This study investigates the meaning of Paul's expression
'works of the law' ( tpycx vOμou) • A survey of representative
scholars regarding Paul's attitude toward the Mosaic law
demonstrates that confusion over this issue continues as a
difficulty in Pauline studies. It is suggested that ascertaining
the meaning of this expression will help alleviate that
confusion.
This study indicates that Paul's use of tpyov is ethically
neutral: 'work' itself is neither positive nor negative for Paul.
The ethical orientation of a given 'work' is determined by the
descriptors Paul attaches to it. Paul speaks positively and
negatively about the law itself, yet only negative descriptors
are used with tpycxvOμou. This gives significant direction for the
interpretation of 'works of the law.'
The historical backgrounds of Galatians and Romans support
this negative orientation for tpycx vOμou. These letters were
written to confront separate crisis situations in different
churches. Yet they share common situational elements. Paul was
faced in both churches with a form of 'judaizing' opposition that
insisted that Gentile converts become 'practical Jews' in order
to 'complete' the Abrahamic covenant through the Mosaic.
Paul addresses this threat to these churches by means of
epistolographical and rhetorical mechanisms. He uses these
persuasive communication devices powerfully, insisting that these
converts recognize what it means to be 'in Christ,' and what it
means and does not mean to be 'Jewish.' 'Works of the law' are
not necessary for salvation, and were never intended for redemption. Likewise, identity as one who performs 'works of the
law' does not provide any claim upon God. One does not have to
become a 'practical Jew' to have a right relationship to God, and
a Jew has no redemptive status before God on the basis of
ethnicity.
'Works of the law,' then, serve as a factor in Paul's polemics
because the continuing validity of the Mosaic law is the issue
being addressed by Paul and his opponents. They are a feature in
Paul's view of the law because he is both positive and negative
toward the law, depending upon one's intended salvific
orientation to God through it / Psychology of Education / D. Th. (New Testament)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/17588 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Rapa, Robert Keith, 1952- |
| Contributors | Pretorius, E. A. C., Longenecker, R. N. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (442 leaves) |
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