Accepted and Renewed in Christ
The Twofold Grace of God and the Interpretation of Calvin's Theology
by Cornelis P Venema
The subject of this book is the understanding of the gospel in the theology of the Protestant Reformer John Calvin. Specifically, it deals with what Calvin terms the twofold grace of God, the justification and sanctification of believers on the basis of the redemptive work of Christ. In treating this subject, the study has a twofold objective: first, to contribute to an understanding of the nature and relation of justification and sanctification in Calvin’s theology; and second, to contribute to the interpretation of Calvin’s theology in general. The thesis of the book is that Calvin views justification and sanctification as the two benefits of the Triune God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ. These benefits are simultaneously communicated to believers through the office or ministry of the Holy Spirit, who joins them to Christ by faith. The twofold grace of God represents a particular doctrinal theme within the broader framework of the knowledge of God as Creator and Redeemer. Redemption, which remedies the consequences of human sinfulness, includes not only the restoration of sinners to a state of acceptance and favour with God on the basis of Christ’s work as Redeemer (justification), but also the renewal or sanctification of sinners in conformity to Christ (sanctification). The twofold grace of God reveals distinct features of the knowledge of the Triune God as Redeemer, who is merciful and kind in condescending to his creatures’ needy condition and raising them up to newness of life. The twofold grace of God in Calvin’s theology provides a comprehensive perspective upon the knowledge of God and ourselves that peculiarly concerns the redemption of sinful humanity. This study also addresses several controversial questions in Calvin studies. These include Calvin’s view of the relation between the law and gospel, and his understanding of the role of good works in confirming the genuineness of faith.
- By (author) Cornelis P Venema
Other Titles in this Series
Christ and the Old Covenant
Francis Turretin (1623-1687) on Christ's Suretyship under the Old Testament
Volume 51
Calvinus sacrarum literarum interpres
Papers of the International Congress on Calvin Research
Volume 5
Calvinus Pastor Ecclesiae
Papers of the Eleventh International Congress on Calvin Research
Volume 39
Reformed Covenantal Eudaimonism
Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635–1711) on Highest Good, Virtue, and Law
Volume 87
Learning to Pray
The Heidelberg Catechism's Teaching on Prayer in its Sixteenth-Century Context
Volume 82
Reforming Good Works in Geneva
Bénédict Pictet’s Doctrine of Good Works and His Place in Late Reformed Orthodoxy
Volume 85
Histories that Mansoul and Her Wars Anatomize
The Drama of Redemption in John Bunyan's Holy War
Volume 15
A Knot Worth Unloosing
The Interpretation of the New Heavens and Earth in Seventeenth-Century England
Volume 53
Johannes Cocceius and the Exegetical Roots of Federal Theology
Reformation Developments in the Interpretation of Hebrews 7-10
Volume 7
John Edwards (1637-1716) on Human Free Choice and Divine Necessity
The Debate on the Relation between Divine Necessity and Human Freedom in Late Seventeenth-Century and Early Eighteenth-Century England
Volume 22
The Jews in English Baptist Eschatology
Conversion, Restoration, and National Identity, 1649-1815
Volume 84
Union with God
An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin
Volume 69
Britain and the Bestandstwisten
The Causes, Course and Consequences of British Involvement in the Dutch Religious and Political Disputes of the Early Seventeenth Century
Volume 28
Die Pradestinationslehre der Heidelberger Theologen 1583-1622
Georg Sohn (1551-1589), Herman Rennecherus (1550-?), Jacob Kimedoncius (1554-1596), Daniel Tossanus (1541-1602)
Volume 10
The Anchor of a Believer’s Hope
John Flavel's (ca. 1627-1691) Theology of Death, Dying, and Eternal Destiny
Volume 83
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