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Christ, Our Righteousness: Paul's Theology of Justification (New Studies in Biblical Theology), by Mark A. Seifrid

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About the Author

Mark A. Seifrid is professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He taught New Testament at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, for more than twenty years. He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and he received his PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary.

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Product details

Series: New Studies in Biblical Theology (Book 9)

Paperback: 222 pages

Publisher: IVP Academic (April 26, 2001)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0830826092

ISBN-13: 978-0830826094

Product Dimensions:

5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.7 out of 5 stars

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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#943,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Mark A. Seifrid has also written/cowritten Justification by Faith: The Origin and Development of a Central Pauline Theme) and The Pauline Writings: An Annotated Bibliography.He wrote in the first chapter of this 2000 book, “If we are to interpret Paul and his gospel of God’s justifying work in Christ, we must gain some understanding of the Judaism which he knew, and with which he broke… Over the past twenty years or so, a significant change has taken place in the way most scholars assess first-century Judaism… it was a provocative article on Paul which especially caught the attention of more recent scholarship… The author of that article, Krister Stendahl, claimed that there is no evidence in Paul’s letters that he ever suffered from an ‘introspective conscience,’ burdened by pangs of guilt. This image, he argues, is largely a projection of western culture. Following Stendahl’s article, E.P. Sanders’ somparison [in Paul and Palestinian Judaism] of Paul’s thought with the understanding of salvation found in a broad range of early Jewish materials appeared. With this study a ‘new perspective on Paul’ emerged among biblical scholars.” (Pg. 13-14)He continues, “Sanders found in early Jewish thought a ‘pattern of religion’… This ‘covenantal nomism’ was characteristic of Paul and most Jews of his day… Sanders lays emphasis upon God’s election of Israel. One was ‘in the covenant,’ i.e., elected to salvation, unless by a heinous transgression (without repentance) one chose to remove oneself from it… All one needed to do to enjoy forgiveness was to ‘intend’ to remain within the covenant which God had established with his people… It must be said, however, that Sanders’ own work is subject to one of the criticisms that he directed against the older treatments of early Judaism… Sanders reconstructs the early Jewish understanding of salvation through the lens of God’s election of Israel… rabbinic Judaism tolerated a certain tension between affirmations of Israel’s unconditional election and God’s demand for righteous conduct… it is also quite clear that the rabbis also could speak of salvation as being contingent upon obedience… In other words, in the rabbinic materials ‘covenantalism’ stands alongside ‘nomism’ without the overarching synthesis which Sanders has proposed.” (Pg. 15-16)He turns to the book of Romans, and observes, “Paul is not concerned to describe the function of the conscience within the present order. When he explains this ‘witness of the conscience,’ he speaks of the day of judgment at which the thoughts of the Gentiles will accuse or defend them… Paul’s argument here is guided by the expectation that all human beings will be judged according to their works, and indeed, according to their obedience to the law. His statements stand in obvious tension with his subsequent declaration that God justifies sinful human beings by faith, apart from ‘works of the law’.” (Pg. 54)He states, “the traditional formulas concerning the gift of righteousness in the Corinthian correspondence speak without exception of justification in terms of ‘being.’ Believers ARE ‘in Christ Jesus,’ and he IS to them righteousness, sanctification and redemption… The Corinthians WERE immoral, greedy and idolatrous persons, but have been washed, sanctified and justified… These ontological statements correspond to the extrinsic character of righteousness and justification which we have seen already. The new creation and its righteousness have come to reality in the resurrected Christ.” (Pg. 88)He points out, “Paul does not think of the law as an isolated or aberrant entity within the body of divine revelation, but integral and central to the biblical message. It is significant that he refers to the Mosaic law only in the singular, unlike his contemporaries Philo and Josephus, or the author of Hebrews. Paul views the law as a unity, not merely as a collection of individual demands.” (Pg. 97)He argues, “For Paul, to violate one commandment is to violate the whole law. In viewing the requirement of the law in this way Paul is in full agreement with the Hebrew Scriptures… To listen to God’s voice, to fear God, and to love him is to keep ALL of his commandments. Anything less is disobedience. It is precisely this unqualified love toward God and neighbor of which the fallen human being is incapable.” (Pg. 102)He says, “Paul is able to say that the law is done away with, and yet not done away with, but establishing by justifying faith… The law is fulfilled in the gospel, in which its demand becomes a reality… According to Paul, then, the law serves the gospel, and not the reverse. The gospel has been given not for the purpose of empowering believers to meet the demands of the ‘written code,’ but to place them in the presence of God where that ‘written code’ is no longer needed.” (Pg. 124)He suggests, “In no instance, however, does Paul say that the Holy Spirit brings us to faith or that he works faith within us. The absence of such language is not accidental. For Paul, the Spirit does not transform the old, fallen person that we are, but rather … The Spirit re-creates the human being through the gospel and thereby establishes both his entrance and his dwelling-place within us… Although for him faith represent obedience to the gospel, it is not a ‘work of the law’ which proceeds from the human being, but the work of God.” (Pg. 132-133)He explains, “On the one hand, ‘faith’ involves our recognition of the absolute gratuity of our justification… On the other hand, ‘faith’ is a matter of obedience, in which we are brought to nothing in our own estimation, and justify God in his contention with us. The life of the believer likewise conforms to this pattern, since we share in both the sufferings of Christ and the comfort given through him. In this way we are made to trust in God alone, and to give thanks to him alone. In faith God comes to be God in us. This, and nothing less, is obedience.” (Pg. 147)Reaching Romans 9, he comments, “Paul has now reached the centre of the debate. The creature openly disputes the right of the Creator… This human rebellion against God is nothing more than the empty and absurd attempt of pottery to take the place of the potter… The Creator who is free has proposed to have ungrounded, unfathomable mercy. He will make himself known as God to these persons whom he has chosen.” (Pg. 155)He states, “it is not the accomplishment of good works that Paul finds objectionable but the opinion attached to them, that Israel thereby could be righteous. Prior to and apart from all such works, the human being must give God justice, acknowledging the divine claim that we are ‘liars,’ that is, idolaters. Otherwise our works become the means of hiding our idolatry, from God, from others, and from ourselves…. Everything outside of faith is idolatry.” (Pg. 162)He asserts, “The promise of God to Abraham comes to its fulfillment in the resurrection of the dead and of Israel… Paul knows only this certitude of hope, and not any security for Israel according to the flesh. He does not suppose that all Jews from all times will be saved. This is evident in his lament of their failure to believe and in his striving to save ‘some’ of them.” (Pg. 166)He notes, “It is not so much WRONG to use the expression ‘the imputed righteousness of Christ’ as it is DEFICIENT. Paul, after all speaks of the forgiveness of sins, of reconciliation to God, the gift of the Spirit, ‘salvation’ and so on. But his teaching on justification … provides the framework in which they are to be understood… It is better to say with Paul that our righteousness is found, not in us, but in Christ crucified and risen.” (Pg. 175)This book will be of some interest to those studying the New Perspective---particularly from Reformed perspective.

