Scot McKnight Reviews David deSilva’s New Book on Justification

David A. deSilva, who is currently busy writing a commentary on Galatians for the NICNT series, has a punchy and controversial book out about justification by faith called Transformation: The Heart of Paul’s Gospel (Snapshots 1; ed. M.F. Bird; Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2014). See Amazon.com or cheaper on Logos.

The crux is that deSilva argues that for Paul “righteousness” is not forensic, but transformative, it includes both forgiveness and renewal.

In this video, deSilva explains what led him to write this book:

Scot McKnight offers his own summary and review of deSilva’s thesis here.

Interestingly enough, Charles Talbert argued for something similar in his Romans commentary: “A forensic interpretation of Paul’s doctrine of justification is a reductionistic reading of the apostle’s teaching. This way of interpreting the matter often sets justification as a judicial act over against regeneration or the new life in Christ. This has led people to think that salvation is a legal transaction in which they might be delivered from the penalty of sin – be declared just – whether they were ever made righteous or not. Paul’s doctrine of justification is something more radical than that” (Romans, 179-80).