This book explores the history of the theme of 'union with Christ' in the Reformed tradition. After chapters on the legacy of Calvin and Reformed Orthodoxy, the author uncovers three trajectories in American Reformed theology in which salvation as union with Christ is understood in remarkably different ways. The subsequent twentieth-century history of the theme is also explored. This detailed examination of New England Calvinism, Princeton Calvinism, and the Mercersburg Theology highlights the historic diversity present in Reformed thought, and the implications of that diversity for contemporary Evangelical and Reformed thought.

First study in the R.E.D.S series History & exegesis of imputation Exploring the Biblical roots of sin and salvation

This book explores the history of the theme of 'union with Christ' in the Reformed tradition. After chapters on the legacy of Calvin and Reformed Orthodoxy, the author uncovers three trajectories in American Reformed theology in which salvation as union with Christ is understood in remarkably different ways. The subsequent twentieth-century history of the theme is also explored. This detailed examination of New England Calvinism, Princeton Calvinism, and the Mercersburg Theology highlights the historic diversity present in Reformed thought, and the implications of that diversity for contemporary Evangelical and Reformed thought.

Foundational to believers' salvation is their union with Christ. In this accessible introduction, Johnson argues that this neglected doctrine is the lens through which all other facets of salvation should be understood.

Thomas Goodwin has been described as 'the forgotten man of English theology' and, though known by some as a pioneer of congregationalism and a prominent member of the Westminster Assembly, the true significance and scope of his life's work has only recently been discovered. Historical reassessment has uncovered that the majority of Goodwin's treatises were intended to form a grand project defending Reformed soteriology in the 1650s against new threats as well as traditional opponents. Examining Goodwin's notion of union with Christ in relation to mystical indwelling, transformation, justification and participation, this study demonstrates the central role of union with Christ in Goodwin's soteriology. The application of salvation, he contended, must be founded on 'real' union with Christ (i.e., mystical union forged by Christ's indwelling) in order to advance a trinitarian, federal, high Reformed soteriology in which redemption from sin is set within a Reformed scheme of Christocentric deification. This in-depth analysis makes a fresh contribution to recent controversy over union with Christ in the post-Reformation period.

Martin Bucer has usually been portrayed as a diplomat who attempted to reconcile divergent theological views, sometimes at any cost, or as a pragmatic pastor who was more concerned with ethics than theology. These representations have led to the view that Bucer was a theological light-weight, rightly placed in the shadow of Luther and Calvin. This book makes a different argument.Bucer was an ecclesial diplomat and a pragmatic pastor, yet his ecclesial and practical approaches to reforming the Church were guided by coherent theological convictions. Central to his theology was his understanding of the doctrine of justification, an understanding that Brian Lugioyo argues has an integrity of its own, though it has been imprecisely represented as intentionally conciliatory. It was this solid doctrine that guided Bucer's irenicism and acted as a foundation for his entrance into discussions with Catholics between 1539 and 1541. Lugioyo demonstrates that Bucer was consistent in his approach and did not sacrifice his theological convictions for ecclesial expediency. Indeed his understanding was an accepted evangelical perspective on justification, one to be commended along with those of Luther and Calvin.

Richard Hooker and his Early Doctrine of Justification explores the doctrine of justification, the doctrine of faith and grace, and the doctrine of Scripture and use of reason in the early theology of Richard Hooker. In order to prove that Hooker was a Protestant Reformed theologian, Simuþ concentrates on Hooker‘s doctrine of justification as reflected in his Learned Discourse of Justification, which is the most important work of his early theology. Unlike previous books on Hooker which use primarily the theology of Luther and Calvin to draw conclusions, this book brings together quotations and ideas from the works of Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Bucer, Calvin and Beza to show that Hooker was a Protestant Reformed theologian. Simuþ also discusses the theological context of Hooker‘s career by offering an analysis of the doctrine of justification in the theology of John Jewel, John Whitgift (Hooker‘s patrons), and Thomas Cartwright and Walter Travers (Hooker‘s Puritan opponents).