Justification
by Franciscus Junius; translated by Joshua Schendel The following is a translation of Franciscus Junius’s (1545–1602) De Fide Iustificante, a set of twelve theses over which Junius presided while they were publicly defended at Leiden University sometime in the 1590s. The text of this disputation is taken from Francisci Iunii Opuscula theologica selecta, ed. Abraham […]
The bad news, as Martin Luther continually reminded himself and others, is that I am a sinner. Inevitably, I intractably doubt, disregard, or dismiss God’s speaking to me from the pages of Holy Scripture, defying his will and demanding to go my own way. That, Luther knew, leads only to death. The good news is […]
A friend recently shared an image on social media showing the Disney cartoon villain Cruella de Vil, bloodshot eyes staring straight ahead, hands clutching the wheel of her infamous coupe, black-and-white hair waving wildly in the wind, oversized fur coat flapping behind—in a word, crazed. Over the image someone had typed: “Me trying to excel […]
A cursory comparison of the indices of any primary or secondary work on Eastern Orthodoxy and evangelicalism exposes an interesting contrast—in the Eastern Orthodox index, one will find such entries as chrismation, deification, energies of God, recapitulation, theosis, and the like, but notable absences will include original sin, grace, justification, sanctification, substitutionary atonement, and related […]
When our associate editor was in seminary, one of her professors used an illustration (seen to the right) to explain the popular perception of both Reformational and mainline Christians. It was meant to be a joke, and like all jokes, it was funny because there is a sense in which the caricature is true (on […]
In recent years, some evangelical scholars have been drawn to the traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox charge that the doctrine of justification taught by the Protestant Reformers is a novelty. Not quite. First, the Greek verb for “to justify” means to declare righteous, not to make righteous. It is often contrasted in its immediate […]
For a series of philosophical, theological, and practical reasons, the medieval church came gradually to think that our justification (that is, our acceptance by a righteous God) is progressive. What the confessional Reformed and Lutheran churches call sanctification (that is, our gradual conformity to Christ), the medieval church came to think of as justification. This […]
On October 15, 1555, bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned as Protestant heretics under the reign of Queen Mary. Shortly before they were murdered, Latimer said, “Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” Although […]
Let’s set the context, I promise you ”it’s not complex So far, Paul has been explaining why God’s vexed Mad at us, His wrath is Just, we lack trust Blasphemous, even though we know it’s hazardous Chapter one, verses eighteen to thirty-two He talked about our great schemes and the dirt we do He said […]
Modern Reformation editors wanted to take a look at how hip-hop artists are exploring the life and ministry of Christ in their work. We were privileged to chat with Shai Linne on justification, racial reconciliation, and Kanye West. Shai Linne has appeared on numerous independent and national Christian hip-hop releases, including his 2005 full-length debut, […]
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 Cor. 5:21) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus […]
Substitution is at the heart of the story of God’s people. Rather than staying removed far from his cursed creation, the Creator became one of us. God the Son became a son of Adam: living the life we could not live and dying the death we all deserved. This “Great Exchange” ”all of my sin […]
In the first scene of the first season of HBO's new sitcom Girls, Hannah (played by Lena Dunham) is out to dinner with her parents to be "let down easy" with regard to her postgraduate finances. After the last glass of wine is poured, her mother declares, "You graduated from college two years ago; we've […]
The following is a Reader’s Digest version of what led Martin Luther to the discovery of the gospel. It introduces Luther’s upbringing, education, and life as a monk before turning to the nature of the gospel he discovered in the writings of St. Paul. Luther’s Upbringing Luther was the second son in a family of […]
People grow weary of evangelicalism all the time, and in what follows we give ear to several ex-evangelicals as they tell their stories and give their reasons. Listening is an important aspect of apologetics. It’s important not to rush into a defense of the faith without knowing first what issues are at stake—not if we […]
