Justification and the Gospel: Understanding the Contexts and Controversies

Seeking to move beyond current heated debates on justification, this accessible introduction offers a fresh, alternative approach to a central theological topic. Michael Allen locates justification within the wider context of the gospel, allowing for more thoughtful engagement with the Bible, historical theology, and the life of the church. Allen considers some of the liveliest recent debates as well as some overlooked connections within the wider orbit of Christian theology. He provides a historically informed, ecumenically minded defense of orthodox theology, analyzing what must be maintained and what should be reconfigured from the vantage point of systematic theology. The book exemplifies the practice of theological interpretation of Scripture and demonstrates justification's relevance for ongoing issues of faith and practice.

208 pages.

View excerpt here.

Contents

Introduction
Part 1: Justification and the Gospel
1. The Place of Justification in Christian Theology
2. Justification and Participation, the Ground and Goal of the Gospel
Part 2: Christ for Us
3. "From the Time He Took On the Form of a Servant": The Christ's Pilgrimage of Faith
4. "It Is No Longer I Who Live": Christ's Faith and Christian Faith
Part 3: Christ in Us
5. "Freedom for Love": Justification and Sanctification
6. "The Church's One Foundation": The Justification of the Ungodly Church
Indexes

"Justification and the Gospel is theology at its best: disciplined by the instruction of Scripture, attentive to the traditions of Christian thought and practice, filled with discriminating judgments, and eager to explain and commend the gospel of justification."

John Webster, professor of divinity, University of St. Andrews

"Michael Allen provides here a first-rate study of the doctrine of justification construed in the context of Christian theology as a whole. His review of contemporary debates and his awareness of biblical and historical sources are alike impressive. This is a book that challenges and provokes as well as informs."

Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; general editor, Reformation Commentary on Scripture

"In this important and lively book, R. Michael Allen broadens and deepens contemporary reflection on the doctrine of justification. Allen provides a dogmatic account of justification, attentive to how it relates to other topics in Christian doctrine--including the divine attributes, Trinity, Christology, the church, and the place of participation in God in salvation. In the process, Allen shows how historic catholic and Reformation sources can illuminate a biblical doctrine of justification, moving beyond the caricatures of pre-Enlightenment theologians that have become common in recent debates. Justification and the Gospel is a valuable work that will enlighten, provoke, and edify."

J. Todd Billings, Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan