In previous articles on the topic of Christ’s kingship in all of life, I offered a summary of what is known today as the “two kingdom/natural law” (2KNL) view. According to this view, Christians live in two kingdoms, the kingdom of the church where Christ reigns by his Word and Spirit, and the “common kingdom” […]

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22 We cannot possibly please Christ unless He dwells within our hearts. We cannot act Christ-like unless we have become children of God through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. James does not advocate only doing […]

Part 1 So far our evaluation of the new perspective on Paul has addressed several general matters of method and the understanding of Second Temple Judaism associated with the work of E. P. Sanders. The most important test, however, of the new perspective is whether it adequately treats the writings of the apostle Paul. Does […]

“If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, […]

Part 2 WHAT IS MEANT BY THE “WORKS OF THE LAW”? Within the richness and complexity of Paul’s use of the language of the law, the most pressing question raised by the new perspective is: what is the meaning in Paul’s epistles of the expression, “the works of law,” and of a more general, but […]

Part 3 “WORKS” AND “WORKS OF THE LAW” IN ROMANS The book of Romans also uses the expression, “works of the law,” as well as the general term, “works,” but in a way that quite clearly goes beyond the limitations of certain boundary marker requirements of the law. Even though it is plausible that the […]