The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls: Justification in Biblical, Theological, Historical, and Pastoral Perspective

by D.A. Carson (Foreword), Matthew Barrett (Contributor), Gerald L. Bray (Contributor)

Many factors contributed to the Protestant Reformation, but one of the most significant was the debate over the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In fact, Martin Luther argued that justification is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. This comprehensive volume of 26 essays from a host of scholars explores the doctrine of justification from the lenses of history, the Bible, theology, and pastoral practice—revealing the enduring significance of this pillar of Protestant theology.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Christian, Church History

1550 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2019

About the author

Donald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.

Reviews

[Spencer R · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find my fuller review on my blog, Spoiled Milks (6//14/19).

Matthew Barrett has put together an impressive array of scholars to write about justification, celebrating the five hundredth year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The book is divided into four parts:

Justification in Biblical Perspective
Justification in Theological Perspective
Justification in Church History
Justification in Pastoral Practice

I knew this book was large when I asked for it, but really, it’s massive—866 pages (before the list of contributors and indexes).

Part One examines the two Testaments and how justification is seen in the Pentateuch, the Wisdom literature, the prophets, the Gospels, Romans, Paul, and James. One chapter is dedicated to the intertestamental period, which many scholars such as E. P. Sanders have used to verify their New Perspective on Paul (NPP) theology. In the two final chapters there is a critique of the NPP and a look forward to how we should think of justification since the NPP and the newer apocalyptic reading of Paul.

Part Two begins with a chapter by Stephen Wellum on how penal-substitutionary atonement is the best theory of atonement to explain justification and imputation. The other contributors tie justification with union with Christ, Christ’s resurrection, Christ’s active and passive obedience, sanctification, and the Law and the new covenant. What role does the Law have in the new covenant, and how does it affect our justification? The old covenant produced death, but the new produces life through the life-giving Spirit who enables us to gaze on the glories of Christ in whom we have been released from the law.

Part Three brings us around to historical theology and how justification has been viewed throughout the history of the church, in the patristic fathers, the medieval tradition, Luther and Lutheranism, the Reformed tradition, the eras of the enlightenment and post-enlightenment, and how the Catholic church has viewed justification from the Council of Trent (1545–1563) to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) in 1999.

Part Four ends with two chapters on the relevance of justification for pastors and believers today. Chris Castaldo’s writes about the relationship between justification and conversion and shows why some protestants have been attracted to the Catholic church. He offers ways to think about people’s conversions and the pastoral implications involved in individuals. Sam Storms ends the book explaining why a proper understanding of justification is crucial for the individual Christian and the corporate body of Christ.

Recommended?
By and large, yes. This book is a one stop shop for justification. There are plenty of heavy hitters here, all who have done their research and who will help you to understand the glories Christ’s death and resurrection, and the one who for our sake made him who knew no sin to be sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God.

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther boldly declared, “Justification is the article upon which the church stands or falls.” John Calvin argued that justification is the “hinge on which religion turns.” In the sixteenth century, scores of people found these arguments both biblical and compelling. The Roman Catholic Church deemed Luther and Calvin as heretics.

Fast forward to the current generation. While much has changed over the past five hundred years, the biblical wisdom of Luther and Calvin still stands. Many in the church trumpet the grand reality of justification by faith alone. But some continue to deny or discount this critical doctrine. Tragically, some of the dissenters are preaching in Protestant churches. At stake is more than a mere doctrine, important as that is - what is at stake is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls is edited by Matthew Barrett. Dr. Barrett comes with impeccable academic credentials and is supported by a cast of world-class scholars and theologians. This book both a theological tome and a treasure chest. It is not for the faint-hearted. And it is certainly not designed for the armchair theologian.

The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls is arranged in four parts:

Justification in Biblical Perspective

Justification in Theological Perspective

Justification in Church History

Justification in Pastoral Practice

This book leaves no stone unturned. The team that Barrett has assembled has examined every theological, biblical, and historical angle that pertains to the doctrine of justification. The fundamental standing of position before a holy God is addressed with depth, breadth, integrity, and God-centered wisdom. The combined efforts have yielded a work that should be used for generations to come and will be of great service to pastors, professors, and followers of Christ.

Those who discounted Luther and Calvin in the sixteenth-century did so at their own peril. Of greater importance is the repudiation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. To discount this cardinal doctrine is not only dangerous; it is tantamount to theological treason.

I commend The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls and trust that it will receive a wide readership.

