Paul and the Law, Keeping the Commandments of God

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God' (1 Cor. 7:19). The apostle Paul's relationship to the Law of Moses is notoriously complex and much studied. Difficulties begin with questions of definition (of the extent of Paul's corpus and the meanings of 'the law') and are exacerbated by numerous problems of interpretation of the key texts. Major positions are entrenched, yet none of them seems to know what to do with all the pieces of the puzzle. Inextricably linked to Paul's view of the law is his teaching concerning salvation history, Israel, the church, anthropology, ethics and eschatology. Understanding 'Paul and the law' is critical to the study of the New Testament, because it touches on the perennial question of the relationship between the grace of God in the gift of salvation and the demand of God in the call for holy living. Misunderstanding can lead to distortions of one or both. This fresh and valuable study is something of a breakthrough, bringing neglected evidence to the discussion and asking different questions of the material, while also building on the work of others. Brian Rosner argues that Paul undertakes a polemical re-evaluation of the Law of Moses, which involves not only its repudiation as law-covenant and its replacement by other things, but also its wholehearted re-appropriation as prophecy (with reference to the gospel) and as wisdom (for Christian living).

Publisher: IVP
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781844748914

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Brian S. Rosner is Principal, Ridley Melbourne Mission and Ministry College. He was previously lecturer at Moore Theological College, Sydney, and the University of Aberdeen. He is coauthor of The First Letter to the Corinthians (PNTC); coeditor of the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, The Trials of Theology, Exploring Exodus and Paul as Missionary; editor of The Wisdom of the Cross; and author of Beyond Greed, Greed as Idolatry and Paul, Scripture and Ethics.

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"This is hard-working and richly satisfying biblical theology. Brian Rosner shows how fruitless it is to ask 'What was Paul's attitude to the OT Law?' without first clarifying 'The law as what? The law functioning in what capacity?' Answering these questions, he shows that it is not only possible but essential to take with full seriousness Paul's negative and his positive words about the law, which otherwise seem so puzzlingly contradictory. In that way he helps us out of a particularly unnecessary and divisive argument today around issues of justification and sanctification, by taking at full biblical gospel strength both the free grace of God's salvation and the call for holiness of life on the part of those who have received it--or what Paul probably meant by 'the obedience of faith.' I want to read this book again and again, and will certainly be making frequent use of it in teaching and preaching." Christopher J. H. Wright, international ministries director of Langham Partnership and author of Old Testament Ethics for the People of God