Imperatives are for Preaching...

Now that Kevin DeYoung has weighed in quite effectively on the most recent flap over the justification/sanctification debate I suppose any words from me would be superfluous. However, I am a preacher so silence is not an option. But given DeYoung's excellent post I have greatly altered what I had originally written.

Like many others, I was thankful for Jen Wilkin's recent post over at TGC entitled "Failure Is Not a Virtue." She expresses appropriate concern over what she calls "celebratory failurism" - the tendency to excuse our sins by casting them as means by which we experience more grace. Tullian Tchividjian fired back with a strongly worded response accusing Wilkin of muddy theology and confusing theological categories. Dr. Michael Kruger responded with understandable dismay given the fact that Pastor Tchividjian never actually responds to Wilkin's article and even accuses her of assertions she did not make. To Dr. Kruger's response (are you following this?) Pastor Tchividjian did not yield the point but dug in by asserting that he knows of no one guilty of "celebratory failurism." I actually have seen quite a bit of it. Jared Oliphint effectively pushes back on Pastor Tchividjian's objection. But I digress.   Continue at Todd Pruitt

Galatians, Gospel Indicatives, and Gospel Imperatives

At last week’s 9Marks @Southeastern conference, our conference host and seminary president Dr. Danny Akin delivered an overview sermon on the entire book of Galatians.  Get this: the sermon had two major divisions with 42 subpoints!  Don’t try this at home kids!

Essentially, Akin walked us through the book of Galatians commenting on the 29 indicative statements Paul makes about the gospel and the 13 imperatives that flow from them.  If you’ve been following the blog discussion of the relationship between indicatives and imperatives then you might be interested in this talk and the panel that followed.  Akin makes it plain that out of the “done” (indicatives) there flows a “do” (imperatives).

For those that are curious, here are the 29 gospel indicatives and 13 gospel imperatives Akin highlighted:

29 Indicatives
1. The gospel is rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1).

2. The gospel delivers us from the present evil age to the glory of Christ (1:3-5).

3. There is only one gospel and to desert it is to be damned (1:6-9).

4. The gospel is ours by divine revelation and not human imagination (1:10-12).

5. The gospel is grounded in a gracious election (1:15).

6. The gospel is constantly in danger of being lost and needs to be defended (2:4-5).

7. The gospel that saves Gentiles is the same gospel that saves Jews (2:7-9).

8. There are ethical imperatives that follow the gospel (2:11) and no ethnic distinctions in the gospel (2:12-14).

9. The gospel is good news that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works of the Law (2:15-16).

10. Through the gospel, we are identified with Christ and His work on the cross (2:20).   Read the all HERE

"Don't Give me Doctrine, I Just Want to Follow Jesus"

When someone says, "Don't give me doctrine, I just want to follow Jesus", what they are really saying is "give me law, not gospel. Give me more imperatives and less indicatives. I just want something practical." But how is this any different than Mormons or theological liberals? Fact is, we need a Savior, not just a moral example.

You could not have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ without knowing its contents. You did not just follow a generic Jesus. To be saved you understood that you had no self righteousness of your own and you trusted in Christ's finished work... which included His living the life you should have lived and dying the death you deserved. This is doctrine. The idea of simply "following Jesus" is requiring more demands of the law because you are looking for Jesus to tell you something you can do. But you need the gospel, not merely law, to be saved or to grow in grace. Indeed following Jesus springs out of a renewed heart. As Christians we only follow Jesus when we know Who we are following and as such we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily.

The Spirit first first brings an elect soul face to face with God’s holy Law, for “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). It condemns and curses him because it demands perfect obedience in thought, word, and deed. Next, the Spirit brings before the soul the precious Gospel where the law's demands are perfectly met by Jesus Christ. The Spirit so works in his heart that He appears to him to be the most glorious object in the world; and so rests entirely upon His finished work.     Keep Reading...

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Indicatives and imperatives

Justin Taylor has provided a helpful set of links to the ongoing discussions between William Evans and Sean Lucas at Reformation21 and Kevin DeYoung and Tullian Tchividjian at the Gospel Coalition. Having made reference to a couple of these before, being persuaded of how important the issues are, and therefore having an ongoing interest in the matter, I thought others might appreciate following the discussion. Taylor summarises:

William B. Evans and Sean Michael Lucas have been engaged in a profitable discussion over at Reformation 21 on sanctification and the gospel. Here are their exchanges:

• Evans, Sanctification and the Nature of the Gospel
• Lucas, A Rejoinder on Sanctification and the Gospel
• Evans, Sanctification and the Gospel: A Surrejoinder to Sean Lucas
• Lucas, A Concluding Contribution on Sanctification and the Gospel
• Evans, A Question of Balance? Some Final Comments on Sanctification and the Role of the Law

Rick Phillips also added a helpful and important post summarizing seven assertions about the relationship between justification and sanctification.

As I’ve mentioned before, Kevin DeYoung and Tullian Tchividjian have been engaged in a longer—though less direct—discussion addressing similar issues:

• DeYoung, Make Every Effort
• Tchividjian, Work Hard! But in Which Direction?
• DeYoung, Gospel-Driven Effort
• Tchividjian, First Things First
• DeYoung, Glorying in Indicatives and Insisting on Imperatives
• Tchividjian, Deconstructing Moralism

The Wanderer

Promise-Driven Commission