Although Paul launches an unrelenting assault upon his Jewish interlocutor, his diatribe is not a condemnation of Judaism. Paul’s rhetorical goal in 1:18–3:20 is to show that all, Jew as well as Gentile, are under the power of sin. Therefore, all are in need of God’s saving justice. To arrive at this goal, Paul must convince his audience that even Israel, which has the benefit of God’s law and the covenant sign of circumcision, has failed to observe the law. The object of Paul’s diatribe is not Judaism
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