G. C. Berkouwer

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  Sin A Print On Demand Title

  $43.99

  Berkouwer is known for the tone of praise and worship that runs throughout his entire theology. As he states in this volume, “The purpose of a song of praise is obviously that we should sing along and not get bogged down in extraneous and speculative problems. For the man who is mired deeply in problems can only relativize and disharmonize his song of victory.”

  That statement is a key for understanding this truly remarkable book on the utterly somber and serious business of man’s sin. Joy, doxology, and biblical piety are the earmarks of Berkouwer’s discussion from cover to cover. He argues, in the light of Scripture, that there can be no meaning in the meaningless or sense in the senseless, or rationality in that which is intrinsically irrational. To say that there can be can only detract from the awfulness of sin and the magnitude of God’s forgiveness. Therefore it can only impinge upon our piety. The proper response to sin is a true confession of my guilt; for the man who truly confesses is truly forgiven. Joy and doxology find place when sin is taken with a real, very biblical seriousness.

  From this vantage point the author rejects the notions of monism, dualism, and a demonological explanation for man’s sin. He wants nothing to do with a “phenomenology of evil” which sees sin as self-evident. In the light of the salvation that has come we can only speak of our sins that remain as a riddle. Berkouwer’s view is a wholesome foil to contemporary concepts that refers to man’s “estrangement,” “alienation,” and “incompacity,” and have little or nothing to say about his guilt. He eschews the language of causality, since “self-exculpation dogs the heels of any explanation for our sin.” His interests are biblical and doxological, and precisely therefore he denies the concepts of realism and federalism as developed in Reformed orthodox theology.

  “Original sin” is no datum that is “with us,” and is certainly no “alien guilt”; much rather, it is known in our own involvement in sin. Nothing, not even faith, can shed a particle of light on the truly enigmatic character of evil. Thus piety and doxology unlock the door for understanding why Berkouwer rejects a number of false alternatives or problems in this book. Typical are the problems of monism and dualism, inactual and actual wills of God, the law and the gospel, cum verbo and per verbum, the wrath of God and his love, his justice and his mercy, Adam and Christ. God’s wrath is seen in the service of his

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  Sacraments A Print On Demand Title

  $33.99

  The Sacraments is the tenth work to appear in the American edition of Berkouwer’s monumental Studies in Dogmatics. In it the author examines, explicates, and defends the Reformed teaching on the sacraments in the light of the Word of God and church theology. In the process, Berkouwer discusses and evaluates the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and various contemporary views of the sacraments.

  His method is to construct a general concept of the “sacraments” first, during which he takes into consideration the sacraments proper (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). He does not seek to analyze the essence of “the sacraments” apart from a consideration of the individual sacraments, for, Berkouwer contends, the nature of the sacraments turns precisely upon the concrete givenness of baptism and the Lord’s Supper in the historical revelation in Christ.

  The study proceeds to deal with the questions of: the number of sacraments, the relation between Word and sacrament, the efficacy of the sacraments in relation to faith, the nature of Christ’s presence in the sacrament, the meaning of “sign and seal,” and the controversial questions of infant baptism and open communion. In treating these issues, Berkouwer sorts out the massive complications that have developed over the years and, with devout faith and unfaltering logic, threads his way between confusion and oversimplification.

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  Work Of Christ A Print On Demand Title

  $37.99

  Following the order of the Apostles’ Creed, Berkouwer discusses at length Christ’s incarnation, passion, resurrection, ascension, and rule, concluding with a thorough discussion of four aspects of Christ’s work – reconciliation, sacrifice, obedience, and victory.

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  Divine Election A Print On Demand Title

  $35.99

  In this series rooted in the normative significance of Scripture, noted Dutch theologian G. C. Berkouwer examines great doctrines of the Reformed faith, developing and defending Reformed theology through interaction with a wide range of theologies and theologians.

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  General Revelation A Print On Demand Title

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  Asserting that there is no more significant question in the whole of theology than that of the nature and reality of revelation, Berkouwer examines this question along with the claims of natural theology and the radical character of the history of religion since the nineteenth century.

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