A study of a group of terms which have a central importance in the New Testament.

Reassesses the concept of righteousness in Matthew in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Tannaitic literature.

Are Christians merely forgiven, or do they possess the righteousness of Christ? Recently the time-honored understanding of the doctrine of justification has come under attack. Many question how-or if-we receive the full righteousness of Christ. Martin Luther said that if we understand justification "we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it, we dwell in the densest darkness." And now, in this new and important book, John Piper accepts Luther's challenge. He points out that we need to see ourselves as having been recipients of the imputation of Christ's righteousness and therefore enjoy full acceptance with God and the everlasting inheritance of life and joy. Piper writes as both a pastor and a scholar. His pastor's heart is shown in his zeal for the welfare of the church. His careful scholarship is evident in each explanation and undergirds each conclusion.

This volume by Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner on the interplaybetween Christianity and biblical law is an excellent addition to the 40Questions & Answers series. Schreiner not only coherently answers the toughquestions that flow from a discussion about the Old Testament Levitical Law,but also writes clearly and engagingly for the student. The pastor, student,and layperson can easily understand Schreiner’s biblical theology of the Law.

The first volume of this three-volume work reviews the history of efforts to define biblical righteousness. Modern views are engaged and critiqued, from the seminal article (1860) by Ludwig Diestel (God’s righteousness as the agreement of his will and purpose) to others in the theological stream known as the “New Perspective.” Scholars discussed include Walther Eichrodt, Gerhard von Rad, Elizabeth Achtemeier, James D. G. Dunn and N. T. Wright. Other perspectives are also engaged, including H. H. Schmid’s definition of righteousness as conformity to the created order (Weltordnung), John Piper’s view that God’s righteousness is God’s concern for his own glory, and the traditional view, championed by C. L. Irons, that God’s righteousness is his iustitia distributiva. The author examines these views, all of which have been supported by inductive studies, in light of a proposed alternative: that righteousness is conformity to God’s Being and doing. That definition will be explored further in Volumes II (OT) and III (NT). Unlike previous studies, the present work proceeds deductively and experimentally, and thereby seeks to avoid the pitfalls of a dogmatic approach. Extra-biblical, patristic, medieval, and reformation views of righteousness are also considered as background to the modern study of righteousness.

Since the late 1970s, theologians have been attempting to integrate mimetic theory into different fields of theology, yet a distrust of mimetic theory persists in some theological camps. In René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology, Grant Kaplan brings mimetic theory into conversation with theology both to elucidate the relevance of mimetic theory for the discipline of fundamental theology and to understand the work of René Girard within a theological framework. Rather than focus on Christology or atonement theory as the locus of interaction between Girard and theology, Kaplan centers his discussion on the apologetic quality of mimetic theory and the impact of mimetic theory on fundamental theology, the subdiscipline that grew to replace apologetics. His book explores the relation between Girard and fundamental theology in several keys. In one, it understands mimetic theory as a heuristic device that allows theological narratives and positions to become more intelligible and, by so doing, makes theology more persuasive. In another key, Kaplan shows how mimetic theory, when placed in dialogue with particular theologians, can advance theological discussion in areas where mimetic theory has seldom been invoked. On this level the book performs a dialogue with theology that both revisits earlier theological efforts and also demonstrates how mimetic theory brings valuable dimensions to questions of fundamental theology.

Pastors and leaders of the classical church interpreted the Bible theologically, believing Scripture as a whole witnessed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Modern interpreters of the Bible questioned this premise. But in recent decades, a critical mass of theologians and biblical scholars has begun to reassert the priority of a theological reading of Scripture. The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible enlists leading theologians to read and interpret Scripture for the twenty-first century. In this addition to the well-received series, Daniel Treier offers theological exegesis of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.