This is Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig.

Today, the Doctrine of Salvation, Part 15.

For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonable faith.org.

Welcome to Defenders.

I'm glad that you could join us for this important lesson on the doctrine of salvation,

and in particular, the doctrine of justification, which lies at the very heart of the Christian faith.

Today, we want to continue our discussion of the so-called new perspective on Paul. The new perspective offers a view of

justification which is radically different than traditional Catholic and Protestant perspectives.

This time, the dispute concerns the meaning of Paul's phrase, the righteousness

of God, or in the Greek Dikaiosune Thaeu. Some proponents of the new perspective

construe God's righteousness to be his faithfulness to the covenant. Proponents of the new perspective

think of God's righteousness as a relational, not a normative concept, and identify it with God's

being faithful to his Covenant people.

Now, this claim seems to be implausible on the face of it, for it amounts to nothing less than the claim that English translators,

not to mention non-English translators, have for generations actually mistranslated

Dikaiosune Thayu, since the English word, righteousness, just does not mean faithfulness.

The Hebrew word, Tseedek, also in effect mistranslated by righteousness, is also said not to

express a normative concept like goodness, but rather a relational concept like faithful to. If one reduces God's righteousness to his covenant faithfulness,

this will radically impact one's understanding of Paul's doctrine of justification. For then,

justification is not about God's reckoning us to be guiltless by the standard of divine justice,

but rather reckoning to us covenant faithfulness. The problem with this is that faithfulness to the covenant would not suffice for salvation.

When Paul declares in Philippians 3, verses 6 to 9, his desire for a righteousness

...