NO CONDEMNATION

A Theology of Assurance of Salvation

Michael A. Eaton

Copyright © Michael Eaton 2011. The moral right of Michael Eaton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

This second, revised edition published in Great Britain by Piquant Editions in 2011

PO Box 83, Carlisle, CA3 9GR, UK

www.piquanteditions.com

ISBN 978-1-903689-72-1

First edition published as A Theology of Encouragement (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995) / No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1997)

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Eaton, Michael A., 1942-

No condemnation : a theology of assurance of salvation. --2nd rev. ed.

1. Assurance (Theology) 2. Salvation--Christianity. 3. Grace (Theology) 4. Law and gospel. 5. Liberty--Religious aspects--Christianity.

I. Title

234-dc22

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the UK such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE.

Cover design by ProjectLuz

CONTENTS

Foreword by Dr R. T. Kendall

Preface

Abbreviations

PART 1 A THEOLOGICAL PROBLEM

1 The Quest for an Encouraging Theology

A personal experience

Developed Calvinism and evangelical Arminianism

‘The law’

‘Antinomianism’

2 Developed Calvinism

Limited atonement

Assurance of salvation

Godly living

Warnings of failure

Introspection

3 Evangelical Arminianism

Universal atonement

Assurance of (present) salvation

Godliness

Wesley and Fletcher

Legalism

Arminian exposition

4 A Challenge to Tradition

Hermeneutical pre-understanding

PART 2 TOWARDS A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF GRACE

5 A Fresh Approach to Grace

‘Shall we continue in sin?’

A theology of motivation

‘Encouraging Calvinism’

6 Objective and Universal Atonement

Synoptic gospels

John

Paul

Hebrews

2 Peter

The ground of assurance

7 Freedom from the Law (The Abraham Stories)

Structure of the Pentateuch

Law in the Pentateuch

The first presentation of the law

The law in Deuteronomy

Abraham

Defining ‘law’

Faith in Genesis 15:6

‘God reckoned it’

The purpose of Abraham’s call

Covenant, grace, promise, law

Genesis 17

El Shaddai

Obedience

Circumcision

Genesis 22

God’s oath

Covenant and oath

8 The Law of the Mosaic Covenant

Law and the covenant

Legal vocabulary in Genesis

Legal language after Sinai

The nature of the covenant

Biblical usage

The Abrahamic and Sinai covenants contrasted

Defects of the Sinai covenant

The sanctity of the law

Old Testament criticisms of the law

Keeping the law

The tenth commandment

The covenants contrasted

9 Freedom from the Law in the Epistle to the Galatians

An overview of Galatians

‘The law’

Galatians 5:13–6:10

Conclusion: the law ...

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About No Condemnation: A Theology of Assurance of Salvation

This is a new, fully revised, edited and updated edition of Michael Eaton’s magisterial study of the biblical, theological, and historical dimensions of assurance in the life of a Christian believer. He challenges both traditional Arminian and Calvinist views, in which salvation and good works are too tightly bound together, by drawing a clear distinction between salvation and reward. Eaton expounds a robust and radical grace-through which salvation overflows in assurance-based on a survey of select portions of the Old and New Testaments, and in dialogue with relevant writings by others. In particular, this edition includes a new section of three chapters in which Eaton responds to the writings of Tom Wright on covenant.

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Table of Contents