vol. 40, Issue #4

Online Journal Article:THE SEARCH FOR AN EVANGELICAL CONSENSUS ON PAUL AND THE LAW - MARK W. KARLBERG - JETS 40/4 (December 1997) 563–579

https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/40/40-4/40-4-pp563-579_JETS.pdf

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Complete article may be found here:
https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/40/40-4/40-4-pp563-579_JETS.pdf


THE SEARCH FOR AN EVANGELICAL CONSENSUS
ON PAUL AND THE LAW -
MARK W. KARLBERG - JETS 40/4 (December 1997) 563–579

Excerpt
From the perspective of evangelical Protestantism historically defined,
one would have thought that in our day the doctrine of justification by faith
alone would remain one of the central tenets of the faith, a doctrinal element
foundational to the one gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully proclaimed in every
age and every culture. Presumably a Protestant of the reputedly evangelical
variety would have regarded this doctrine as a theological nonnegotiable.
Regrettably, such is not the case in contemporary Protestantism. The doctrine
that once distinguished Protestantism from Roman Catholicism has begun to
fade into the background. The sharp line of demarcation between Scriptural
fidelity and apostasy—respecting that which historic Protestantism
considered to be the doctrine upon which the Church stood
or fell—has virtually been obliterated. The document
“Evangelicals and Catholics Together” has signaled an ominous future for
American Christianity. Of this, however, we can be certain: Biblical Christianity
—present and future—will not be party to what, in any fair and
balanced analysis, amounts to a betrayal of the gospel of
salvation by grace through faith alone. --from the first page of the article