Jack McBride’s Reviews > The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters > Status Update

Ch9 notes:
-Rome/Council of Trent/Bellarmine hate assurance: "if assurance of salvation is a reality, then the necessity of the extended sacramental process leading to final justification [as taught by Rome] becomes null and void"
-Faith says "Christ is able to save;" assurance says, "I am someone who has been saved through faith in Christ."
-Marrow on assurance didn't contradict WCF, as the Scottish Kirk alleged

Ch8 notes:
-Only cure for both legalism and antinomianism is "understanding and tasting union with Jesus Christ himself"
-The moral law is the train tracks to guide true Christian obedience, but the love of Christ is the engine that propels the train
-The full and free offer of Christ and the freedom from spiritual bondage of both L&A is the marrow of modern divinity. It is "the marrow of the gospel for us all"

Ch7 notes:
-Antinomianism is the same error as legalism, just in an opposite direction. The cure is the gospel!
-Agricola conflated law & gospel so much it led to his split from Luther/Melanchthon
-The threefold division of the law is not created when Christ comes, but brought to light in the person/work of Christ
-A right biblical theology is needed to rightly interpret the law of God (esp. its threefold division)

Ch6 notes:

- I am in tears.


"Where can we find refuge?...

(quoting Newton:)

'Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without, and fears within,
I come to thee for rest.

Be thou my shield and hiding-place,
That, sheltered by thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him Thou hast died.'

There and there alone is liberty from bondage."

Ch5 notes:
-Legalism and antinomianism are "nonidentical twins that emerge from the same womb" of distorting God's character & divorcing God's law from His loving character
-Most legalism is subtle; not outright denying grace, but diluting/distorting/disarming it of its power
-We must never assume our hearers rightly understand the freeness of the free grace of the gospel of Christ; we must always tell them!

"When people are broken by sin, full of shame, feeling weak, conscious of failure, ashamed of themselves, and in need of counsel, they do not want to listen to preaching that expounds the truth of the discrete doctrines of their church's confession of faith but fails to connect them them with the marrow of gospel grace and the Father of infinite love for sinners. It is a gracious and loving Father they need to know."

Ch.3 notes:

-Preparationism creates Conditional Grace in which God's love for sinners is conditional upon them and not rooted in His own character. Thus, it distorts God's very nature.
-That's why the Marrow Controversy is so important; the character of God is at stake!
-How we share the gospel of free grace is of utmost importance. What we say of God in the gospel will affect how people view His character

Notes from ch. 2:
- We must preach the freeness of the free gift of the gospel to all men everywhere without exception or distinction
- Don't say men need to forsake their sin / "clean themselves up" before they can come to Christ; that is putting the cart before the horse
- We should be careful not to preach or herald the ~benefits of Christ~ (salvation, justification, etc.) apart from the ~person of Christ~ Himself