[By Faith, Not By Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation (2d. Ed.)] [By: Richard B. Gaffin Jr.] [December, 2013]

by Richard B. Gaffin Jr.

Genres: Theology

Paperback

About the author

Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. is a Calvinist theologian, Presbyterian minister, and was the Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2008. He became the Professor Emeritus, Biblical and Systematic Theology in 2008.

Reviews

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a helpful work to understanding Paul’s doctrine of justification, both for the present and future. The most exciting takeaway is understanding that if Christ truly is raised from the dead as the “firstfruits” or start of the harvest, then we can be sure that those who are united to Christ by faith, will surely be raised from the dead.

The eschatological kingdom has been inaugurated with Christ as the “firstborn” - the harvest has begun. Though our outer man is fading away and breaking down, the inner man is being renewed day by day, therefore our whole person has no need for despair (2 Cor. 4:16); we know Christ will raise us up and we have great hope for that day. Although currently in some senses only the inner man is justified by “faith”, at the Final Judgement we will be justified by “sight”, and the “outer man” too will receive the transforming effects of justification that our inner self has already received.

This book encouraged me along the way to go and read my Bible more.

My two biggest complaints:
1) I wish someone had directed me to read this 10 years ago
2) That it was longer

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gaffin is a great example of what humble correction looks like from within one’s own tribe: ever gentle, and yet always pushing and prodding with a minority report on this or that.

The thesis is great. Against a tendency to overemphasise the centrality of justification, the centre of Paul’s theology is the historia salutis, which becomes the ordo salutis by virtue of our union with Christ. If at the heart of the Christ event is his death then resurrection first, then this has profound entailments for the Xn life. (1) it is dynamically eschatological, (2) justification and sanctification must both flow out the centre with equal measure.

His ideas on eschatology are interesting. For one it means we need to be more emphatic about how much the resurrection in us has already started. For another, we need to deal with the texts that imply things like justification and adoption also have a now and not-yet reality. I think I’m persuaded by his take on eschatological justification. Need to do some more thinking though. (But for the concerned, he is fairly orthodox in now he lands it!)

If I can knock the book (and justify my three stars), I feel like the intro headlined this as comeback to some overemphasises in the New Perspective camp and then the Reformed response to it. Frustratingly, there were multiple moments in the book where I thought this issue would resurface and it didn’t.

Overall, glad to have read.

[Rob Sumrall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't imagine there is a huge market for people wanting to read about the ordo soluto. But if you are in that sliver of the demographic pool, read on, friend.

Admittedly, I might need to give this one another read after a bit, as parts of it I slogged through and probably didn't fully appreciate the arguments that Gaffin was making.

Even if you don't want to read the entire book, chapter four is worth the effort. Gaffin's thoughts on sanctification are superb! His insights about Paul's usage of the imperative and the indicative tenses are some of the clearest and most helpful expressions I have personally come across. He makes such a strong Godward case for sanctification. I simply couldn't help but relish in his thoughts and see how he clearly called out people who want to make justification a work of the Spirit but make sanctification a work of the flesh. He rightly notes that "this outlook tends to devolve into a deadening moralism" (86).

At many other points, Gaffin's arguments are tedious and exceedingly verbose. But there are nuggets to be mined here for the patient reader.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in grade 8 or something, taught me almost everything I know about doctrine of salvation. Gaffin is intimidating and rigorous but he's more accessible than you think. Great read. But it is one of the unattractive things about Christianity among new converts: even the most basic things like salvation is necessarily complicated and has a whole doctrine behind it. Either an impressive accomplishment or a reflection of how much theologians try to square a circle.

[Nathan Stine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to rate it a 3.5, but alas, that was not allowed!

The content is pretty good, but the writing style is unnecessarily complex, with enough dependent clauses to make Nathaniel Hawthorne proud…

My favorite part was in the discussion of the already-ness of the resurrection in the life of the believer. That was a very edifying section.

[Jaden A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was a good introduction to inaugurated eschatology. That seems to have been one of the main focal points of Gaffin's even though the book centers around a defense of the 'ordo salutis.'