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Christianity= =20 Today, August, = 2007 | |

What Did Paul Really Mean?

'New perspective' scholars argue that we = need, well,=20 a new perspective on justification by faith.

Simon Gathercole |=20 posted 8/10/2007 08:48AM

Pick up any recent Bible commentary or = theology=20 textbook, and you will read about something called the "new=20 perspective on Paul." Seminaries have buzzed for decades = about how=20 they might apply to Paul the new light shed on Judaism. Some = advocates of the new perspective conclude that the Reformers = have=20 led Protestants to misunderstand the all-important doctrine = of=20 justification.

Related=20 articles and = links

As a result, the new perspective has = stirred more=20 than a little controversy. Ligon Duncan, former moderator of = the=20 Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), said new perspective = theology=20 "undercuts the certainty of believers regarding the = substance of the=20 gospel message." In June, the PCA General Assembly said = advocates of=20 the new perspective should report themselves to presbytery = courts,=20 because their teaching does not accord with the Westminster=20 Standards.

Leading new perspective theologian N. T. = Wright has=20 repeatedly responded to his critics. Talking in 2004 with = James D.=20 G. Dunn, who named the new perspective, Wright faulted his = critics=20 for producing websites that "are extremely rude about the = two people=20 sitting on this platform tonight for having sold Paul down = the river=20 and given up the genuine Reformed doctrine of justification = by=20 faith."

So is this merely a squabble among = Reformed=20 theologians? Certainly not=E2=80=94some new perspective = scholars also teach=20 that Martin Luther's preoccupation with the Roman Catholic = Church=20 has led all Protestants astray. Do we now need to reframe = our=20 preaching and teaching to be truly biblical? British scholar = Simon=20 Gathercole takes on that question in this = article.=E2=80=94CT=20 Editors

***

For nearly 30 years, a number of = theologians=20 have argued for a "new perspective" on the apostle Paul and = his=20 doctrine of justification. Advocates of this approach = believe that=20 many cherished concerns of the Protestant Reformation were = either=20 wrong or ill-directed. Those concerns include justification, = which=20 Martin Luther described as nothing less than the "key = article of=20 Christian doctrine." Yet some evangelicals have found in the = writing=20 of new perspective theologians=E2=80=94particularly James D. = G. Dunn and N.=20 T. Wright=E2=80=94a key to unlocking Paul's original intent. = So what's all=20 the fuss about?

What's So New = About=20 Paul?

One point that needs to be clear at the = outset is that=20 the new perspective on Paul is not really what it might = sound like.=20 For one thing, no secret society meets to promote this new = school of=20 thought. Advocates do not even offer a united front: = Scholars=20 generally associated with the new perspective argue with = each other=20 just as much as traditionalists do. The new perspective is, = rather,=20 a convenient umbrella for a current trend in Pauline = scholarship=20 with quite a limited agenda.

This leads to a second point. The new = perspective does=20 not propose to reevaluate all of Paul's thought. It says = nothing=20 new, for example, about the person of Christ, the Holy = Spirit, or=20 the Christian life. It is focused narrowly on what Paul says = about=20 justification, and even more specifically on what Paul = opposes when=20 he talks about justification by faith. In particular, the = new=20 perspective investigates the problem Paul has with "works" = or "works=20 of the law."

The difference between old and new = perspectives can be=20 summed up briefly. In the old perspective, works of the law = are=20 human acts of righteousness performed in order to gain = credit before=20 God. In the new perspective, works of the law are elements = of Jewish=20 law that accentuate Jewish privilege and mark out Israel = from other=20 nations.

Two vital ingredients go into the new = perspective. The=20 first is actually more a new perspective on Judaism than on = Paul. It=20 reacts against the traditional idea that Jews in Paul's day = believed=20 they could accumulate merit before God by their deeds. In = place of=20 seeing Paul's contemporaries as legalistic, the new = perspective says=20 the concern in early Judaism was to maintain the identity of = the=20 Jewish nation, especially through observing the Sabbath,=20 circumcising their newborns, and eating kosher. These = boundary=20 markers or badges of identity for the Jewish nation = distinguished=20 them as belonging to God's covenant people.

