Continue at Mark Jones

The Mercy-Ministry Mandate: Stopping Short of Real Mercy

The current mercy ministry ideology was summarized in an article recently:

“Seeking holistic thriving helps us keep the created dignity of those we serve at the heart of our efforts—.” 

There it is! The preservation of the ‘created dignity’ of sinful man is not only deemed possible without calling men to repentance and faith, but is viewed as “the heart” of the church’s mission to the culture.  Instead of gospel-proclamation, the holistic thriving of society is advanced by scores of people who apparently no longer believe that man’s primary need is reconciliation with God.  Helping our communities achieve sociological and psychological wholeness seems the new definition of Christian compassion.   Continue at Jerry Wragg

God Doesn’t Need Your Good Works…But Your Neighbor Does

Pertinent to any discussion regarding justification and sanctification is the question of effort. In my recent back and forth with Rick Phillips on the nature of sin and its ongoing effect on the Christian, some have assumed that when I say there is no part of Christians that are sin free, I’m also endorsing a “why-even-try”, effortless approach to the Christian life–that I’m overlooking or understating the importance of “sanctification.” I suspect that one of the reasons for this is owing to my passion to help people understand the inseparable relationship between justification and sanctification. 

 Whether this was explicitly taught or implicitly caught, I grew up with the impression that when it comes to the Christian life, justification was step one and sanctification was step two and that once we get to step two there’s no reason to revisit step one. In my experience as a pastor, this is one of the reasons why it seems so new to people that the gospel is not just for non-Christian’s but for Christian’s too–that it doesn’t just ignite the Christian life, but fuels it as well. By giving people the impression that sanctification is progress beyond the initial step of justification, they have concluded that once God saves us (justification) he then moves us beyond his work into our work (sanctification). But justification and sanctification are both God’s work and while they can and must be distinguished, the Bible won’t let us separate them. Both are gifts of our union with Christ and within this double-blessing, justification is the root of sanctification and sanctification is the fruit of justification. Moralism happens when we separate the fruit from the root. Or, as I’ve said before, imperatives minus indicatives equal impossibilities. As G. C. Berkouwer said, “The heart of sanctification is the life which feeds on justification.” So, I think it’s fair to say that sanctification is the justified life.   Continue at Tullian Tchividjian

See also: The Problem with “Gospel-Centered” Sanctification

See also: Protecting a Gospel-Centered Culture in Your Church

Commending Good Works

How essential are “good works”—virtuous behavior growing out of one’s character, manifested in tangible form—in the course of justification? For many evangelicals, the idea of placing these terms in the same sentence (“good works” and “justification”) is problematic enough. Adjoining them in our preaching and discipleship would be dicey at best, if not patently provocative. Such a bold act might result in a late night invasion of one’s office in which elders and informed laymen examine your bookshelves to see whether its dark corners reveal titles by authors such as Wright, Hafemann, or Ratzinger. You don’t want that. 

In the following extract from Professor Tony Lane’s chapter, Justification: 

What’s at Stake in the Current Debates?, we learn why it is not only faithful to the Reformed tradition to insist on good works (even in the same sentence as “justification”), but it is the only pastorally responsible thing to do (yes, the pencil drawing is of Professor Lane, pleading with you to read Calvin’s Institutes and see these truths for yourself. Notice the dramatic position of his hands, which is how Englishmen express passion). 

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There is the good news of free grace but there is also the call to discipleship – not as an optional extra for the zealous but as part of the basic package. As someone once put it, the entrance fee for the Christian faith is nothing, but the annual subscription is everything. When we are in Christ we receive the free gift of justification but we also need to press on with the arduous task of sanctification. At different times one or other side of this tension has been lost. At times the church has lapsed into preaching cheap grace, as Bonhoeffer put it, and Christians have been shamefully indistinct from the ungodly. At other times the stress has been on the moral demands of Christian faith and the radical message of forgiveness has faded into the background.  Continue at Chris Castaldo

Are You Righteous?

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Ethical behaviorism is a term Psychologists use which defines righteousness exclusively in terms of what a person does or does not do. In this sense, a righteous person is one who does the right things and avoids the wrong things. An unrighteous person is one who does the wrong things and avoids the right things. Defined this way, righteousness is a quality that can be judged by an observation of someone’s behavior. Virtue and uprightness is purely a matter of outer conduct without any hint of what goes on inside you.

William Hordern illustrates well how this definition of righteousness is the definition held by the world:

The law enforcement institutions of society are concerned with right behavior. They do not care why people obey the law, so long as they obey it. The person who breaks no laws is righteous in their sight regardless of the motivation that produces law abiding behavior.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus breaks radically from this definition of righteousness. He cuts through the outer behavior of a person and looks at what’s in the heart. Jesus insists that righteousness is not simply a matter of what we do or don’t do but rather a question of why we do or don’t do it.

A few years ago when my boys were younger, they would gather all the neighborhood kids in our yard to play football. And every once in a while a pass would be overthrown, landing in my neighbors grass. My neighbor (an angry, grumpy, old curmudgeon) would always come outside and scream at my boys and their friends, threatening to confiscate the ball if it happened again. My boys, being young at the  time, would always come inside with tears in their eyes, lips quivering, because they were scared of our neighbor. Well, being the scrapper that I am, there were countless times that I wanted to march over to my neighbor and give him a piece of my mind. I wanted to make it clear that if he ever yelled at my boys again…well, you get the idea. I never did, though. I would stare him down from time to time, but I never went next door to let him have it. Some would assume that my refusal to let loose on my neighbor was an act of righteousness: I was exercising love, patience, self-control. But was it?  Keep Reading >>>

What are we Saying when we Cancel Church Services in Favor of Community Service?

Rick Warren is a masterful communicator. So, what is he endeavoring to communicate with his announcement that they are canceling the services at Saddleback Church this weekend so they can serve their neighbors?

According to The Christian Post:

“Good Neighbor Weekend” has been enthusiastically received by the majority of the 20,000 members at Saddleback Church in Orange County. Many have already signed-up online for acts of kindness, according to church officials.

Volunteer opportunities suggested and organized by church members include visiting severely disabled children in hospitals, serving breakfast to homeless and families living in motels, and helping families having members in the military stationed away from home with house chores.

Additionally, many more churchgoers will be reaching out to their neighbors in ways they’ve conceived themselves.

Did you catch that number? 20,000 people! That’s a lot of people.

Let’s think about this then in terms of pros and cons (concerns).  Keep Reading >>>