Read Cornerstones of Salvation, preface.

Dr. Lee Gatiss is the Director of Church Society (churchsociety.org) and has served in several Anglican churches. He teaches church history at Union School of Theology and in Cambridge where he lives with his wife, Kerry, and their three children. He is the author/editor of about a dozen books, including For Us and For Our Salvation, and The NIV Proclamation Bible.

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 1.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Ephesians 2:1–10
• John 8:31–38
• Ezekiel 37:1–14

1. What was the essence of Erasmus’s case in his book The Freedom of the Will?
2. What was the essence of Luther’s case against Erasmus?
3. What do you think of Luther’s rhetorical approach to this debate?
4. Which side of the debate would you agree with and why?
5. How important is the doctrine of free will in evangelicalism today?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 2.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Ephesians 1:1–14
• Ephesians 5:22–33
• Romans 5:12–21

1. What is the problem for which union with Christ is the answer?
2. What are the benefits of union with Christ?
3. What Roman Catholic errors are addressed by this doctrine?
4. What Protestant errors are addressed by Calvin’s doctrine of union?
5. How can this doctrine be useful in preaching to people today?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 3.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Galatians 2:11–21
• Romans 3:19–31
• Romans 7:7–25

1. What does Professor Dunn think is the problem with Luther’s doctrine of justification?
2. How does Dr Gatiss answer this?
3. What does the New Perspective say about ‘the introspective conscience’?
4. What did Augustine and Luther say on Romans 7?
5. What are “the works of the Law”?
6. Do you think we should hesitate to preach the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone today, in the light of the New Perspective?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 4.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Matthew 9:35–38
• Titus 1:1–9
• 2 Timothy 1:1–14

1. Many people have not heard of Grindal. Can you summarize his career?
2. Why did Queen Elizabeth I oppose Grindal?
3. How did Grindal defend the need for preaching?
4. What were “prophesyings” and how does Grindal defend them?
5. What can we learn from Grindal about preaching today and about courage?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 5.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Romans 8:26–39
• Mark 16:14–20
• John 3:16–21

1. What is particular redemption?
2. What is hypothetical universalism?
3. Which Bible verses played a part in the debate of the Westminster Assembly on this subject?
4. What is your view on this doctrine, and why?
5. How would you answer objections to your view?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 6.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• John 17:1–19
• Titus 2:11–15
• 1 John 1:8–2:2

1. Do you agree with Mitchell or Hodge about how to read WCF 3.6 (pages 143–147)?
2. Do you think a hypothetical universalist could agree with chapter 8 of the Westminster Confession?
3. Do you think WCF 7.3 is a compromise between conditional universalists and particular election, as Schaff thought?
4. Would you agree that the Westminster Confession seems to have been written to allow some diversity of views on this subject to be encompassed?
5. How would you change the Westminster Standards to make them more clearly support your own view on this subject (if you were allowed to)?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 7.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Genesis 17:1–14
• Acts 16:11–15, 25–34
• 1 Corinthians 7:12–14

1. Why is it important to be so precise (as Owen was) in defining what the question is here?
2. What do you make of the arguments from silence used on either side of this debate?
3. Do you think the children of believers have the same relationship to God’s covenant as “pagans and infidels”? Why/why not?
4. Was John Owen on his way to becoming a Baptist?
5. Do you think children who die in infancy are saved?
6. How will your practice towards the children of believers change as a result of this chapter?

Read Cornerstones of Salvation, chapter 8.

Read the following Scripture passages:

• Romans 8:26–39
• 1 Timothy 2:1–7
• 2 Timothy 2:22–26

1. Would you have agreed with the person who told Wesley in 1738 that he must never preach again at St. Helen’s church in London?
2. What is good about George Whitefield’s reply to Wesley?
3. What do you think of Wesley’s view of justification (page 211)?
4. Was it fair for Toplady to link Wesley to Pelagius?
5. What alterations did Wesley make to Toplady’s translation of Zanchi?
6. How does reading this chapter impact your engagement with theological controversy?