Charles YTK
3rd August 2005, 07:01 AM
I do not agree with all of Monte Judah's things. But this is good and provides some strong arguements.
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The Rumor About Paul
A rumor is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “general talk not based on definite knowledge; mere gossip; hearsay” and secondarily as “an unconfirmed report, story, or statement in general circulation.”
It is rumored that the Apostle Paul taught New Covenant brethren, the Church, not to follow the Law of Moses. Specifically, the majority of New Testament teachers today believe that Paul was adamant in his opposition to the Law, and that he promoted the “grace of God” as a replacement for the “teaching” of Moses. Before we go any further, let’s make sure we are all on the same page. It is a rumor. In fact, I intend to show you in this article that the rumor is false; it is not true.
After four hours of public debate in April 2005 between Donald Wilson and myself, this was the prevailing argument. Did the Apostle Paul really advocate that the Law of Moses should not be kept further, or was this a rumor about him that remains with us to this day? One particular point in the debate brought this question into sharp focus. It was a devastating accusation against Paul as a New Covenant believer. Did Paul falsely represent himself to the Apostles James and Peter? Did he betray his own brethren, and the thousands of Jews who believed and were zealous for the Law?
When Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles began to prosper (many Gentiles were coming to faith), he reported back to his Jewish brethren with great enthusiasm. However, some of his Jewish brethren, particularly from Paul’s background – Pharisees, took issue with Paul’s ministry success
and challenged the salvation of the new Gentile believers. A great dispute arose. It was about the Doctrine of Salvation. How does a person, regardless of who they are, get saved? It also had to do with controlling ambitions of the Pharisaic Jews to make the Gentile believers subject to their authority.
The believing Jewish Pharisees said that a Gentile must be circumcised (physically) or they weren’t saved. They expanded their argument further to say that Gentiles must keep the rite of circumcision and the Law of Moses to obtain salvation.
And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.” ACT 15:1,2,5
To properly understand those requirements, a Gentile believer would have to submit to the detailed instructions of the Jewish Pharisaic believers. Therefore, they were advocating that “salvation is by the works of the Law,” not by faith. This is the fundamental issue and why Paul wrote so many of his letters to the Gentile believers in opposition to the “works of the Law.” Just as Peter warned, others have twisted the words of Paul to say that he was against the Law. He wasn’t against the Law; he was against the teaching of salvation by works.
In the Apostle Paul’s day, it was against the Law to be against the Law. This is why the rumor took on such weight and significance when Paul visited Jerusalem and the Apostle James.
And now the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. And after he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses in order that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself
also walk orderly, keeping the Law. ACT 21:18-24
The rumor was that Paul told Jewish believers not to circumcise their sons, nor walk in accordance with the customs of Moses. The rumor was that Paul had gone beyond the letter to the Gentiles, that he was speaking against his own people and was opposed to the Law and the customs of Moses. What exactly had the letter said to begin with? Had it said that Gentiles were not to keep the Law? On the contrary, it said that Gentile believers are to keep the Law properly, starting with the essentials and growing to full understanding.
Therefore it is my [the Apostle James] judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath." ACT 15:19-21
Three things were emphasized: abstain from idolatry, fornication, and food that is unclean. This is the teaching of Leviticus 17 and 18. It
is called the heart of the Law. These are the essentials to learn the faith. But take note of the Apostle’s last sentence. To understand this letter and its commandments, you need to hear the teaching of Moses and the Torah. If the intent of the letter dispatched by James was to direct Gentile believers away from the Law of Moses, then why did James direct the believers to the Torah being taught on Sabbath in synagogues?
But what about the dispute over how a person is saved? Why didn’t the letter to the Gentiles address the salvation issue? It didn’t
need to, that is why Paul wrote his letters. It also appears that the Apostle Paul agreed with this course of action and cooperated fully with the witnesses and the letter dispatched from Jerusalem. Why would Paul travel with Silas, one of the two witnesses dispatched with the letter, on his latter trips, if he didn’t believe that Gentiles should have the instruction of Moses?
One of the arguments made by teachers opposed to the Law of Moses is that Paul knew how to be a “Jew with the Jews” and how to be a
“Roman with the Romans,” for the purpose of winning them to Christ. In the case of the Jews, they were already coming to faith in Yeshua in great numbers. But, contrary to modern church thinking, they were “zealous for the Law.” Why didn’t Paul offer them a more perfect way by telling them to shed the Law of Moses? According to chruchmen today, Paul taught the Gentiles believers to set the Law of Moses aside and only concentrate on the Messiah. Why didn’t Paul, coming from the position of a trained Pharisee, correct the Apostle James, John and Peter? Why didn’t he tell them that being “zealous for the Law” was contrary to faith in the Messiah? Because faith is not contrary to the Law. The Law is good; the Law establishes faith.
