In what has become known as the 'new perspective' on Paul, Tom Wright has proposed a vision of the apostle's central message that does fuller justice to the whole of Paul's letters and, in particular, to the God-centred nature of his gospel. He argues that 'traditional' readings of Paul can suggest that the apostle's message is simply about us: our sin, our justification, our salvation. All these are important but they are not the heart of the matter, for, as Wright declares in the first chapter of this book, 'We are not the centre of the universe. God is not circling around us. We are circling around Him.'

Writing from the perspective of his much admired scholarship, yet with a fluency and accessibility that few can match, Tom Wright argues that to understand 'justification' from Paul's point of view, it is necessary to see it in terms of four elements: the cosmic law court; the forward-moving purpose of God ('eschatology'); the fact of God's achievement in Jesus Christ and our participation in him; and ultimately the single divine plan, through Israel, for the whole world ('covenant'). Above all, we will only see what 'justification' is about when we recognize that we are part of a larger purpose. God is rescuing us from the shipwreck of the world, not so that we can sit back and put our feet up in his company, but so that we can be part of his plan to rescue and remake the whole creation.

Ambitious in scope, yet closely argued, Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision suggests that this crucial understanding of the theology of St Paul, and thus of the gospel of Christ, is urgently needed as the church faces the tasks of mission in a dangerous world.