The World's Ruined: Redemptive-historical preaching...

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Redemptive-historical preaching...

From Dennis Johnson's book, Him We Proclaim - Preaching Christ From All The Scriptures:

Christians are united to Christ by faith, both representatively and vitally. Our representative union with the Savior entails the objective gospel truths that he obeyed God's law for us, suffered the law's curse for us, and was raised and vindicated for us. Therefore we have obeyed, been condemned, and been vindicated in him, our covenant head. Our vital union with Christ entails the subjectively applied gospel truth that he imparts his resurrection life to us by the Holy Spirit, initially and invincibly drawing us out of death and into the life of the new creation and subsequently producing covenant faithfulness - the fruit of the Spirit - in us...

... Christ's saving work is not only forensic, outside of us (justification, adoption) but also dynamic, within us (new creation, regeneration, sanctification) - and the two strands will converge in glorification on that day, when our lowly bodies are transformed to be like Jesus' glorious body (Phil.3:21), our resurrection not only will be the public demonstration that God has declared us righteous and adopted us as his children through faith in Christ (Rom. 5:17-18; 8:23), it will also complete the project of subjective vivification and conformity to Christ's holiness that the Spirit began in our regeneration (Rom. 8:10-11, 29-30; 1 John 3:2-3). So redemptive-historical preaching, as the apostles practiced it, addresses not only what Christ has done for us as the faithful covenant Servant but also what Christ is doing in us to make us into faithful covenant servants. [p. 237]

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The Mere Mercy of God

This calling of Abram is a signal instance of the gratuitous mercy of God. Had Abram been beforehand with God by any merit of works? Had Abram come to him, or conciliated his favour? Nay, we must ever recall to mind that he was plunged in the filth of idolatry; and God freely stretches forth his hand to bring back the wanderer. He deigns to open his sacred mouth, that he may show to one, deceived by Satan's wiles, the way of salvation.

But this is done designedly, in order that the manifestation of the grace of God might become the more conspicuous in his person. For he is an example of the vocation of us all; for in him we perceive, that, by the mere mercy of God, those things that are not are raised from nothing, in order that they may begin to be something.

-John Calvin, Genesis, (Banner of Truth), p. 343

"Nor the faith also does not shut out the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards of duty towards GOD (for we are most bounden to serve GOD, in doing good deeds, commanded by him in his holy Scripture, all the days of our life): But it excludes them, so that we may not do them to this intent, to be made good by doing of them. For all the good works that we can do, be imperfect, and therefore not able to deserve our justification: but our justification doth come freely by the mere mercy of God..." (Thomas Cranmer - Homily of Justification)

Justification-Sanctification/Law-Gospel

In short, I affirm, that not by our own merit but by faith alone, are both our persons and works justified; and that the justification of works depends on the justification of the person, as the effect on the cause. (John Calvin, Acts of the Council of Trent with the Antidote)

The law guides, directs, commands, all things that are against the interest and rule of sin. It judgeth and condemneth both the things that promote it and the persons that do them; it frightens and terrifies the consciences of those who are under its dominion. But if you shall say unto it, “What then shall we do? this tyrant, this enemy, is too hard for us. What aid and assistance against it will you afford unto us? what power will you communicate unto its destruction?” Here the law is utterly silent, or says that nothing of this nature is committed unto it of God: nay, the strength it hath it gives unto sin for the condemnation of the sinner: “The strength of sin is the law.” But the gospel, or the grace of it, is the means and instrument of God for the communication of internal spiritual strength unto believers. By it do they receive supplies of the Spirit or aids of grace for the subduing of sin and the destruction of its dominion… (John Owen, A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace)

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Redemptive-historical preaching...

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