Justification, Volumes 1 & 2 (New Studies in Dogmatics)

by Michael Horton

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2018

Overview

The doctrine of justification stands at the center of our systematic reflection on the meaning of salvation as well as our piety, mission, and life together. In his two-volume work on the doctrine of justification, Michael Horton seeks not simply to repeat noble doctrinal formulas and traditional proof texts, but to encounter the remarkable biblical justification texts in conversation with the provocative proposals that, despite a wide range of differences, have reignited the contemporary debates around justification.

Key Features

• Explores the historic development of the doctrine of justification
• Provides concise, focused treatments of major topics in dogmatic theology through a contemporary lens
• Bridges the gap between exegesis and theology

Endorsements

Respectfully yet relentlessly pressing Horton’s many conversation partners in New Testament, this thorough, systematic, and far-ranging work advances a reading both distinctive and yet more traditional than many of today’s dominant paradigms. Horton also exposes some of our blind spots, properly challenging mischaracterizations of the Reformers. In contrast to some New Testament scholars driven too much by modern philosophic premises, Horton is often more faithful to ancient interpretations relevant to the biblical cultures. As a New Testament scholar, I profited repeatedly from his historical context for various theological approaches in modern New Testament scholarship.

—Craig Keener, F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary

This is a serious and important work coming from a leading Reformed theologian. It concerns a pivotal doctrine that was at the heart of the Reformation and that continues to provoke differences between Protestants and Catholics. Both Protestant and Catholic readers—not only scholars but also theologically interested laity—will profit by wrestling with this learned historical study.

—Gerald R. McDermott, Anglican Chair of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School

Product Details

• Title: Justification, Volumes 1 & 2 (2 vols.)
• Author: Michael Horton
• Editors: Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain
• Series: New Studies in Dogmatics
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication Date: 2018
• Volumes: 2
• Pages: 928
• Resource Type: Systematic Theology
• Topic: Soteriology

Justification, Volume 1

• Author: Michael Horton
• Editors: Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain
• Series: New Studies in Dogmatics
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 400

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Volume 1 engages in a descriptive task—an exercise in historical theology exploring the doctrine of justification from the patristic era to the Reformation. Broadening the scope, Horton explores patristic discussions of justification under the rubric of the “great exchange.” He provides a map for contemporary discussions of justification, identifying and engaging his principal interlocutors: Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Gabriel Biel, and the magisterial reformers. Observing the assimilation of justification to the doctrine of penance in medieval theology, especially via Peter Lombard, the work studies the transformations of the doctrine through Aquinas, Scotus and the nominalists leading up to the era of the Reformation and the Council of Trent. He concludes his first study by examining the hermeneutical and theological significance of the Reformers’ understanding of the law and the gospel and the resultant covenantal scheme that became formative in Reformed theology. This then opens the door to the constructive task of volume 2—to investigate the biblical doctrine of justification in light of contemporary exegesis.

Justification, Volume 2

• Author: Michael Horton
• Editors: Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain
• Series: New Studies in Dogmatics
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 528

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Building on his historical-theological exploration of justification in volume 1, in this second volume Horton embarks upon a constructive task of investigating the biblical doctrine of justification in light of contemporary exegesis. Here he takes up the topic of justification from biblical-theological, exegetical, and systematic-theological vantage points, engaging significantly with contemporary debates in biblical, especially Pauline, scholarship. Horton shows that the doctrine of justification finds its most ecumenically-significant starting point and proper habitat in union with Christ, where the greatest consensus, past and present, is to be found among Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant theologies. At the same time, he proposes that the union with Christ motif achieves its clearest and most consistent articulation in forensic justification. The final chapter locates justification within the broader framework of union with Christ.

About Michael Horton

Michael Horton (PhD) is Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary in California. Author of many books, including The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, he also hosts the White Horse Inn radio program.