DOCSLIB.ORG

3. Order of Salvation in This Part of Dogmatics Will Be Treated A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

3. Order of Salvation In this part of dogmatics will be treated A. Vocation (call). B. Conversion (regeneration, illumination). C. Justification. D. Sanctification. E. Preservation (perseverance and election). F. Mystic union. A. Vocation I. God calls and invites sinners to accept and enjoy the fruits of Christ's redemptive work. 1. Human beings have by nature no knowledge of the way of salvation. a) They are by nature unable to conceive and unwilling to seek salvation by grace. 1) This is the result of original sin. Note: Consider how this reflects both aspects of original sin: both the lack of true fear, love and trust in God and the presence of natural hostility toward him. Augsburg Confession, II, p 43: Also they teach that since the fall of Adam, all men begotten in the natural way are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with concupiscence. 2) Scripture is rich in descriptive terms for this natural spiritual condition of mankind. -a) Scripture pictures it as general depravity. Psalm 14:2,3 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 2 All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 53:3 Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” -b) Scripture calls this condition darkness or blindness. 297 John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. Acts 26:18 [I am sending you] to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Ephesians 4:17,18 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. -c) Scripture pictures it as hostility. Romans 8:7 The sinful mind is hostile (ἔχθρα) to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Colossians 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. -d) Scripture calls it spiritual death. Ephesians 2:1,5 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. 5 God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. -e) Scripture calls it desire that is diametrically opposed to God. Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Genesis 8:21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” Galatians 5:17,24 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 298 James 1:14 But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Romans 7:8,21,23 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 23 But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 3) Sinful human beings oppose the gospel of free justification. 1 Corinthians 1:18,23 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 23 But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 1 Corinthians 2:8,14 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Acts 17:6,7,18 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Isaiah 53:1-3 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. b) Therefore, if Christ's work of redemption is not to be lost, God himself must bring sinners to acceptance. 299 1 Corinthians 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 2:12,13 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 2 Corinthians 5:19 God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” 2. God proclaims salvation and invites sinners to accept and enjoy it. a) God's overtures to the sinner are often referred to as a call or vocation. 1) Scripture in several places uses this term specifically. Romans 1:5-7 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 You also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 8:28,30 We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Galatians 5:8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Recommended publications
  • The Five Points of Calvinism

    The Five Points of Calvinism

    • TULIP The Five Points of Calvinism instructor’s guide Bethlehem College & Seminary 720 13th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 612.455.3420 [email protected] | bcsmn.edu Copyright © 2007, 2012, 2017 by Bethlehem College & Seminary All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. • TULIP The Five Points of Calvinism instructor’s guide Table of Contents Instructor’s Introduction Course Syllabus 1 Introduction from John Piper 3 Lesson 1 Introduction to the Doctrines of Grace 5 Lesson 2 Total Depravity 27 Lesson 3 Irresistible Grace 57 Lesson 4 Limited Atonement 85 Lesson 5 Unconditional Election 115 Lesson 6 Perseverance of the Saints 141 Appendices Appendix A Historical Information 173 Appendix B Testimonies from Church History 175 Appendix C Ten Effects of Believing in the Five Points of Calvinism 183 Instructor’s Introduction It is our hope and prayer that God would be pleased to use this curriculum for his glory. Thus, the intention of this curriculum is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. This curriculum is guided by the vision and values of Bethlehem College & Seminary which are more fully explained at bcsmn.edu. At the Bethlehem College & Semianry website, you will find the God-centered philosophy that undergirds and motivates everything we do.
  • Incorporated Righteousness: a Response to Recent Evangelical Discussion Concerning the Imputation of Christ’S Righteousness in Justification

    Incorporated Righteousness: a Response to Recent Evangelical Discussion Concerning the Imputation of Christ’S Righteousness in Justification

    JETS 47/2 (June 2004) 253–75 INCORPORATED RIGHTEOUSNESS: A RESPONSE TO RECENT EVANGELICAL DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IN JUSTIFICATION michael f. bird* i. introduction In the last ten years biblical and theological scholarship has witnessed an increasing amount of interest in the doctrine of justification. This resur- gence can be directly attributed to issues emerging from recent Protestant- Catholic dialogue on justification and the exegetical controversies prompted by the New Perspective on Paul. Central to discussion on either front is the topic of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, specifically, whether or not it is true to the biblical data. As expected, this has given way to some heated discussion with salvos of criticism being launched by both sides of the de- bate. For some authors a denial of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness as the sole grounds of justification amounts to a virtual denial of the gospel itself and an attack on the Reformation. Others, by jettisoning belief in im- puted righteousness, perceive themselves as returning to the historical mean- ing of justification and emancipating the Church from its Lutheranism. In view of this it will be the aim of this essay, in dialogue with the main pro- tagonists, to seek a solution that corresponds with the biblical evidence and may hopefully go some way in bringing both sides of the debate together. ii. a short history of imputed righteousness since the reformation It is beneficial to preface contemporary disputes concerning justification by identifying their historical antecedents. Although the Protestant view of justification was not without some indebtedness to Augustine and medieval reactions against semi-Pelagianism, for the most part it represented a theo- logical novum.
  • Does Regeneration Precede Faith in 1 John?

