Strange how one little word, the Greek word pistis, can make a profound difference in understanding the Bible. Pistis is usually translated "faith," but in different contexts of the New Testament the word can have several other meanings such as "faithfulness," "trustworthiness," "solemn promise or oath," "proof or pledge," "conviction," and "doctrine (of the Christian faith)." This book will challenge the reader's understanding of Paul's expression pistis Christou, "faith/faithfulness of Christ," and the use of the pistis word group (verb, noun, and adjective) throughout the New Testament. Given the Old Testament background to this word, one will learn how the apostle Paul utilized an obscure phrase from the prophet Habakkuk to refer to a coming Messiah who in turn lived in faithfulness to the Father's will to die on a cross for the sins of the world. This book will reveal how the gospel is emphasized throughout the New Testament in terms of "the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah." New and fresh interpretations of various texts will challenge the traditional understandings of such texts. When a person comprehends pistis as God's faithfulness and the Messiah's faithfulness, the only human response is pistis itself, meaning faithfulness as described in Hebrews 11. God is faithful and Jesus is faithful. Will he find us faithful?

This dissertation examines the role of the Davidic Messiah, who is the agent of God's judgment in Romans 1:18--4:25. It may be summarized in two theses: First of all, the Davidic Messiah was expected in the Old Testament and the Second Temple Jewish writings, which establish the foundation for Paul's Davidic Messiah Christology in Romans. Second, the language in the role of the agent of God's judgment cannot be identified with the term faithfulness.

The Bible has many stories, but really there are only two. There is a story of violent humanity, and there is the story of a self-giving, nonviolent God. The question has been how to distinguish the two without creating a toxic dualism. Bartlett shows that the narratives in tension are not two opposed Testaments, even less two metaphysical principles, but the slow separating out of nonviolent revelation from the frame of violent meaning by which human beings have always signified themselves and their gods. In his prior, ground-laying book, Theology Beyond Metaphysics, Bartlett demonstrated the concept of semiotic change and how it emerges as the most appropriate way of understanding and affirming a relational shift in human and theological meaning. In this present work, he supplies a rich seam of biblical evidence with gripping essays on Old Testament books and their evolution of transformative signs and new meaning. Accounts of the life of Jesus and the teaching of Paul make the change exponential, bringing to definitive expression the inbreaking of the nonviolent divine. Signs of Change creates a theological masterstroke, showing step-by-step how semiotic evolution leads human existence to the truly saving knowledge of a nonviolent God.

A masterly exposition of Paul's thought by one of his leading contemporary interpreters. The summation of a lifetime's study, this landmark book offers an unparalleled wealth of detailed insights into Paul's life, times and enduring impact. Destined to become the point of reference in Pauline studies for the next decade, and beyond. Wright carefully explores the whole context of Pauls thought and activityJewish, Greek and Roman, cultural, philosophical, religious, and imperialand shows how the apostles worldview and theology enabled him to engage with the many-sided complexities of first-century life that his churches were facing. Wright also provides close and illuminating readings of the letters and other primary sources, along with critical insights into the major twists and turns of exegetical and theological debate in the vast secondary literature. The result is a rounded and profoundly compelling account of the man who became the worlds first, and greatest, Christian theologian 'Tom Wright's long-awaited full-length study of St Paul will not in any way disappoint the high expectations that surround it. From the very first sentence, it holds the attention, arguing a strong, persuasive, coherent and fresh case, supported by immense scholarship and comprehensive theological intelligence. It is a worthy successor to his earlier magisterial studies of the themes of the Kingdom and the Resurrection: lively, passionate and deeply constructive, laying out very plainly the ways in which the faith of the New Testament is focused on God's purpose to re-create, through the fact of Jesus crucified and risen, our entire understanding of authority and social identity.' Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

There are only two paths: Freedom or Slavery Spirit or Flesh Faith or Law Blessing or Cursing Life or Death Which path are you on? This is Paul's argument in the first letter he ever wrote under the Spirit's inspiration. He wants his readers--then and now--to live in the path of freedom and life. The Galatians had traded salvation by grace alone through faith alone for a "gospel" of works of Law. Paul has some seemingly harsh words for them, because to replace grace with anything else is to destroy the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

New Testament Theology is a major new contribution to New Testament scholarship by renowned scholar Eckhard Schnabel. While many New Testament theologies approach the material through a particular thematic construct (e.g., covenant), Schnabel takes a different approach. First, he focuses on Jesus Messiah and his significance for the early church. Second, he seeks to describe the theology of the New Testament as it was written and read in its historical context. This approach honors the fact that the authors and original readers of the New Testament were real people dealing with real issues in their specific ecclesiological, cultural, and missiological settings. Schnabel comprehensively combines a historical description of the New Testament's theology with a systematic reflection on the New Testament's message and the convictions of Jesus and his early followers. This valuable contribution to the field will be insightful reading for students, scholars, and pastors.

A fresh and engaging study of Romans 1–8 rich in personal illustrations and theological insight. A gift to all those who want to understand Paul better, whether they are preachers, ordinary readers, or scholars.