As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
The classical doctrine of God has fallen on hard times in some evangelical circles. In this article, I’m specifically thinking of the doctrine of impassibility.1 The Westminster Confession of Faith says God is without “passions.”2 Robert Reymond explains that doesn’t mean God is an immobile stone; he surely empathizes with human grief and suffering.
“He believed the Church when it taught that a believing sinner received the grace of justification through the sacraments as he did his part to cooperate and become righteous. And this is what kept tripping Luther up – his part was never good enough.” - Ref 21
“Governor Cuomo’s pronouncement is shocking. He didn’t merely avoid referring to God. The governor denied that God had anything to do with easing this crisis. Is this naïve? Or skeptical? Or foolish? Only God and the governor know for sure, but God knows how to humble the proud.” - P&D
“…unlike so many other scholars, [author Olivier Roy] emphasizes the difference between Lutheranism (which, with its doctrine of the Two Kingdoms and vocation is ‘self-secularizing,’ giving religious significance to the secular realm) and Calvinism (which tends to seek Christian rule of the secular order).
“…the good old doctrine of justification has been opposed for about thirty years now. Its primary contender is the New Perspective on Paul or the New Perspective on first century Judaism, whichever moniker you prefer ….advocates of the New Perspective believe that Luther and Calvin (not to mention those in their wake) committed the hermeneutical error of eisegesis.” - Ref 21
“Many of us would be helped in our preaching of the gospel by not just preaching the simple (though true) propositions of substitutionary atonement and justification by faith alone, but by re-embracing the epic of the Bible, placing those things in their proper place in the grand storyline. … But …” - 9 Marks
Read the series.
I want to begin with two more quotes from Beacham. I should say first that I think his article is an excellent presentation of Option 1. On page 22 of his paper he states:
I know Romans would probably lead the pack if we included longer epistles in our choice list, but we are not.
We all have our favorites. Feel free to share WHY you made the choice you did.
Poll Results
What is your favorite SHORTER New Testament Epistle?
The book “invites readers around the world to stand on the solid Rock, who is Jesus Christ, in whom our souls can be sustained by the sovereign God who ordains, governs, and reigns over all things to accomplish his wise and good purposes for those who trust in him.” - Crossway
“Tyndale House Publishers, a Christian publisher based in Carol Stream, Illinois, saw a considerable increase in their Bible sales last month compared to March 2019. This includes their Life Application Study Bible sales going up 44% and sales of the Immerse Bible going up 60%” - CPost
Discussion