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Transformation: The Heart of Paul’s Gospel
The Apostle Paul found the gospel message so compelling that he became a rootless wanderer and endured hardships and deprivation to spread this good news throughout the Roman Empire. What was the “gift of righteousness” that Paul was so eager to share? David deSilva argues that it was far richer than the “get out of hell free” pass that some Christians have unintentionally reduced it to today.
In Transformation: The Heart of Paul’s Gospel, deSilva guides readers in expanding their definition of the gospel message as presented in Paul’s letters. He succinctly demonstrates that the gift of righteousness that Paul speaks of in Romans is nothing less than the means to transform and renew all of creation—including ourselves. Join deSilva as he explores Paul’s message of change and renewal, and prepare to be transformed in your own thinking in the process.
In Transformation: The Heart of Paul’s Gospel, deSilva guides readers in expanding their definition of the gospel message as presented in Paul’s letters. He succinctly demonstrates that the gift of righteousness that Paul speaks of in Romans is nothing less than the means to transform and renew all of creation—including ourselves. Join deSilva as he explores Paul’s message of change and renewal, and prepare to be transformed in your own thinking in the process.
- GenresTheology
Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
12 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
David A. deSilva
83 books67 followersDavid A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. His numerous books include Introducing the Apocrypha and An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 2, 2025
I really wanted to like this book, but it's so academic and wordy that I couldn't understand what he wanted to do with it. At times, it seemed like he was diving into some deep ideas, and other times, he was simply talking about justification. I do like his portion at the end where he challenges Christians to reconsider and question the structures that are currently in place. But overall, this book could've been written a lot better, even while still being someone's dissertation.
March 3, 2023
A brief but wide-reaching analysis of the gospel. DeSilva’s exegesis cuts across partisan lines to read the text with fresh eyes and open hearts.
May 29, 2019
I really enjoyed this small book from deSilva - a good examination of transformation, a look at what it means to be "a new creation". I'm not saying I agree with all the Author has to say - for example I don't fully agree with his approach to Romans 7. But his argument for Transformation is very akin to Luther's on Good Works - not that Good Works get you into heaven, but that surely Good Works are a result of what Christ has done and is doing inside our lives, and our Christian communities. I do like that the author covers both the individual as well as the corporate side of transformation - so often in our Western World today, the latter is either ignored or tacked on.
This is an easy read - recommended for any who want to go a bit further into Paul's theology - ie it is a good place for them to start.
I'm quite enjoying the books that are coming out in this Snapshot series - whilst they are reasonably short, they pack a lot into them and they are good reading - make you think. This one as others is highly recommended.
This is an easy read - recommended for any who want to go a bit further into Paul's theology - ie it is a good place for them to start.
I'm quite enjoying the books that are coming out in this Snapshot series - whilst they are reasonably short, they pack a lot into them and they are good reading - make you think. This one as others is highly recommended.
April 12, 2018
Oh my, so many errors in this book. Non Sequitors a plenty.
January 20, 2024
Wanted to learn more about obedience to God’s will and Paul’s teachings on the topic. This book was a great analysis of that! Worth the read!
January 25, 2017
To read my full review, you can go here: http://wp.me/p3JhRp-Xp
What is so “good” about Paul’s good news? What was the good news he brought to his churches? “Are you sure that if you died tonight you would go to heaven?” “All you need to do is to confess Jesus as your savior and believe in his name, and you can be sure that you’re saved”? These are questions we often hear, but is that what Paul was asking? Should these be what we are asking others? Is “heaven” the good news?
In the first volume in the Snapshots series, David A. deSilva gives us Transformation: The Heart of Paul's Gospel. His concern is “that Christians often fail to connect these statements with passages in Paul’s letters that flesh out his larger understanding of how God has provided—out of his sheer goodness and generosity toward us—for our reconciliation, restoration, and rescue from the consequences of having participated in our race’s rebellion against God’s rule” (1).
Paul’s message is about change because “faith, to be faith at all, entails a wholehearted commitment to the person of Christ that must also transform the life of a person” (5). What is God seeking to bring about through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit? Paul emphasizes the transformation of individuals, communities, and even the whole cosmos itself.
"Paul’s gospel, however, remains good news: it is the message about how God has undertaken to work out our transformation. It is about God’s provision for our transformation so that by means of his gifts we might become righteous and thus be approved at the Last Judgment without God himself ceasing to be just" (24). Through Christ and the reception of God's Holy Spirit, we were freed from our sin to serve God willingly.
