Paul's Theology of Salvation

I'm back in the saddle again. I won't finish up Piper's appendices here, although I've finished reading them and plan to post the whole series with them on my archive site.

I did thought I would give the briefest of overviews of my understanding of Paul's theology of salvation--just one short post.

1. Jesus is the Messiah
When Paul came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, that must have changed everything. Since the Messiah would not rule from heaven, Paul must have expected Jesus to return to earth as king to finish the business of a messiah.

2. The Beginning of the Resurrection
When Paul believed, he believed that God had raised Jesus from the dead. He saw the risen Lord himself! So he must have concluded that the resurrection had begun as part of the restoration of all things, of the universe.

3. The Restoration of Israel
The idea of a messiah for the whole world is an odd idea for a Jew. The messiah was, first of all, a king for Israel. In this light, Paul would eventually have to explain why the Jews had not extensively believed on Jesus (Rom. 9-11). Paul's conclusion--they would eventually, just as Jesus Messiah would return eventually.

4. The Judgment of the World
Both the judgment of Israel as well as the world was apparently part of Paul's understanding of what the restoration of all things entailed. Every knee would bow to the Messiah when he returned, either voluntarily or forcibly.

5. The Possibility of Salvation
Salvation for Paul was, above all, escape from the coming wrath of God. The key was to trust in Jesus as the Messiah and to believe that God had in fact raised him from the dead to that end. God had vindicated him and the fact that he was the Messiah.

6. An Opportunity for the Gentiles
Key for Paul was the belief that God was not only God of the Jews, but God of the Gentiles as well. Jesus' noble death had not only paid for the sins of Israel, but potentially for the whole world. Baptism in his name appropriated the atonement afforded through his death.

7. Why then the Law?
Paul's theology that the Gentiles could escape God's wrath by faith raised many theological questions. If Gentiles could be saved even though they did not keep the law, didn't that call into question fundamentals of Judaism like the law and the covenant?

8. Works of Law Never Justified Anyway
Paul resorts to a number of explanations of how the Gentiles can be in. One is that "justification"--a right status with God--has never been a matter of keeping the particulars of the Jewish law, especially those that most distinguished Jew and Gentile.

9. Justification by Grace, through Faith
A right standing with God, Paul argues, has always been a matter of God's grace--something few Jews must have questioned. And if so, then justification must always been a matter of trusting in God, just as for example Abraham did. Gentiles can do this just as Jews do.

10. Spirit of the New Covenant fulfills law in us
Everyone can identify with the difficulty of keeping the law perfectly when you are talking about its heart. The Spirit of the new covenant finally makes this possible, even for Gentiles who by nature do not know the law.

11. Final Justification by faith and works
We will be judged when Christ returns for our deeds done in the flesh. Of course we are forgiven for those for which Christ's death has atoned. After justification by faith, however, God expects us to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, love, through the power of the Spirit.