Second, this understanding of first-century = Judaism is=20 then applied to Paul. According to the new perspective, Paul = is only=20 focusing on these aspects of Jewish life (Sabbath, = circumcision,=20 food laws) when he mentions "works of the law." His problem = isn't=20 legalistic self-righteousness in general. Rather, for Jews = these=20 works of the law highlighted God's election of the Jewish = nation,=20 excluding Gentiles. Called by God to reach the Gentiles, = Paul=20 recognizes that Jews wrongly restricted God's covenant to=20 themselves.

Paul extends these insights to church = relations. Just=20 as Jews wrongly restricted God's covenant, so also Jewish = Christians=20 wrongly insisted that Gentile Christians needed to observe = the law=20 to be full-fledged disciples. This led to the challenge that = Paul=20 issued to Peter at Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14). How could Peter = withdraw=20 from table fellowship with the Gentiles there? Surely such = an action=20 was inconsistent with the truth of the gospel.

These two points are the product of a flurry = of=20 literature in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The new = perspective on=20 Judaism was argued for largely by E. P. Sanders in his = Paul and=20 Palestinian Judaism (1977). Sanders was particularly = concerned=20 about anti-Jewish tendencies in the old perspective and its=20 portrayal of Judaism as inferior to Christianity. Sanders's = aim was=20 to present a cleaned-up picture of early Judaism, untainted = by=20 Christian prejudice. He argued that both pre-Christian = Judaism and=20 its successor, rabbinic Judaism, had just as strong an = emphasis on=20 grace as Pauline Christianity did. Election was central to = Judaism,=20 as was God's redemption of his people from Egypt. Observing = the law=20 merely kept Jews in the covenant established by God.

Scholars received Sanders's work as a major=20 contribution to Jewish studies. But it fell rather flat when = applied=20 to Pauline scholarship. So N. T. Wright and James D. G. = Dunn, along=20 with Sanders, attempted to integrate this new view of = Judaism more=20 successfully with a new view of Paul. They focused on = "exclusivism,"=20 the sense of national righteousness maintained by practices = such as=20 Sabbath-observance, circumcision, and keeping kosher. Paul, = the new=20 perspective argued, dedicated himself to warning against = exclusivist=20 national righteousness. God was bringing people from all = nations to=20 believe in the Messiah.

Happy = Beginning, Sad=20 Ending

Almost all scholars, new and old, agree that = Paul=20 answers the problem of "works of the law" with "faith." But = if the=20 new perspective has shifted how we understand works of the = law, then=20 the meaning of faith=E2=80=94or at least the emphasis of = it=E2=80=94needs to shift=20 as well. In the old perspective, faith means trust in God's = mercy=20 alone, not in human acts of righteousness. In the new = perspective,=20 faith is a badge, or identity marker, which can be shared by = all,=20 Jew and Gentile.

The new perspective does not necessarily = deny the=20 traditional meaning of faith, but rather finds its focus = elsewhere.=20 Faith remains central to Paul's doctrine of justification, = because=20 it means that Gentiles do not need to become Israelites when = they=20 become Christians. According to the new perspective, Paul=20 accentuates this point in the early chapters of his letter = to the=20 Romans.

Galatians makes the same point in a = different setting.=20 Here, Paul finds the problem inside the church. Galatians 2 = breaks=20 the rules of good storytelling with a happy beginning and a = sad=20 ending. Initially, Peter and Paul agree at their meeting in=20 Jerusalem about law-observance not being necessary for = Gentiles=20 (Gal. 2:1-10). Later, in Antioch, Peter rebuilds the barrier = between=20 Jews and Greeks. Nervous about his reputation as a = traditional Jew,=20 he withdraws from table fellowship with the Gentiles = (2:11-14). Paul=20 considers this move a disaster. So he castigates Peter and = reminds=20 him how faith and faith alone=E2=80=94not works of the = law=E2=80=94mark people out=20 as belonging to God's covenant (2:15-16). Faith means that = Jew and=20 Gentile must eat together.

