Rereading Romans from the Perspective of Paul's Gospel


Book Description

Paul did not write a systematic theology or specific church doctrines when he wrote Romans. His audience was Roman Christians, and his last will was to preach the gospel to all, especially gentiles in Spain. Through this letter, Paul wants to pave the way for a visit to Rome and expects their support on his mission trip to Spain. The question is this: What kind of the gospel does he want to share with them? Traditionally, the letter has been read from the perspective of forensic salvation that an individual justification occurs once and for all by faith in Christ. This view remains with the so-called New Perspective on Paul, and Christ’s faithfulness has not been explored. Rereading the letter with a renewed concept of the good news in the letter, this book challenges the traditional reading of Romans and explores Paul’s threefold gospel that features the gospel that is God-centered, Christ-exemplified, and Christian-imitated. His main concern is how gentiles can become children of God, as well as how Jews may live faithfully in Christ. In Romans, the good news is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. It is not a set of knowledge about God or Jesus. Paul is eager to share this gospel of faith with the Roman Christians and to correct some misunderstandings about him, since his gospel is viewed as anti-Jewish or antinomian.




The Deliverance of God


Book Description

This book breaks a significant impasse in much Pauline interpretation, pushing beyond both " Lutheran" and "New" perspectives on Paul to a non-contractual , "apocalyptic" reading of many of the apostle's most famous, and most troublesome, texts. His strongly antithetical vision identifies "participation in Christ" as the sole core of Pauline theology and produces the most radical rereading of Romans 1-4 for more than a generation. Even those who disagree will be forced to clarify their views as never before.




Jesus Undefeated


Book Description

What if God is better than you think and hell isn't an eternal torture chamber? Many Christians are unaware that Universal Reconciliation was the dominant view of the church for the first 500 years, with Annihilation and Eternal Torment as minority positions. Jesus Undefeated is an eye-opening examination of all three views of the afterlife and a God who is even more loving than we dare imagine. Discover the Gospel that is not merely "Good News," but fantastically "Great News."




Rereading Galatians from the Perspective of Paul’s Gospel


Book Description

Galatians has often been read from a rhetorical perspective, with an emphasis on justification by faith, Paul's autobiographical experience, proofs of the gospel, and exhortations to the Galatians. However, it can be read as a "letter" of which the main theme is the gospel--an umbrella term that covers many other topics, including faith, righteousness, freedom, and new creation. Paul writes Galatians not to argue for an individual justification by faith (understood from a forensic salvation perspective), but to make explicit his gospel that all can become children of God through faith. In Paul's logic, what comes first is God's promise, faith is a response to it through Christ, and the law can be fulfilled through faith. The gospel that Paul proclaimed to the Galatians is based on God, who called them in the grace of Christ (1:6). Kim challenges the traditional reading of Galatians, exploring different dimensions of the gospel: (1) God as the origin and root of the gospel; (2) Christ as the exemplifier of God's gospel through faithfulness; (3) the followers of Jesus as the children of God who participate in Christ's faithfulness and continue to proclaim the good news of God through Jesus.




Corpus Christologicum


Book Description

A compendium of approximately three hundred texts--in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, and other languages--that are important for the study of Jewish messianism and early Christology. In recent decades, the study of Jewish messianic ideas and how they influenced early Christology has become an incredibly active field within biblical studies. Numerous books and articles have engaged with the ancient sources to trace various themes, including "Messiah" language itself, exalted patriarchs, angel mediators, "wisdom" and "word," eschatology, and much more. But anyone who attempts to study the Jewish roots of early Christianity faces a challenge: the primary sources are wide-ranging, involve ancient languages, and are often very difficult to track down. Books are littered with citations and a host of other sometimes obscure writings, and it can be difficult to sort them all out. This book makes a much-needed contribution by bringing together the most important primary texts for the study of Jewish messianism and early Christology--nearly three hundred in total--and presenting the reader with essential information to study them: the critical text itself (with apparatus), a fresh translation, a current bibliography, and thematic tags that allow the reader to trace themes across the corpus. This volume aims to be the starting point for all future work on the primary sources that are relevant to messianology and Christology. About the Author Gregory R. Lanier (PhD, University of Cambridge) is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He has written extensively on early Christology and published Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke's Gospel (Bloomsbury, 2018); Septuaginta: A Reader's Edition (Hendrickson, 2018); and Is Jesus Truly God? How the Bible Teaches the Divinity of Christ (Crossway, 2020). He also serves as associate pastor of River Oaks Church in Lake Mary, Florida.




