Paul and the "Works of the Law"
The phrase “works of the law” (erga nomou) as it appears in Rom. 3.20, 27, 28; Gal. 2.16; 3.2, 5, 10 has a number of possible meanings:
(1) The ceremonial law (e.g., Jerome, Pelagius, Peter Abelard, Martin Bucer);
(2) The works prescribed by the law (e.g., Augustine, Luther, Calvin);
(3) Keeping the law with a legalistic spirit (e.g., Daniel Fuller, C.E.B. Cranfield); and
(4) The social boundary markers of the law with specific reference to circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbath (e.g., James Dunn, N.T. Wright).
The meaning of “works of the law” is a vexing problem and determines whether one thinks Paul is responding to legalism, ethnocentrism, or proselytism.