Apparently, Mark Jones believes Lee Irons stands condemned:
I am flabbergasted at the cocksure way by which Irons makes these claims. He castigates Piper for several errors, but ends up making a few blunders himself. One in particular stands out.
He says: “Faith has never been viewed as a condition of justification in Reformed theology…” (emphasis mine).
This is simply false.
So it looks like God won’t be pleased with Lee’s works on judgment day.
But will God look favorably on Jones’ own high estimate of his historical theological chops?
Most of the Early Modern Reformed did not view Romans 2:7-11 as hypothetical, contrary to what some in the Reformed camp today have suggested. Rick Phillips has addressed this question in the past, but I remain concerned about some historical and exegetical issues made therin; his post also strikes me as far too defensive. Better, in my view, is the approach taken by Richard Gaffin in By Faith, Not By Sight.
Should this cause people to despair regarding the future judgment? Only if one is a bona fide hypocrite. Christ will rightfully condemn the hypocrites in the church (Matt. 25:41-46). They are marked out as those who did not do good works. They are those who neglect the weightier matters of the law (Matt. 23:23).
I mean, if believers are going to be judged by their good works as Jones says is writ large in English Protestantism, doesn’t that conclusion apply to blog posts? Is it evidence of saving faith or a good work to mock other believers on grounds of the history of English theology?
Sure, this post may even be evidence of my own sinfulness. But I’m not the one promoting obedient faith.
(On the upside, Dr. Jones has abandoned the third-person bi-lines, sure evidence of holiness.)
Old Life 