We are able to be transformed for we have "put on" the new man in Christ. The community's transformation is to be from one of individuals who are opposed to one another to living together as a family. We are being reconciled to one another (2 Cor 2.5-11), and are to be others-centered (Phil 2.1-11). The wisdom of God was revealed through the death and resurrection of the son of God. We have this wisdom in our possession, and we are to live in this wise way, always dying to ourselves and living for Christ.
DeSilva believes, as do I, that Paul wants his readers to be transformed. If not, they would be just like Old Testament Israel—making empty claims while living like the other nations, causing God’s name to be spoken ill of among the Gentiles (Isa 52.5). If we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, then there is a transformation that takes place and one that must continue to take place.
What is so “good” about Paul’s good news? What was the good news he brought to his churches? “Are you sure that if you died tonight you would go to heaven?” “All you need to do is to confess Jesus as your savior and believe in his name, and you can be sure that you’re saved”? These are questions we often hear, but is that what Paul was asking? Should these be what we are asking others? Is “heaven” the good news?
In the first volume in the Snapshots series, David A. deSilva gives us Transformation: The Heart of Paul's Gospel. His concern is “that Christians often fail to connect these statements with passages in Paul’s letters that flesh out his larger understanding of how God has provided—out of his sheer goodness and generosity toward us—for our reconciliation, restoration, and rescue from the consequences of having participated in our race’s rebellion against God’s rule” (1).
Paul’s message is about change because “faith, to be faith at all, entails a wholehearted commitment to the person of Christ that must also transform the life of a person” (5). What is God seeking to bring about through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit? Paul emphasizes the transformation of individuals, communities, and even the whole cosmos itself.
"Paul’s gospel, however, remains good news: it is the message about how God has undertaken to work out our transformation. It is about God’s provision for our transformation so that by means of his gifts we might become righteous and thus be approved at the Last Judgment without God himself ceasing to be just" (24). Through Christ and the reception of God's Holy Spirit, we were freed from our sin to serve God willingly.
We are able to be transformed for we have "put on" the new man in Christ. The community's transformation is to be from one of individuals who are opposed to one another to living together as a family. We are being reconciled to one another (2 Cor 2.5-11), and are to be others-centered (Phil 2.1-11). The wisdom of God was revealed through the death and resurrection of the son of God. We have this wisdom in our possession, and we are to live in this wise way, always dying to ourselves and living for Christ.
DeSilva believes, as do I, that Paul wants his readers to be transformed. If not, they would be just like Old Testament Israel—making empty claims while living like the other nations, causing God’s name to be spoken ill of among the Gentiles (Isa 52.5). If we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, then there is a transformation that takes place and one that must continue to take place.
December 31, 2020
Gospel 101
A bit of a synopsis of deSilva's larger more scholarly tomes (particularly his Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity) in relation to putting those pieces together and what a Christian is expected to do with them. this book changed my life. I was on the right track a decade or so ago but was actually coaxed into a cheaper and somewhat false position of abiding in sin rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to cajole me into the life God's wants for me. By going down the 'wide path' I actually walked away from God for about 5 or so years. This book came into my life when I realised how sinful I was and that I needed God in my life again. Life changing stuff inside if you allow it to transcend the junk hermeneutics of the past 1700 odd years of this whole just believe and you are saved dross. 5 out of 5 stars
A bit of a synopsis of deSilva's larger more scholarly tomes (particularly his Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity) in relation to putting those pieces together and what a Christian is expected to do with them. this book changed my life. I was on the right track a decade or so ago but was actually coaxed into a cheaper and somewhat false position of abiding in sin rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to cajole me into the life God's wants for me. By going down the 'wide path' I actually walked away from God for about 5 or so years. This book came into my life when I realised how sinful I was and that I needed God in my life again. Life changing stuff inside if you allow it to transcend the junk hermeneutics of the past 1700 odd years of this whole just believe and you are saved dross. 5 out of 5 stars
November 19, 2015
Кратка, добре обоснована книжка за начина, по който сме склонни да замитаме под килима дълги пасажи от НЗ.
Със сигурност ще бъде предизвикателна за някои мои познати (спестявам имената :)))
Със сигурност ще бъде предизвикателна за някои мои познати (спестявам имената :)))
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews