The doctrine of justification through faith alone is in some ways the definitive doctrine of the Lutheran Reformation. It is this teaching which Martin Luther famously referred to as the "doctrine upon which the church stands or falls." Despite agreement on the centrality of this teaching, however, there have been no shortage of disagreements on justification from within the Lutheran tradition. From the controversies which followed Luther's death into the beginning of the twenty-first century, debates have continued surrounding various aspects of this crucial doctrine.

In this volume, eight contemporary voices shed light on these controversies, detailing theological and practical issues involved. Topics discussed here include: the idea of objective justification, the active obedience of Christ, the relationship between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran teachings, the place of speech-act theory in modern expositions, the nature of "the righteousness of God" in Paul's thought, and the church fathers' approach to the subject.