What makes his profile distinct is not that he, and he alone, “believed in grace,” but that he took the Christ-event to be the definitive expression of God’s unconditioned grace and understood this incongruity to relativize the distinction between Jews and non-Jews, and thus to legitimize the gentile mission. Paul does not reject “Judaism” as a “legalistic” religion. In fact, he considers Israel’s very being as founded on the unconditioned mercy of God. He is therefore hopeful for the future of the Jewish people, despite the fact that many had so far failed to recognize the gift of the Messiah
What makes Xianity unique is the Christ event not grace
