A Plea For The Antient Gospel

A Theological debate, occasioned by a book lately written by Mr. Daniel Williams, entitled, Gospel Truth Stated & Vindicated; Unwarily Commended and Subscribed by some divines. Mr. Chauncy, acting on the behalf, and in the person of, one Doctor Tobias Crisp, whose sermons have been ransacked - viciously rent and torn asunder by men whose poisoned minds have been directed to view the message of the pure Gospel of Grace through the spectacles of the Law; in these spiritual conversations not only vindicates, but also attempts to set forth the glorious Gospel of Christ, in all its assimilating truth, as a pure declaration of free & sovereign grace, in the free proclamation of an accomplished redemption through the sole merit, righteousness, and death of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse." Gal.3:10. "And the law is not of faith." Gal.3:12. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Rom.10:4.

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The investigation of union with Christ and justification has been dominated by the figure of John Calvin. Calvin's influence, however, has been exaggerated in our own day. Theologians within the Early Modern Reformed tradition contributed to the development of these doctrines and did not view Calvin as the normative theologian of the tradition. John V. Fesko, therefore, goes beyond Calvin and explores union with Christ and justification in the Reformation, Early Orthodox, and High Orthodox periods of the Reformed tradition and covers lesser known but equally important figures such as Juan de Valdes, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Girolamo Zanchi, William Perkins, John Owen, Francis Turretin, and Herman Witsius. The study also covers theologians that either lie outside or transgress the Reformed tradition, such as Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Faustus Socinus, Jacob Arminius, and Richard Baxter. By treating this diverse body of figures the study reveals areas of agreement and diversity on these two doctrines. The author demonstrates that among the diverse formulations, all surveyed Reformed theologians accord justification priority over sanctification within the broader rubric of union with Christ. Fesko shows that Reformed theologians affirm both union with Christ and the golden chain of salvation, ideas that moderns find incompatible. In sum, rather than reading an individual theologian isolated from his context, this study provides a contextual reading of union with Christ and justification in the Early Modern Reformed context.