Is the "New Perspective on Paul" Heretical?

For those who don’t know, back in the 1980s and 1990s there was a big deal about the New Perspective on Paul. This was a scholarly view of the apostle Paul associated with E.P. Sanders, James D. G. Dunn, N.T. Wright, Terence Donaldson, and Bruce Longenecker. In a nutshell, NPPers argued that Judaism was not legalistic, therefore, Paul’s problem with Judaism was not over salvation by works, but rather that Judaism was ethnocentric, and Jews believed that salvation was limited to the Jews. Paul - so it goes - argued that God, through Jesus, accepts Gentiles as Gentiles without having to convert to Judaism as a proselyte. Gentiles are saved by faith, not by doing “works of the law,” which are the boundary markers of Judaism, i.e., circumcision, sabbath observance, and food laws.

Now there is some stuff here that is right, some stuff that is half-right, and some stuff I’d balk at.

I think the issue of Judaism as legalistic or not is complex, it depends on how you define “legalism,” and which Jewish texts you are reading. But yeah, some texts and traditions amount to legalism, but certainly not all.

On “works of the law,” generally the consensus is that this refers to the works which the law requires and not just symbolic laws separating Jews and Gentiles.

On the whole, I think the NPP is correct in what it affirms, but sometimes wrong in what it denies. That said, the NPP’s main point holds. Paul argued that Gentiles do not have to convert to Judaism in order to become followers of Jesus. Above all, the NPP is right in highlighting the social context and ethnic texture of Paul’s discourse about justification by faith. Remember, Paul was not fighting proto-pelagians or medieval Catholics. Paul’s point in places like Galatians 3-4 and Romans 1-4 was that Gentiles do not have to become Jews in order to be Christians.

I can make anyone sympathetic to the NPP just by asking them four questions:

(1) What is the first thing imputed in Romans? It is not righteousness, faith, merit, or the active obedience of Jesus. Rather, look at Rom 2:26: “So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded [imputed/credited] as circumcision?” Paul is here giving a preview of the “A.D” period by talking about Gentiles who have experienced the renewal and blessings associated with the new covenant. Paul says that their obedience is such that they will have circumcision (i.e. covenant membership) imputed to them even though they are uncircumcised! In other words, Christian Gentiles can be reckoned part of God’s people by experiencing the renewing effects of the Holy Spirit.

(2) Complete this sentence from Roman 3:28-28: “We hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law, or …” Or what? Or, will the Catholics win? Or, will we become legalistic? What is the opposite of justification by faith? Well, listen to what Paul says: “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.” Note, the opposite of justification is ethnocentrism, the view that God has limited his grace and favour to one group of people, the Jews. Works are ruled out on the basis of salvation because no mixture of effort or ethnicity can warrant salvation. Justification by faith is just as much about the scope of salvation (Jew and Gentile) as the instrument of salvation (faith rather than works).

(3) Let me ask, why was Christ cursed on the cross? Paul says this in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ — in order that …” Wait, “in order that” what? We would be saved, go to heaven, have peace with God, rest in his righteousness? Why was Christ cursed on the cross? Most Christians answer this by talking about personal individual soteriology, how do I get saved? But listen to Paul’s answer: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us … in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal 3:13-14). Paul’s answer here is not about the individual getting saved, rather, it is redemptive-historical, God’s plan to save the Gentiles, to have a multi-ethnic family of Abraham, to create a people for himself made up of Jews and Gentiles.

(4) You should know Eph 2:8-9, salvation by grace, through faith, a gift from God, rules out any kind of salvation-by-works theology you can imagine. But what does Paul shift to next? It is not sanctification, the doctrine of the church, or election. No, the rest of Ephesians 2-3 is all about how Jews and Gentiles have been united in Christ, and Gentiles, though aliens and covenant outsiders, have become co-heirs in the commonwealth of Israel. Again, note the emphasis, ecclesiology, ethnicity, Jews and Gentiles, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, united together. This emphasis has been lacking in Reformed theology if you ask me.

Affirming the NPP does not require abandoning the reformed, evangelical and protestant emphases on piety, salvation, grace, and election, etc. What you gain is a rich understanding of how justification means that the church belongs together as the multi-ethnic people of God. Justification by faith means fellowship by faith. It means multi-cultural churches should be the norm. It means nobody gets asked to sit at the back of the bus. It means that that racism and ethnic prejudice has no place in our churches. It means, in Christ, there is not Jew nor Gentiles, neither African-American nor Hispanic American, neither Arab nor Israelis, but all one in Christ Jesus. Because that which unites us is infinitely more powerful than anything that might divide us.

In several of my books like The Saving Righteousness of God and An Anomalous Jew I’ve tried to affirm the validity of the reformed tradition even while recognizing the insights and gains of the NPP.

See also the excellent book by Scot McKnight and Jo Modica on The Apostle Paul and the Christian Life about how the NPP can enrich the lives of Christians is a positive way.