    Does Regeneration Precede Faith in 1 John?

    MAJT 23 (2012): 5-18 DOES REGENERATION PRECEDE FAITH IN 1 JOHN? by Matthew Barrett 1. Introduction FOR CENTURIES CALVINISTS and Arminians have been divided over the proper causal ordering between regeneration and conversion in the ordo salutis.1 Is it true, as the Calvinist believes it is, that God‘s act of regeneration precedes faith (monergism) or should we believe, as the Arminian does, that regeneration is conditioned upon man‘s faith and therefore precedes regeneration (synergism)?2 While the debate oscillates around numerous texts, the letter of 1 John plays a major role in determining the debate. For example, 1 John 5:1 states, ―Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whomever has been born of him.‖ This paper will argue that texts like 1 John 5:1 as well as others (cf. 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18) teach that regeneration does indeed precede faith.3 In demonstrating this thesis it will become evident that the Arminian ordo is inadequate while the Calvinist ordo is most faithful to the biblical witness. 2. 1 John 5:1 We begin by considering 1 John 5:1, which Piper calls ―the clearest text in the New Testament on the relationship between faith and the new birth.‖4 The Greek reads, Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν 1. This essay is a brief treatment of the topic. For a full defense of monergism as well as a full critique of synergism see my forthcoming book on the subject with P&R (some content in this chapter is taken from the forthcoming book published by P&R Publishing Co., P O Box 817, Phillipsburg, N.J.
  • Justification by an Imputed Righteousness

    Justification by an Imputed Righteousness

    Justification by an Imputed Righteousness JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688) Justification by an Imputed Righteousness or No Way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ by John Bunyan (1628-1688) Contents Sinners Justified by Imputation of Righteousness of Christ ..................................... 3 I. Men Are Justified before God while Sinners ......................................................... 6 I.A The Mysterious Act of Our Redemption ......................................................... 6 I.B Men Are Justified while Sinners in Themselves ........................................... 11 I.C More Reasons Men Must Be Justified while They Are Sinners .................. 26 II. Men Can Be Justified Only by the Righteousness of Christ ............................. 39 II.A The Righteousness that Justifieth Was Performed by Christ .................... 39 II.B The Righteousness which Justifieth Is Only Inherent in Christ ............... 40 III. The Uses of Justifying Faith ............................................................................... 44 III.A Take Heed of Seeking Justifying Righteousness in Ourselves ................. 44 III.B Have Faith in Christ ..................................................................................... 46 © Copyright 1999 Chapel Library: compilation, annotations. Published in the USA. Permission is ex- pressly granted to reproduce this material by any means, provided 1) you do not charge beyond a nominal sum for cost of duplication; 2) this copyright notice and all the text on this page are included. Chapel
  • The Gospel Wars Lesson #10 Justification & Imputation of Righteousness

    The Gospel Wars Lesson #10 Justification & Imputation of Righteousness

    The Gospel Wars Lesson #10 Justification & Imputation of Righteousness I. Lesson Introduction The imputation of Christ’s righteousness to we saints is part of the broader act of “Judicial or Forensic Justification” before the face of God. God in a judicial act of grace declares those who have been born again to be righteous based on the accomplished righteousness of Jesus, the Messiah, the God man who lived entirely without sin, fully obedient to the Law of God in all ways. This righteousness of Christ is imputed to His saints. “A right understanding of justification is absolutely crucial to the whole Christian faith. Once Martin Luther realized the truth of justification by faith alone, he became a Christian and overflowed with the new-found joy of the gospel. The primary issue in the Protestant Reformation was a dispute with the Roman Catholic Church over justification.” Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology; p. 722. II. Definitions Forensic: “A term that means ‘having to do with legal proceedings.’ This term is used to describe justification as being a legal declaration by God that in itself does not change our internal nature or character.” . Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, p. 1242 Imputation: “To think of as belonging to someone, and therefore to cause it to belong to that person. God ‘thinks of’ Adam’s sin as belonging to us, and it therefore belongs to us, and in justification He thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us and so relates to us on this basis.” Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, p. 1245 There are 3 distinct, but related concepts of imputation mentioned in Scripture.
  • “Baptism Now Saves Us” in 1 Peter 3:21

