Order Of Salvation Research Articles

Is There Room in the Inn?: Visiting Adoption in Herman Bavinck’s Ordo Salutis

Abstract In the theological retrieval of neo-Calvinism, Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) is the golden child, but does he ere? This article explores a misnomer in Bavinck’s theology, that of adoption within the ordo salutis (order of salvation). Bavinck’s doctrine of adoption seems to be misplaced because he writes of adoption as juridical (RD IV, 219, 226-227), a term that belongs properly to justification. Yet he draws upon adoption to illustrate sanctification. The two doctrines, justification and sanctification, are of course intimately linked in his system, but Bavinck either misdeploys or mis-categorizes adoption. In light of Bavinck, placing it in the juridical category, but drawing upon it to illustrate sanctification it remains unclear why it remains juridical. First, the article explores the main contours of Bavinck’s ordo salutis establishing the main categories and ordering, this will lay hold to the problematic placement of adoption. From there, a constructive alternative is set forth, that of the category of relational.

Schopenhauer and the Two Orders of Purposiveness in the World

In this paper, I intend to argue that the emergence of the material conditions for the suppression and denial of the will in the human organism (the extraordinary and to some extent “unnatural” development of the brain) is not something like an “accident on the way” of will's manifestation in the world. It is rather, as it were, an intentional result of the whole process of objectivation of the will, a result that emerges from a teleological order. This teleological order is primary and more fundamental than the teleological order of nature that produces each phenomenon and each organic structure according to its ability to promote the emergence, conservation and expansion of life. This means that we have to understand the problematic principle of nature's purposiveness in Schopenhauer's thought as containing two distinct and largely contradictory orders of purpose. We can call these two orders of purposiveness “order of nature” and “order of salvation” (in analogy to Schopenhauer’s “kingdom of nature” and “kingdom of grace”). These two orders of purpose correspond to what I understand to be two forms of teleology that coexist in constant tension in his system: a functional and an ethical-soteriological teleology.

The Theological-Eschatological Implications of Name Michael in Jude

The pastoral epistle of Jude is shrouded with rich theological significance, in spite of its shortness. Theological themes like order of salvation, faith, mission, worship, judgment, great controversy, second coming, and the end of the world, and others are interwoven in the fabric of Jude. It means that Jude starts with protology and ends with climactic and cosmic victorious eschatology, particularly the resurrection of the righteous.
 The sudden appearance of Michael, the Archangel heightens the conflict in Jude. Scholars from the different camps admit Jude 9 where Michael appears in contending the devil over the body of Moses, is the most perplexing text in the entire epistle. Jesus Christ eschatological name is: Michael. The name is so significant particularly in the conflict of Moses’ resurrection to glory. Satan by all means struggled to prevent him to be resurrected and taken from his territory, for he claimed Moses belonged to his kingdom because he was a sinner.
 In epistle of Jude the great controversy does not end of the temporal life, the physical death but even extended until the day of resurrection. Whenever, Michael is referred to in the Bible, are all in the contexts of intense violence, war, death, hopelessness and resurrection and triumph. Michael is the heavenly warrior who defends victoriously for His people who will end the great controversy in grandest victory, is indeed the highlight of Jude’s eschatology. 
 
 Keywords: Michael; devil; Moses; contending; conflict; struggle; apostasy; the great controversy

Erfaring av pasjonshistorien til salig liv.

In the Twin Realms of Denmark-Norway the king was also responsible for the religious life of his subjects. Kirkeritualet [The Church Ritual] of 1685 was an expression of the king’s care for his subjects. It included even guidelines for the priest’s spiritual care for those condemned to death. A “pious repentance”, rooted in the mystical tradition, became an important aspect of Lutheran Christianity following the Reformation. A reckoning with sin, conversion, and the interiorization of faith, following the Order of Salvation, was the path to a new and eternal life. It was by interiorizing the biblical narrative – for those condemned to death, the Passion of Christ – that one took part in such a sanctifying process. The spiritual advisor made the biblical text affective and present, using rhetorical means, in order to transform the heart. After uniting with Christ in the Eucharist the condemned could go to his death on the path to eternal life.

