The Bond of Grace and Duty — In the Soteriology of John Owen

Philip Craig’s analysis shows very clearly what was at issue here, and how completely and crushingly, without naming names, Owen outflanks and undercuts this widespread Puritan form of easy-believism. It is a thorough, painstaking and definitive piece of work that carries more of a message for the church of our time than doctoral theses usually do. What a privilege it is to introduce and commend such a worth-while book as this.

— J.I. Packer

254 pages

Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1. Owen’s Doctrine of Preparation for Grace and Glory . . . . 9

2. Seventeenth-Century English Antinomianism . . . . . . . . . 41

3. The New England Antinomian Controversy . . . . . . . . . . 58

4. The Bond of Grace and Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

5. The Means of Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  88

6. Preparation for Grace: Illumination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

7. Preparation for Grace: Conviction of Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

8. Preparation for Grace: Legal Reformation . . . . . . . . . . 130

9. Regeneration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

10. The Importance of Being Spiritually Minded . . . . . . . 155

11. Preparation for Glory: Conflict Against Sin . . . . . . . . . 166

12. Preparation for Glory: The Mortification of Sin . . . . . . 184

13. Preparation for Glory: Prayer and Meditation

on the Glory of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

14. Preparation for Glory: Obedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  211

15. Conclusion and Contemporary Observations . . . . . . . .226

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Index of Scripture References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Index of Names and Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249