Tag Archives: justification

Review: Steinmetz, Luther in Context

Posted on July 12, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Background Biel:  God has established a covenant and promises to give saving grace to everyone who meets the terms of the covenant (6).   Staupitz: Only God can make God dear to sinners (9). Luther and Augustine on Romans 9 … Continue reading →

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Review: Horton, Covenant and Salvation

Posted on July 12, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Horton attempts to give a full-orbed defense of Reformed soteriology, utilizing current scholarship, identifying potential weaknesses, and communicating this in a new and cogent manner. And he has largely succeeded. Similar to other projects, Horton places salvation within a covenantal … Continue reading →

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The Economy of the Covenants (Witsius)

Posted on July 1, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

This is the classic statement of Covenant Theology at the end of the 17th Century.  Witsius steers an irenic course between Voetsius and Cocceius. The first volume deals with Covenant Theology proper while the second volume analyzes the various types … Continue reading →

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Review: Buchanan, Justification

Posted on June 1, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

While dated in some respects, this volume has outstanding discussions of several knotty problems.  The first section is an historical overview.  The real value of that is in the post-Reformation discussions (especially relating to the church of England).  A few … Continue reading →

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Review: Delivered from the Elements

Posted on March 15, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

My earlier notes here.  A potential problem with Leithart is that most people who read him either “join his camp” or “attack his camp.” I don’t want to do either. I actually think the book is quite good.  It has … Continue reading →

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Notes on Leithart’s Delivered from the Elements

Posted on March 14, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

I clean this up in a book review later.  This review is neither an endorsement nor a critique of Leithart.  It’s simply looking at scholarship in NT studies.  Full stop. Main idea: the fundamental physics of every society consists of … Continue reading →

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Review: Puritan Theology (Beeke and Jones)

Posted on August 7, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

Beeke, Joel.  and Jones, Mark.  Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life.  Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books. This is one of those “game-changer” books.  Beeke provides decades of pastoral reflection from the Puritans (and admittedly, there is a lot of repetition) … Continue reading →

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Bahnsen on Shepherd on Justification

Posted on July 12, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

This is from his tape set on Calvin’s Institutes.  I think it is tape GB449b. “I think [this] is rather convoluted. Let me very briefly point out, some people will say James can’t mean the word justify in a forensic … Continue reading →

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A justification musing

Posted on June 14, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

We often say that if you aren’t being accused of antinomianism, then you aren’t preaching justification rightly.  True, but something else struck me:  in Galatians Paul links his doctrine of justification as opposed to the physics of the old creation … Continue reading →

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Notes on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on grace

Posted on January 9, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

Obviously, this is not a full endorsement. Can we know God without grace? The act of the intellect depends upon God in two ways: it has its form by which it acts from God Preparing the human will The preparation … Continue reading →

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