Highly recommended

[David Clouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe this journey is over. I started reading this book with a friend a year and a half ago. In terms of readability this book would get a two or three stars to be honest. Some chapters were brutal for me personally to get through and understand a single word of what the contributor was talking about. That being said, when a chapter hit a home run, it really knocked it out of the park. I give this book five stars almost purely for the comprehensive nature of the content. I feel like this book did a great job of looking at every possible aspect of justification in a variety of different lights (historical, pastoral, biblical, and theological). Reflecting on some of the earlier chapters, I actually wish I read this book in a different order. There were some theological words that I didn't quite understand fully, used frequently very early on, that were explained in extreme depth later. I feel like if I went back and read some of the beginning chapters again, I would be able to appreciate/understand them much better.

At the end of the day, this book would be a great resource to have on the shelf if you wanted access to a resource that covered almost any topic of justification, but many other books or articles could be very impactful and useful while not being 900 pages, so to each their own.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me an entire month to read this book, but it was oh so worth the time invested. This is a smorgasbord of theological insight and practical exposition on the doctrine of Justification. I thoroughly enjoyed this tome and rank it right up there with Buchanan's classic on the subject or Dr. James White's The God Who Justifies, two of my personal favorites. In the coming years I'm willing to bet that this will be listed as one of the go to sources on Justification. I personally enjoyed the first section of the book where various author's walked through the pages of Scripture and showed through the analogy of faith that Justification is an underlying thread and main theme of God's Word. The articles on the NPP (New Perspective on Paul) were helpful. The Historical articles were good. The Pastoral applications were extremely helpful! The article by Chris Castaldo that detailed the conversion of Cardinal Newman from Calvinism to Roman Catholicism and Peter Vermigli’s conversion from Roman Catholicism to the Reformed Protestantism was very insightful.

The modern church is falling into apostasy and caving to synergism and man centered theology. There has never been a greater time than now that the Doctrine of Justification needs to be taught and embraced. This book is not cheap, but is well worth the cost and will probably find its way to the top shelf of your pastoral library. Get it! Read it!

[Richard Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A robust presentation of the truth, logic, history and implications of the core doctrine of the reformation. "We are saved by faith alone".

If you want a thorough survey of Justification this is the book to get. However if you're looking for a quick or devotional read then look somewhere else.

Despite being "the book to get" this is not a perfect book. In places it is a little bloated - some ruthless editing could have cut at least 10% of the word count maybe more without losing anything significant.

Key Highlights
1. Thorough exegetical presentation of Justification from across the Bible (Pentateuch, prophets, Gospels and Epistles)
2. Brilliant rebuttals to many modern criticisms of the reformed doctrine justification
3. Helpful analysis of theological connections - e.g. Justification and the atonement AND Justification and Theology Proper etc.
4. Defence against modern revisions including showing the truth AND importance of the imputation of the active obedience of Christ AND the ordo salutis.
5. Fascinating and Apologetically useful historical analysis

Weaker points
1. A couple of chapters are a little dry in their style and presentation
2. Unnecessary repetition, there is a lot of overlapping material introduced by the variety of authors that could have been trimmed with some ruthless editing
3. There were a few points that seemed oddly placed for a book intending to present a broad reformed perspective on justification, notably chapter 17 argues for a view of the law and the covenants (as a corollary of justification) that is not the historic reformed understanding and does not highlight this.

[Neil Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

These essays defend a Protestant understanding of justification, ranging from good to excellent.

The scope of its treatment of justification means that it will be helpful for a wide variety of readers.

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jam packed full of everything justification by faith related you can imagine and more. Will be consulting again as a reference book.

[Lucas Bradburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour de force. Clarifying.

[Reyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is very important for us to understand our history, where we are standing as a church. But we also need to know what we believe. Even my girl continuously asks me things about this topic. Doctrine is important because ideas lead our actions. It amazes me the work it took for this team to finish this research and put it all together in a massive book like this.

I found the tables and diagrams very helpful to understand the point of view. I found chapter 14 interesting, it was about The passive and active obedience of Christ. Three big parts, this book is big, it will take you a long time to finish it, and reflect on this research.

What I like about this book is that is one of those that let you feel ignorant about so many issues, then you take time and learn. I want to keep studying about how faith works (page 506) because I find difficult to explain to others how to Properly Understand the Relationship between Justification and Sanctification, these topics are deep. Do not expect to finish this book in days as a normal book. You will find yourself questioning your doctrine and wanting to learn and question more. I´m so thankful about this Crossway book.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand justification doctrine, but especially those serving in ministry or if you have to give an answer to these questions in your circle of influence.

[Adam Kareus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book which dives deep into the doctrine of justification. The contributors lay out a clear case for the reformed viewed of justification by faith alone from the biblical, theological, and historical perspectives. The last section of the book is the pastoral perspective, which is almost worth the cost of the book by itself.