Many New Testament teachers cannot accept the fact that people got saved by faith prior to the Messiah coming. Many of them actually think that the Old Testament Saints were saved by keeping the Law with animal sacrifices at the Tabernacle and Temple. Much worse, they forget that the New Testament writings were not in the Bible (canonized) for more than 200 years after the Apostles wrote the pages. What Bible (sacred writings) did the Apostles use to teach the new Gentiles coming to faith in the first couple of centuries of the Common Era? It was the Tanach, what is called the Old Testament today. Jesus didn’t hand the King James Version to Paul as He ascended from the Mount of Olives. The Scriptures referred to in the New Testament writings were from the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and other writings such as the Psalms. The Bible used by the first century New Testament Saints was the Old Testament alone. Therefore, the teaching of the New Testament can not be in conflict with the Old Testament Scriptures. If there is a conflict, it is with men and their teachings and traditions, not Scripture. It was later, around 300 A.D., that the church fathers began making changes.
According to some churchmen, the early Apostles and the believing Jews didn’t do the right thing. They actually believe that Peter’s visit to the temple early in the book of Acts was wrong. They believe that Apostles James and John were wrong in their expression of faith, especially when it came to their positive endorsements of the commandments of God and the Law. According to today’s teachers, this is why the Apostle Paul should be studied and followed more closely than the other parts of the Bible. According to them, only the Apostle Paul took issue with the Law and taught the faith correctly. This is how far the rumor about Paul has gone.
But, did the Apostle Paul really take issue with the Law, or did he take issue with the Pharisees who taught salvation by the works of the Law? The former is rumor; the latter is TRUTH.
Those of today who suggest that a rumor addressed in the New Testament is really the truth is the height of religious paradigms. The New Testament says the rumor about Paul was not true and provides confirming evidence that Paul kept the Law. Yet, despite this, many teach the opposite because of their religious paradigm. They conclude that Paul was conveniently deceiving the Apostle James and thousands of other Jewish believers when he went to the Temple to prove there was nothing to the rumor. They justify this deception by saying that Paul was just “trying to get along with them.”
The religious model of the church is separate from the Torah, the teaching of Moses. Many promote the teachings of Paul over the Law of Moses, which Paul honored. But, they go further. They dismiss the words of Yeshua and say that Paul’s words concerning the Law are even more powerful than the Head of the Church. Maybe you remember what Yeshua said about the Law?
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. MAT 5:17-19
If the Apostle Paul really did annul any of the Law of Moses, then we will find Paul being one of the least in the future kingdom.
__________________________________________________
The Rumor About Paul
A rumor is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “general talk not based on definite knowledge; mere gossip; hearsay” and secondarily as “an unconfirmed report, story, or statement in general circulation.”
It is rumored that the Apostle Paul taught New Covenant brethren, the Church, not to follow the Law of Moses. Specifically, the majority of New Testament teachers today believe that Paul was adamant in his opposition to the Law, and that he promoted the “grace of God” as a replacement for the “teaching” of Moses. Before we go any further, let’s make sure we are all on the same page. It is a rumor. In fact, I intend to show you in this article that the rumor is false; it is not true.
After four hours of public debate in April 2005 between Donald Wilson and myself, this was the prevailing argument. Did the Apostle Paul really advocate that the Law of Moses should not be kept further, or was this a rumor about him that remains with us to this day? One particular point in the debate brought this question into sharp focus. It was a devastating accusation against Paul as a New Covenant believer. Did Paul falsely represent himself to the Apostles James and Peter? Did he betray his own brethren, and the thousands of Jews who believed and were zealous for the Law?
When Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles began to prosper (many Gentiles were coming to faith), he reported back to his Jewish brethren with great enthusiasm. However, some of his Jewish brethren, particularly from Paul’s background – Pharisees, took issue with Paul’s ministry success
and challenged the salvation of the new Gentile believers. A great dispute arose. It was about the Doctrine of Salvation. How does a person, regardless of who they are, get saved? It also had to do with controlling ambitions of the Pharisaic Jews to make the Gentile believers subject to their authority.
The believing Jewish Pharisees said that a Gentile must be circumcised (physically) or they weren’t saved. They expanded their argument further to say that Gentiles must keep the rite of circumcision and the Law of Moses to obtain salvation.
