Justifying Language investigates the respective roles of Pauline faith, hope and love in language and representation, pitting them against some key assumptions in deconstructive and postmodernist theories. Kevin Mills's critical approach to interpretation challenges the reader to reassess Pauline categories such as 'letter' and 'spirit', and to rethink the possibility of Christian engagement with contemporary theory.

Previously, examinations of this relationship have either attempted to reconstruct theology in line with the postmodern rejection of truth and universal values, or have attempted to demonstrate how deconstruction can be reconciled with (some particular) Christian discourse. Justifying Language does not attempt any such reconciliation. Instead, it develops a Christian understanding which challenges rather than accommodates modern approaches.