Two Reviews by Credo Bloggers
We would like to draw your attention to two reviews over at The Gospel Coalition written by Luke Stamps and Matthew Barrett, both of whom write for the Credo blog.
Luke Stamps has written an insightful review of Scot McKnight’s new book, The King Jesus Gospel. Stamps begins his review,
Judging by the attention, Scot McKnight’s new book, The King Jesus Gospel, has something important to say. Indeed, what could be more important that an attempt to revisit “the original gospel,” as the book’s subtitle invites us to do, since the apostle Paul told us that the apostolic gospel is “of first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3)? McKnight’s book joins several other recent attempts to define or rediscover the biblical gospel. The contemporary evangelical fascination with defining the gospel signals a positive development, it seems to me: evangelicals are returning to first principles in their churches and ministries.
I want to offer some reflections on one of the book’s main themes, namely, the relationship between individual salvation and the story of Israel. In short, my thesis is that McKnight’s proposal, while offering a helpful corrective to some popular “de-storied” presentations of the gospel, overstates his case by separating the story of Israel from the promise of individual salvation. Several reviewers have pointed out that McKnight’s proposal seems to present a false choice: either we choose a story gospel or a salvation gospel. The gospel is either about Jesus completing the story of Israel or about individual salvation. We are either evangelicals or “soterians”—those who believe the gospel is about personal salvation. McKnight believes that “soterians” (most if not all of The Gospel Coalition, he observes) have neglected the four Gospels because of their emphasis on justification and the Pauline corpus (25-26, 78-79). So I take up McKnight’s challenge of seeing the gospel in the Gospels by making my case primarily from the book of Matthew.
Read the rest here.
The second is by Matthew Barrett who has reviewed Justification: Five Views, edited by James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy (IVP). Barrett begins saying,
There are few doctrines since the 16th century that have caused more debate than justification. And for good reason too, since the doctrine of justification is at the very root of what we believe about salvation and our right standing before God. In our own day justification continues to take center stage, but my guess is that if Martin Luther were alive today he would be surprised to find out that there are not only two but now five views on justification. Given the diversity of positions on the subject, a views book on justification is well overdu
James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy have put together a volume to be commended for pulling together key representatives from each tradition. Additionally, Beilby and Eddy have written a resourceful historical survey that will prove valuable in introducing readers to the issues at stake. While they are not able to go into great depth on any one particular tradition, nevertheless, they paint the landscape well—so well, actually, that it becomes obvious that there may even be more than five views on justification!
Read the rest here.
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