The Roman Catholics held the Council of Trent in reaction to the Reformation. Justification was addressed: 鈥淚f anyone says that the godless are justified by faith alone . . . let him be anathema鈥� (Trent, VI, canon 9). And, 鈥淔or faith, unless hope and charity are added thereto, neither unites one perfectly with Christ nor makes one a living member of his body鈥� (Trent, VI, ch. 7). Catholics were (and are) not opposed to justification by faith, but they were opposed to justification by faith alone.

In Luther鈥檚 commentary on Galatians, he stated, 鈥淭his one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification, that is, that we are delivered from sin, death, and devil, not through ourselves (nor certainly through our works which are of lesser value than we ourselves), but through outside help, through the Only-begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ.鈥� In the introduction to Romans in Luther鈥檚 German Bible, he states, 鈥淸F]aith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever.鈥�

This Baptist, however, has a problem with Luther鈥檚 view of faith and justification. If Luther had rejected infant baptism, as the Anabaptists of his day did and as we Baptists do today, his view of justification by faith would have been more acceptable. While he rejected the Catholic view of justification, he never rejected the practice and doctrinal implications of infant baptism and thus infant justification. Therefore, he had to argue that infants could and did have faith. He could do this for he viewed faith as a gift from God completely divorced from any activity of the individual, and thus bestowed by God upon the child at baptism. This position demands then that faith is entirely from God and requires nothing from man. So while this writer accepts the concept of sola fide, he rejects the belief that faith is imposed upon man by God with no expectation on the part of man to exercise faith. There is an intellectual and volitional aspect of faith which requires that a person understand the basics of the Gospel and that he willfully chooses to place his trust in Christ as his Savior.

A well-written eulogy can be found at . We will not repeat what was written there. We will, however, note one item that was not mentioned. Near the end of the article, written by the editor-in-chief of the Dallas Theological Seminary DTS Magazine, is a short list of his more significant books 鈥� his study Bible, The Miracles of our Lord, So Great Salvation, and Balancing the Christian Life. What is significantly missing is Ryrie鈥檚 Dispensationalism Today, now in its third edition and renamed Dispensationalism: Revised and Expanded.

While the writings mentioned in the eulogy are important, Dispensationalism Today continued the emphasis in conservative Christianity on a means of interpreting the Bible that maintains a consistently literal interpretation. Made popular by Scofield鈥檚 Reference Bible, dispensationalism was the hermeneutical method espoused by the majority of early fundamentalism. Ryrie expanded on the early dispensationalism of Scofield, Walvoord, Chafer and others and established an 鈥渆ssentialist鈥� approach to systematizing dispensational thought. While Ryrie was a student and then professor at Dallas, the seminary held to a traditional view of dispensationalism.

That Dallas would ignore this key work says much about how Dallas has shifted in the past twenty years. Ryrie retired as Dean of Doctoral Studies in 1983 and a decade later, two Dallas professors, Darrell Bock and Craig Blaising began to promote the new progressive dispensationalism with a hermeneutic that sees more continuity between Israel and the church. This new position is closer to covenant theology than Ryrie or more traditional dispensationalists are willing to accept.

Charles Ryrie is home. His work in dispensational interpretation lives on.

• .聽Emlet, Michael

“Your friend just left his wife. You catch your child posting something inappropriate on the Internet. Someone in your small group is depressed. A relative was just diagnosed with an incurable disease. When those you know and love experience trouble, you don’t want to hand out pat answers or religious platitudes. Instead, you want to offer real hope and help from God’s Word. You know it s true, but how does an ancient book, written thousands of years ago, connect with our twenty-first century problems? In CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet, Michael R. Emlet gives you the tools to connect the Bible to your life and to the lives of your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. You will learn to understand people and God s Word in ways that promote gospel-centered, rich conversations that help you and those you know grow in love for God and others. This book will make the whole Bible come alive to you. Instead of platitudes, you can offer a cup of living water to those who are struggling in this broken world.” – Amazon.com

• .聽Adams, Jay.
• .聽Adams, Jay.
• .聽Hull, Bill.
• .聽MacArthur, John.
• .聽Tripp, Paul.
• .聽Tripp, Paul and Timothy Lane.

• .聽Liefeld, Walter L.

“Expository preaching is an elusive ideal. Many preachers aspire to it, few are acknowledged masters. For most a gap exists between the sermon that addresses the needs of the hearers and one that methodically plumbs the depths of Scripture. New Testament Exposition is written to bridge this gap and bring together the disciplines of preaching and exegesis. In this book Liefeld addresses the three main concerns of expository preaching: What is the text saying? How can its message be communicated in ways that are appropriate to the passage, the seeing, and the goals of the sermon? How can the message meet the real needs of the congregation in a way that is consistent with the purpose and function of the text? This book demonstrates how these concerns can be brought together in a sermon, and it is this thoughtful, practical approach that makes the book so valuable to preachers and seminarians. The book is divided into three parts. Part I explores the characteristics of expository preaching. Part II deals with preparing the text and addresses such areas as practical exegesis, exegetical outlines, narratives and compositional patterns, semantic patterns, and underlying assumptions of the text. Part III discusses application of the text by asking, What is the function of the text? What are the needs of the congregation? How can one preach to inner heart needs as well as to the external circumstances facing the congregation? New Testament Exposition is not vague theory, nor is it esoteric study beyond the grasp and time of the busy pastor. Throughout the book Dr. Liefeld reflects his experience in the classroom and pulpit, and his concerns as scholar and pastor are clearly seen in the final chapters of this volume. Chapter 9 examines preaching from difficult texts: How might one handle parables, miracle stories, obscure passages, culturally related texts? The final chapter provides a demonstration of all that is discussed throughout the book by walking the road through the actual preparation for a sermon.” – Amazon.com

Here are some other books that might interest you.

• .聽MacArthur, John, ed.
• .聽Richard, Ramesh.
• .聽Robinson, Haddon W.
• .聽Sunukjian, Donald.

• .聽Wagner, Charles U.

Here are some other books that might interest you.

• .聽Gangel, Kenneth.
• .聽Larsen, David L.
• .聽Logan, Robert E.
• .聽Ogden, Greg.
• .聽Senter, Mark.

• .聽Walvoord, John F. and Roy B. Zuck, eds.

Here are some other commentaries that might interest you.

• .聽Gaebelein, Frank E., ed.
• .聽Longman, Tremper III and David E. Garland, ed.
• .聽Carroll, B. H.
• .聽Wiersbe, Warren.

• .聽Anthony, Michael.

• .聽Choun, Robert and Michael Lawson.
• .聽Gangel, Kenneth and Howard Hendricks.
• .聽Hendricks, Howard.
• .聽Richards, Lawrence and Gary J. Bredfeldt.
• .聽Towns, Elmer L.

• .聽Custer, Stewart.

Here are some other books that might interest you.

• .聽Thomas, Robert L.
• .聽Thomas, Robert L.
• .聽Cohen, Gary G.
• .聽Hand, Brian.
• .聽 Hindson, Ed.
• .聽Mounce, Robert H.
• .聽Osborne, Grant R.
• .聽Smith, J. B.
• .聽Walvoord, John F.

• .聽Michaels, J. Ramsey.

“The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.” – Amazon.com

Here are some other books that might interest you.

• .聽Hiebert, D. Edmond.
• .聽Baker, William.
• .聽Grudem, Wayne.
• .聽Jobes, Karen.
• .聽Schreiner, Thomas R.