Monday, May 18, 2020

Brandon D. Crowe on the Resurrection of Jesus and the Forgiveness of Sins


Commenting on the relationship between justification, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of Jesus, Brandon Crowe wrote:

[H]ow does the resurrection related to the forgiveness of sins and the law of Moses in 13:38-39? Does Luke’s account of Paul’s speech shed light on the doctrine of justification, perhaps even in a way that is consistent with Paul’s letters? In verses 38-39 Luke speaks of being justified by faith in Jesus (en toutō pas ho pisetuōn dikaioutai), in contrast to what it was not possible to be justified (dikaiōthēnai) from (apo) by the law of Moses. Despite the preference of many modern English translations, the language of dikaioō in verses 38-39 is best translated in terms of being justified, rather than being freed. From what is a person justified? It must be from sin. Paul uses similar language in Romans 6:7: “For the one who has died has been justified [dedikaiōtai] from [apo] sin.” The Lukan Paul in Acts 13 correlates justification by faith (v. 39) with the forgiveness of sins (v. 38). Significantly, this good news derives from Paul’s exposition of the resurrection, which is apparent from oun and dia touto in Acts 13:38. These refer back to Jesus, who was raised and did not see decay (vv. 36-37).

But how close is the Pisidian Antioch speech in Acts to the Pauline doctrine of justification? Has Luke misunderstood, or only half understood Paul? Although Paul does speak of justification in contrast to the law of Moses (e.g., Gal. 2:16; 3:11; 5:4), it is objected that Paul speaks less clearly about the correlation of forgiveness of sins to justification. However, if the “we” passages in Luke are taken at face value to indicate that Luke accompanied Paul on some of his travels (which remains the best view), then it beggars belief to think that Luke has misunderstood this key theological emphasis of an apostle he knew personally. A better view is that Acts 13:38-39 provides another angle on the (“Pauline”) doctrine of justification and one that supports the “older” perspective on Paul—namely, that one’s right standing before God does not depend on one’s adherence to the law of Moses and that justification entails the forgiveness of sins.

Particularly pertinent for the present discussion is the relationship in Acts 13 between justification and Jesus’s resurrection. The casual link between Jesus’s resurrection and believers’ justification in Paul’s Pisidian Antioch sermon recalls similar connections in Paul’s letters. For example, in Romans 4:24-25 believers are justified because of Jesus’ resurrection. Thus Romans speaks of justification on the basis of Christ’s resurrection, in addition to justification on the basis of Christ’s death (cf. 3:24-25). This variety of emphasis in Paul further encourages readers of Acts not to misconstrue Luke’s understanding of the atoning work of Christ—justification is not based upon either the death of Christ or his resurrection; it is based on Christ’s entire work.

It is also noteworthy that Paul relates the resurrection of Christ to Adam in both Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. In both cases, the obedience of the last Adam leads to life for those with faith in Christ (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:20-49). These passages relate the obedience of Christ to his resurrection, which Luke also does. Not only does Luke clearly view Christ as a new Adam (cf. Luke 3:38), but Jesus is consistently identified as the Holy and Righteous One (using the dik- word group; see Luke 23:47; Acts 3:14-15) who did not see decay. Jesus’s resurrection in Acts is predicated in large measure upon his perfect obedience (see the use of Ps. 16 in Acts 2:24-36; 13:34-37; cf. 13:22), which is similar to Paul’s Adam Christology (Rom. 5:18-19; 1 Cor. 15:21-22). Luke and Paul agree that justification comes through the resurrection of the perfectly righteous one. (Brandon D. Crowe, The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2020], 63-64, emphasis in bold added)

The above is important for many reasons, including (1) it refutes the naïve Protestant understanding of John 19:30 and (2) by linking Acts 13:38-39 with Rom 6:7 vis-à-vis the meaning of δικαιοω, it provides further support to the Latter-day Saint understanding of the relationship between justification and sanctification. For more on these issues, see: