What does it look like to walk the line between legalism, thinking that we have to do something to earn God's favor, and anti-nomianism,

thinking that grace frees us from the call to obey?

That's a question that Christians have wrestled with and even debated for centuries.

In our interview today, I'm talking with Sinclair Ferguson about the Mero Controversy,

a fiery debate in Scotland from hundreds of years ago related to the nature of grace, faith, and what it means to follow Christ.

Along the way, we also discuss what we can learn about discussing controversial issues with

other Christians, why we should be slower to speak than we often are, and why it's wise

to be conscious of how our own psychology often impacts our theology.

Sinclair serves as Chancellor's Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and is the author

of The Whole Christ from Crossway. Let's get started.

Well, Sinclair, thank you so much for joining me today on the Crossway podcast.

Thank you very much for having me.

So your book, The Whole Christ, is really interesting.

I think a lot of people have had this reaction to it because on the one level, it's a recounting,

it's retelling the story of what is largely a forgotten 18th century debate within Scotland called the Merrill Controversy.

And it's related to the relationship between God's grace and our good works.

And yet, on the other hand, the book has just had this resonance that kind of goes beyond what you might think it would have given that

that's the topic. Tim Keller has actually called the book a tract for our times. So I wonder if you

can just help us think big picture. Why do you think that is? Why is it that this book has

resonated with so many people, even though it is on a one level about this kind of very specific

historical situation. Yeah, well, in some ways, there's a story that lies behind the book,

which was I was asked actually over 40 years ago now to give three addresses on an ancient controversy

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