What was the Marrow Controversy? With Stephen Myers

Show Notes:
In this episode, we dive into the Morrow controversy and its significance in understanding key gospel truths. Our guest, Stephen Myers, provides us with a comprehensive overview of the controversy, its historical context, and its implications for covenant theology. We explore the book "The Marrow of Modern Divinity" and its authorship, the trial of John Simpson, and the General Assembly's condemnation of the Octaratar creed. Stephen also highlights the five obscured truths brought to light by the controversy and their impact on our understanding of the law, faith, and the gospel. Timestamped Chapter Summary:

• Introduction to the Morrow controversy (0:00:14)
• Importance of studying the Morrow controversy (0:00:43)
• Guest introduction: Stephen Myers (0:01:20)
• Stephen's background and ministry (0:01:36)
• Meeting William Van Dudaward in Scotland (0:02:51)
• What is the Morrow controversy? (0:03:29)
• Distinguishing between The Marrow of Modern Divinity, the controversy, and its implications (0:04:05)
• The book "The Marrow of Modern Divinity" and its authorship (0:04:22)
• The trial of John Simpson and the General Assembly's decision (0:06:12)
• The Octaratar creed and its purpose (0:07:13)
• The intention of The Marrow of Modern Divinity (0:08:34)
• The General Assembly's interpretation of the book (0:08:41)
• Concerns about legalism and antinomianism (0:08:45)
• The General Assembly's condemnation of the Octaratar creed (0:08:50)
• Thomas Boston's recommendation of The Marrow of Modern Divinity (0:09:04)
• The republishing of The Marrow of Modern Divinity (0:09:14)
• James Haddo's concerns and the General Assembly's condemnation (0:10:02)
• The representation and petition by twelve ministers (0:11:44)
• The General Assembly's response to the representation and petition (0:12:09)
• The aftermath of the controversy and its impact on covenant theology (0:12:26)
• The five truths obscured by the controversy (0:13:35)
• Erskin's assessment of the obscured truths (0:17:02)
• Clarifying the covenantal entities in Covenant Theology (0:17:09)
• The movement of salvation through the covenants (0:17:25)
• Obscure truth: believers are freed from the law as the covenant of works (0:19:05)
• Obscure truth: believers are freed from the commanding and condemning power of the covenant of works (0:20:00)
• The role of the law in the Christian life (0:21:07)
• The difference between the law in the covenant of works and the covenant of grace (0:21:13)
• The law as a guide to holiness in the covenant of grace (0:21:19)
• The third use of the law and its instruction in godliness (0:22:08)
• The plea for eternal life: Christ's righteousness imputed to believers (0:23:21)
• The controversy over the need to plead repentance and faith (0:24:08)
• The motivation for holiness in Erskin's understanding (0:24:46)
• The obscured truth: a fiduciary act or appropriating persuasion in justifying and saving faith (0:25:22)
• The distinction between assurance of faith and assurance of sense (0:26:04)
• The assurance of faith as essential to Erskin's understanding (0:26:25)
• The assurance of sense and its ebb and flow (0:27:18)
• The fifth obscured truth: the deed of gift or grant made by the Father to all hearers of the gospel (0:28:41)
• Promiscuous gospel offer and the Council of Peace covenant of works (0:29:46)
• Haddo's limited gospel offer and the distinction between the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace (0:30:02)
• Erskin's free offer of the gospel and the assurance of faith (0:30:52)
• The accusation of antinomianism and emeraldianism (0:33:22)
• The rejection of the accusations and the controversy's focus on guilt (0:34:04)

Quotable Phrases:

• "Our minds are to be shaped and renewed by the life-giving and transforming word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit." - Colt Robinson
• "The Morrow controversy really gets at some critical gospel truth." - Stephen Myers
• "When you come to the Morrow controversy, you really have to distinguish between three things." - Stephen Myers
• "The Marrow of Modern Divinity is trying to find the right middle road between legalism and antinomianism." - Stephen Myers
• "The Octaratar creed aimed to address the legalistic preaching of new ministers." - Stephen Myers
• "The General Assembly's condemnation of The Marrow of Modern Divinity raised concerns about growing legalism." - Stephen Myers
• "The Morrow controversy itself is this disagreement really over what the marrow was teaching and whether what it was teaching was sound or not." - Stephen Myers
• "Believers are completely delivered from the commanding and condemning power of the covenant of works." - Stephen Myers
• "There's a difference between the way the law works in the covenant of works and the way the law works in the covenant of grace." - Stephen Myers
• "Pleading Christ's righteousness is all we need for our salvation." - Stephen Myers

Conclusion: The Morrow controversy holds significant importance in understanding key gospel truths and their impact on covenant theology. Through the detailed exploration of "The Marrow of Modern Divinity," the trial of John Simpson, and the General Assembly's condemnation, we gain insights into the obscured truths brought to light by this controversy. These truths include believers' freedom from the law as the covenant of works, the distinction between the law in the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, the role of the law in the Christian life, the plea for eternal life through Christ's righteousness, and the deed of gift made by the Father to all hearers of the gospel. It is essential to study and understand these truths to deepen our understanding of the gospel and its implications for our lives today. For further reading, Stephen Myers recommends "Christian Walk" by William Van Dudaward and "The Act Concerning the Doctrine of Grace" by the Associate Presbytery. The Morrow controversy continues to shape covenant theology, and its impact can still be seen in theological discussions and debates today.