Frank Macchia’s Justified in the Spirit, reviewed by John Poirier
Macchia’s expanding use of the term “justification” could be both good and bad. It is good in the sense that Macchia isn’t forcing pneumatology in where it doesn’t belong (as I think others sometimes do), but it’s bad in that it relies a little on a trick of the light in order to do what the book claims to be doing. It appears that Macchia doesn’t so much find an increased role for the Spirit within the Christian doctrine of justification, but rather that he increases the territory covered by that doctrine until it includes the Spirit. There is one significant exception to this: where many Pentecostal scholars construe the baptism of the Spirit in Acts 2 as an empowerment for mission, Macchia takes a more traditionally Protestant approach by linking the gift of the Spirit in that context more directly with justification. Unfortunately, Macchia does not admit to the reader that he is in this sense being less representative of Pentecostalism. In fact, he hides from view the fact that a debate over Acts 2 even exists.
These quibbles do not detract from what is otherwise a fine book. The reader will learn a lot about the differences between historic theological traditions, as well as the contributions of a number of important theological figures. The reader will have to look elsewhere, however, to find a true “Pentecostal” discussion of Acts 2.
Reviewed by John C. Poirier
Publisher’s page and preview: www.eerdmans.com/Products/3749/justified-in-the-spirit.aspx