November 2007 - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

Protestant Reformed Theological Journal
nothing of her leaders, as brothers
logical differences and under-
to whom the right hand of scores unity on the basis of the
fellowship ought to be extended.
least common denominator, has
Something is seriously infected Evangelicalism. Bee-
amiss. As critical as the doctrine
son Divinity School advertises
of the Trinity is, it is not itself as an evangelical and inson
the only doctrine that serves as terdenominational theological
the touchstone of orthodoxy. school. If the leaders of such
The measure of a theologian institutions continue to promote
and of a church is not only their the false ecumenical spirit that
doctrine of the Trinity. God the is part of God the Holy Trinity,
Holy Trinity is an unsettling indication
they will, not too far in the fu-
of the extent to which ture, be encouraging reparation
the modern ecumenical spirit, with Rome. ■
the spirit that downplays theo-
By Faith Alone: Answering the
Challenges to the Doctrine of Justification,
ed. Gary L. W. Johnson
and Guy P. Waters. Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Books, 2006. 219 pp.
$17.99 (paper). [Reviewed by
Douglas J. Kuiper.]
104
Twelve men contribute to
this collection of essays in defense
of the doctrine of justification
by faith alone over
against the teachings of the New
Perspective on Paul (NPP)
movement and the men of the
Federal Vision.
In the foreword and introduction,
David Wells and Guy
Prentiss Waters lay the groundwork
for the essays that follow.
Wells argues that Christian
evangelicalism, which once
held the doctrine of sola fide
dear, is today divided into three
factions: one, which still loves
the doctrine of justification by
faith alone; another, which does
not explicitly deny this doctrine
but does quietly ignore it and
minimize its importance; and
the third, which redefines terms
and plays with words and thus
completely sells the truth of justification
by faith alone. Waters
briefly describes the history and
teachings of both the NPP and
the Federal Vision, concluding
that while these differ in a num-
Vol. 41, No. 1