Ian & Jocelyn Barker

This chapter was called “Paul’s Gospel Then and Now,” and basically relates how Paul’s gospel, his doctrine on justification and righteousness effect us today. It was very good but I will not get into the details of the chapter because it can be summed fairly briefly.

“The gospel itself creates the church; justification continually reminds the church that it is the people created by the gospel and the gospel alone, and that it must live on that basis” (151).

There should be no dichotomy between “preaching the gospel” and social justice. He is the Lord of the world and that should be obvious through our lives. The gospel is not an offer of new experiences but a demand for allegiance. The only new experience it guarantees is that of carrying the cross.

The gospel leads to justification because the gospel saves people into a community; justification sustains it. It is an ecumenical doctrine and our gospel is far too individualistic. This is an important point: “One is not justified by faith by believing in justification by faith” (159). We are justified by faith by believing in Jesus. It comes after our conversion or our salvation. Wright believes that His “call” is when we are saved. “Paul’s doctrine of justification is completely dependent upon his gospel, which as we have seen is the proclamation of Jesus as Lord” (160).

Justification defines members of family who have come in through faith, which means, faithfulness to Christ. This takes away the weirdness of trying to describe why works matter when we are saved by faith. Faith is a vow to obey Christ and justification is the mark that defines us as such. Justification by faith, that we are all equal in God’s family because of faith, tears down powers and principalities and reveals the wisdom of God.

The purpose of the covenant was always to restore the world. The gospel is not individualistic as in it creates a group of people who are saved to the exclusion of others. It is a call to change and transformation of the entire cosmos. Acts of mercy, justice and peace are “signs of hope for a world that groans in travail, waiting for its promised liberation” (164).