Paul's Concept of Justification

The Greek family of words characterizing the doctrine of ""justification by faith"" (as it is known in English) is most prominent in the writings of the Apostle Paul. It was this doctrine that lay at the heart of the sixteenth-century Reformation; Martin Luther and his followers considered it to be at the very center of the gospel.
Protestants came to understand ""justification"" differently from the Catholic Church they had left. Instead of the Catholic ""realist"" view, in which God makes a sinner righteous, they came to a ""forensic"" understanding, by which God, as judge, declares a sinner righteous.
During the nineteenth century a third, ""relational"" view began to emerge: it viewed ""justification"" as God's gift of a right relationship to a sinner. This monograph examines Paul's concept from three perspectives: the New Testament data; the way the doctrine has developed historically; and how the doctrine has been expressed in English translations of the Scriptures. The author concludes that it is the relational view that most accurately depicts Paul's concept of ""justification.""


""Richard Moore's three-volume work on 'justification' in Paul, in historical development, and in English translations has been available for over a decade, yet too few scholars seem aware of it. In this fresh distillation of his magnum opus, Moore restates his case for interpreting Paul's distinctive concept of 'justification' as context-specific, non-forensic (in key contexts), and relational, which is also illustrated in the author's annotated translation of Romans. A learned and lucid book.""
--David J. Neville, Associate Professor of Theology, St. Mark's National Theological Center, Canberra, Australia

""In this important study of translations and interpretations over the centuries of dikaiosyne and its cognates in Paul's letters, Moore has demonstrated how an inadequate translation of a rich theological concept has led to distortions in meaning, which became entrenched in church doctrine. His emphasis on the relational aspect of this concept is significant and should stimulate further discussion of Paul's vital message.""
--Adrian M. Leske, Professor emeritus, Concordia University, Edmonton, Canada

""In this fine work Richard Moore distills the essence of a lifetime of dedicated study, condensing his three-volume magnum opus on Rectification ('Justification') into a form accessible to both scholar and student. Replete with the helpful appendices typical of the skilled teacher, this work is marked by clarity and maturity of insight, challenging mechanistic approaches with a convincing exposition of the generosity of God's gift of right relationship.""
--Bill Loader, Professor emeritus, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia


Richard K. Moore (BA, MA, DipEd, BD, PhD) was head of the New Testament department of the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia (now Vose Seminary) from 1979 to 2002, and a lecturer at Murdoch University (1986-2002). His previous publications include Rectification (""Justification"") in Paul, in Historical Perspective, and in the English Bible (2002-3) and Under the Southern Cross: The New Testament in Australian English (2014). He is currently a research associate at Vose Seminary.