On the 250th Anniversary of A Plain Account of Christian Perfection: A Historical Review of Wesleyan Theological Hybridity and its Implications for Contemporary Discourses on Christian Humanism

In recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in discourses of secular and Christian humanism. This interest engages the question of what it means to be truly human, and what the implications of true humanity are for individuals and society. The genesis of theological and secular humanisms stems from the Eastern Orthodox doctrine of theosis—God in Christ becomes human so that human persons may become more truly like the God whose image and likeness they bear. John Wesley was deeply influenced by Eastern Orthodox theologians. Without grasping this hermeneutic position, one cannot understand either the content or intent of John Wesley’s theology adequately. This paper expounds this aspect of Wesley’s theology by means of a historical theological exploration of the influences of Eastern Orthodoxy in Wesleyan soteriology. It is argued that when Wesley’s theology is understood as a hybrid of Eastern and Western theological influences and approaches, Christian perfection in the ordo salutis (order of salvation) supersedes the traditional Protestant emphasis on justification. In particular, this approach holds promise for making a unique and valuable contribution to contemporary discourses around Christian humanism.

Pawłowe rozumienie syneidēsis w Rz 2,9–16

Exegetical analysis of unit 2,9–16 and its context (see 1,18–4,25) shows that Paul wants to give the Greek notion of “conscience” a similar meaning and function as “heart” in the biblical and Judaism tradition. He assumes that all the Jews and Greeks have sinned and therefore find themselves in the same position relative to the righteousness of God, even though possessed by ones the Law revealed while by others the natural rights. Since the Law has proved ineffective in the way of salvation of mankind that means it also lost its salvific efficacy, as evidenced by the new initiative of God's saving work carried out in the justification free for all, by virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ (3.25). Each person can be granted with this grace by profession of faith in Christ. However, to obtain the gift of peace, participate in the glory and praise of God in eternity, followers of Jesus must consistently educate their heart and conscience of the new law, that is, they must be circumcised by Gospel of Christ, the Son of God, which became the only power of God leading to salvation (1.16) . The proof of such restored by God's order of salvation is the announced judgment on the whole of humanity on the last day, which he will complete by Jesus Christ based on the Gospel.

Reformed Orthodoxy on Imputation. Active and Passive Justification

AbstractThe doctrine of imputation is common to Early Modern Lutheran and Reformed theology, but Reformed orthodox theologians employed the distinction between the active and passive justification of the believer. Active justification is the objective imputation of Christ’s righteousness and passive justification is the subjective reception of the same. This distinction is a unique contribution in Reformed orthodox dogmatics and was used in polemics against Roman Catholic, Arminian, and Socinian theologians. This essay also compares Reformed orthodox formulations with Lutheran orthodox understandings of how they preserved theextra nosof Christ’s righteousness in justification. The Reformed orthodox employed the active-passive justification distinction in conjunction with the decree and the doctrine of the covenant of redemption, whereas the Lutheran orthodox logically placed justification first in the order of salvation. Both groups maintain theextra nosof Christ’s imputed righteousness but do so in different ways.

Richard A.Muller, Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012, 288pp. $39.99

Richard A.Muller, Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012, 288pp. $39.99

Book Review: Rightly Reading the Reformed Tradition: Richard A. Muller, Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation

Book Review: Rightly Reading the Reformed Tradition: Richard A. Muller, Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation

Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation, by Richard A. Muller

Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation, by Richard A. Muller

Loving Father, Embodied Son, and Life-Giving Spirit: The Trinitarian Narrative and Liturgical Experience

