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Justified by Faith; judged by Works – an Antinomy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Nigel M. Watson
Nigel M. Watson
Affiliation:
Parkville, Australia
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Extract

Over the centuries the doctrine of justification by faith, itself first forged in controversy, has given rise to many controversies. One of these has to do with the coexistence in Paul's letters of the two themes: justified by faith, judged by works. Throughout Galatians and Romans Paul maintains that we are justified by faith, yet in these same letters, and indeed in all the major letters commonly acknowledged as Pauline, he affirms that we will be judged by our works.

Type
Articles
Information
New Testament Studies , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , April 1983 , pp. 209 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

NOTES

[1] See Rom. 2. 1–16; 14. 7–12; 1 Cor. 3. 1–17; 4. 1–5; 5. 1–5; 6. 9–11; 9. 24–27; 11. 27–34; 2 Cor. 5. 9 f.; Gal. 5. 19–21; 6. 7–10.

[2] Allo, E.-B., Saint Paul: Première épître aux Corinthiens (Paris: Gabalda, 1934), p. 70Google Scholar; cf. Allo, E.-B., Saint Paul: Seconde épître aux Corinthiens (Paris: Gabalda, 1937), p. 133.Google Scholar

[3] Sanders, E. P., Paul and Palestinian Judaism (Philadelphia/London: Fortress/S.C.M., 1977), pp. 515–18.Google Scholar

[4] For a full bibliographical note on relevant literature up to 1976, see Donfried, Karl Paul, ‘Justification and Last Judgment in Paul’, Z.N.W. 67 (1976), p. 91, note 3Google Scholar. E. Synofzik, whose work is discussed above, offers a brief critique of previous research on pp. 9–15; on pp. 151–4 he discusses in some detail Donfried's own article, as well as Roetzel, C. J., Judgement in the Community (Leiden: Brill, 1972).Google Scholar

[5] See pp. 13, 105, 107.

[6] Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen, pp. 105, cf. 41.

[7] Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen, pp. 80–5.

[8] See Feine, P., Das gesetzesfreie Evangelium des Paulus (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), p. 73Google Scholar; Pfleiderer, O., Urchristentum (Berlin: Reimer, 1902 2), pp. 257–8Google Scholar; Wrede, W., Paul (London: Green, 1907), p. 81Google Scholar; von Dobschütz, E., Die Thessalonicherbriefe (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1909 7), pp. 127–9Google Scholar; Weinel, H., Biblische Theologie des Neuen Testaments (Tübingen: Mohr, 1913 2), pp. 260–1, 375;Google Scholar also Paulus, der Mensch und sein Werk (Tübingen: Mohr, 1915 2), p. 260.Google Scholar

[9] Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen, pp. 87, 103 f., 106, 108.

[10] Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen, p. 106.

[11] Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen, pp. 75 f., cf. 73.

[12] Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen, p. 10.

[13] Cf. with the above Marxsen, W., Darf Man kleine Kinder Taufen (Gütersloh: Mohn, 1969), pp. 31–4Google Scholar, to which I am indebted for the main idea of this section.

[14] Cf. Bornkamm, G., Paul (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1971), pp. 89–96.Google Scholar

[15] Cf. Keck, L.E., The Bible in the Pulpit (New York/Nashville: Abingdon, 1978), pp. 82–4.Google Scholar

[16] Cf. Marxsen, W., ‘Ueberlegungen eines Neutestamentlers zum Recht in der Kirche’, Christologie Praktisch (Gütersloh: Mohn, 1978), pp. 87 fGoogle Scholar. Some of Paul's statements about the Spirit in Romans, e.g. 7. 6; 8. 2, 14, would also have had a disastrous effect on ‘enthusiastic’ hearers, but there is no reason to believe these were represented in the Roman church. Cf. Dunn, James D. G., Jesus and the Spirit (London: S.C.M., 1975), p. 241.Google Scholar

