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The case for traditional ProtestantismSola...THE CASE FOR TRADITIONAL PROTESTANTISM This book does exactly what it says on the cover. Terry Johnson is the senior minister of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia, and his aim is to set out and defend the leading gospel principles that were recovered at the Reformation. At the time, these were summarised in five statements using the Latin word sola or alone: Scripture alone, Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone and to the glory of God alone. The first is the claim that the Bible is God's complete revelation to the human race and therefore the final authority for the church; the second, that Christ is the only Mediator, Saviour and Lord, roles which no other man may usurp; the third, that faith is the sole means of laying hold of justification (forensic righteousness), not to be mixed with any self-righteousness or self-confidence; the fourth, that God's attitude of grace (undeserved love) is the only basis of any relationship with him; the fifth, that all life, whether 'religious' or 'secular', is to be lived only for the praise of God. Johnson defends each one of these great truths in turn. He looks at the Scriptural justification for each point (this could have been more thorough), quotes from Reformation writers, pre-eminently Martin Luther (always a tonic); quotes from modern theologians and historians of a variety of persuasions (perhaps there was a little too much of this). Although he does touch on liberal views, his main disagreement is, as for the Reformers themselves, with traditional Roman Catholicism. In case anyone is tempted to think this is of merely historical interest, he mentions several times that a number of his friends have 'converted' from the evangelical gospel to Romanism. This is clearly a source of puzzlement and regret to Johnson, as it will be to all who love the gospel here set out. This book is not, I think, carefully enough argued to convince the sceptical, but it will certainly inform the ignorant. I believe it should also rally the faithful to 'contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints'. Tom Forryan, © Evangelicals Now - March 2005 |