I know very little about Nicholas Batzig. I would know nothing were it not for the fact that Darryl Hart recently took Batzig to task for the latter's insightful blog post entitled "The Secret of Sanctification." Batzig's argument, in brief, is that the common exhortation to preach the cross for "power and pardon" is not completely accurate advice. The cross brings pardon, yes, but not power for godly living.This kind of power instead comes more properly through union with Christ in his resurrection (so Rom 6:1-14). I think Batzig is spot on in his critique.
Darryl Hart disagrees. He disagrees because union with Christ in the power of his resurrection does not give the believer absolute power over indwelling sin. The believer united with Christ in the power of his resurrection still sins, and asks with Paul, "Who shall deliver me from this body of sin?" Hart finds little solace for the sinning believer in recalling his union with Christ, but great solace in his justification. Hart summarizes, "I find much more comfort in the face of guilt to know that I no longer face condemnation."
Hart is right in one sense--of course there is comfort for the sinning believer in the grateful realization that he will no longer face condemnation. But that's not the question. The question is whether there is any power in justification. Justification is a forensic concept, not an experiential one. It changes my status but does not change me. By it I am declared righteous, not made righteous. Justification surely encourages me to to be holy, but it does not to empower me to be holy.
By being united with Christ in the power of his resurrection, on the other hand, the believer is regenerated and made a new creation capable of pleasing God. He has, in the Spirit-indwelt new man, the power to please God. Granted, the persistent remnants of sin are such that this is not an absolute power (the error of perfectionism). but it is a true and real empowerment to holiness nonetheless.
I really have no interest in coming up with a new "center." We have enough of these already: God-centered, Christ-centered, cross-centered, Bible-centered, etc. The title of my post is an irony. But I think Batzig is on to something. The Christian life is empowered not so much by the justification Christ secured for us on the cross, but by the union of regeneration that Christ secured for us in his resurrection. We live, in that sense, a resurrection-centered Christian life.
MAS
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About Me
- Mark Snoeberger
- After growing up in the great state of Pennsylvania, I settled down in 1994 with my new bride, Heather, in Allen Park, Michigan, and have been here at Detroit Baptist Seminary ever since (with a bit of time away for doctoral work). Since 2007 I have been privileged to be a part of the systematic theology faculty here. I love teaching, researching and writing, hunting with my two boys, and enjoying any little bit of God's unadulterated creation I can find (which means I occasionally have to get out of Detroit). But all these things matter to me only because theology matters. For it is God himself who gives all men life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25).
1 comments:
I absolutely agree with this sentiment. I don't think it's necessarily splitting hairs to say that justification does not empower us as Christians to live a godly life but rather it is the power of resurrection that gives us the ability to live righteously. I think this happens to every true believer whether they understand it or not, however, I think we can underemphasize this doctrine if we only speak of the power of the cross that frees us from condemnation. This is why I believe that often times in Reformed churches or churches that emphasize the cross over against other doctrines, the worship services have a very solemn and serious tone; meditating on weight of our sin and the fact that Christ paid it. But then He rose from the dead! So we can worship Him with gladness and victory. For although we still sin, not only has it been paid for, but we too have the hope of resurrection so that when we die, we are not like those without hope. Let's celebrate! He has risen indeed!
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