The Church of God as an Essential Element of the Gospel (Hardcover)
Read inside (PDFs): Sample Pages
Publisher: Committee for the Hist of OPC
Author: Robinson, Stuart
Textbook Note ST 690/990: 100%
ISBN-13: OPCCHURCHOFGOD
Binding: Hardcover
List Price: $10.00
Westminster Bookstore: $10.00
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Product Description: For most readers, holding this new edition of The Church of God represents their first encounter with Stuart Robinson. By comparison, the major contributors to the ongoing discussion of Presbyterianism are readily recognized: the cornerstone Calvin, the Socratic Turretin, the erudite Bavinck, and the inexhaustible Bannerman. Thornwell defended church power in theory, but Robinson defined it in particulars. Hodge traveled the landscape of ecclesiology extensively, but Robinson traversed its terrain proficiently. Bannerman expounded Presbyterianism comprehensively, but Robinson explained it concisely. Although one can understand why historians give more attention to better known thinkers, Robinson was regarded as an equal among and by his contemporary Presbyterian ecclesiologists. He should be given his due when discussing the area of his recognized strength.
In recent years, ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church) has surged ahead of other loci of theology. Many works on ecclesiology have appeared in the developing academic areas of comparative and historical ecclesiology and in the ever-expanding postmodern theologies, particularly the Emergent wing. But not all of these contributions can be regarded as enriching. Despite apparent efforts to revive an ancient faith, some contemporary ecclesiologists betray an eclectic historical consciousness that tends to skip over the Reformation. Inserting The Church of God back into the ecclesiological narrative helps to address the existing need to become better acquainted with what has been said before—and, above all, with what has been said wisely.
Where some have seen weakness, Robinson saw strength. Calvin wedded his doctrine of the church to the doctrine of predestination. Some have viewed this as a serious 'methodological error.' But Robinson viewed it as a brilliant insight…In the unsearchable counsel of the triune God, the ‘ideal church’ lies anterior to the ‘actual church' in the history of redemption, preeminently in the Abrahamic covenant. Reformed ecclesiology has been powerful and united because it has insisted on seeing the church in the big picture, through the perspective of God’s eternal decree, and consequently in the sweep of redemptive history. Taking this ‘ideal' angle inevitably led Robinson to stress the centrality of Christology in ecclesiology and Christ’s ongoing ministry in his threefold office.
This volume was originally published in 1858 and has been retypeset and augmented to include a foreword by Dr. A. Craig Troxel and Thomas E. Peck's "Memorial of the Life and Labors of the Rev. Stuart Robinson."
Contents:
- Introduction
- Part I: The Relation of the Idea of the Church to the Eternal Purpose of Redemption
- Part II: The Relation of the Idea of the Church to the Manifestation of the Divine Purpose as Revealed in the Scriptures
- Part III: The Relation to the Idea of the Church of the Principles of Church Government Set Forth in Scripture
- Part IV: The Relation to the Idea of the Church of the Ordinances of Worship Set Forth in Scripture
- Concluding Observations
- Appendix
229 Pages
Published 2009
About the Author:
Stuart Robinson graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1841. He was licensed and ordained by Greenbrier Presbytery and served pastorates in Malden (West Virginia), Frankfort (Kentucky), Baltimore, and Louisville. Robinson also taught at the Presbyterian Seminary in Danville, Kentucky from 1856-1858. Along with these pastoral and academic positions, Robinson edited the Presbyterial Critic, the True Presbyterian, and the Free Christian Commonwealth. In 1869 he was elected moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. After twenty-three years as pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Robinson died on October 3, 1881.
About the Editor:
A. Craig Troxel (Ph.D, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and serves as Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Troxel has contributed numerous articles to a variety of publications, including the Westminster Theological Journal, Calvin Theological Journal, New Horizons, and Modern Reformation |
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"Stuart Robinson’s The Church of God was a book ahead of its time… Robinson gives us the bigger view and corrects the “painful imperfections” of recent contributions on the doctrine of the church. He unabashedly toes the Presbyterian line but any and all who are interested in a reformed vision will appreciate Robinson’s line of sight, his clarity and his brevity—his thesis takes less than eighty pages."
- A. Craig Troxel (Ph.D, Westminster Theological Seminary), Pastor, Bethel Presbyterian Church, Wheaton, Ill; Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
"Robinson’s appeal to the centrality of the church is even more relevant in our day than when it was first published. Much more damaging today has been the temptation either toward anti-evangelical churchism on the one hand or anti-ecclesiastical evangelicalism on the other. Ecclesiology, Robinson insists, is required for the coherence of Reformed theology and thus to the future of the Reformed faith: 'A Calvinistic theology,' he warns, ‘seldom remains long incorrupt except as held in connection with a Presbyterian theory of the church.'"
Read the full review at Ordained Servant Online.
- John Muether, Librarian and Associate Professor of Church History, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL
"Stuart Robinson’s The Church of God was a book ahead of its time.
Like Darryl Hart and Carl Trueman, Robinson warned the church over the fusion of faith in God and politics—that tilts left or right.
Like Nathan Hatch, Robinson was greatly concerned that the currents of egalitarian populism flowed so easily in and out of American evangelicalism and he predicted that the “sovereign audience” would bode badly for church government being taken seriously.
Like Gerhardus Vos, Robinson’s theology was fueled by an eschatological vista and the outworking of the decree of God. So he constructed his doctrine of the church with the advantage of one who sees comprehensively and yet as one who assembles the epochs of redemptive-history with skill.
Now to put this into finer context. Those of us who dabble in the doctrine of the church have welcomed the resurgence of theological interest in the church—as is evidenced by the flood of books published these last ten years. However, many of these contributions display “painful imperfections” and some even bear that unmistakable and conventional fondness for novelty. As is the case, the faddish voices will suffer their own fate. We will not mourn their memory. But unfortunately some will persist and refuse to go away quietly.
This is one reason, as C.S. Lewis reminded us, why we read old books. They serve as a corrective of their younger kin. Bringing The Church of God back into the ecclesiological narrative addresses that ongoing need to become re-acquainted not just with what has been said before, but with what has been said wisely. New books are important; but only inasmuch as they are helpful. As they refine the good, simplify the inaccessible, reassert the wise and announce the brilliant, they will advance the conversation.
So to reach back to a century and a half ago and wallow in Robinson’s intelligence helps to chastise some of this contemporary zeal-without-knowledge and its accompanying distortions. Robinson’s warnings and insights address his day, but since they are rooted in a biblical theology, they breathe relevance into our day as well. He guarded the importance and the voice of the people who fill the pews. But he also knew the dangers of self-love that would throw aside authority in the name of community. His brilliance was honed by his pastoral interest and commitment. So his panorama of theology took expression with his feet on the ground. He thinks as a theologian. He writes thinking of the sheep. And to think that he does all this, in less than eighty pages."
- A. Craig Troxel (Ph.D, Westminster Theological Seminary), Pastor, Bethel Presbyterian Church, Wheaton, Ill; Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
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