Following this pattern, justification by = faith and not=20 by works of the law focuses on God's acceptance not only of = Jews but=20 also of Gentiles. Some have argued that Paul makes this = point most=20 clearly in Romans 3:28-30: "For we maintain that a man is = justified=20 by faith apart from observing the law [literally, "apart = from works=20 of the law"]. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God = of=20 Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one = God, who=20 will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised = through=20 that same faith." Advocates of the new perspective tend to = read this=20 passage as a statement about God welcoming Gentiles, who = then need=20 not observe Jewish practices, such as Sabbath-keeping, = circumcision,=20 and a kosher diet. This interpretation would then be = confirmed by=20 what follows: a focus again on the fact that God is not the = God=20 merely of a single nation, but of Jew and Gentile alike = (verses=20 29-30).

The New Perspective=20 Assessed

The new perspective cannot merely be written = off as a=20 disaster from start to finish, as some critics would have us = believe. One of the most important benefits of the new = perspective=20 on Paul is that it accentuates the worldwide focus of God's = dealings=20 in Christ. Paul uses justification to highlight how all = Christians,=20 Jewish and Gentile, come to God on the same = basis=E2=80=94that of faith.

The new perspective also elevates our = historical=20 awareness of Paul's situation. There are certainly important = ways in=20 which Paul's debate with his Jewish contemporaries = anticipates later=20 controversies=E2=80=94between Augustine and Pelagius, for = instance, and to a=20 lesser extent between Luther and his opponents. But we must = not read=20 Paul merely with our favorite debate from church history in = mind. E.=20 P. Sanders rightly detects in much of the traditional = Protestant=20 description of Judaism an anxiety about Roman Catholic=20 works-righteousness crouching at the door. This leads us to=20 Sanders's concern with portraying Judaism in a fair and = unprejudiced=20 light. This is also an important contribution: There can be = no place=20 in the church for cheap caricatures of Judaism. Sanders has=20 encouraged scholars to look seriously at Jewish sources = around the=20 time of Paul to understand what they really say.

Nevertheless, other scholars have shown that = Sanders=20 himself presents a one-sided view in his reaction against = the=20 one-sided traditional view of Judaism. So the close = examination of=20 these sources is still an important area of scholarly = research. We=20 also need to be careful in how we talk about Judaism from = the pulpit=20 and in our conversations about Scripture. Christians must = avoid=20 cheap caricatures as well as a politically correct anxiety = about=20 saying that Jews need to hear the gospel.

Similarly, when pastors preach on the = Gospels and=20 Acts, they must distinguish between criticism delivered by = Jesus and=20 Paul against their contemporaries, on the one hand, and = their high=20 regard for the law of Moses on the other. Some Jews in the = first=20 century clearly did interpret the law in a way that imposed=20 strictures foreign to the Torah. But we must not criticize = the law=20 itself, as if it were a body of petty rules and regulations. = To do=20 so would be to criticize God himself. His law is "holy, = righteous,=20 and good" (Rom. 7:12).

Six=20 Tendencies

On the other side, there are a few points at = which the=20 new perspective is, in my judgment, at fault.

1. We need to go back to E. P. Sanders and = his=20 insistence that Judaism in Paul's day did not think in terms = of=20 salvation as something earned or gained by obedience to the = law. Now=20 it is certainly the case that Protestant scholarship had = previously=20 exaggerated this fact, but it is not wrong either. Documents = from=20 around the time of Paul state that some Jews believed = obedience to=20 the law was rewarded on the final day with salvation: "The = one who=20 does righteousness stores up life for himself with the Lord" = (Psalms of Solomon, c. 50 B.C.). "Miracles, however, = will=20 appear at their own time to those who are saved by their = works"=20 (2 Baruch, c. A.D. 100). There are a number of = examples like=20 this. Paul's understanding of justification makes sense, = then, as a=20 criticism of law observance as the means to eternal life = (see Rom.=20 3:20). Many of Paul's contemporaries seem to have believed = that=20 obedience was possible without a radical inbreaking of = God.

