Over at the Reformation21 ezine, Rick Phillips has posted two interesting posts refuting the error of future justification according to works. In light of the New Perspective of Paul controversy, these two posts by Phillips would be helpful for us.
This year has witnessed a publishing event of real interest to many Christians: the publication of N.T. Wright's Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision. Wright is widely considered the most provocative writer on justification today and the arrival of this book has deservedly garnered much attention. My purpose in this article is not to review Wright's book as a whole or even to assess his overall teaching on justification. Rather, I intend to respond to that part of his teaching that proposes a future justification by works for believers in Jesus Christ.
While I agree that vindication occurs at the Eschaton, I do not know whether using the word justification to talk about this vindication is proper, especially in light of the New Perspective distortion of this concept. Surely, it would be better to describe vindication a manifestation of the reality of [past] Justification instead of the "eschatological terminus of Justification" itself?
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