Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 15:2 (Fall 2018)
Article: Evaluating The Points Of Congruence And Incongruence Between The Doctrines Of Justification Of John Calvin And N.T. Wright
Author: Robert F. Littlefield

JBTM 15:2 (Fall 2018) p. 48

Evaluating The Points Of Congruence And Incongruence Between The Doctrines Of Justification Of John Calvin And N.T. Wright

Robert F. Littlefield

Robert F. Littlefield is an independent researcher in Enterprise, Alabama. [email protected]

N. T. Wright advocates a new perspective on the writings of Paul. In 1978, he claimed that he was offering a new way of seeing Paul and a new perspective on certain Pauline problems.1 Some scholars, particularly John Piper, have expressed their disagreement with Wright’s perspective on the doctrine of justification. For instance, Piper expresses his conviction that although Wright is not “under the curse of Galatians 1:8–9, ” he believes that Wright’s “portrayal of the gospel—and of the doctrine of justification in particular—is so disfigured that it becomes difficult to recognize as biblically faithful.”2 Other authors also have expressed concern about Wright’s new perspective on Paul.3

This article is a summary of a dissertation that evaluates the proximity of the doctrines of justification of John Calvin and N. T. Wright.4 Wright refers to himself as a “good Calvinist”5 and favorably refers to the doctrine of John Calvin a number of times concerning his covenantal theology, his viewpoint on God’s commands on law-keeping and godliness, his understanding of justification relative to being in Christ, and the importance of the Spirit’s work in salvation.6 Wright maintains that a doctrine that takes into account the whole of Scripture and demonstrates a reliance on the work of the whole Trinity will embrace both the truths that the Reformers espoused and those that they moved to the

JBTM 15:2 (Fall 2018) p. 49

side. He claims that his view of justification establishes the Reformation tradition, rather than overthrowing it.7 The thesis of this paper is that a substantial congruence can be demonstrated between the doctrines of justification of Calvin and Wright.

The following key doctrinal elements offer a reasonable way to organize the discussion of Calvin’s and Wright’s doctrines of justification in order to compare and contrast them:

• the role of the covenant in the doctrine of justification
• an understanding of the righteousness of God
• foren...
  
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