new studies in biblical theology 9
Series editor: D. A. Carson
Christ, our righteousness
PAUL’S THEOLOGY OF JUSTIFICATION
Mark A. Seifrid
Apollos
APOLLOS (an imprint of Inter-Varsity Press),
38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, England
© Mark A. Seifrid, 2000
Mark A. Seifrid has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Unless otherwise stated, Bible quotations in this volume are given in Mark A. Seifrid’s own translation.
Material from Mark A. Seifrid’s ‘Natural revelation and the purpose of the law in Romans’, Tyndale Bulletin 49 (1998): 115–129, appears here in slightly revised and corrected form, and is used with permission from the journal.
First published 2000
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-85111-470-9
Therefore the Christ who is grasped by faith and who lives in the heart is the true Christian righteousness, on account of which God counts us righteous and grants us eternal life.
Martin Luther, on Galatians 2:16, in Luther’s Works, ed. J. Pelikan (vols. 1–30) and H. Lehmann (vols. 31–55), vol. 26, Lectures on Galatians 1535, chapters 1–4, trans. J. Pelikan (St Louis: Concordia, 1963).
1. The conversion of Paul as the justification of the ungodly
The pre-Christian Paul and the nation of Israel
Paul’s persecution of the church
Paul’s conversion according to Acts
2. The righteousness of God: the message of Romans
The revelation of the ‘righteousness of God’
Faith and the revelation of God’s righteousness
The ‘righteousness of God’ in biblical usage
The ‘righteousness of God revealed in the gospel
The justification of God and the ungodly
The righteousness of God’s wrath against idolatry (Rom. 1:18–32)
The impartiality of divine judgment (Rom. 2:1–16)
The possession of the law as no advantage (Rom. 2:17–29)
The advantage of the Jew in the oracles of God (Rom. 3:1–18)
The law of God and the righteousness of God (Rom. 3:19–20)
The righteousness of God in Christ (Rom. 3:21–26)
Justification and hope (Rom. 3:27–8:39)
3. Beyond Romans: justification by faith in the letters of Paul
The Thessalonian correspondence
Justification in the later letters of Paul
4. The righteousness of God and the law of God
The law as witness to the righteousness of God in Christ
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About Christ, Our Righteousness: Paul’s Theology of JustificationSince the time of the Reformation, considerable attention has been given to the theme of justification in the thought of the apostle Paul. The ground-breaking work of E.P. Sanders in Paul and Palestinian Judaism, published in 1977, introduced the “new perspective on Paul,” provoking an ongoing debate which is now dominated by major protagonists. Foundational theological issues are at stake. Mark Seifrid offers a comprehensive analysis of Paul’s understanding of justification, in the light of important themes including the righteousness of God, the Old Testament law, faith, and the destiny of Israel. A detailed examination of justification in the letter to the Romans is followed by a survey of the entire Pauline corpus. He incorporates a critical assessment of the “new perspective” by challenging its most basic assumptions. He provides an evaluation of the contribution of recent German scholarship. He reaffirms the “Christ-centered” theology of the Reformers. In this wide-ranging exposition of the biblical message of justification, he provides a fresh, balanced reworking of Pauline theology. |
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