For Paul on the other hand, salvation was = impossible=20 without the earth-shattering events of the Cross, = Resurrection, and=20 Pentecost. I mentioned previously that for Sanders, = observance of=20 the law was merely how people stayed in the covenant that = God had=20 already established. But obedience for Paul was no mere = formality.=20 It took mighty acts of God to make it possible.

2. Does Paul think primarily of = circumcision, Sabbath=20 observance, and food laws when he uses the phrase "works of = the=20 law"? My own view, and that of a number of other scholars, = is that=20 Paul focuses on observance of the law as a whole. Works of = the law=20 simply means doing the law=E2=80=94the law in its entirety. = So the issue at=20 stake with works of the law is not so much Jewish identity = as the=20 ability of Israelites as human beings to obey the entire = law. We=20 shall return to this point later.

3. Criticism of "individualistic" readings = of Paul can=20 throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some new perspective = scholars=20 want to guard against individualistic understandings of=20 justification. Seeing faith to be transcultural, available = to both=20 Jew and Gentile, these scholars shift the emphasis from = personal=20 conversion toward the larger canvas of God's dealings in = salvation=20 history. But we cannot escape the dimensions of conversion = and=20 personal faith in Paul. These are vitally important: The = church is=20 not a lump of humanity, but an assembly of individuals. = Faith=20 according to Paul is exercised by individuals (e.g. Rom. = 4:5; 12:3;=20 Gal. 2:20), and is also a feature of churches (e.g. Rom. = 1:8; Col.=20 1:4). Individual and corporate faith are not at odds with = one=20 another.

4. A further tendency of the new perspective = is to=20 confuse the content of justification with its applications. = It is=20 true to say that justification by faith is about including = Gentiles=20 into the people of God. But it is essential to see that the = core=20 meaning of justification by faith is about how believers, = despite=20 their sin, can be reckoned as righteous before God. Then we = can=20 speak of the scope of justification, which is for all who = believe,=20 from every tongue, tribe, and nation. Unfortunately, in some = hands,=20 the emphasis on inclusion as a primary component of = justification=20 can have two further effects.

5. Seeing justification as primarily = addressing how=20 Gentiles can be incorporated into the people of God can lead = to a=20 downplaying of sin. This approach to justification can lose = sight of=20 Paul's vital concern for how sinners can be made righteous. = One=20 leading New Testament scholar has described his view of=20 justification as God building an extra room in his house for = Gentiles. But this view neglects the fact that Israelites as = well as=20 Gentiles are sinners and need to be justified.

6. Since the emphasis in some discussions of = justification is on inclusion, tolerance, and ecumenism, = there can=20 be a tendency to downplay the importance of doctrinal = clarity. One=20 recent commentary on Romans emphasizes mutual acceptance as = the key=20 to the book. It is revealing that the commentator then = regards=20 Romans 16:17-20 as a later interpolation, because the = passage=20 emphasizes teaching doctrine and staying away from heretics. = Paul=20 insists, however, that unity and doctrine are not mutually=20 exclusive. True unity comes not at the expense of doctrine, = but=20 precisely around the central truths of the gospel.

Once again, it needs to be remembered that = the new=20 perspective does not put forward a single, united front. As = a=20 result, these criticisms will not all apply to one person at = the=20 same time. They are, however, tendencies to keep an eye out = for when=20 studying the new perspective.

Hard = Hearts=20 Need Justification

It's not enough, though, to interact with = scholarship=20 about Paul. We also need to understand what the Bible = teaches about=20 justification.

"God is the justifier!" (Rom. 8:33). The = triune God,=20 out of his great love, sent his Son to die as a substitute. = On this=20 basis, he justifies believers (Rom. 5:1-11). But what = happens in the=20 event of justification? The word itself has been interpreted = in a=20 number of different ways, so it's helpful to turn to = biblical=20 passages that define it. The apostle Paul derives his = definition=20 from the Old Testament=E2=80=94specifically, Genesis 15:6: = "What does the=20 Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to = him as=20 righteousness'" (Rom. 4:3, quoting Gen. 15:6).