    “Baptism Now Saves Us” in 1 Peter 3:21

    The Journal of Ministry & Theology 5 Reflections on “Baptism Now Saves Us” in 1 Peter 3:21 Mike Stallard My remembrance of Dr. Bill Arp: Dr. William (Bill) Arp was one of my closest friends at Baptist Bible Seminary where I taught for 22 years. I remember when I interviewed for the theology position in the spring of 1994, the first home where I had a meal was Bill’s. I learned immediately of his love for family, and his home became a place of peaceful repose whenever I had the occasion. Bill’s teaching specialty was Greek and New Testament. He was considered our “go-to guy” for many of the epistles. There was clarity as he used discourse analysis to highlight serious observation of the text for his students as he followed grammatical-historical interpretation. The last eight years of my time at the seminary, I served as Dean and had the opportunity to call upon Bill to help out in various academic capacities in addition to his teaching of students. Bill was known for his love for working through difficult passages in the Bible. In light of this, I asked him from time to time to lead the faculty in a discussion of selected New Testament “problem” verses. On one occasion I asked him to lead the faculty through a discussion of the knotty problems in 1 Peter 3:18-22. We never finished our discussion – we ended up mired in the discussion of the spirits in prison! But Bill’s leadership on the issues at hand was always helpful.
  • Alien Righteousness? a Re-Examination of the Idea That Believers Are Clothed in the Righteousness of Christ

    Alien Righteousness? a Re-Examination of the Idea That Believers Are Clothed in the Righteousness of Christ

    ¯Title Page Alien Righteousness? A Re-examination Of The Idea That Believers Are Clothed In The Righteousness Of Christ Roderick Graciano And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19.8 i Copyright Notices King James Version of the English Bible, © 1997 by the Online Bible Foundation and Woodside Fellowship of Ontario, Canada. The New American Standard Bible, © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. The Holy Bible: New International Version, © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. The New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All Scripture citations are from The New American Standard Bible, © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, (abbreviated NAU in the narrative) unless otherwise noted. Other versions are normally identified in superscript abbreviation at the verse citation. Because The New American Standard Bible uses italics to identify words and phrases that are not in the original language text, emphasis is occasionally added in this work by using bold type. Permission Permission is hereby given to quote, copy and distribute all or a portion of Alien Righteousness? so long as no portion of it is sold nor used in a work that is for sale, and so long as the author is credited along with www.timothyministries.info as the source, and 2011 is indicated as the copyright date. Any use of all or part of Alien Righteousness? in a work or collection involving, or sold for, a monetary charge requires the express permission of the author who can be contacted at [email protected] .
  • The Paradigm of Chalcedonian Christology in Richard Hooker's Discourse on Grace and the Church

    The Paradigm of Chalcedonian Christology in Richard Hooker's Discourse on Grace and the Church

    22 I The Paradigm of Chalcedonian Christology in Richard Hooker's Discourse on Grace and the Church W J Torrance Kirby For as much as there is no union of God with man without that meane betweene both which is both, it seemeth requisite [to] consider how God is in Christ, then how Christ is in us. (Lawes 5.50.3) In the dedicatory preface to the fifth book of his treatise Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical/ Politie, Richard Hooker remarks that 'the weightiest conflicts the Church hath had were those which touched the head, the person of our Saviour Christ, and the next of importance those questions which are at this date [ie the period of the Reformation and its aftermath] betweene us and the Church of Rome about the actions of the body of the church of God ... ' (FLE 2:2.15-19). The great actions of the church disputed in the sixteenth century have to do principally with the manner and the means of our participation in God's own life. The communication of God's grace to humanity was opened up to rigorous scrutiny in Luther's formulation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. The doctrine of the church was radically recast as a logical consequence of the rethinking of the doctrine of salvation. Both the soteriology and the ecclesiology of the Reformation are intimately linked to that weightier conflict touching the manner of the union of God and man in one Christ. Indeed Chalcedonian christological orthodoxy provides a governing paradigm for the reformers in their fundamental approach to these questions.
  • Roman Catholic View Ii

    Roman Catholic View Ii

    These Living Waters: Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism A Report of the Catholic Reformed Dialogue in United States 2003 - 2007 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism 3. Historical overview: sacraments and sacramentality a. Sacramentality i. Roman Catholic view ii. Reformed view b. Sacraments i. Roman Catholic view ii. Reformed view c. Summary 4. Baptismal rites a. Our Common Early History b. Historical Developments: The Reformation c. Historical Developments: Roman Catholic d. [comparative chart of pre and post-Tridentine Baptismal Rites – appendix?] e. Development of Baptismal Rite after the Reformation i. Reformed ii. Roman Catholic f. Twentieth Century Convergence in Scholarship and Ritual i. Reformed ii. Roman Catholic g. Critical Comparison of Roman Catholic and Reformed Rites h. Conclusion: Similar Rites with Different Hermeneutics 5. Theology of Baptism: Roman Catholic, Reformed, and Common Perspectives a. What is baptism? b. Why does the church baptize? c. What does Baptism effect or signify? d. How is Christian Baptism related to the Biblical Economy of Salvation? e. What is the Relationship between Baptism, Faith and Discipleship? f. What implications does Baptism have for the church? g. Who may baptize and with what means and Formula ? h. Why do people need to be baptized? i. Who can receive baptism? j. Why do we baptize children? k. Why should someone be baptized only once? l. What is the relationship between baptism and confirmation and/or profession of faith? m. What is the relationship between baptism and election? n. What is the relationship between baptism and grace? 1 o.
  • Irresistible Grace

