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How do we establish right relationship with God? And, having received God’s favor, how to we maintain right relationship with God? The Israelites in the Old Testament achieved relationship with God through God’s covenant and by keeping the law. But the New Testament Christians were faced with a far more difficult question: How do I become right with God in Jesus Christ? The doctrine of justification outlined in the books of Romans and Galatians articulates Paul’s answer to this theological dilemma, and has prompted reflection by nearly every theologian ever since. In St. Paul and Justification, Frederick Brooke Westcott offers an exposition of Romans 1–11 and the entire book of Galatians—the key Pauline texts on the doctrine of justification. Westcott explains the seemingly-contradictory depictions of justification in Romans and Galatians, but shows how, together, these two epistles present a unified and coherent whole. He also writes at length about the influence of the Old Testament law on Paul’s doctrine of justification. Along the way, Westcott offers grammatical and literary analysis, as well as possible solutions to interpretive difficulties with regard to Greek, Latin, and English words for justice. St. Paul and Justification is ideal for New Testament scholars, for anyone interested in the interpretive history of the Greek words for justice and righteousness, and for anyone seeking to understand one of the central doctrines of both Paul’s writings and the Christian faith.
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