In the Old Testament, "righteousness" is the = status=20 that an Israelite received when he or she fully observed the = requirements of the law: "And if we are careful to obey all = this law=20 before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will = be our=20 righteousness" (Deut. 6:25). The tragedy of the covenant, = however,=20 is that despite God's glorious provision of redemption and = of his=20 Torah, the Israelites often behaved just like Gentiles. = Stiff-necked=20 and hard-hearted, they rebelled against God. They never = attained the=20 status of righteousness, which they would have possessed had = they=20 lived up to the ideal in Deuteronomy.

But this status of righteousness is = precisely what is=20 granted to those who have faith in Christ. Although these = former=20 idolaters traded in the glory of God and disobediently = suppressed=20 the truth, God now declares them righteous=E2=80=94declares = them to have=20 fulfilled everything in his presence that he has commanded. = This "in=20 his presence" (or "before the Lord our God" in Deut. 6:25) = is=20 important. Justification, in which righteousness is reckoned = to us,=20 is both a legal declaration of our status and a statement = about our=20 relationship with God. People who are sinners are declared = by God to=20 have done all that he has commanded.

This justification, made possible through = the cross of=20 Christ, means we don't need to be anxious before God. There = is=20 nothing that can come between the justified person and the=20 everlasting blessing of life with God on the other side of = Judgment=20 Day. The phrase from Romans 8:33, "God is the justifier," is = Paul's=20 answer to the question of whether it is possible for anyone = to bring=20 a charge against God's elect. Of course not! Paul is almost=20 certainly alluding here to Isaiah's great testimony about = the=20 Lord:

He who vindicates me is = near.
Who then=20 will bring charges against me?
Let us face each = other!
Who=20 is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
It is the = Sovereign Lord=20 who helps me.
Who is he that will condemn me?
They = will all=20 wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them = up
(Isa.=20 50:8-9).

Justification = by=20 Faith

Faith is another term that Paul = helpfully=20 defines. (Paul isn't always as difficult to understand as he = is=20 cracked up to be!) He returns to the Genesis narrative and = Abraham's=20 response to God's promise, offering this clear description = of faith:=20 "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became = the father=20 of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall = your=20 offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the = fact=20 that his body was as good as dead=E2=80=94since he was about = a hundred years=20 old=E2=80=94and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did = not waver=20 through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was = strengthened=20 in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded = that God=20 had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was = credited=20 to him as righteousness'" (Rom. 4:18-22).

We can see from this passage three = particularly=20 important aspects of faith (or believing=E2=80=94they = are forms of=20 the same word in Greek).

1. Abraham recognized the futility of his = own future=20 without God and God's help. God promised that Abraham's = descendants=20 would be as numerous as the stars, yet humanly speaking this = was=20 impossible: Abraham "faced the fact that his body was as = good as=20 dead," and when he did trust God, it was "against all hope." = So=20 trusting God is not something we simply add on to our life.=20 Christian faith requires a complete reorientation of our = whole=20 attitude.

2. But faith is not merely an = attitude=E2=80=94it is also the=20 response to God's specific promises. In Abraham's case, his = faith=20 answers the divine word, "So shall your offspring be." Faith = is not=20 content-less humility that places our hope in a higher = power. No, in=20 faith we answer the divine word and its specific verbal = content. God=20 speaks, and we believe in him in response to his word. God = made=20 particular promises to Abraham, and in Romans 4, Paul goes = on to say=20 that God promises justification to those who trust in him as = the one=20 who raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 4:23-25; see also Rom.=20 10:9).

3. Faith focuses not only on what God has = said but=20 also on his character. Abraham trusted that "God had power = to do=20 what he had promised." Biblical faith mirrors God, the = object of=20 that faith. In everyday life, we generally have different = kinds of=20 faith in different people, according to the nature of the=20 relationship. We have a certain kind of faith in a spouse, = another=20 kind in a doctor, and a different sort in relation to a = pastor or a=20 friend. By telling us who God is, the Bible defines what = kind of=20 faith we must place in him: He is the God who justifies the = ungodly=20 (Rom. 4:5), who creates out of nothing (4:17), and who = raised Jesus=20 from the dead (4:24). Utterly all-powerful, he wields that = power to=20 bring righteousness where there was none, creation where = there was=20 none, and life where there was none. That's the God we = believe=20 in.

