Paul's Passing Thoughts

Frank,

I saw your latest comment on WHI. You invited anybody that had questions to email you at this address frank@iturk.com. I may have misunderstood what you wrote in the comment, but it seems that you see the controversy at hand this way: “This is not a dire theological emergency.” Not that I think your original open letter was a definitive antinomian charge, as Horton apparently did, but I will ask the following question: how is progressive justification not antinomianism? How can there be any use of the law at all in sanctification if “the same gospel that saved us also sanctifies us”? Many respected teachers of the past such as JC Ryle called the combining of justification and sanctification antinomianism. I believe antinomianism is a “theological emergency.”

That’s my question, now perhaps you will allow me a comment concerning this statement: “As the person now listed as probably worse than Torquemada when it comes to the Reformed blogsophere….” That might be because of the following: the logical conclusion of their theology, if not directly stated, would question your salvation. Certainly, they would be offended by some lost guy calling their theology into question!

Let’s see if that might be the case. When you got saved, did you remain in the gospel, or did you move on to “something else”? What’s the “something else”? Tullian Tchividjian says the something else is the following:

“As I’ve said before, I once assumed (along with the vast majority of professing Christians) that the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that ‘the gospel isn’t the first step in a stairway of truths, but more like the hub in a wheel of truth.’ As Tim Keller explains it, the gospel isn’t simply the ABCs of Christianity, but the A-through-Z. The gospel doesn’t just ignite the Christian life; it’s the fuel that keeps Christians going every day. Once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it.”

So, the something else can be ANYTHING else but the gospel, which in this case is “deeper theological waters” as opposed to “move[ing] deeper into it” [the gospel]. If you do that (move on to something else), Michael Horton says you loose your sanctification AND your justification. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if we loose our justification, doesn’t that mean we’re lost? Here is what he said:

“Where we land on these issues is perhaps the most significant factor in how we approach our own faith and practice and communicate it to the world. If not only the unregenerate but the regenerate are always depen- dent at every moment on the free grace of God disclosed in the gospel, then nothing can raise those who are spiritually dead or continually give life to Christ’s flock but the Spirit working through the gospel. When this happens (not just once, but every time we encounter the gospel afresh), the Spirit progressively transforms us into Christ’s image. Start with Christ (that is, the gospel) and you get sanctification in the bargain; begin with Christ and move on to something else, and you lose both.”

Also, John Piper says that we (Christians) must make our battle (“our battle” must certainly pertain to sanctification) to only believe, not to perform as grounds for our justification (I thought we perform to please God and our justification is already settled, but I guess that’s just me). Here is what he said:

“All the good that God requires of the justified is the fruit of justification by faith alone, never the ground of justification. Let the battle of your life be there. The battle to believe. Not the battle to perform.”

Is that true? Is our only battle as Christians, a battle to believe?

Nevertheless, if you move deeper into the gospel everyday and haven’t moved on to anything else – your in good standing with the guys at WHI. And saved to boot!

paul