Galatians 2:15-16 NT Wright Paraphrase
Kingdom New Testament (NT Wright)
15 We are Jews by birth, not "Gentile sinners." 16A But we know that a person is not declared "righteous" by works of the Jewish law, but through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah. 16B That is why we too believed in the Messiah, Jesus: so that we might be declared "righteous" on the basis of the Messiah's faithfulness, and not on the basis of works of the Jewish law. 16C On that basis, you see, no creature will be declared "righteous." |
NT Wright Paraphrase
15 We (Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and the rest) are Jews by birth, and so naturally assume that our possession and maintenance of our ancestral Torah and the traditions associated with it are what give us the standing of "righteous". 16A But we know now - because of everything we know of the messianic events concerning Jesus that this is no longer the case. The "works of Torah" will not do as the defining feature of our (or anyone's) standing as dikaioi (as opposed to the pagan hamartoloi). The Messiah's covenant-fulfilling faithfulness, which invites and receives our faithful response, is now the one and only defining marker for God's people, that is, for those who are now properly designated dikaioi. 16B So we too believed in Messiah Jesus: we Jews, Peter, Barnabas, myself, and the others. Our status now is that we are indeed dikaioi but that dikaiosyne is entirely dependent on Messiah faithfulness, not on Torah works. 16C After all, as scripture says, no flesh will be declared dikaioi on the basis of Torah works. |