Book Review: The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification, and the New Perspective by Michael Bird

Michael Bird’s book The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification, and the New Perspective is a very helpful addition to Pauline scholarship. In the book, Bird approached the New Perspective on Paul (NPP) from the Reformed theological tradition and sought to establish a mediating position between the two schools of thought. The book mainly consists of Bird’s scholarly journal articles which have been brought together in this book because of their common themes—God’s righteousness and justification by faith.

Bird addressed such contentious topics as the imputed righteousness of Christ, justification as a forensic status verses justification as covenant membership, and final justification by works. Bird understands “the righteousness of God” as a subjective genitive in the Greek, that is, the righteousness which primarily resides in God and is revealed in the salvation of mankind through the gospel. “The righteousness of God” is not imputed to the believer, nor is it synonymous with justification. Instead, God’s righteousness, “at least in Rom. 1.17, introduces the entire package of salvation including justification, redemption, propitiatory sacrifice, forgiveness of sins, membership in the new covenant community, reconciliation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, power for a new obedience, union with Christ, freedom from sin, and eschatological vindication” (16).

Bird described justification as primarily a forensic declaration of righteousness by God. But the inescapable corollary to this juridical declaration is that believers are given a status within the new covenant community consisting of Jews and Gentiles. So covenant membership and declared forensic status can never be separated, even though the new legal status of "righteous" remains primary in Paul’s justification language. These two concepts fit snugly together in Paul’s theological repertoire because the apostle formulated his doctrine of justification within the context of heated Jew and Gentile first-century relations. In other words, faith in Jesus is the mechanism by which God forgives sins and faith in Jesus is the mechanism by which a person becomes a member of God’s people, Jew and Gentile alike.

One of the most helpful chapters in the book was entitled “Raised for our Justification.” Bird, building upon the work of others, proposed that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a foundational element in the justification of believers. This chapter demonstrated that through the nexus of 1 Timothy 3:16 and Romans 4:25, believers are justified because Jesus was justified. In short, God vindicated his Son by his Spirit at the resurrection, openly declaring to the entire world the faithfulness and innocence of Jesus (1 Tim 3:16). Through faith-union with the risen Christ, believers are vindicated (justified) because they participate in the justified Messiah (Rom 4:25). Bird retained the prominence of the cross in justification (as classic Reformed theology does), while explaining that the crucifixion can never be separated from the resurrection concerning justification.

The Saving Righteousness of God is, no doubt, a scholarly study. Some knowledge of Greek would be very helpful in following the arguments, although it may not be a necessity. Also, the footnotes are extensive, as well as the bibliography at the end of the book. These references are invaluable for those who want to follow up on the latest research or trace the arguments back to the primary sources. I, on the other hand, am glad Bird has condensed these multifaceted arguments into bite-sized pieces, interacted thoroughly and soberly with them, and drawn conclusions which seek to close the gap between traditional Reformed readings and the New Perspectives on Paul.