That the apostolic preaching is nothing other than the various predictions made by the prophets, proclaimed as having been realized in Jesus Christ, means that, on the one hand, the apostolic preaching is both the key to understanding the Old Testament and the confirmation of its fulfillment, while, on the other hand, it is the Old Testament which shapes the whole of the Christian revelation itself.

ST IRENAEUS OF LYONS, ON THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING, TRANSLATED WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JOHN BEHR, 13.

Jesus Christ, His passion and resurrection is, for Ignatius, the only complete revelation of God; this alone is salvific. Hence it is only through this door, Jesus Christ, that the prophets, apostles, and the whole Church enter to the Father.

St Irenaeus of Lyons, On the Apostolic Preaching, translated with an Introduction by John Behr, 11.

No one whose profession of faith is merely a matter of words should deceive himself by thinking that such a faith is able to save.

CORNELIS P. VENEMA, THE GOSPEL OF FREE ACCEPTANCE IN CHRIST: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REFORMATION AND NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL, 68.

One of the best ways to interpret an argument is to discover the issue being addressed.

CORNELIS P. VENEMA, THE GOSPEL OF FREE ACCEPTANCE IN CHRIST: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REFORMATION AND NEW PERSPECTIVE ON Paul, 67.

What undergirds the doctrine of justification is an emphasis upon God’s grace and mercy in Christ. Consequently, the doctrine of free justification is an instance of obedience to the first commandment, which requires that we let God be the God who freely justifies believers in Christ.

CORNELIS P. VENEMA, THE GOSPEL OF FREE ACCEPTANCE IN CHRIST: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REFORMATION AND NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL, 39.

To say that justification is a free gift of God’s grace, which is granted to believers upon the basis of the work of Christ alone, is to refocus attention upon the objective reality of God’s work for his people.

CORNELIS P. VENEMA, THE GOSPEL OF FREE ACCEPTANCE IN CHRIST: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REFORMATION AND NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL, 38.

The contrast between the law and the gospel, therefore, is the contrast between the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of faith. Either we are saved (partly or wholly) by our obedience to the law or we are saved by Christ’s obedience for us.

CORNELIS P. VENEMA, THE GOSPEL OF FREE ACCEPTANCE IN CHRIST: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REFORMATION AND NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL, 14.

Whatever the gap between academy and pew, ideas tend to have legs that will eventually carry them into the church.

Cornelis P. Venema, The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ: An Assessment of the Reformation and New Perspective on Paul, 2.

Therefore, lest we suffer any such thing, we must keep the rule of faith unswervingly. And perform the commandments of God, believing in God and fearing Him, for He is Lord, and loving Him, for He is Father. Action, then, comes by faith, as ‘if you do not believe,’ Isaiah says, ‘you will not understand.’ (Isa. 7:9); and the truth brings about faith, for faith is established upon things truly real, that we may believe what really is, as it is, and believing what really is, as it is, we may always keep our conviction of it firm.

Irenaeus of Lyons, On the Apostolic Preaching, 41.