The New Perspective on Paul “Big 3″: N.T. Wright [Crash Course 5]

The Gospel According to N.T. Wright

The following is a quote from N.T. Wright at the 10th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference in 2003, the topic: New Perspective(s) on Paul.

“I begin where Romans begins – with the gospel. My proposal is this. When Paul refers to ‘the gospel’, he is not referring to a system of salvation, though of course the gospel implies and contains this, nor even to the good news that there now is a way of salvation open to all, but rather to the proclamation that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth has been raised from the dead and thereby demonstrated to be both Israel’s Messiah and the world’s true Lord.” – N.T. Wright

If the gospel that Paul preaches is “the proclamation that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth has been raised from the dead and thereby demonstrated to be both Israel’s Messiah and the world’s true Lord,” but does not refer to a system of salvation, which Wright says the gospel implies and contains, then the gospel Paul preaches is non-foundational and really means nothing! This is because in order for the essence of Wright’s gospel to exist, it must do so void of its own contents. Wright’s linguistic relativism must immediately be called into question. If the reason given in Scripture for Jesus of Nazareth’s crucifixion pertained to salvation, and if the significance of His resurrection pertained to salvation, then to attribute those events to something other than their revealed intentions is to deny the basis of the gospel wherever it may be preached. Furthermore, if the prophesied Messiah of Israel, according to Scripture, was revealed to be salvific, thus creating the necessary anticipation to precede Paul’s “announcement,” then to deny that a “system of salvation” was the referent in Paul’s “the gospel” strips the term of its meaning, resulting in something entirely altogether different.

Wright is wrong if it can be demonstrated by Scripture that:

* Jesus of Nazareth’s crucifixion was to accomplish salvation.
* The significance of Jesus’ resurrection is for salvation.

What does Scripture reveal about Jesus of Nazareth’s crucifixion?
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned-every one-to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:5-6 [ESV]

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. – Leviticus 17:11 [ESV]

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. – Matthew 26: 26-28 [ESV]

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, – 1 Corinthians 15:3 [ESV]

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, – Ephesians 1:7 [ESV]

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. – Ephesians 2:13 [ESV]

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. – Ephesians 2:16 [ESV]

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14 [ESV]

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:4 [ESV]

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. – Hebrews 10:10 [ESV]

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. – Hebrews 10:12-14 [ESV]

19 Therefore, brothers, [3] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, – Hebrews 10:19-20 [ESV]

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. – 1 Peter 2:24 [ESV]

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18 [ESV]

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. – Luke 24:45-47 [ESV]

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. – Colossians 1:19-20 [ESV]

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. – Mark 10:45 [ESV]

26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. – Hebrews 9:26-28 [ESV]

I am thoroughly convinced that, upon learning what is revealed in Scripture about the death of Jesus, his death on a cross was for salvation. Therefore, any definition of the gospel that Paul preached, that either denies this, or fails to put forward as its primary goal and feature, is unbiblical, untrue, unorthodox, untenable, and unavoidably heretical!

What does Scripture say of Jesus’ resurrection?

23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. – Romans 4:23-25 [ESV]

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. – Romans 7:4 [ESV]

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. – Romans 8:11 [ESV]

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:14 [ESV]

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. – 2 Timothy 2:8-10 [ESV]

It is indisputable that Scripture teaches that the resurrection of the crucified Christ was an essential component of God’s “system” of salvation. The resurrection of Jesus is included and featured in Romans 4:24 as being for our justification. For N.T. Wright to propose that “the gospel” to Paul did not refer to any system of salvation, the death and resurrection of Jesus would need to be abstracted from Paul’s gospel and replaced with something else, because the death and resurrection of Jesus is never revealed in Scripture as anything other than for our salvation.

N.T. Wright obviously knows this is true and that this is what we as Christians believe. Wright isn’t stupid. He redefines “the gospel” in order to further promote a “new” idea he has invented called “the fresh perspective on Paul” which is a “discovery of a subversive political dimension” that he says is “not an add-on to Paul’s theology” but “part of the inner meaning of gospel, righteousness, and so on.” So, rather than the “old” understanding of “the gospel” which can be summarized as the good news that the wrath of God is escapable for all those whom Jesus died for by embracing Christ as Savior by faith, which is a gift from God, not by works, Wright alters the meaning of the term ever so subtly in order to sell his idea of this “fresh perspective.”

Allow me to deviate for just a moment and draw you back into church history. In the 2nd century A.D., there was a major theologian named Marcion of Sinope (ca. 110-160). Marcion is a well-known heretic of church history, and according to Polycarp, was “the firstborn of Satan.” Marcion taught that Jesus Christ was the Savior sent by God. But, wait a minute, that doesn’t sound like heresy! No, it doesn’t. What made him a heretic were the definition of his terms and other things he believed and taught. For example, Marcion focused primarily on the Pauline traditions of “the gospel.” Sound familiar? Let’s look a little closer. Not only did he primarily focus on Paul, but he taught that all other conceptions of “the gospel” were wrong if they weren’t in-line with his doctrine. To him, if there were any connections between the Pauline gospel and the Old Testament God of Israel, except for antithetical purposes, then it was wrong. For Marcion, the essence of “religious truth” was found by arguing for Paul’s rendering of law/gospel, wrath/grace, works/faith, flesh/spirit, sin/righteousness, and death/life. His outcome? According to Adolf von Harnack’s History of Dogma, Marcion concluded that the wrathful God of the Old Testament was the creator of the world and that he sent a second God of the Gospel, quite unknown before Christ, who is only love and Mercy. He eventually canonized Paul’s letters along with portions of Luke’s Gospel as Scripture, and discarded the entire Old Testament as well as Matthew, Mark, most of Luke’s Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles by Luke, all of John’s books, Peter’s letters, Judas’ letter, and James. See Irenaeus’ book Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies), Justin Martyr’s Apologia, and Turtullian’s Adversus Marcionem to learn more about the Marcion heresy.

Opposition to Marcion came from all angles. Even Origen, a heretic himself, was critical of Marcion. The condemned Marcion, while affirming that Jesus Christ was the Savior sent from God, stood on an island by himself theologically, but also had quite a following. Even back then, as in our day, heretics drew the attention and allegiance of multitudes with itching ears.

N.T. Wright, like Marcion, focuses on the Pauline literature, giving it priority over all other Scripture. Like Marcion, N.T. Wright abstracts Paul’s letters, absolutizes them, idealizes them and romanticizes them, making them the objective standard of theology. But if, according to Paul, all Scripture is theopneustos (God-breathed – 2 Tim. 3:16), then to prioritize one biblical author over another to derive theology is to be guilty of reductionism.

To demonstrate that the Messiah Israel awaited pertained to a system of salvation, or that Jesus’ lordship pertains to a system of salvation would be a moot point at this time. I hope the point is clear: N.T. WRIGHT IS TEACHING ANOTHER GOSPEL. His attempt to redefine the gospel for his own selfish purposes will most certainly fool some, even the elect, if it were possible (Matt. 24:24).

Next Crash Course, we’ll examine how N.T. Wright defines “The Righteousness of God.”