Not by Works of the = Law

So what is wrong with works of the law? They = are=20 associated with the flesh, Paul answers. (The NASB helpfully = preserves the old-fashioned sounding flesh, for a = more=20 literal translation of the key passages.) "Works of the law" = means=20 obedience to the law done outside of Christ, without the=20 new-creating power of the Holy Spirit. In this condition, it = is=20 clearly impossible to observe the law, "because by the works = of the=20 law no flesh will be justified in his sight; for through the = law=20 comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20, NASB). Paul has seen = this=20 borne out in Israel's history. Even this nation "entrusted = with the=20 very oracles of God" (Rom. 3:2), given a law that was "holy, = righteous, and good" (Rom. 7:12), could not please God.

The flesh is powerless to obey. "For what = the law=20 could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did" = (Rom. 8:3,=20 NASB). Trying to obey the law through the flesh is like = trying to=20 climb a sheer rock face with no foothold or handhold, = without=20 equipment. It can't be done.

In fact, the problem runs deeper than the = flesh's=20 weakness. The flesh even wars with God: "Because the mind = set on the=20 flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself = to the=20 law of God, for it is not even able to do so" (Rom. 8:7, = NASB). Do=20 revolutionaries follow the law? No=E2=80=94they seek to = overthrow it. We=20 sometimes present sin as people's failure in varying degrees = to=20 reach God's standards. But Romans 8:7 shows that we do not = even=20 start to please God. The problem with works of the law, = according to=20 Paul, is that stiff-necked human beings, left to their own = devices,=20 cannot get anywhere near pleasing God.

Paul makes it clear to the Romans that God = reckons=20 righteousness purely by grace. He stresses that God is the = sole=20 operator in salvation. There is no place for the program = offered by=20 the law, that "if we are careful to obey all this law before = the=20 Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our=20 righteousness" (Deut. 6:25). As we have seen, it is not that = we have=20 accomplished some successful law-observance that needs to be = topped=20 off by God to make a full quota. No, we have not left the = starting=20 blocks as far as righteousness is concerned. God acts so = that it is=20 obvious to all that he alone does the whole saving work. = "And if by=20 grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace = would no=20 longer be grace" (Rom. 11:6).

At its core, the doctrine of justification = says that=20 sinners can be miraculously reckoned righteous before God. = This=20 happens for all who believe and has nothing to do with = observance of=20 the law, which for sinners is impossible. With this = foundation in=20 place, we can move on to see how Paul uses the doctrine of=20 justification by faith. The new perspective rightly observes = that=20 Paul uses justification to argue that Gentile Christians = need not=20 take on the yoke of the law (Galatians) and that Jewish = Christians=20 and Gentile Christians should live together in harmony = (Romans=20 14-15). While we must not neglect these demands, we should = not allow=20 the tail to wag the dog.

Simon Gathercole is senior lecturer in = New=20 Testament at the University of Aberdeen. He was recently = appointed a=20 lecturer at the University of Cambridge, starting in=20 October.

Related=20 Elsewhere:

"Further Reading on the New Perspective"=20 accompanies this article.

A recent Christianity Today editorial outlined why justification by = faith=20 alone is still Protestants' defining doctrine.

The Paul Page has original articles and = interviews=20 about the new perspective on Paul, as well as links to = journal=20 articles, books, and other materials around the web.

Scot McKnight has also blogged about the new = perspective in Jesus=20 Creed.

The Wall Street Journal published John Wilson's op-ed on N.T. Wright and = the new=20 perspective.

Many of N. T. Wright's papers and sermons on = Paul are=20 available on an unofficial site.

Simon Gathercole's "After the New Perspective: Works, = Justification and=20 Boasting in Early Judaism and Romans 1-5" is available=20 online.

