Sinners, Works of Law, and Transgression in Gal 2:14b-21: A Study in Paul's Line of Thought

In Gal 2:14b-21, Paul relates his rejection of justification by "works of law" closely to concepts of gentile and Jewish sinfulness. In dialogue with recent interpretation, Nicolai Techow presents a detailed study of Paul's flow of thought in this passage in its historical and literary context and asks what in particular Paul's thinking indicates. Showing that the passage does present Paul's speech to Cephas at Antioch, the author argues for an interpretation which explains it as a linear and thematically unified argument, centered on God's judgment of people in the cross of Christ as integral to justification itself. Furthermore, he shows that the concepts of sinfulness and justification not by "works of law" in this text transcend "ethnicity" and are focused on the moral-religious realm generally.