Serious students of Paul have likely run into the so-called “new perspective” on Paul. This began with E. P. Sanders and has been taken up by others, particularly N. T. Wright. There are various shades of interpretation among different scholars, but the gist of the argument is plain enough.
Modern research into First Century Judaism denies that the Jews taught any sort of proto-Pelagianism. That is, the Jews didn’t teach a works-based salvation. Rather, they saw works as an outworking of grace received from God as a result of their being God’s chosen people.
The scholars thus ask, if that’s so, why does Paul spend so much effort refuting the notion of salvation by works of the law? Continue reading
