Johnson's research interests encompass the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts of early Christianity (particularly moral discourse), Luke-Acts, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Epistle of James.
Johnson is a critic of the Jesus Seminar, having taken stances against Burton Mack, Robert Funk and John Dominic Crossan in discussions of the "historical Jesus".[2] Johnson objects to the Seminar's historical methodology. He is also a proponent of an early dating for the Epistle of James, arguing:
The Letter of James also, according to the majority of scholars who have carefully worked through its text in the past two centuries, is among the earliest of New Testament compositions. It contains no reference to the events in Jesus' life, but it bears striking testimony to Jesus' words. Jesus' sayings are embedded in James' exhortations in a form that is clearly not dependent on the written Gospels.[3]
In some areas, Johnson disagrees with Roman Catholic teaching. He has argued that "same-sex unions can be holy and good" and is in favor of "full recognition of gay and lesbian persons within the Christian communion."[4]
Johnson, Luke Timothy (1973). Teaching Religion to Undergraduates. Society for Religion in Higher Education.
——— (1977). The Literary Function of Possessions in Luke-Acts. Dissertation series (Society of Biblical Literature). Vol. 39. Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press. ISBN978-0-8913-0200-1. OCLC3327240.
——— (1980). Invitation to the Letters of Paul III: Ephesians, Colossians, Pastorals. (Commentary)
——— (1980). The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (1st ed.). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN978-0-800-61886-5.
——— (1981). Sharing Possessions: Mandate and Symbol of Faith. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Vol. 9. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN978-0-800-61534-5. OCLC7553096.
——— (1981). Some Hard Blessings: Meditations on the Beatitudes in Matthew. Argus Communications. ISBN978-0-8950-5058-8.
——— (1996). Scripture and Discernment: Decision Making in the Church. Abingdon Press. ISBN978-0-6870-1238-1.
——— (1996). Letters to Paul's Delegates: A Commentary on 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus. New Testament in Context. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International. ISBN978-1-5633-8144-7. OCLC35360799. (Commentary)
——— (1997). Reading Romans: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Reading the New Testament Series. New York: Crossroad Pub. ISBN978-1573122764. OCLC35151248. (Commentary)
——— (1998). Religious Experience: A Missing Dimension in New Testament Studies. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN978-0-800-63129-1. OCLC39079005.
———; Crossan, John Dominic; Kelber, Werner H. (1999). The Jesus Controversy: perspectives in conflict. Rockwell Lecture Series. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International. ISBN978-1-5633-8289-5. OCLC41628131.
——— (2002). The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (2nd revised ed.). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN978-0-334-02911-3.
———; Kurz, William S. (2002). Future of Catholic Biblical Scholarship: A Constructive Conversation. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-802-84545-0. OCLC49902174.
——— (2002). Septuagintal Midrash in the Speeches of Acts. Père Marquette lecture in theology. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press. ISBN978-0-8746-2582-0. OCLC49011355.
——— (2010). The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (3rd ed.). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN978-0-800-66361-2.
——— (2010). The New Testament: A Very Short Introduction. Very short introductions. Vol. 229. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-199-73570-9. OCLC438055743.
——— (2011). Sharing Possessions: What Faith Demands, Second Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-0399-3.
——— (2011). Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church: The Challenge of Luke-Acts to Contemporary Christians. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-802-80390-0.
——— (2013). Contested Issues in Christian Origins and the New Testament: Collected Essays. Supplements to Novum Testamentum. Brill. ISBN978-9-0042-4290-6.
——— (2015). The Revelatory Body: Theology as Inductive Art. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-0383-2.
——— (2020). Constructing Paul (The Canonical Paul, volume 1). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-0758-8.
——— (2021). Interpreting Paul (The Canonical Paul, volume 2). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-2466-0.
——— (2022). The Mind in Another Place: My Life as a Scholar. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-8011-6.
Johnson is also the author of a large number of scholarly articles, encyclopedia, anthology and popular articles, book reviews, and other academic papers and lectures.