The Future of the People of God


Book Description

At a time when the Western church is having to come to terms--painfully and often reluctantly--with its diminished social and intellectual status in the world following the collapse of Christendom, we find ourselves, as interpreters of Paul, increasingly impressed by the need to relocate his writings in their historical context. That is not a coincidence. The Future of the People of God is an attempt to make sense of Paul's letter to the Romans at the intersection of these two developments. It puts forward the argument that we must first have the courage of our historical convictions and read the text before Christendom, from the limited, shortsighted perspective of an emerging community that dared to defy the gods of the ancient world. This act of imaginative, critical engagement with the text will challenge many of our assumptions about Paul's "gospel of God," but it will also put us in a position to reconstruct an identity and purpose for the people of God after Christendom that is both biblically and historically coherent




Paul


Book Description

Ranks the Apostle Paul as "one of the most powerful and seminal minds of the first or any century," and argues that we can now sketch with confidence a new and more nuanced picture of Paul and the radical way in which his encounter with Jesus redefined his life, his mission and his expectations for a world made new in Christ. Reprint.




Four Views on the Apostle Paul


Book Description

An introduction to ongoing debates on the apostle Paul's life and teaching and his letters' ramifications for the Church of today. The apostle Paul was a vital force in the development of Christianity. Paul's historical and religious context affects the theological interpretation of Paul's writings, no small issue in the whole of Christian theology. Recent years have seen much controversy about the apostle Paul, his religious and social context, and its effects on his theology. In the helpful Counterpoints format, four leading scholars present their views on the best framework for describing Paul's theological perspective, including his view of salvation, the significance of Christ, and his vision for the churches. Contributors and views include: Reformed View: Thomas R. Schreiner Catholic View: Luke Timothy Johnson Post-New Perspective View: Douglas Campbell Jewish View: Mark D. Nanos Like other titles in the Counterpoints: Bible and Theology collection, Four Views on the Apostle Paul gives theology students the tools they need to draw informed conclusions on debated issues. General editor and New Testament scholar Michael F. Bird covers foundational issues and provides helpful summaries in his introduction and conclusion. New Testament scholars, pastors, and students of Christian history and theology will find Four Views on the Apostle Paul an indispensable introduction to ongoing debates on the apostle Paul's life and teaching. The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.




Mark, a Pauline Theologian


Book Description

"Is the wide range of indications in the Gospel of Mark for the influence of Pauline theology the fruit of chance or rather of the will of the Evangelist to unify his work with the thought of the Apostle Paul? In this study, Mar Pérez i Días argues that Mark, rather than being a disciple of Peter who puts in writing what he remembers from his preaching, is a theological disciple of Paul." --




Rereading Romans from the Perspective of Paul’s Gospel


Book Description

Paul did not write a systematic theology or specific church doctrines when he wrote Romans. His audience was Roman Christians, and his last will was to preach the gospel to all, especially gentiles in Spain. Through this letter, Paul wants to pave the way for a visit to Rome and expects their support on his mission trip to Spain. The question is this: What kind of the gospel does he want to share with them? Traditionally, the letter has been read from the perspective of forensic salvation that an individual justification occurs once and for all by faith in Christ. This view remains with the so-called New Perspective on Paul, and Christ's faithfulness has not been explored. Rereading the letter with a renewed concept of the good news in the letter, this book challenges the traditional reading of Romans and explores Paul's threefold gospel that features the gospel that is God-centered, Christ-exemplified, and Christian-imitated. His main concern is how gentiles can become children of God, as well as how Jews may live faithfully in Christ. In Romans, the good news is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. It is not a set of knowledge about God or Jesus. Paul is eager to share this gospel of faith with the Roman Christians and to correct some misunderstandings about him, since his gospel is viewed as anti-Jewish or antinomian.