Justification by Faith (Michael Bird)

Here’s the best summary I’ve ever read of this crucial doctrine: Justification by Faith: Debates Old and New. It’s a post by Michael Bird, on the Logos blog.

It’s easy to become so attached to the view of our own tribe that we don’t hear what others are saying. Michael Bird doesn’t make that mistake. He understands and fairly represents how justification by faith has been understood in the traditional debates (Catholicism versus the Reformers) and in current scholarship (new perspective on Paul, apocalyptic Paul, and Paul with Judaism).

Set half an hour aside to bring yourself up to speed. You’ll benefit from years of Dr Bird’s research, discussions, and engagement with historical and current thought.

His outline:

• Introduction to debates about justification
• Justification: Reformed vs. Catholic
  • Luther on justification
  • Calvin’s addition
  • The response from the Council of Trent
  • Questions for the Protestant view
• Bringing together old and new perspectives on justification
• Justification: Apocalyptic Paul and Paul within Judaism
• Conclusion

Where many of us are sold on one aspect of justification, this article sheds light on many facets:

As you can see, whether we are parsing Greek verbs, looking at medieval theologies, reading Paul with the Reformers, trying to de-theologize Paul, or attempting to situate Paul’s thought in the orbit of his own apocalyptic worldview, there are a lot of debates about Paul and justification by faith. In what follows, I will attempt to explain these debates further and offer my own proposed solutions to those knotty debates about justification by faith.

In the end, Dr Bird does have an opinion:

In light of all these debates, I would conclude that justification is the …

But I shouldn’t steal his thunder. You’ll want to read his informed opinion in light of all these debates.

You’ll also appreciate his article as a masterful demonstration of how to engage respectfully with informed scholarship and present your conclusions.

Thanks for this post, Michael. You made my day.