Christianity Today 2024 Book Award (Academic Theology)In Titus, Paul says Christ redeemed a people "zealous for good works." Despite this declaration and others like it, the doctrine of good works has fallen on hard times in contemporary Protestant theology and practice. At best, it's neglected--as in most systematic theologies and in too much church teaching. At worst, it's viewed with suspicion--as a threat to salvation by grace alone th...

In the first two chapters of Luke, characters acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Lord. Lukan characters also speak of John going before the Lord God, suggesting that Jesus might be the Lord in view, and connect Jesus with Old Testament YHWH passages. These features have made Luke 1-2 a key locus for discussions of Lukan Christology, generating speculation as to whether Luke presents Jesus as divine. However, they also create an apparent incongruity with the body of the Gospel. I...