Witsius on sanctification (2)
This letter-to-the-editor responds to Rev. Koole's editorial series on Herman Witsius by raising questions about the proper understanding of good works in the Christian life. The author seeks to reconcile the tension between viewing good works as necessary fruits of salvation versus as having intrinsic value in one's relationship with God, drawing on Reformed confessional standards and the doctrine of human sinfulness to argue that completed works remain defiled by sin despite their necessity in Christian living.
Dear Rev. Koole, After reading the five installments of your editorial series Herman Witsius: Still Relevant, I still have questions on statements you make, which are difficult for me to reconcile with my understanding of the Christian life. In the third installment, you state, …there arises suspicion by reflex when mention is made of good works as being necessary and having a vital value in the life of the believer in any real sense at all. If one does speak of their 'necessity,' it is only...
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