Many of you followers of Pastor Cooper’s work have expressed curiosity regarding Eastern Orthodoxy. While I am by no means an expert in the subject, I have had a longstanding interest in Eastern Christianity — an interest which at one time extended to serious inquiry and an interest in converting. It’s a topic which I have […]
Our lives are built around relationships. We have relationships with our parents, siblings, spouse, children, neighbors, co-workers, and many others. Among our different kinds of relationships in the world, there are two fundamental categories: our relationship with God, and our relationship with other human beings. These two different relationships define our life in this world, […]
Since the recent discussion has erupted over my book, some have attempted to see my Luther chapter as somehow an attempt to give an extensive treatment of Luther’s doctrine of justification. This relies on a misunderstanding of the purpose of the book. I will explain the reasons why this chapter was written, and exactly what […]
When I published my article “A Lutheran Response to Justification: Five Views,” (which can be found here) I was suspected by some of being guilty of the teaching of Osiander, which was condemned by the Formula of Concord. This is due to my adherence to certain themes of the Finnish interpretation of Luther; namely, that Luther’s soteriology […]
I have avoided getting into this debate because it becomes unnecessarily heated. However, I have been asked quite a few times about the issue since I made the announcement that I had come to the conclusion that UOJ is a valid Biblical concept. This is, in brief, my perspective on the issue:There are certain terms […]
I have had numerous emails and comments about the sources I have recommended for seeing a “Lutheran” doctrine of justification in the Church Fathers. This is an attempt to put together a list of Patristic sources which I think approach a Lutheran doctrine of justification.I had mentioned on my podcast, two apostolic fathers. First is […]
The following is a section from my chapter “New Life in Christ: Sanctification and Vocation” in my upcoming book on Reformed and Lutheran theology, The primary reason why justification assumes a theological priority over sanctification is that it is a completed act. The work of justification establishes God’s eschatological verdict of “righteous” placed upon the […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo4FcSDOKeo
In the continuing discussions in the Reformed camp over the issue of union with Christ and its relation to justification, one of the questions that has consistently risen is that of the definition of the gospel. Is the gospel the forensic doctrine of justification? Is it solely defined as imputation of righteousness and forgiveness on […]
I was asked by a reader of this blog to address the issue of justification. More specifically, I was asked to address the relation between Lutheran and Reformed views of the doctrine. Are they agreed upon this issue?There certainly are great similarities between the two confessions on the topic. Both understand justification as a forensic […]
