Justification by the Word

Restoring Sola Fide

Jack D. Kilcrease

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781683596035
• eBook ISBN:
  9781683596073
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

God's Word creates what he commands

In Justification by the Word, Jack D. Kilcrease reintroduces Martin Luther's key doctrine. Though a linchpin of the Reformation, Luther's view of justification is often misunderstood. For Luther, justification is an expression of God's creative Word. To understand Luther on justification, one must grasp his doctrine of the Word. The same God who declared "let there be light"--and it was so--also declares "your sins are forgiven." Justification is an objective reality. It is achieved in Christ's resurrection and received through an encounter with the risen Christ in Word and sacrament. Justification turns us outward, away from our own unsteady feelings and limited understanding, to look to Christ. And the church must preach justification, lest we so easily forfeit the joy of the gospel.

Justification by the Word inspires readers to reencounter the radical doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Thanksgiving for the Word
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Justification and the Word: Human Experience and Creation
• Chapter 2: Justification and the Old Testament: Salvation through the Word in the Hebrew Bible
• Chapter 3: Justification and Christ: Salvation through the Word in the Ministry of Jesus
• Chapter 4: Justification in Paul: The Eschatological Redemption by the Word of God
• Chapter 5: Justification in the Early Church and Augustine: The Bishop of Hippo’s Theological Foundations
• Chapter 6: Augustine on Justification: The Origins of the Augustinian Dilemma
• Chapter 7: Justification in the Middle Ages: Augustinian and Aristotelian Legacies in Latin Theology
• Chapter 8: Justification and Young Luther: The Genesis of Humilitastheologie
• Chapter 9: The Reformation Breakthrough: Luther’s Rediscovery of the Sacramentality of the Word
• Chapter 10: Justification and Post-luther Lutheran Theology: The Outworking of Luther’s Legacy
• Chapter 11: Post-reformation Protestant Theology: The Return of the Augustinian Dilemma
• Chapter 12: Justification and Election: God’s Hiddenness in the Means of Grace
• Chapter 13: Justification and Election: God’s Hiddenness outside the Means of Grace
• Chapter 14: Justification and the Sacraments: The General Concept of Sacraments
• Chapter 15: Justification and the Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
• Chapter 16: Justification and the Christian Life: The Sacramental Word in Action
• Chapter 17: Six Theses on Justification: Its Place in Christian Faith and Life
• Bibliography
• Subject and Name Index
• Scripture Index