Parallels between Baxter and Wright on Justification

Earlier this month I posted a link to Paul Helm’s first of three analyses prompted by John Piper’s The Future of Justification.  He has recently posted the second analysis in which he draws nine comparisons between Richard Baxter’s account of justification and N.T Wright’s with special attention on double justification.  I have linked Analysis 14 and 15 below. 

Analysis 14 – Which Comes First?

Analysis 15 – Baxter’s Soup and Wright’s Soap

You Might be a Calvinist if….

Funny stuff from Tominthebox. Check out the list here.

(HT: Z)

Free Audio Books

I don’t own any audio books nor have I ever been through any but I have actually started considering to go through some to try it out. One reason is that my eyes can sometimes easily tire after a lot of reading. Audio books have the potential to give your eyes a break while still satisfying your mind. Noel Piper has pointed out an incredible resource for audio books ranging anywhere from Kant to Plato. One great deal is that it is FREE. You can also volunteer to read if you’re interested.  Click here to be directed to LibriVox.

LibriVox’s fundamental principles:

* Librivox is a non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project
* Librivox donates its recordings to the public domain
* Librivox is powered by volunteers
* Librivox maintains a loose and open structure
* Librivox welcomes all volunteers from across the globe, in all languages

(HT: DG Blog)

Justification is Infinitely Important

Reynolds On Greed

Greed is not a popular topic in America but is rank with it from the prosperity gospel to sales exploits.  John Mark Reynolds writes on the dangers of greed at Scriptorium Daily.  Not surprisingly enough our hearts are tainted with it.

Reynolds writes:

Greed is Hell’s parody of love. Like an email offer for Nigerian riches, it looks good at first, but is a dangerous fraud. Greed takes desire and worships it.

Desire is not love, but only a sign of love. It points to a lack, as Plato would put it to a poverty of spirit, but it is not the thing itself. Those that base their lives on greed are like children who become so fascinated with the sign into Disneyland that they miss the park. Worse, they become ill tempered when the sign disappoints them. A sign promises great things, but is not the great thing. Desire offers hope for happiness, but is not happiness.

The greedy man mistakes the sign for the thing promised and is bitter when the promise goes unfulfilled.

Because his desire is unfulfilled, the greedy man always wants “more.” Money keeps “score.” Possessions are a sign of “victory.” At first, he scarcely notices that the score is for a meaningless game or that his victory comes with a hideous cost. He will lash out when his god, some little idol of his ambition, fails.

He also writes:

In Sacred Scriptures, a frequent part of the prophet’s call was to rebuke the greedy. This rebuke was to the rich and the poor. It plays no favorites, because the destructive error of greed knows no class distinctions. The poor man who wastes his family’s wealth on lottery tickets out of greed for gain is no better personally and does as much harm to his soul as the rich woman who lies in order to “sell more product.” Since the societal harm is greater from the rich and the powerful is greater, and the temptation to be greedy for their praise greater, the Christian will often emphasize the misdeeds of the great. . . but the problem is not the greatness, but the greed.

Read the whole thing

“The Gospel in All Its Forms”

Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC has written an excellent article in the Leadership Journal’s Spring 2008 edition. In this article he discusses a couple criticisms of the traditional gospel template:

A generation ago evangelicals agreed on “the simple gospel”: (1) God made you and wants to have a relationship with you, (2) but your sin separates you from God. (3) Jesus took the punishment your sins deserved, (4) so if you repent from sins and trust in him for your salvation, you will be forgiven, justified, and accepted freely by grace, and indwelt with his Spirit until you die and go to heaven.

There are today at least two major criticisms of this simple formulation. Many say that it is too individualistic, that Christ’s salvation is not so much to bring individual happiness as to bring peace, justice, and a new creation. A second criticism is that there is no one “simple gospel” because “everything is contextual” and the Bible itself contains many gospel presentations that exist in tension with each other.

He later attempts to explain how to integrate the various forms of the gospel in your preaching. To see how he expounds on each of these read the whole article.

1. I don’t put all the gospel points into any one gospel presentation.

2. I use both a gospel for the “circumcised” and for the “uncircumcised.”

3. I use both a “kingdom” and an “eternal life” gospel.

4. I use them all and let each group overhear me preaching to the others.

(HT: Scott Hodge)