    Irresistible Grace

    TULIP: A FREE GRACE PERSPECTIVE PART 4: IRRESISTIBLE GRACE ANTHONY B. BADGER Associate Professor of Bible and Theology Grace Evangelical School of Theology Lancaster, Pennsylvania I. INTRODUCTION Can God’s gift of eternal life be resisted? Does God’s sovereignty require that He force selected people (the elect) to receive His gift of salvation and to enter into a holy union with Him? Is it an affront to God to suggest that the Holy Spirit can be successfully resisted? Calvinist or Reformed Theology, will usually reason that since God is all-powerfully sovereign and since man is completely and totally unable to believe in Christ, it is necessary that God enforce His grace upon those whom He has elected for eternal life. We will now consider the Calvinistic view and the Arminian response to this doctrine. II. THE REFORMED VIEW OF IRRESISTIBLE GRACE Hughes concisely says, Irresistible grace is grace which cannot be rejected. The con- ception of the irresistibility of special grace is closely bound up with...the efficacious nature of that grace. As the work of God always achieves the effect toward which it is directed, so also it cannot be rejected or thrust aside.1 Steele, Thomas, and Quinn present a slightly longer explanation—the doctrine of “The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace” say- ing, In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit ex- tends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (which is made to all 1 P.
  • THE EVIDENCES of REGENERATION the Evidences Are Inseparable from Regeneration

    THE EVIDENCES of REGENERATION the Evidences Are Inseparable from Regeneration

    [LHBC SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY: SOTERIOLOGY] February 14, 2016 THE EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION The evidences are inseparable from regeneration. They register immediately in the conscious life and activity of the person. This biblical truth is diametrically opposed to those who claim that there are no necessary evidences of the new birth. These often classify these evidences as works erroneously raised to the level of co- conditions with faith (otherwise called “frontloading the Gospel”).19 The apostle John is the principal source for the evidences of regeneration in a believer’s life, evidences which are in fact signs of the necessary and inevitable perseverance of the saints. John’s confirming proofs, to be discussed more fully in a later chapter, can here be listed as follows: Believing that Jesus is the Christ: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1). “Believes” is pisteuo in the present active indicative, “is believing.” “Is born” is the verb gennao in the perfect passive indicative, “has been born.” Righteous living: “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29). “Who practices” righteousness is ho poion, a present active participle of poieo, “the one doing” righteousness. “Is born” is gennao in the perfect passive indicative, “has been born.” Cessation of habitual sinning: “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). “Who is born” is gennao in the perfect passive participle, “who has been born.” “He cannot sin” is hamartano in the present active infinitive with ou dunatai, “he is not able to go on sinning.” (See also 1 John 5:18: “We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”) Overcoming faith: “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
  • Reformation Christology: Some Luther Starting Points

    Reformation Christology: Some Luther Starting Points

    Volume 7l:2 April 2007 Table of Contents -- - - - - - - Talking about the Son of God: An Introduction ............................. 98 Recent Archaeology of Galilee and the Interpretation of Texts from the Galilean Ministry of Jesus Mark T. Schuler .......................................................................... 99 Response by Daniel E. Paavola ..............................................117 Jesus and the Gnostic Gospels Jeffrey Kloha .............................................................................121 Response by Charles R. Schulz ........................................144 Reformatia Christology: Some Luther Starting Points Robert Rosin ........................................................................... 147 Response by Naomichi Masaki ..............................................168 American Christianity and Its Jesuses Lawrence R. Rast Jr ...... .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 175 Response by Rod Rosenbladt ................................................. 194 Theological Observer The Lost Tomb of Jesus? ........................................................ 199 CTQ 71 (2007):147-168 Reformation Christology: Some Luther Starting Points Robert Rosin "Reformation Christology" is an impossible topic in the space allotted. A narrower topic, relatively speaking, is Martin Luther's Christology, which leaves only about one hundred and twenty heavyweight volumes, each the proverbial blunt instrument that could do in the person foolish enough to think that Luther can be managed in this space. Nor