Other Christianity Today articles on = theology and justification include:

Declaration: Joint Declaration on the = Doctrine of=20 Justification

Nothing But the Blood | More and more=20 evangelicals believe Christ's atoning death is merely a = grotesque=20 creation of the medieval imagination. Really? (May 1,=20 2006)

Sticking Points | Despite recent = rapprochement,=20 evangelicals and Catholics remain far apart on key issues. = (December 2005)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ | An = introduction to=20 "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical = Celebration."(David=20 Neff, February 1, 2000)

You Can't Keep a Justified Man Down | = An=20 interview with N. T. Wright, author of The Resurrection = of the=20 Son of God. (April 1, 2003)

CT Classic: Are We Speaking the Same = Language? |=20 What Catholics really believe about = justification=E2=80=94and why defining=20 our terms makes all the difference. (November 1, = 1999)

Reformation Day Celebrations Ain't What = They Used to=20 Be | The Lutheran-Catholic Justification Declaration = is a good=20 step, but it's only a beginning. (November 1, = 1999)

Theology: Does The Gift of Salvation Sell = Out the=20 Reformation? | The recent statement from evangelical = and Roman=20 Catholic leaders on the Christian doctrine of = justification "sells=20 out" the Reformation, according to James Boice, chairman = of the=20 Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE). (April 27,=20 1998)

Paid in Full | The sacrifice of = Calvary was not=20 a part payment; it was a complete and perfect payment. = (Charles H.=20 Spurgeon, February 9, 1998)

Should Catholics and Evangelicals Join = Ranks? |=20 A recent document entitled Evangelicals and Catholics = Together=20 gives a resounding yes to this question. (July 18, 1994) =
Also:=20 Why I Signed it, Parts 1 and 2

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T2	Posted: August = 10, 2007=20 7:56 PM

Justification by = faith isn't=20 understood by proponents of salvation by faith.When = God=20 accepts us, for whatever divine reason, and gives us = faith by=20 His grace, then we know we are saved. That knowledge = of=20 salvation means we have met Jesus just like Paul met = Jesus on=20 the road to Damascus in our inner being. The one = divine reason=20 that we are saved is the death and resurrection of = Jesus and=20 our heartfelt warmth towards his name and his way, = having=20 encountered Him on the way.Such a work! We surrender = deeply=20 and have yielded to the truth. Then that response of = surrender=20 shows that faith lives in us and that we are saved. = Surely=20 that type of faith is what saves, it is a work of = faith. That=20 is why Jesus said the work that people must do to = receive=20 salvation is to believe. He specifically said it is a = work.=20 Easy-believism i.e. intellectual agreement with = faith-speak is=20 just lip-service and is empty. Surrender to Jesus is = what is=20 required. Then you will be anointed with the Holy = Spirit to=20 work !

Ted Voth jr =

Posted: August = 10, 2007=20 2:32 PM

Having dear, = good-hearted,=20 socially activist Jewish friends, I know I've been = dealing=20 with the problem of the purported anti-Semitism of the = NT, but=20 Somebody recently pointed out to me that the OT could = hardly=20 be called'pro-Semitic, that for most of the time dealt = with in=20 the OT He'd had great difficulties with them. And = despite that=20 every time they cried out He repented and took them = back:=20 Graciously.

T	Posted: August = 10, 2007=20 4:07 PM

Bags labelled salt = outside=20 but containing cat-dung is not going to sell well. So=20 labelling a community a faith community doesn't get = credit=20 from God. What justifies us as in part in this article = is what=20 we do by faith: Abraham was willing to travel to new = places,=20 kill Isaac, wait with Sarah, be kind to strangers. = When it is=20 said of Abraham that he believed it was not just an=20 intellectual agreement but was an alignment of his = entire=20 being and actions in the light of God's promises. He = also=20 listened to God and heard him and his angels. Abraham = was a=20 man of faith. He did not stick upon himself a label of = faith=20 and expect to be miraculously justified: I smell fishy = smacks=20 of DOCETISM when urged to just offer up a usual potion = of=20 easy-believism. Easy believism resurrects each a day, = just=20 like the demon which is sprayed with fly-spray and = gets chased=20 out only to return when the house is clean. Faith = cleans a=20 house but demons come back to the house which isn't = kept clean=20 by righteous works.

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