Justification and purity

In his challenging revisionist treatment of justification ( Judgment & Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul , Hendrickson), Chris VanLandingham examines various meanings of the verb DIKAIOO in both the Old Testament and intertestamental Jewish literature. He finds a close connection between the DIKAI- root and purity concerns, a connection also in a number of Pauline texts. Discussing 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Romans 6:7 in particular, he concludes that “the DIKAI- terms describe a state of being, not a status – only a state of being explains the emancipation from the bondage of sin and the removal of the material and contagious force of impurity.” The verb “encompasses the sense of forgiveness and purification as well as the more positive sense of setting free from sins.”

This raises the important question of whether the cultic contexts in which “righteousness” language is used has been sufficiently appreciated in Protestant soteriology. If the answer is No, that might well be connected to the Protestant avoidance of cultic and ritual issues in general.