Defending the Faith Ministries
Apologetics Article #7
Departure from Orthodoxy
By Uri Brito
A critique of "The New Perspective on Paul"- Part I
It is a fact that throughout Church History there have been severe errors in the way the church has interpreted Scriptures.But God in His providence has raised men of great godliness and intellect to combat these false doctrines. In that while some of these Church fathers were not aware of their error yet they persisted with their teaching hence leading many people to a false understanding of principal doctrines of the Christian faith. Today nothing has changed. Though more sophisticated and better prepared to interpret Scriptures errors still arise.
In the last few years a new perspective has come to the table of academic circles. It is popularly known as : " A New Perspective on Paul." It is clear that those who do advocate this position do not deny central tenets of the faith,in fact most are faithful exegetes of the Scriptures.But it is the author's understanding that they are in grave error and in serious danger of daparting orthodoxy.So what exactly is this new view that is causing so much controversy within Academia? Perhaps a quote from its main proponent will help set the tone for this series of articles on the this new perspective. Professor N.T. Wright writes regarding justification saying that: " Justification is not about getting saved but about signs that one is already in the Covenant Community." We will in the following weeks analyze these claims and by God's grace renew or reinforce the church's understanding of God's righteous act in saving sinners.
It is important that we understand that Luther
and Calvin's view on justification is not something to be taken
for granted. It was the Sola's that lead to a monumental turn
from Pharisaism to authentic Christianity. Hence, one must give
considerable credit to a position that turned the Western World
from the clutches of Romanism. Indeed, Luther's ideas of
Justification was the very life of the Reformed Faith, never a
sign or marker of one who is already in but of those who are to
enter in the community.
The Scriptures are replete with examples of
those who are in the covenant. The Bible uses phrases such as:
"those who are in Christ," " those who believe in
the Son of God," "those for whom Christ
intercedes," " those drawn by the Father,"
"sheep who follow their shepherd," etc. These and many
more describe those who are in the Invisible Church. Paul's idea
of covenant community does not include "works of the
law" as a sign/marker for covenant membership rather he uses
"works of the law" in a much larger covenant context.
In the context of Galatians and even Romans Paul makes abundantly
clear that "works of the law" is not a distinctive of
true believers but rather a distortion of true Christianity.
Surely our Lord in the Sermon of the Mount never alludes to such law as being confirmative of grace but rather as a pharisaical attempt to earn what only God can give – free grace.
For further questions on this article e-mail me at: apologus@hotmail.com