Did the Protestant Reformers understand Paul correctly? Has the church today been unduly influenced by Reformation-era misreadings of the Pauline epistles? These questions-especially as they pertain to Martin Luther's interpretation of the Pauline doctrine of justification-have been at the forefront of much discussion within biblical studies and theology in light of the New Perspective on Paul. But that leads to another question: Have we understood the Reformers correctly? With that in mind, these essays seek to enable a more careful reading of the Reformers' exegesis of Pauline texts. Each chapter pairs a Reformer with a Pauline letter and then brings together a historical theologian and a biblical scholar to examine these Reformation-era readings of Paul. In doing so, this volume seeks a better understanding of the Reformers and the true meaning of the biblical text.

In God, Grace, and Righteousness in Wisdom of Solomon and Paul's Letter to the Romans, Jonathan A. Linebaugh places the Wisdom of Solomon and the Letter to the Romans in conversation. Both texts discuss the relationship of Jew and Gentile, the meaning of God's grace and righteousness, and offer readings of Israel's scripture. These shared themes provide talking-points, initiating a dialogue on anthropology, soteriology, and hermeneutics. By listening in on this conversation, Linebaugh demonstrates that while these texts have much in common, the theologies they articulate are ultimately incommensurable because they think from different events - Wisdom from the pre-creational order crafted by Sophia and exemplified in the Exodus; Paul from the incongruous gift of Christ which justifies the ungodly.

The distinction between God's law and God's gospel lies at the core of the Lutheran and Reformed traditions-and has long been a point of controversy between them. God's Two Words offers new contributions from ten key Lutheran and Reformed scholars on the theological significance of the law-gospel distinction. Following introductory chapters that define the concepts of law and gospel from each tradition, contributors explore how the distinction between law and gospel plays out in theology, preaching, the reading of Scripture, and pastoral care. As it traces both the common ground and the areas of disagreement between the two traditions, this book amplifies and clarifies an important conversation that has been ongoing since the sixteenth century. CONTRIBUTORS: Michael Allen, Charles Arand, Erik H. Herrmann, Kelly Kapic, Peter Malysz, Mark C. Mattes, Steven Paulson, Katherine Sonderegger, Scott Swain and Kevin J. Vanhoozer.