With all the talk of `righteousness' and `justification' in Protestant circles, some have noted that definitions traditionally given to these terms don't seem to fit biblical evidence well. Apart from much lexico-semantic or textlinguistic study, it's claimed and deemed self-evident that `justify' means `declare righteous,' and `righteousness' is a quality or status. It's no surprise that debate over these issues and a `New Perspective on Paul' have arisen. In this debate, Seifrid counters many of the claims of `New Perspective' proponents, while also recommending clearer definitions of 'justify/righteousness' language -- definitions that, contrary to James White's rancorous ramblings, do *not* contravene or nullify the doctrine of imputed righteousness!Here Seifrid adds a somewhat distinct and refreshing claim to this debate: `Righteousness' and `justification' concern divine action, not status or virtue (while there is a place in Pauline language for these latter two, they are not primary elements of meaning in 'righteousness/justify' language). The former, in relation to kings and to God, is judging and ruling *activity* by which right order is restored or preserved in society or creation. Righteousness, as divine (Creator!) enactment of righteous judgment/justice, intervenes in a world gone wrong to give victory to one entity over against another, and to simultaneously uphold God's own cause in creation. Justification similarly is the work or effect of a rewarding `act of righteousness' (or vindicating `righteous judgment'), and/or the resulting benefit it confers upon, or accomplishes for, one party in a dispute (over against another, opposing party).So for instance, to `justify' can be to 'vindicate' (give victory to), `deliver' or `save' the humble, poor, and oppressed from the arrogant, wicked oppressor - often while at the same time defeating (condemning) the oppressor. `Justify' also indicates a `vindication' of the `righteous' through an act of righteous judgment/justice to reward him. If righteousness is judging activity that vindicates God and those whom He chooses in His creation, then it involves `justifying the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness,' and `condemning' the `wicked' by `returning' his wickedness `on his own head' (1 Ki 8.31-32; 2 Chr 6.22-23; Ps 82.1-3; cp. 72.1-4). An act of divine righteousness is what justifies (sensible, considering the terms are cognates in Hb and Gk; Seifrid examines the linguistic data thoroughly in both vol's of Justification and Variegated Nomism); conversely, to be justified by God is to be given victory through means of God's righteousness, as on the side of God over against the fallen world.At the same time, there is a 'justification of the ungodly' present in both the OT and NT (Psalms 32, 51, and 143; Isa 52.13-53.12), in which no 'good works' and individual 'righteousness' are in view that are to be rewarded with a justifying verdict. (Note the decisive absence of any reference to 'my righteousness' in Pss 32 & 51; a major contrast with petitions elsewhere, revealing that justification of the ungodly precedes and underlies any other justification, as there are no 'works' that can somehow make up for wrongs committed.) In fact, Seifrid rightly contends that *every* justification (including the Jamesian justification by works) is a justification of the *ungodly*. This of course leads to Paul's view of 'justification of the ungodly by faith apart from works' in the NT.Seifrid shows that Paul's `righteousness of God' reflects the OT conception quite well. For Paul, the defining act of righteousness from God in this era is the resurrection of Christ, which justifies the ungodly *believer* ('who does *not* work') 'through faith.' Christ's resurrection is, moreover, work in which Christ's own righteousness (Rom 5.17-19) coincides with God's righteousness (Rom 3.21-26) to achieve a decisive victory over sin and death. God's justification of the sinner by faith apart from works, then, is Him rendering His victory in Christ as effective for the ungodly sinner who believes (i.e. with the faith that is called into existence by God's word in the gospel). In this way, Christ Himself -- as the crucified and risen Son of God -- is both God's righteousness (i.e. which He has accomplished on our behalf) and ours (i.e. which we receive as a gift through faith; compare the usage of 'righteousness from God' in Isa 54.17, which is God's final vindication of His people against their enemies and the fallen world: the righteousness 'from' Him is 'their' righteousness in the sense that it is enacted on their behalf). God's justifying righteousness, His victory in Christ over sin and death, is one that is accomplished 'for' us, *outside* of us, 'apart from' our works, 'apart from the Law', as a 'gift' of God's grace 'to' us, and is humanly apprehended 'by/through faith' alone -- it is not and cannot be achieved by or awarded to the efforts of sinful human flesh.And as Seifrid links God's righteousness and justification with God's `new creation,' he draws from Paul's own divinely inspired understanding and its OT antecedents, where God acts in His righteousness as the Creator and king of the world -- something not currently fashionable in many circles (cp. 2 Cor 5.14-17; Gal 6.14-15; Ps 51.10, 14!). Christ's resurrection is the inauguration of the 'new creation,' the introduction of the life of the age to come into the present (cp. Rom 5.12-6.14 with 8.19-23). The eternal life which resides 'in Him' as a result of His cross and resurrection, and which is the substance of our 'justification,' is a 'gift' to us, present with us through the indwelling, risen Christ who is our life (Rom 6.23; 8.9-14; Col 3.3-4; note it is not in us, i.e. in our flesh; it resides in Christ who is 'in' us!--or as Seifrid quotes from Luther, 'Christ ... present in faith'). Thus the inauguration of the new creation and its accompanying eternal life, like the justifying righteousness of God in Christ that has made them a reality, are ours 'through faith' -- already but not yet.While his explanations of `righteousness' and `justify' are probably the most striking features of this book, still Seifrid skillfully presents a holistic picture of Paul's understanding of creation, man, God, history, and things to come. Especially important is his recognition and exploration of the `contention' (legal dispute/conflict) that the OT establishes between God and humanity from creation onward. This biblical theme forms a crucial background and framework for both the OT and Pauline understandings of God's righteousness - judging activity that makes sense only against the backdrop of a creation gone awry, which is restored and renewed solely by the Creator's work (Ps 9.3-8, 15-20; 51.1-14; 75.2-8; 89.9-16; Isa 59.9-19). Related to this theme, Seifrid also highlights the OT concept of `the remnant,' which isn't those who `return from exile,' but rather is all who are saved *through* (or *by*) God's judgment on the wicked. Seifrid examines how God's work to create a people for Himself by judging the rest of humankind - another OT dimension of His righteousness - informs and illumines Paul's claim in Rom 9-11 that the profoundly mysterious `hardening' work of God actually *helps* achieve His saving purposes in creation. The `word of God' has not `failed,' but has rather succeeded in creating by its promise the `sons of God' - partly through `hardening' the rest of humanity, who have been `prepared for destruction.'As a result of these explorations of key biblical terms and themes, Seifrid is able to move into relatively uncharted waters on several very practical issues that continue to hamper and distract discussions of `salvation.' First, he paves the way toward a more biblical and holistic view of `faith,' where `faith' is a disposition of the *entire* self that affirms God alone is true while `self' is a mere liar. `Faith' proactively agrees and joins with God in His claims against oneself, indicting the self as the guilty idolater and vindicating God as the Righteous Creator. Second, he explores how the cross must not be treated as simply a tool for subjectively *feeling* `free of guilt' and `assured' of `going to heaven.' It further must be understood as an act of God that has accomplished the satisfaction of God's wrath, as well as His contention, against fallen humanity. It makes forgiveness a reality, it is not a mere 'feel-good' relic. The faith which indicts the self and affirms God in Christ, embraces the cross which condemns and crucifies the self so that the risen Christ may live in the believer. Third, Seifrid consequently clarifies why repentance is an inevitable consequence of faith: One cannot embrace the cross where the power of God is located, in the gospel through which His power is distributed, and remain unchanged. The `new creation' means the end of the old, fallen creation. Justification arises only out of condemnation, life out of death.Seifrid's discussions resonate with biblical lines of thought. His ideas are informed by conceptual relationships that are easily found all throughout Scripture. Accordingly, he makes vivid sense of issues sometimes clouded by reasoning (both old and new) that, in my opinion, complicates *Scriptural* reasoning. (For instance, while N.T. Wright so adamantly and frequently claims to approach Scripture on its own terms, his approaches to relevant terms, concepts, and themes are plagued with oversimplified impositions of his own 'perspective' on the text, evidenced by his admissions of how he simplistically interprets a supposed, overarching 'hope of return from exile' in 1st century Jews, based on his readings of texts that represent a fraction of what historically existed in 1st century Palestine. It's difficult enough to determine a local culture on a small, contiguous community in Maryland, Lebanon, or Afghanistan in modern times alone, much less to do so when separated by 2000 years!) Avoiding such mistakes as these, Seifrid contributes a clear vision of Paul to those who will hear. Highly recommended!

From the back of the book:In this new study, the author offers a comprehensive analysis of Paul's understanding of justification, in the light of important themes including the righteousness of God, the Old Testament law, faith, and the destiny of Israel. A detailed examination of justification in the letter to the Romans is followed by a survey of the entire Pauline corpus. The analysis incorporates a critical assessment of the "new perspective," challenging its most basic assumptions; an evaluation of the contribution of recent German scholarship; and a reaffirmation of the "Christ-centered" theology of the Reformers. In this wide-ranging exposition of the biblical message of justification, the author provides a fresh, balanced reworking of Pauline theology.

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