1 October 2015 A.D. Reformation distinctives addressed by scholars
1 October 2015 A.D. Reformation distinctives
addressed by scholars
Smith, Andrew J.W.
“Reformation distinctives addressed by scholars.” Baptist Press. 29 Sept 2015. http://www.bpnews.net/45567/reformation-distinctives-addressed-by-scholarshttp://www.bpnews.net/45567/reformation-distinctives-addressed-by-scholars. Accessed 1 Oct 2015.
Reformation
distinctives addressed by scholars
Carl Trueman, professor of historical theology
and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary, lectures during the
Theology Conference at Southern Seminary.
Photos by Emil Handke, SBTS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- While Pope Francis visited
the United States for the first time, leading evangelical scholars defended the
"Five Solas," central themes of the Reformation, at the 2015 Theology
Conference at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
With the approaching 500th
anniversary in 2017 of Martin Luther's nailing of the 95 Theses to the door of
the church in Wittenberg, the signature moment of the Protestant Reformation,
speakers at the conference emphasized the distinctiveness of the Reformed
tradition from the Roman Catholic tradition.
"[A] Reformation
understanding of grace sees God's presence to people as mediated through the
Word of God -- especially the Word of God preached," said Carl Trueman,
professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological
Seminary in Glenside, Pa., during the Sept. 24-25 conference. "It's the
Word of God -- not the sacraments, as in Medieval Catholicism -- which was the
primary means of God dealing graciously with His people."
Trueman, a prolific church
historian who has authored works on both Luther and the Reformation, including
"Reformation: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow," also spoke at
Southern Seminary chapel on Sept. 24.
In his conference presentation
on the Reformation maxim "Sola Gratia"("Grace Alone"),
Trueman said the Reformation was for Luther a "mighty battle" over
the nature of grace and a reenactment of fifth-century doctrinal debates within
the church. The church itself, Trueman argued, is evidence of God's powerful
grace working to create His people.
"I'm convinced that a lot
of mistaken thinking about the church today derives from the fact that people
think the church is a response to God's grace rather than an act of God's
grace," he said.
Christian preaching was a
primary means of communicating the grace of God during the Reformation, Trueman
said. He used a shift in church architecture during the Reformation as an
illustration of a shift in theology. While one's eyes are drawn to the altar in
a Catholic cathedral -- placing the focus upon the Eucharist -- a Protestant
cathedral is designed with the pulpit as its centerpiece.
Just as the preaching of the
Word was the center of the Reformation, so modern churches need to champion the
pulpit as the place where God meets His people, he said.
"Preachers need to understand
that what they do is to perform a theological action which requires care and
earnestness because they handle the Word of God. … They bring the most
important message of all to people's ears," Trueman said. "Nothing
kills churches, I think, quicker than preachers who do not seem to understand
what they're actually doing."
Thomas R. Schreiner, James
Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern
Seminary, discussed "Sola Fide"("Faith Alone") and its
central role in the Reformation's continuing legacy, both in New Testament
studies and the life of the Protestant church. Schreiner's presentation was
based on his forthcoming book, "Faith Alone -- the Doctrine of
Justification," which is the first in Zondervan's "Five Solas"
series. Each speaker is also contributing a book in the series.
Theologians throughout church
history have wrestled with the tension between the two poles of New Testament
teaching on faith and works: the reality of justification by grace through
faith on one hand and the necessity of good works for ultimate salvation on the
other. Despite claims that the Protestant slogan of "faith alone" is
explicitly contradicted by James 2:24, Schreiner contended a fully biblical view
recognizes works as the fruit of true faith. "Faith alone" itself
requires good works for ultimate salvation.
"What James
rejects," Schreiner said, "is a 'saying' faith, a claiming faith,
where works are absent. It is this kind of faith that doesn't save, for it is a
faith marked by intellectual assent only."
Early categories for what
later became the Protestant doctrine of justification were not foreign to the
church fathers, Schreiner argued.
Throughout church history,
various debates -- from the disagreement between Richard Baxter and John
Owen regarding the precise relationship between faith and righteousness to
recent discussions on the New Perspective on Paul -- have demonstrated the
ongoing importance of justification and the appropriate balance between faith
and works in Protestant theology.
"It isn't our faith that
saves us, but the object of our faith that saves us," Schreiner said.
"Justification by faith alone doesn't call attention to our faith but to
Christ as the redeemer, reconciler, and savior."
Despite recent attempts among
evangelicals to find common ground with Catholics, including finding agreement
in Augustine, Schreiner said the Catholic Church has moved too far away from
Augustine's teaching about grace for that approach to be helpful. When he is
asked to speak with Protestants considering leaving evangelicalism for the
Roman Catholic Church, Schreiner has most recently emphasized the importance of
imputed righteousness, which Catholic theology does not offer.
"Justification by faith
alone is important doctrinally, but it is vital pastorally," he said.
"We all will stand before God on the day of judgement, and what will we
plead before Him? Will we plead our own righteousness and goodness?"
"You have many secret
sins," Schreiner would tell such a person. "Are you going to plead
your own righteousness on the day of judgement?"
Stephen J. Wellum, professor
of Christian theology at Southern Seminary, presented on "Solus
Christus" ("Christ Alone"). The legacy of the Reformation is
rooted in its teaching about the person and work of Christ, Wellum said, and
its Christological emphasis is different from that of the Catholic Church.
"'Christ alone' functions
to argue against the sacramental view of Rome," he said, which divorces
the believer from Christ by requiring church mediation.
Wellum argued "Christ
Alone" is built upon a biblical-theological foundation and requires a
reading of Scripture as a unified whole.
Tracing various relevant
themes throughout the biblical storyline -- from how the doctrine of God
applies to Christ's identity as the Divine Son to how the Adamic covenant
applies to Christ's incarnation -- Wellum asserted the entire Bible points to
the centrality of Jesus Christ.
"If we trace out the
Bible's entire storyline through the biblical covenants, on the Bible's own
terms, in the Bible's own content, structures, and categories, the entire Bible
teaches that Jesus is God the Son incarnate," Wellum said. "He is in
a unique category all by Himself and He has done everything necessary for our
salvation. We can't save ourselves; only He can do it."
Also presenting at the
conference were Matthew Barrett on "Sola Scriptura" ("Scripture
Alone") and David VanDrunen on "Soli Deo Gloria" ("God's
Glory Alone"). Barrett, an SBTS graduate, is associate professor of
Christian Studies at California Baptist University and editor of Zondervan's
"Five Solas" series and Credo Magazine, and VanDrunen is professor of
systematic theology and Christian ethics at Westminster Theological Seminary
California.
The Theology Conference is a
biennial event sponsored by the Gheens lectureship. Audio and video from the
conference will soon be available at sbts.edu/resources.
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