Turretin on good works

This is helpful

"Works can be considered in three ways: either with reference to justification or sanctification or glorification.

 

They are related to justification

not antecedently, efficiently and meritoriously, but consequently and declaratively.

 

They are related to sanctification

constitutively because they constitute and promote it.

 

They are related to glorification

antecedently and ordinatively because they are related to it as the means to the end."

(See Turretin, 17.3.14)

Turretin

Last week it was my great privilege to get along to the John Owen Centre and enjoy an introduction to Francis Turretin's Institutes of Elenctic Theology. Jeff Jue of Westminster led the sessions and very well too. Sadly, there were only three of us. Ralph is based at WEST and is actually doing the ThM course. Duncan and I were just auditing. Turretin's three volume work has been available in English for some years now and is a very impressive piece of post-Reformation scholasticism well worth investing some time in. It was great to have this week of navigating at least some of the loci. Giovanni's cooking is always a bonus.

JOC Lectures on Scripture 1

It was my privilege once again today to be among the privileged few at the John Owen Centre in nearby Finchley for lectures this time from fellow blogger Iain D Campbell on the doctrine of Scripture. We began with brief biblical introduction (taking in Psalm 19, John 10:35, 2 Timothy 3:16, etc). We then went on to look at Westminster Theological Seminary and Scripture. We began with Machen (see this Daryl Hart essay via here) moved on to Murray (in the Infallible Word symposium, outline here) and E J Young (Thy Word is Truth). We also looked at Sinclair Ferguson in Harvie Conn's symposium (outline here).

We then turned to Old Princeton beginning with Turretin (whose tome Hodge would have used), passing over Hodge himself and focusing on Warfield, especially his inaugural address at Western in 1881 and his essay with A A Hodge on Inspiration (see here). I notice that several Warfield articles are here. In the afternoon we looked at the opening chapter of the Westminster Confession which, though familiar, was worth going through together its finely balanced statements.

Westminster 07 D

The first session on the second day of the Westminster conference this year featured Maurice Roberts of Inverness (our favourite Welsh Scotsman chairman Geoff Thomas introduced him as) speaking on Turretin and the place of Systematic Theology. This focused on Turretin (1623-1687) - described by the late Leon Morris as a towering figure among the Genevan Reformers - and his Institutes of Elenctic Theology and was chiefly a helpful summary of that great but largely forgotten work. It included some background to the subject also and closed with a plea - "Systematic Theology breathes in the soul something our churches very much need at this hour - a conviction of the infallibility of eternal truth."

Originally in Latin, an English edition of the elenctics (from a Greek word meaning conviction and used when convicting of error) has been available in three volumes since 1992, edited by James T Dennison. Mr Roberts plea was for Systematic Theology rather than Turretin's work in particular, which is no easy read. He was commended, however, for his help on open theism, God's law and the new perspective. A good discussion followed, thankfully not side-tracked by the presence of a latter day Amyraldian, with whom Mr Roberts dealt graciously but firmly.