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes This essay is built on and draws heavily from my Trinity and Revelation, vol. 2: A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014), chap. 2. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, vol. 1, bk. 2, eds. Geoffrey William Bromiley and Thomas Forsyth Torrance, trans. G. W. Bromiley (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1956–1975), 483, 512–13. Gospel and the Church—The Malta Report (1972), no. 16, available at http://www.pro.urbe.it/dia-int/l-rc/doc/e_l-rc_malta.html. Dei Verbum, no. 2, available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html. For theological reflections, see Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, “‘Evil, Love and the Left Hand of God': The Contribution of Luther's Theology of the Cross to an Evangelical Theology of Evil,” Evangelical Quarterly 74, no. 3 (July 2002): 215–34. Martin Luther, “Heidelberg Disputation,” in Luther's Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1957), 31:57 (hereafter LW). LW, 31:52. Ibid. LW, 31:53. Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology, trans. R. A. Wilson and John Bowden (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1993), 26. Ibid., 27. Chung Hyun Kung, The Struggle to Be the Sun Again (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1993), 39. Luther juxtaposes “negative” and “positive” works of God using different kinds of nomenclatures, such as left and right hand or alien and proper work. He uses them in the context of speaking of two governments, divine and earthly; in the context of two kinds of theologians, namely theologian of the cross who discerns God in opposite elements such as divine suffering and humiliation, and theologian of the glory; in the context of soteriology, namely showing us, first, to be sinners who are desperate, and then making us just and hopeful. Anne Wonhee Joh, Heart of the Cross: A Postcolonial Christology (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2006), xxi. Andrew Sung Park, The Wounded Heart of God: The Asian Concept of Han and the Christian Doctrine of Sin (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), 123. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.6.6, available at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103406.htm. Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word 8.1, available at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2802.htm. Aquinas, Summa Theologia 3.1.1, available at http://www.newadvent.org/summa/. Karl Rahner, “The Quest for Approaches Leading to an Understanding of the Mystery of the God-Man Jesus,” in Theological Investigations, vol. 13, trans. David Bourke (New York: Seabury, 1975), 200. Karl Rahner, The Trinity, trans. Joseph Donceel (London: Burns & Oates, 1970), 32–33 (33). Karl Rahner, “The Body in the Order of Salvation,” in Theological Investigations, vol. 17, trans. Margaret Kohl (New York: Crossroad, 1981), 74. Barth, Church Dogmatics, vol. 1, bk. 1, 119 (see n. 2); cf. Vatican II's Dei Verbum no. 4. See 1 Corinthians 2:9–10: “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,’ God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), 379. Clark H. Pinnock, Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 49–50. Ibid., 216. Additional informationNotes on contributorsVeli-Matti KärkkäinenVeli-Matti Kärkkäinen is professor of systematic theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, and Docent of Ecumenics, University of Helsinki, Finland.

Richard A. Muller, Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation

Richard A. Muller, <i>Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation</i>

DWORKIN VERSUS TILLICH

Early in John Updike's exquisite historical novelIn the Beauty of the Lilies, a Presbyterian pastor named Clarence Wilmot, whose faith has deserted him, calls upon a certain Elias Orr, a member of his flock who lies on his deathbed. Orr asks his pastor whether he—Orr—is among the elect or headed to eternal damnation in the flames of Hell. Clarence, searching for words of comfort, tells him, “I should estimate your chances to be excellent.” The dying man is unpersuaded. If the order of salvation was laid down by God at the moment of creation, he demands, “[w]hat can we poor bodies down here do?”

Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation. By Richard A. Muller. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2012. 288 pp. $39.99 paper.

