The Manifestation of God's Merciful Justice

Rom 3:21-26 is crucial to the Letter to the Romans. Yet the construction
and syntax of the pericope is perplexing, its meaning ambiguous or even
obscure, its rhetoric complex and its interpretation and theology
therefore controversial. Although clearly rich, its meaning is not easy
to grasp in detail. For many interpreters, it concerns the justification
of the human before God. For others it is about how Christ’s faithful
death justifies and redeems humanity. We can describe the former
interpretation as anthropocentric, focused on a perceived human need;
and the latter as christocentric, focused on the action of Christ. This
book argues that a theocentric reading does more justice to the text.
Other readings overlook the overwhelming centrality and activity of God
in Paul’s text. But a theocentric perspective provides a key which
unlocks many of the puzzles in this passage and enables us to understand
Romans 1-3.