Dr. Mark Seifrid to join Concordia Seminary faculty

Dr. Mark Seifrid, a preeminent scholar of the New Testament letters of Paul, will join the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis as a professor of exegetical theology beginning with the 2015-2016 academic year.

Seifrid has published major works on justification in the New Testament and a commentary on 2 Corinthians, and is currently writing a commentary on Galatians. He has published numerous articles on Pauline theology and the doctrine of justification—in particular articulating a Lutheran view of justification as drawn from the Pauline Epistles.

Seifrid earned a Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1990. He received the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois. He also holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

For the past 23 years, Seifrid has taught New Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Most recently he served there as the Ernest and Mildred Hogan Chair in New Testament Interpretation.

Raised in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), Seifrid joined the evangelical movement in college. In the years since, he has been drawn back to his LCMS roots and is being received as a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, Missouri.

“The spirit of God, along with my continuing interaction with Scripture, really convinced me of the truth embodied in the Lutheran Confessions,” said Seifrid. “Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the distinction between Law and Gospel are elements of Lutheran theology that take up what’s in the Scriptures. Then, in their own way, reading the confessions helps us to hear the Scriptures properly.”

The most compelling reason Seifrid found to return to the LCMS is the assurance of salvation inherent to Lutheran theology. “I know Jesus is mine, and I am His,” he said. “Christ’s word, given in baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the right preaching of Scripture, brings assurance to the human heart in a way we can’t find elsewhere.”

Prior to receiving this appointment to the faculty, Seifrid participated in the LCMS “prior approval” process. “It has been our pleasure to come to know Dr. Seifrid this past year,” said Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of the LCMS and a member of the prior approval committee. “He is an eloquent defender of the classic understanding of Law and Gospel in St. Paul, which was that of Luther and the Lutheran Confessions, over against the so-called ‘New Perspective on Paul.’ He also confesses the full truth of the confessional writings of our church as his own. It will be our great blessing to have him finish his academic career serving in the LCMS.”

Seifrid’s initial appointment to the faculty is on a contract basis. Over the next several months, Seifrid will go through the LCMS colloquy process in order to be able to receive a call to the faculty.

Seifrid will bring additional depth and breadth to the renowned faculty at Concordia Seminary. “Professor Seifrid is an insightful, engaging, humble, and warm individual, in addition to being an outstanding teacher and scholar,” said Dr. Dale A. Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary. “Mark will be a tremendous blessing to our students and to our church as we together listen faithfully to the Scriptures.”