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The Banner of Truth Trust has performed an invaluable service for the Christian community by publishing Cornelis Venema’s little work Getting the Gospel Right [1]. He had previously submitted several well written posts to http://www.monergism.com/">www.monergism.com on the so-called "New Perspectives on Paul," but this book condenses the essential points of the controversy into a very readable and highly informative "must read." What is of particular value in this book, in my estimation, is the fact that Venema is a seminary president and professor and is writing for the man and woman in the pew. In our day and age we...

Two weeks ago Bishop NT Wright of Durham wrote a rather scalding response to the “Covenant” statement signed by many notable British evangelicals including The Rev. Dr. John Stott. I disagreed with most all of what Bishop Wright said. But nothing was more disturbing to me than the following section regarding the payment of tithes... Two weeks ago Bishop NT Wright of Durham wrote a rather scalding response to the “Covenant” statement signed by many notable British evangelicals including The Rev. Dr. John Stott. I disagreed with most all of what Bishop Wright said. But nothing was more disturbing to...

Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fida by John MacArthur Many who have embraced "the New Perspective on Paul" are also proposing a different slant on the doctrine of justification by faith. When the text of Scripture is interpreted in the new light, they say, Pauline support for the principle of sola fide [faith alone], the doctrine of imputation, and the distinction between law and gospel doesn't seem quite so strong. We say that's nonsense. We reject the historical and hermeneutical revisionism of the New Perspective, but regardless of how one interprets the apostle Paul, it is quite clear that Jesus...

Matt Kennedy's comments... By starting with the solution (Jesus is Lord and Messiah) and going in search of the problem, Wright reduces sin to bad table manners, justification to name tags for covenant fellowship, and salvation to a hope for some vague future reward. Bishop Allison likens this to a gospel in which a drowning person needs no savior, just a swimming coach (25). What H. Richard Niebuhr said about liberal Protestantism is generally true of Wright’s theology on Paul: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministration of a Christ without...

A Summary of the New Perspective on Paul by Mark M. Mattison Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version. Depending upon one's point of view, the current state of Pauline studies is either exciting or alarming. Traditional interpretations of Paul's letters are being examined afresh with increasing frequency as scholars diligently work to reconstruct Paul's historical context. The fact that these studies do not always corroborate Reformed interpretations can be used as the basis for discounting and attempting to refute the growing consensus or for reconsidering and perhaps even improving upon contemporary doctrines of...