Category – Justification

Dennis E. Johnson Professor of Practical Theology The biblical truth of justification—that God declares guilty lawbreakers forgiven and right in his sight by his grace alone, on the ground of Jesus’ blood and righteousness alone, as they trust Christ alone—has enormous ramifications for pastoral ministry. Martin Luther’s spiritual anguish, his…
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R. Scott Clark Professor of Church History & Historical Theology Perhaps the first post-Apostolic use of the New Testament verb “to justify” (δικαιόω) occurs in 1 Clement, written just after 100 AD to the same Corinthian congregation to whom Paul had written half a century earlier. There is no claim…
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S. M. Baugh Professor of New Testament One does not often think of Hebrews when it comes to the doctrine of justification—we normally go right to Paul’s writings. But Hebrews actually contains much teaching that contributes significantly to the broader doctrine of justification by faith alone. There are many ways…
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J. V. Fesko Academic Dean & Professor of Systematic Theology & Historical Theology In the highly individualistic age in which we live, few embrace the idea that we can be held accountable for the actions of others. But the Bible paints a very different picture. The Bible teaches us that…
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Bryan D. Estelle Professor of Old Testament “We are situated as Abraham was; we are called upon to believe in the Almighty God.” 1 The way in which Charles Hodge expressed justification in the Old Testament (OT) seems like a strange way of putting things. Usually we tend to express the…
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WSC's latest faculty publication comes from Dr. Fesko. He's written an essay entitled, "Reformed Orthodoxy on Imputation: Active and Passive Justification." The essay is part of a special edition of the academic journal, Perichoresis. This special edition of the journal celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by examining contemporary perspectives…
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Reformed Christians affirm without hesitation that the doctrine of justification is the article of faith by which the church stands or falls. Although the oft-cited comment is attributed to Martin Luther, it was actually the Reformed theologian, J. H. Alsted (1588-1638), who first put these words to paper–no doubt echoing…
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  Last time, we looked at the difference between glosses and word meanings. A gloss is an English word substitute and is of concern primarily to translators, while meaning is a brief description of a word’s referent. I illustrated this difference with some rather simple nouns, but now let’s look…
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