Salvation, Grace and Works in the Later Writings in the Pauline Corpus

Abstract

Until 1977 it was commonly believed that when New Testament writers affirmed that justification or salvation was not by works but by faith, they were opposing a view that was assumed to be held by first-century Jews, namely that admission to the saved community could be achieved on the basis of conditions which included performing good deeds or fulfilling the duties required by the Jewish law; the effect of these was to acquire merit on account of which God would accept the person and not take their sins into account. Over against this view the early Christians, and especially Paul, taught that salvation was to be received solely as a result of the gracious action of God himself and consequently by faith alone; such faith was in no sense some kind of human achievement but rather a dependence upon God himself.