8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB)
In yesterday’s post, The Justification Controversy: A Guide for the Perplexed, we looked at an essay written a few years ago by John W. Robbins which dealt with the growing apostasy within the Reformed churches in the USA. He traced the root of that apostasy which he narrowed down to one controversy:
The justification controversy actually began 30 years ago in 1975, when students of Professor Norman Shepherd of Westminster Theological Seminary gave the wrong answers to questions posed by presbyteries examining them for ordination. When asked how a sinner is justified, the Westminster Seminary students answered: by faith and works.
Of course, this is not what true Reformed Theology teaches. This is not what we read in Ephesians 2:8-10 (above) either. Therefore, to hold to a theology of justification by faith and works those who do so are ignoring the clear teaching of scripture. What’s going on?