Channels, Fall 2016

Page 34 Reis • Justification by Faith: A “Both-and” of study helps us realize the “big picture” of the Bible and the overarching storyline of re- demption rooted in the Messiah. N.T. Wright often warns the biblical reader about the dan- ger of placing himself in the center of God’s plan or of posing one’s story onto the biblical text, as if the individual salvation is all that the gospel entails. 58 Second, NPP scholars rightly demonstrate the crucial role of works and the importance of recognizing the lord- ship of Christ in Paul’s gospel message. Although I do not agree with Wright’s definition that the gospel for Paul is “Jesus Christ is Lord,” 59 the recognition of Christ’s lordship is es- sential for the Christian walk and should not be neglected in one’s pursuit of holiness and maturity (Jam. 2:1; Phil. 2:11; I Cor. 1:9, 2:12; Rom. 6:23, 7:25, 16:18; I Pet. 3:15). Moreover, I fully agree with Wright’s statement, “The ‘works’ (from Phil. 1:6) in accordance with which the Christian will be vindicated are not the unaided works of self-help moralism. Nor are they the performance of the ethnically distinctive Jewish boundary markers (Sabbath, food-laws, and circumcision). They are the things which show, rather, that one is in Christ; the things which are produced in one’s life as a result of the Spirit’s indwelling and opera- tion.” 60 In other words, genuine, saving faith will always lead to works of righteousness and a fruitful life before God. This cannot be taken lightly since God will judge the believer ac- cording to his works (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10; I Cor. 3, John 15). Lastly, the NPP cor- rectly emphasizes the significance of Jew-Gentile relationships, the issue of boundary mark- ers in Paul’s 1 st century theology of justification, and how the doctrine should impact the social life of the church. Paul often states that there is no distinction between those who are in Christ. Believers, despite their race or background, are called to be one in the Lord (Gal. 3:26-28; Phil. 2:1; Eph. 1:10; Rom. 6:5). As a result, one cannot deny the existence of eccle- siological dimensions in Paul’s theology of “justification” since the preoccupation concern- ing the role and responsibility of gentile believers in the church was a vital issue for Paul. Surely, the Apostle desired to communicate in his epistles that there is no division between Jews and Gentiles once they are justified in Christ, and that the gentile believer should not abide under a different gospel by submitting to Jewish regulations and practices (Gal. 2: 1- 21; 3:1-25; 5:1-15). Hence, shall we conclude alongside the NPP that “justification” was solely an issue of covenant membership which logically happens post-conversion? I would argue against it. One cannot deny the fact that one who is justified receives a “righteous” status that allows him to be part of God’s covenant and share in his promises. However, I do not think that was all the Apostle Paul had in mind when elaborating on the doctrine of “justification.” Therefore, in this section, I will argue for a “both-and” approach when deal- ing with Pauline “justification”. The Apostle Paul, though addressing the issue of covenant membership to some extent, had primarily in mind soteriological purposes. Thomas R. Schreiner successfully points out in his article, The Saving Righteousness of God in Christ, three helpful observations with the intent to prove that “justification” for Paul conceives the idea of being made right with God. First, he claims that the soteriological na- ture of justification is supported by the constant statements that “we are not justified by works or by works of law or via the law (Rom. 3:20; 21, 28; 4:6, 13; 9:31; 10:3-5; Gal. 2:16, 58 Wright, Justification, 35. 59 Wright, “New Perspectives on Paul,” 4. 60 Ibid., 8.