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of the righteousness of God in the future. Since the righteousness based on the law leads

to a curse, only the righteousness of God brings salvation. Paul seems to have this link

between the righteousness of God and salvation in mind when he says in Rom. 1:16-17

that what makes the gospel the power for salvation is that it contains a revelation of the

righteousness of God. The problem of Israel seems to be that they were ignorant of the

righteousness of God, that is, that only God's saving acts could bring them into a right

covenant relationship with him. Because of this ignorance, they saw the righteousness

based on the law as the source of that right relationship and so sought to establish it

themselves through works.

Since they were depending on themselves, they could not

depend on God by submitting to his righteousness, or the manifestation of his salvation,

in faith.

The ground for Paul's argument in vv. 2-3 is that Christ is the

WHOR of the law

so that everyone who believes may have

GLNDLRVXYQK (v. 4), that is, a right relationship or

Our position is that Paul's negative thrust is against the law as a source of salvation, and not

against the law as a boundary-marker for Israel. E.P. Sanders has championed the view that Paul's critique
of Israel was not for an attempt to earn salvation through good works, but for a nationalistic view of the law
that kept Gentiles out of the people of God through boundary-markers like dietary laws and circumcision
("covenantal nomism"). Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1983) 19-28. Others in favor of this view are James Dunn and N.T. Wright. Scholars such as Douglas Moo
and Frank Thielmann have called this position into question. Moo observes, "Sanders' portrait of first
century Judaism is based on a relatively small number of sources, few of which are actually first century.
This is not his fault because he is working with all the available material. But it does suggest the necessity
of caution in assuming that a comprehensive portrait of first century Judaism has been attained." Moo,
Book Review, 98. In Romans 9:7ff, Paul argues against a Jewish understanding that human works had
merit in the eyes of God (vv. 11, 16). This may not have been the understanding of all Jews, which Sanders
work shows, but it does seem to be the understanding of Paul's audience. Paul makes a clear antithesis
between faith and works in 9:32, in describing Israel's method of pursuing the law. It is hard to deny that
some Jews believed their works brought them merit before God.

Here we take

34;24 in the same way as in 9:31, to refer to the Torah (rather than taking it to

mean something like "works-righteousness" or "legalism"). Paul gives no indication in this verse that he is
using the word to mean anything other than "law." The larger context also favors this rendering. In chaps.
9-11, Paul is concerned with covenant membership in the people of God. As the Torah has defined
covenant membership for Israel (cf. 9:4), Paul is concerned for Israel to understand the true intent of this
law.