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 PrintableVersion Gospel clarityChallenging the New Perspective on PaulAdam, not just AbrahamGOSPEL CLARITY It would be a mistake to dismiss this as ‘just another book’ on the New Perspective on Paul (NPP). After a succinct overview of the NPP, the authors look at the origin of Paul’s Christian life and gospel. They conclude that Paul was battling against Jewish legalism and deal with E.P. Sanders on ‘covenantal nomism’. A chapter on ‘Covenant, law and “works of the law”’ is followed by an analysis of N.T. Wright’s teaching on justification, before a final chapter sets out the biblical doctrine. The book is excellent throughout, but has two special strengths. First, it deals well with the issue of Paul’s conversion. There are two basic launch-pads for the NPP. One is the nature of Paul’s conversion. It is argued that Paul did not have the ‘Lutheran conscience’ beloved of Protestantism and his great concern was not personal salvation; further, it is said that Paul’s conversion is better understood as his commission and that his change of mind did not mean a radically new relationship with God, but the shattering of his assumption of Israel’s privilege. This theme of the origin of Paul’s Christian life can be overlooked in studies of the NPP, but Barcley and Duncan carefully show that Paul was converted from sin to God in Christ, not merely from Jewish exclusivism to Gentile inclusion. The other launch-pad, that of 1st-century Judaism, has been treated often enough, though this book exposes clearly the semi-Pelagian nature of Second Temple Judaism: there may have been grace in it, but also merit accorded to works, which means it was not so far removed from the medieval church of Luther’s day. A second particular strength of this book, however, is the consideration of this aspect of the NPP in the light of ‘covenant’. To understand N.T. Wright, one has to deal with this theme and these authors do it well. A key problem with the NPP is that it defines everything in terms of Israel: the history of sin and salvation is taken back to Abraham and Moses but not to Adam; the doctrine of justification is about the relationship between Jew and Gentile (or other people groups), not between humanity and God. A key doctrine of salvation has become an aspect of the doctrine of the church. As Barcley and Duncan remind us, however, Paul’s conversion and his subsequent doctrine were not about extending Judaism to the Gentiles, but about seeing sin in a radical light and asking the question, ‘How can a man be right before God?’ The answer is in Christ, and the heart of the answer is justification by faith. There are books that treat this subject more briefly, others at greater length. Gospel Clarity is an excellent ‘introduction plus’ to the NPP as well as a reminder of justification as the Reformers understood it — and as the Bible teaches it. Mostyn Roberts, © Evangelicals Now - July 2011 |
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