Engrafted Into Christ


Book Description

Catholics and Lutherans signed the Joint Declaration on Justification in 1999. This ecumenical agreement claims to resolve all church-dividing differences on justification without requiring doctrinal revision, a claim that Engrafted into Christ challenges with a twofold thesis. First, the historic disagreement over justification was substantial; thus, doctrinal revision is a sine qua non condition of rapprochement. Second, portions of the Declaration appear irreconcilable with Catholicism. A concluding series of original reflections illustrates the intelligibility of Catholic teaching, identifies a self-destructive element in «sola fide», and challenges structural elements of Lutheran theology. Experts as well as educated laypersons will be interested in this book.




One with Christ


Book Description

Foundational to believers' salvation is their union with Christ. In this accessible introduction, Johnson argues that this neglected doctrine is the lens through which all other facets of salvation should be understood.




Reading Paul's Letter to the Romans


Book Description

In this volume, leading scholars in the study of Romans invite students and nonspecialists to engage this text and thus come to a more complete understanding of both the letter and Paul’s theology. The contributors include interpreters with different understandings of Romans so that readers see a range of interpretations of central issues in the study of the text. Each essay includes a short review of different positions on a topic and an argument for the author’s position, set out in clear, nontechnical terms, making the volume an ideal classroom tool. The contributors are A. Andrew Das, James D. G. Dunn, Victor Paul Furnish, Joel B. Green, A. Katherine Grieb, Caroline Johnson Hodge, L. Ann Jervis, E. Elizabeth Johnson, Sylvia C. Keesmaat, Rodrigo J. Morales, Mark D. Nanos, Jerry L. Sumney, and Francis Watson.







ESV


Book Description

Combining the best and most recent evangelical Christian scholarship with the highly regarded ESV text, the ESV Study Bible is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published.




Union with Christ


Book Description

The Columbia Series in Reformed Theology represents a joint commitment on the part of Columbia Theological Seminary and Westminster John Knox Press to provide theological resources from the Reformed tradition for the church today. The Reformed tradition seeks to discern what the living God revealed in Scripture is saying and doing in every new time and situation. This series intends to be a part of that ongoing tradition by examining theological and ethical issues that confront church and society in our particular time and place. Volumes in this series are intended for scholars, professional theologians, and for pastors and lay people who are committed to faith in search of understanding.




The God I Don't Understand


Book Description

Many Christians believe that they have to understand everything about their faith for that faith to be genuine. This isn't true. There are many things we don't understand about God, His Word, and His works. And this is actually one of the greatest things about the Christian faith: that there are areas of mystery that lie beyond the keenest scholarship or even the most profound spiritual exercises. Sadly, for many people these problems raise so many questions and uncertainties that faith itself becomes a struggle. But questions, and even doubts, are part of faith. Chris Wright encourages us to face the limitations of our understanding and to acknowledge the pain and grief they can often cause. In The God I Don't Understand, he focuses on four of the most mysterious subjects in the Bible and reflects upon why it's important to ask questions without having to provide the answer: The problem of evil and suffering. The genocide of the Canaanites. The cross and the crucifixion. The end of the world. "However strongly we believe in divine revelation, we must acknowledge both that God has not revealed everything and that much of what he has revealed is not plain. It is because Dr. Wright confronts biblical problems with a combination of honesty and humility that I warmly commend this book." —John Stott




Calvin, Participation, and the Gift


Book Description

Is John Calvin's view of God coercive, leaving no place for the human in redemption? J. Todd Billings explores Calvin's theology of `participation in Christ', arguing that for Calvin grace fulfils nature. Billings reframes the critiques of Calvin in the Gift discussion, opening up new possibilities for contemporary theology as well.




The Christian's Union, Communion and Conformity to Jesus Christ In His Death and Resurrection


Book Description

This work is a biblical masterpiece on Romans 6:5, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Brinsley sets into view the Christian’s union and communion with, and conformity to, Jesus Christ. He shows that it is a union, communion and conformity applied to the believer in Christ’s death and resurrection. Believers are “planted together” with Christ in a mystical implantation; they are converted by faith in Him, have unity in Him, have a blessed communion in Him, while at the same time being nourished, show forth growth, bear fruit, and have sustenance through Christ’s Spirit. After establishing the union, communion and conformity believers have in Christ, he teaches how Christ’s death and resurrection apply to believers as they are grafted into the life-giving Root of the Savior. He covers how believers die to sin, what it means to mortify sin, and how to live in righteousness through the power of the resurrecting Spirit of Christ. Such a resurrection is not only first in this life through regeneration, but also the hope which Christians have in the blessed return of the Savior who will resurrect them ultimately in glory hereafter. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.




Living the Christian Life


Book Description

Real-life situations in today's world constantly challenge people, and the authors respond to these challenges by drawing upon the Reformed tradition to provide guidance for spiritual development. Includes practical suggestions, lesson plans and exercises, and recommendations for encouraging spiritual growth.