The most important words in the world

There aren't many sermons from 25 years ago that I remember, but I can vividly recall the one that American scholar Norman Geisler gave at our church in the early 80s. ‘The three most important things Jesus ever said’ was the title, and I still remember what those three things were: ‘It is written’; ‘It is finished’ and ‘I am alive’—under which headings Dr Geisler summarized beautifully how, according to the Scriptures, Christ had come to die and to rise for the salvation of the world.

Now whether they really were the three most important things Jesus ever said would be a matter for endless and no doubt fruitless debate. But it's interesting how clearly I have remembered the message merely for the fact that the claim was made.

Are Paul's words in Romans 3 about justification the most important words in the world? John Woodhouse and Gordon Cheng suggest that these words are, as they unfold and explain this extraordinary paragraph in our lead article (starting on page 11). Lionel Windsor then explores why anyone would want to object to the doctrine of justification, and finds that numerous people still do. Christopher Ash further clarifies our understanding by suggesting that our shorthand phrase ‘justification by faith’ can actually be quite misleading. And Joshua Bovis concludes with a pastoral reflection on why the gospel of justification remains so scandalous.

Whether or not our bold and unprovable claim about ‘the most important words’ is true, our hope is that the message of this Briefing will stick in your mind: there is nothing in the world more glorious, more precious, and more worth contending for and proclaiming than the justification that comes to us as a gift through Jesus Christ. TP

Couldn't Help Noticing

• The Pilgrim's New Progress
• Another classic children's Bible
• Noticed in America #1
• You will not taste death
• Noticed in America #2
• What is scholarship?

• Talking about the teddy (UK edition only)

Resource Talk

• Starting again, again—Tony Payne contemplates the daily struggle to implement that New Year's resolution to spend more time praying and reading the Bible.

Justification by faith alone

• The most important words in the world—John Woodhouse and Gordon Cheng take us through the Bible's purple passage on the subject of justification to help us understand this life-giving truth.
• Justification under threat—Lionel Windsor exposes the perils of holding to something other than justification by faith alone.
• On the dangers of Christian shorthand: ‘Justification by faith’—Christopher Ash expands on this handy catchphrase.
• The scandalous gospel—Joshua Bovis tells us about the one scandal he is not ashamed of, and why we should get involved in it.

Pastor's Brief

• The power of ministry wives—The wife of a man engaged in ministry has a difficult and challenging role. As one Briefing reader shows, it's a role which brings with it a lot of power.

Bible Brief

• Hebrews 1-7—20 daily Bible readings by Simon Roberts.

Epilogue

• Language pollution—D Broughton Knox thinks about why people like to use filthy language.

The Longing

Stuff that didn't quite make it into The Briefing:

• Justification by faith: Did Paul get it right?—Peter Hastie interviews Philip Everson, Principal of London Theological Seminary in the UK, on the doctrine of justification.
• Comparing the Bible and the Qur'an—Samuel Green talks about how to do this accurately.

The Briefing Library

Recent additions to our online archives:

• No justification!—(Briefing #35)
• Martin Luther and the justification of God—Robert Doyle (Briefing #75)
• Getting in and staying in: The ‘New Perspective’ on justification—Rob Smith (Briefing #228)
• Wright up close—Rob Smith (Briefing #229)
• The New Perspective in action—Rob Smith (Briefing #230)