Address by Dr. James Berry at the conference “Justification by Faith Alone: Recovering Law and Gospel” in Cape Town, South Africa, on 21 June 2025. Since the Fall, humankind has grappled with the tragic reality of our fallenness. This fallenness is most fundamentally experienced as shame—the recognition of a coreContinue Reading
The parable of the Good Samaritan is generally understood to be an ethical teaching of Jesus that challenges us to love our neighbour better. Most teachings on the parable are moralistic, leaving the impression that the imperative to “go and do likewise” is the sole aim of what Jesus isContinue Reading
The phrase “acid test” referred originally to the process of determining whether or not a metal is gold. It has become a metaphor for determining the quality or nature of a thing. If an interpreter of Romans does not see its threefold structure and/or does not understand Romans 2:13 toContinue Reading
Just pause and think of what it meant for the Lord Jesus to obey for us, in our place. For thirty years he never once said or did anything wrong. More than that, at every single moment he positively said and did exactly the right thing, in the right way,Continue Reading
Does your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? The pious Jews of Christ’s day thought they had holiness before God figured out with their meticulous observance of the OT law. In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus destroys any notion that he had come to abolish the law or save anyoneContinue Reading
From an essay entitled “Hungering and thirsting after righteousness” by the late Princeton Seminary theologian Geerhardus Vos: The Sermon on the Mount is rightly accorded a chief place in the teaching of our Lord. It carries a weight of authority, sets an ethical standard, and reveals heights and depths ofContinue Reading