Tag Archives: union with Christ

Where’s Waldo Wednesday

By D. G. Hart | Published: September 29, 2010

One reason for questioning the influence of union with Christ on Reformed Protestants concerns the language of Reformed devotion. Hymns are one measure of devotional discourse and the more I sing out of the Trinity Hymnal, the more I am struck by the centrality of the cross and of forensic themes in the songs Presbyterians… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo Wednesday

By D. G. Hart | Published: September 22, 2010

I am still wondering about the advisability of turning union into a polemical doctrine that divides Reformed Protestants and Lutherans. Benjamin Warfield supplies support for that wonder. CALVINISM AND LUTHERANISM It is unfortunate that a great body of the scientific discussion which, since Max Goebel (“Die religiose Eigenthumlichkeit der lutherischen und der reformirten Kirchen,” Bonn,… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Word Count

By D. G. Hart | Published: September 8, 2010

Assessing the historical significance of a person is not an activity that suits quantification. But when historians put together reference words such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, they need to assign word counts for subjects to control the project’s size and scope. In which case, the people with the more important biographies receive more space or… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption | Also tagged , | 12 Comments

Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Keeping the Union Balls in the Air

By D. G. Hart | Published: September 1, 2010

So for my devotions this morning I used a prayer from Calvin and needed to pause to consider what I was requesting (I guess this an argument against forms). Calvin wrote (in French, of course): Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast deigned in thy mercy to gather us to thy Church, and to enclose… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Cornering the Market on Suffering

By D. G. Hart | Published: August 18, 2010

During interactions with advocates of union with Christ I have frequently heard remarks that suggest this doctrine takes account of the believer’s suffering in breathtaking ways. In fact, union is apparently so effective in accounting for the miseries of this life that it needs to be a regular part of counsel and preaching to Christians.… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo (Two Days After) Wednesday: WSC on Union

By D. G. Hart | Published: August 6, 2010

Historically Reformed theologians have recognized that union with Christ is not merely one aspect of the order of salvation but is the hub from which the spokes are drawn. One can find such conclusions in the theology of Reformed luminaries such as John Owen, Herman Witsius, and Thomas Boston, to name a few. That union… Read More→

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Fesko’s Forensic Friday

By D. G. Hart | Published: August 6, 2010

Why does Paul insist upon the imputed active obedience of Christ in our justification? Why is this necessary aside from the fact that the Scriptures teach its necessity? The answer lies in the nature of our justification. We must recognize that the ground of our justification is not our sanctification, or the transformative aspect of… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Too Much of a Good Thing?

By D. G. Hart | Published: June 23, 2010

. . . In the fifth place, is it wise to use the language which is often used in the present day about the doctrine of “Christ in us”? I doubt it. Is not this doctrine often exalted to a position which it does not occupy in Scripture? I am afraid that it is. That… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo Wednesday

By D. G. Hart | Published: June 16, 2010

It is often said that union is key to connecting justification and sanctification, the forensic and the renovative. In that light, Calvin’s discussion of the motivation for good works is surprising for the way that he counts union one among several other biblical grounds for sanctification. [Philosophers], while they wish particularly to exhort us to… Read More→

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The Strunk & White Guide to Reformed Soteriology

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 25, 2010

In the interest of saying things clearly and with as few words as possible, here’s a little help on the centrality of union versus the centrality of justification discussion. The question is, “how am I right with God?” The Justification Priority folks answer in the following: “you are right with God by your justification, that… Read More→

Posted in Wilderness Wanderings | Also tagged , , , | 53 Comments