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)Calvin and the Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation . By Richard A. Muller. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Academic , 2012. 288 pp. $39.99 paper.Book Reviews and NotesIn and the Tradition , Richard builds on and reinforces his argument in previous publications that the tradition was complex, diverse, and variegated movement which did not develop solely in relationship to the thought of John Calvin. The specific contribution of this volume is its focus on the development of four doctrines particularly associated with soteriology: the extent of the the order of salvation, union with Christ, and assurance of salvation. While he more frequently and substantially refutes the Calvin against the Calvinists master narrative, also establishes that the notion of uniform tradition in continuity with is equally flawed. In clarifying what has been dubbed the Muller thesis, he emphasizes that the ongoing reappraisal of the tradition argues that any continuity between the reformers and the was accompanied by change and development which resulted in breadth and diversity. Therefore, there cannot be a single all-embracing thesis (34).The first two chapters of this work establish the current state of the conversations and the methodological approach throughout each essay. Here contends for the use of the term Reformed rather than in order to avoid the incorrect view that thought should be compared to alone. He also points out inevitable problems in the use of the term that result either in being the only Calvinist or in specific anachronistic reduction of thought (such TULIP or predestination). These chapters reiterate that the tradition was diverse from its beginning, that it drew from numerous prior voices, and that it developed in different ways based on different contexts, debates, and dialogues.The meat of the book is found in the six chapters where utilizes his comparative methodology to make detailed analysis and argumentation on doctrines related to the extent of the atonement (chapters 3, 4, and 5) and the application of the atonement (chapters 6, 7, and 8). In each chapter he identifies the continuity, change, and development on these topics they were articulated by Calvin, some of Calvin's predecessors and contemporaries, and some later theologians. To bring clarity to each topic, sets each discussion in its historical context; provides framework to consider the actual issues relevant to the specific doctrine; and specifies the language that used in comparison to the language which developed later (for example, limited atonement, hypothetical universalism, practical syllogism, and TULIP). He utilizes variety of primary sources, including various editions of the Institutes , other theological works, sermons (including an as yet unrecovered sermon on Ezekiel 18:23), and commentaries by Calvin, well these types of works, catechisms, confessions, and correspondence by numerous other theologians, such Vermigli, Laski, Viret, Bullinger, Beza, Hyperius, Ursinus, Zanchi, Du Moulin, Davenant, Olevianus, Perkins, and many others. He pays special attention to the type of literature in which views were expressed to highlight that the choice of topics, level of detail, kinds of arguments, and order of topics differed in works intended for popular or academic audiences. At the end of each chapter, offers conclusion that summarizes his investigation and analysis. …

Romans 8.29–30 and the Question of the Ordo Salutis

‭This essay addresses recent criticisms of the doctrine of the ordo salutis (order of salvation) in early modern Reformed theology by (1) surveying recent criticisms, (2) explaining early modern Reformed expressions of the ordo salutis, particularly as they employ the concept of the sorites, a Greco-Roman form of rhetorical argument found in the apostle Paul’s letters, but especially Rom 8.29–30, (3) arguing for the validity and correctness of the early modern exegesis and exposition of Rom 8.29–30, (4) exploring the systematic-theological implications of Paul’s use of a sorites in Rom 8.29–30.‬

Book Review: Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation

Book Review: Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation

Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945–1961; Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged in One Volume; Wild and Robust, The Adventure of Christian Humanism; 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law; The Miracle of Kindness, Changing the World One Act at a Time; A Different Priest, The Epistle to The Hebrews

Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945–1961; Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged in One Volume; Wild and Robust, The Adventure of Christian Humanism; 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law; The Miracle of Kindness, Changing the World One Act at a Time; A Different Priest, The Epistle to The Hebrews J. Harold Ellens, PhD Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945–1961 David Hein Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2008, pp. 122 + xviii, pb, $17.00. David Hein, Professor of Religion at Hood College and author of The Episcopalians, has given us a minor gift. Aside from some infelicities of syntax that obstruct the smooth flow of his narrative, he has given us in one chewable chunk a constructive and balanced life of Geoffrey Fisher, Churchill's surprising selection for Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of World War II. Following an adequate introduction, setting the course of this little work, Hein offers seven chapters shaped by the stages of Fisher's rise to and service as archbishop. These are simply: Formation: 1997–1932, Chester and London: 1932–1945, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1945–1961: The Church of England, The Anglican Communion, Ecumenical Outreach, Church and State, and Retirement 1961–1972. Fisher was an administrator and made no special demonstration of his spiritual leadership, piety, or theological prowess. He was simply a soundly dedication Christian Anglican with devotion to the institution of that church, as his numerous generations of clergy ancestors before him. This book is rounded off with a good bibliography, but unfortunately lacks an index. Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged in One Volume Herman Bavinck (John Bolt, Editor) Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011, pp. 848 + xvi, cloth, $60.00. Herman Bavinck has been revered for a century for his superior four volumes of Reformed Dogmatics. He lived from 1854 to 1921 and taught Systematic Theology at the Vrie Universität te Amsterdam, beginning at outset of the twentieth century. The predictable endorsers, Donald McKim, Richard Mouw, J. I. Packer, and Michael Horton, have all promoted this one volume, abridged edition: and well they might. John Bolt of Calvin Theological Seminary has done yoeman's service in capturing all of Bavinck's useful perspective in this volume. Its nearly 1000 pages are packed with over 700 words per page, nearly twice the normal number. Thus a very large portion of the original Bavinck is captured in this compact work, making it readily and readably available to any college or seminary student, as well as the Sunday afternoon lay reader. It is highly recommendable for that. Bavinck was a bit unconventional in his structuring his Reformierte Dogmatik in that he did not conform to the traditional six loci of Malancthon and Calvin. Instead his work is organized in seven parts. The first is Prolegomena: Introduction to Dogmatic Theology; including an address to Dogmatic Theology as Science, The History and Literature of Dogmatic Theology, Foundations of Dogmatic Theology, Revelation, Holy Scripture, and Faith. Second comes The Triune God and Creation; explicating the themes, Knowing God, The Living Acting God, The Triune God and his Counsel, and Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Third section is Humanity and Sin and treats The Image of God, The Fallen World, and Sin and its Consequences. Part Four has to do with Christ the Redeemer, with such topics as The Only Begotten Son of the Father, The Servant Savior: Christ's Humiliation, and The Exalted Lord Christ. The Fifth section teaches of The Holy Spirit and Salvation in Christ: The Order of Salvation, Calling and Regeneration, Faith and Conversion, and Justification, Sanctification, and Perseverance. Six is The Spirit Creates a New Community: The Church as a Spiritual Reality, and The Spirit's Means of Grace. The final section, The Spirit Makes All Things New, has three subsections: The Intermediate State, The Return of Christ, and The Consummation. This volume has 49 pages of scripture index, fifty pages of name index, and 17 pages of subject index. Each page of the entire volume is able to boast nearly twice the normal words because the type is small and the paragraphing intensely compact. Bavinck's work is thoroughly comprehensive, excitingly lucid, and filled with inspiring surprises of insight and illumination. John Bolt's abridgement...

The First Asian Ecumenical Confession of Faith: The So‐Called Twelve Articles of Faith of Many Asian Protestant Churches

The Twelve Articles of Faith, written by Western Presbyterian and Reformed missionaries in India around 1900, have arguably been the most important ecumenical confession of faith of many Asian Protestant churches (Indian, Korean and Chinese Protestant churches and beyond). The articles by and large adopt the spirit and content of the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, and have some apparently Calvinistic elements. But they also have some new Arminian, universalistic and ecumenical elements that include the unique historical and theological implications of the epochal Western missions in Asia of the 19th and the early 20th centuries: both Christ's atonement for all people and a non‐predestinarian order of salvation. These elements, however, seem to entail a weak, individualistic ecclesiology along with a Biblicist or fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. Nonetheless, having influenced millions of Asian Christians, the articles have been and continue to be an important ecumenical confession of faith, and in this way can contribute to uniting Asian‐and world‐Christian churches.

Calvin, Witsius (1636–1708), and the English Antinomians

At the core of the Reformation lies the belief that good works are excluded from man’s justification before God. Roman Catholic adversaries feared the rise of immorality and thus accused the Reformed of antinomianism. In this paper the term “doctrinal antinomians” is used for those who deny any human activity within the order of salvation. Within the Reformed tradition we do indeed find examples of such antinomians. As might be expected, they were highly criticised from within their own Reformed camp. However, as part of their defensive strategy they appealed to Calvin as one of their champions. This paper first investigates the manner in which the antinomians referred to him, and then goes on to consider whether their appeal is justified. In order to evaluate to what extent antinomian aspects can be detected in Calvin’s theology, the analysis of the antinomian position by Herman Witsius, a seventeenth-century Dutch theologian, will be used as an investigative tool.

Politics in the Order of Salvation: Transforming Wesleyan Political Ethics. By Theodore R. Weber. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, Kingswood Books, 2001. 483 pp. $35.00 paper.

Politics in the Order of Salvation: Transforming Wesleyan Political Ethics. By Theodore R. Weber. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, Kingswood Books, 2001. 483 pp. $35.00 paper.