The Reformed churches of the sixteenth century affirmed the need to be semper reformanda--always reforming. But in the ensuing centuries, some have taken this conviction as a mandate to abandon the departure from received orthodoxy, while others have progressed toward a rigid confessionalism that cements the Reformation itself as a final codification of truth. Between these extremes is the ongoing need of the church to be always reforming--subjecting its beliefs and practices to the renewed scrutiny of Holy Scripture and restating the truth of Scriptures in ways that faithfully communicate the gospel, advance the mission of the church and empower the people of God. This collection of essays by senior theologians and edited by A. T. B. McGowan practices what it preaches, mining the whole terrain of systematic theology to refresh, renew and yes, even reform the church for its next season.

1 The Trinity: Where Do We Go from Here?     Gerald Bray

2 Observations on the Future of System     Stephen Williams

3 Classical Christology’s Future in Systematic Theology     Robert L. Reymond

4 On the Very Idea of a Theological System: An Essay in Aidof Triangulating Scripture, Church and World     Kevin J. Vanhoozer

5 The Atonement as Penal Substitution     A. T. B. McGowan

6 The Relationship between Biblical Theology and SystematicTheology     Richard C. Gamble

7 Old Covenant, New Covenant     Henri Blocher

8 Union with Christ: Some Biblical and TheologicalReflections     Richard B. Gaffin, Jr

9 Justification: The Ecumenical, Biblical and TheologicalDimensions of Current Debates     Cornelis P. Venema

0 The Doctrine of the Church in the Twenty-First Century     Derek W. H. Thomas

Author  A.T.B. McGowan, ed. is principal of Highland Theological College, adjunct professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and a visiting professor of theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also serves as vice president of World Reformed Fellowship.