[17] As Barrett observes, being ‘puffed up’ (πυσιoūσθαι) was clearly ‘a standing and characteristic danger of the Corinthians’. The word or a cognate is found seven times in the Corinthian epistles (1 Cor. 4. 6, 18, 19; 5. 2; 8. 1; 13. 4; 2 Cor. 12. 20); elsewhere in the N.T. only in Col. 2. 18 (Barrett, C. K., The First Epistle to the Corinthians (London: A. & C. Black, 1968), p. 107.Google Scholar)

[18] Lang, F. G., 2. Korinther 5, 1–10 in der neueren Forschung (Tübingen: Mohr, 1973), p. 183Google Scholar; cf. Watson, N. M., ‘2 Cor. 5.1–10 in Recent Research’, Austr. Bibl. Rev. 23 (1975), pp. 33–6.Google Scholar

[19] For a justification of this view of the person addressed in Rom. 2. 1 ff., see Cranfield, C. E. B., The Epistle to the Romans (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975–1979) I, pp. 137 f.Google Scholar

[20] For fuller discussions of this passage see Käsemann, E., ‘Sentences of Holy Law in the New Testament’, New Testament Questions of Today (London: S.C.M., 1969), pp. 70 f.Google Scholar; Roetzel, C. J., Judgement in the Community (Leiden: Brill, 1972), p. 116Google Scholar; Wiles, G. P., Paul's Intercessory Prayers (Cambridge: C.U.P., 1974), pp. 144, 150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

[21] Since the abuse of the common meal is the only specific sin Paul attributes to the Corinthians in the whole passage, I follow Mattern, Schweizer and Bornkamm in interpreting ‘the body’ in v. 29 in a primarily corporate sense. Cf. Mattern, L., Das Verständnis des Gerichtes bei Paulus (Zürich: Zwingli, 1966), pp. 98 f.Google Scholar; Schweizer, E., The Lord's Supper according to the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1967), pp. 5 f.Google Scholar; Bornkamm, G., ‘Lord's Supper and Church in Paul’, Early Christian Experience (London: S.C.M., 1969), pp. 126–9.Google Scholar

[22] For a comparison between this passage and a similar passage in the Testament of Abraham, Ch. 13, see Fishburne, C. W., ‘1 Cor. III.10–15 and the Testament of Abraham’, N.T.S. 17 (1970), pp. 109–15Google Scholar. For further discussions of the passage see Didier, G., Désintéressement du Chrétien: La Rétribution dans la Morale de Saint Paul (Paris: Aubier, 1955), pp. 48 f.Google Scholar; Mattern, , Das Verständnis des Gerichtes pp. 109 f.Google Scholar; Barrett, C. K., A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (London: A. & C. Black, 1968), pp. 89 f.Google Scholar

[23] Allo, E.-B., Saint Paul:Seconde épître aux Corinthiens (Paris: Gabalda, 1937) ad loc.Google Scholar

[24] Désintéressement, p. 107.

[25] Joest's work is not mentioned by C. J. Roetzel (see note 20). Stuhlmacher, P. (Gottes Gerechtigkeit bei Paulus [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1965] p. 230)Google Scholar attempts to summarize Joest's view but fails to bring out his main point. Mattern makes some reference to his work (Das Verständnis des Gerichtes, p. 202, note 663) but also fails to convey the gist of his argument. Synofzik lists Joest's book in his bibliography but makes no attempt to come to terms with his argument.

[26] See note 9.

[27] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 176.

[28] Gesetz und Freiheit, pp. 177 f.

[29] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 183.

[30] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 181.

[31] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 190.

[32] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 178.

[33] Gesetz und Freiheit, pp. 181–3.

[34] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 185.

[35] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 180.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 177.

[38] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 184.

[39] Gesetz und Freiheit, p. 180.

[40] Cf. Joest, , Gesetz und Freiheit, pp. 181, 185.Google Scholar