Brian S. Rosner seeks to build bridges between old and new perspectives on Paul with this biblical-theological account of the apostle's complex relationship with Jewish law. Rosner argues that Paul reevaluates the Law of Moses, including its repudiation as legal code, its replacement by other things, and its reappropriation as prophecy and wisdom.
This volume makes a significant contribution to the important—often contentious—debate over Paul’s understanding of and attitude toward the Mosaic law. Sixteen outstanding New Testament scholars examine in depth the key passages in the letters of Paul that deal with the Jewish law, striving to find common ground on a wide range of exegetical and theological disputes. Their work not only provides a clearer view of the issues involved but also draws together the differing interpretive approaches currently applied to this pivotal topic of study. The essays by Lichtenberger, Hengel, Kertelge, Hofius, and Hubner are available here for the first time in English.
In this small book, Tim Gallant engages in careful rethinking of Paul's handing of the matter of the Mosaic law. Keying on the central texts in Galatians and Romans, Gallant works with the logic and flow of Paul's arguments, rather than beginning with dogmatic questions. Without taking an uncritical stance toward recent development such as the New Perspective on Paul, nor offering a standard exposition of traditional exegetical approaches to Paul, Gallant helps unearth the inner logic of a variety of apparent tensions in Paul's reflections on the law. The result is an intriguing re-presentation of Paul's salvation-historical hermeneutic. Foreword by Rich Lusk.
A study of Paul's theology in the Bible, focusing on his view of the old covenant God made with Israel and the new covenant Jesus announced at the Last Supper.
Paul writes that we are justified by faith apart from 'works of the law', a disputed term that represents a fault line between 'old' and 'new' perspectives on Paul. Was the Apostle reacting against the Jews' good works done to earn salvation, or the Mosaic Law's practices that identified the Jewish people? Matthew J. Thomas examines how Paul's second century readers understood these points in conflict, how they relate to 'old' and 'new' perspectives, and what their collective witness suggests about the Apostle's own meaning. Surprisingly, these early witnesses align closely with the 'new' perspective, though their reasoning often differs from both viewpoints. They suggest that Paul opposes these works neither due to moralism, nor primarily for experiential or social reasons, but because the promised new law and covenant, which are transformative and universal in scope, have come in Christ.
This volume by Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner on the interplaybetween Christianity and biblical law is an excellent addition to the 40Questions & Answers series. Schreiner not only coherently answers the toughquestions that flow from a discussion about the Old Testament Levitical Law,but also writes clearly and engagingly for the student. The pastor, student,and layperson can easily understand Schreiner’s biblical theology of the Law.
A fresh look at the earliest Christian movement reveals what made the new faith so compelling...and what we need to change today to make it so again. Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today? Author and pastor Andy Stanley is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future. He believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. In Irresistible, Andy chronicles what made the early Jesus Movement so compelling, resilient, and irresistible by answering these questions: What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love? What did they do that we're not doing? What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture? What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning? Many people who leave or disparage the faith cite reasons that have less to do with Jesus than with the conduct of his followers. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen. This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.
This book is devoted both to the problem of Paul's view of the law as a whole, and to his thought about and relation to his fellow Jews. Building upon his previous study, the critically acclaimed Paul and Palestinian Judaism, E.P. Sanders explores Paul's Jewishness by concentrating on his overall relationship to Jewish tradition and thought. Sanders addresses such topics as Paul's use of scripture, the degree to which he was a practicing Jew during his career as apostle to the Gentiles, and his thoughts about his "kin by race" who did not accept Jesus as the messiah. In short, Paul's thoughts about the law and his own people are re-examined with new awareness and great care. Sanders addresses an important chapter in the history of the emergence of Christianity. Paul's role in that development -- specially in light of Galatians and Romans -- is now re-evaluated in a major way. This book is in fact a significant contribution to the study of the emergent normative self-definition in Judaism and Christianity during the first centuries of the common era.
Most commentaries on Acts are written by Western scholars for a Western audience. This book comes out of more than forty years of teaching in the Majority World. It is aimed at the new breed of emerging missionaries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The apostles in Acts faced a hostile world. Yet in that context, the Holy Spirit gave them incredible courage. The scenes of Peter, Stephen, and Paul facing angry mobs and the fury of the Jewish Sanhedrin are being played out in India, China, and Eritrea today. Acts teaches us how to have a "courageous witness in a hostile world." Further, this work addresses the powerful forces that assault the worldwide church--particularly the racism that splits the church all over the world. Acts: Courageous Witness in a Hostile World will thrill you as you see how God's Spirit overcomes every obstacle and keeps the church on track, even when we think all is lost. Read this book for yourself and become courageous.
No issue in contemporary Pauline studies is more contested than Paul's view of the law. Headline proponents of the "new perspective" on Paul, such as E.P. Sanders and J.D.G. Dunn, have maintained that the Reformational readings of Paul have led to distorted understandings of first-century Judaism, of Paul and particularly of Paul's diagnosis of the Jewish situation under the law. Others have responded by arguing that while our understanding of Paul needs to be tuned to the clearer sounds now emanating from Jewish texts of the apostle's day, the basic Reformational insight into Paul's analysis of the human plight remains true to the apostle. Paul was opposing works righteousness. Paul & The Law is a careful attempt to assault this crucial interpretive problem with a new strategy. Rather than taking a systematic, topical approach, Frank Thielman examines Paul's view of the law in context: the context of each letter's language and argument. While many studies have focused on Paul's explicit statements about the law, Thielman goes further in investigating those contexts where Paul's language is allusive and his view implied. The result is an illuminating and significant contribution to Pauline studies. Paul & the Law clarifies our understanding of Paul's perspective on the law in the light of his gospel of Jesus Christ, and it reaffirms the coherence and integrity of Pauline theology as it relates to this pivotal axis of his thought.