The doctrine of justification by faith has long been at the heart of Christians belief, and debate. For Luther, it was the doctrine on which the church ‘stands or falls’. Calvin described it as the ‘main hinge on which religion turns’. In recent days, the New Perspective on Paul and various initiatives within the ecumenical movement have brought the debate into the forefront of academic discussion once again.

This is an academic book in four parts, comprising the papers written by various evangelical scholars and presented to the conference entitled ‘The Gospel, Freedom and Righteousness: The Doctrine of Justification’, held at Wheaton College Graduate School in April 2003.

Part 1 considers justification in biblical theology. In a challenge to the traditional Protestant view, Robert Gundry argues for the non-imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Whilst affirming that Jesus Christ died as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, on the cross, he seeks to show how it is exegetically untenable to maintain that the believer enjoys an imputed righteousness from Christ. Rather, it is not faith that God reckons as the basis of righteousness. Don Carson responds by considering justification in the redemptive-historical trajectory of scripture, arguing that it is possible to affirm the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer, through faith. It would have been helpful to have had a full chapter unpacking this true biblical theological framework of justification through the Bible.

Part 2 considers justification and the crisis of Protestantism, whilst Part 3 looks at Justification in Protestant Traditions. They include plenty of historical analysis, covering some of the thinking of the likes of Melanchthon, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer and Wesley as well as the Roman Catholic church over time.

Part 4 debates justification and the ecumenical endeavour. There is an excellent article by Anthony Lane on Article 5 of the Regensburg dialogue, who stands out by addressing some pastoral implication of his paper.

This raises one of several missed opportunities that this reviewer feels are present in the book. For a subject so crucial to sinful man’s participation in the glory of eternal life with the Holy Trinity, the book was on the whole rather dry. For the student preparing for an essay, there is much to be learned. It is thorough, and detailed. But not one chapter seeks to make a clear presentation of the centrality of justification and its implications for the church today, or over time. People say it’s important, but we don’t see how. For are subject with such eternal implication, this omission is a shame.

Perhaps this is partly because it also seeks so hard to find common ground in the ecumenical debate that there is little on what justification is not. It is possible humbly and graciously to point out false doctrine and its implications, and to do so is most loving. This isn’t an appeal for a return to the discord of the past, but it is to say that on justification, as with various other doctrines, there is saving truth and error that leads to destruction.

Adding to this, and despite an encouraging title, the book misses the opportunity of addressing the pastoral implications of the freedom that we have in the gospel as a result of justification. Without this it fails to critique the way in which the evangelical world outside of academia is drifting from justification by faith alone. We are in daily danger of denying justification by faith alone, but with the exception of Lane’s article, none were touched on in the book.

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