And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.” ACT 15:1,2,5
To properly understand those requirements, a Gentile believer would have to submit to the detailed instructions of the Jewish Pharisaic believers. Therefore, they were advocating that “salvation is by the works of the Law,” not by faith. This is the fundamental issue and why Paul wrote so many of his letters to the Gentile believers in opposition to the “works of the Law.” Just as Peter warned, others have twisted the words of Paul to say that he was against the Law. He wasn’t against the Law; he was against the teaching of salvation by works.
In the Apostle Paul’s day, it was against the Law to be against the Law. This is why the rumor took on such weight and significance when Paul visited Jerusalem and the Apostle James.
And now the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. And after he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses in order that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself
also walk orderly, keeping the Law. ACT 21:18-24
The rumor was that Paul told Jewish believers not to circumcise their sons, nor walk in accordance with the customs of Moses. The rumor was that Paul had gone beyond the letter to the Gentiles, that he was speaking against his own people and was opposed to the Law and the customs of Moses. What exactly had the letter said to begin with? Had it said that Gentiles were not to keep the Law? On the contrary, it said that Gentile believers are to keep the Law properly, starting with the essentials and growing to full understanding.
Therefore it is my [the Apostle James] judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath." ACT 15:19-21
Three things were emphasized: abstain from idolatry, fornication, and food that is unclean. This is the teaching of Leviticus 17 and 18. It
is called the heart of the Law. These are the essentials to learn the faith. But take note of the Apostle’s last sentence. To understand this letter and its commandments, you need to hear the teaching of Moses and the Torah. If the intent of the letter dispatched by James was to direct Gentile believers away from the Law of Moses, then why did James direct the believers to the Torah being taught on Sabbath in synagogues?
But what about the dispute over how a person is saved? Why didn’t the letter to the Gentiles address the salvation issue? It didn’t
need to, that is why Paul wrote his letters. It also appears that the Apostle Paul agreed with this course of action and cooperated fully with the witnesses and the letter dispatched from Jerusalem. Why would Paul travel with Silas, one of the two witnesses dispatched with the letter, on his latter trips, if he didn’t believe that Gentiles should have the instruction of Moses?
One of the arguments made by teachers opposed to the Law of Moses is that Paul knew how to be a “Jew with the Jews” and how to be a
“Roman with the Romans,” for the purpose of winning them to Christ. In the case of the Jews, they were already coming to faith in Yeshua in great numbers. But, contrary to modern church thinking, they were “zealous for the Law.” Why didn’t Paul offer them a more perfect way by telling them to shed the Law of Moses? According to chruchmen today, Paul taught the Gentiles believers to set the Law of Moses aside and only concentrate on the Messiah. Why didn’t Paul, coming from the position of a trained Pharisee, correct the Apostle James, John and Peter? Why didn’t he tell them that being “zealous for the Law” was contrary to faith in the Messiah? Because faith is not contrary to the Law. The Law is good; the Law establishes faith.
Many New Testament teachers cannot accept the fact that people got saved by faith prior to the Messiah coming. Many of them actually think that the Old Testament Saints were saved by keeping the Law with animal sacrifices at the Tabernacle and Temple. Much worse, they forget that the New Testament writings were not in the Bible (canonized) for more than 200 years after the Apostles wrote the pages. What Bible (sacred writings) did the Apostles use to teach the new Gentiles coming to faith in the first couple of centuries of the Common Era? It was the Tanach, what is called the Old Testament today. Jesus didn’t hand the King James Version to Paul as He ascended from the Mount of Olives. The Scriptures referred to in the New Testament writings were from the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and other writings such as the Psalms. The Bible used by the first century New Testament Saints was the Old Testament alone. Therefore, the teaching of the New Testament can not be in conflict with the Old Testament Scriptures. If there is a conflict, it is with men and their teachings and traditions, not Scripture. It was later, around 300 A.D., that the church fathers began making changes.
According to some churchmen, the early Apostles and the believing Jews didn’t do the right thing. They actually believe that Peter’s visit to the temple early in the book of Acts was wrong. They believe that Apostles James and John were wrong in their expression of faith, especially when it came to their positive endorsements of the commandments of God and the Law. According to today’s teachers, this is why the Apostle Paul should be studied and followed more closely than the other parts of the Bible. According to them, only the Apostle Paul took issue with the Law and taught the faith correctly. This is how far the rumor about Paul has gone.
But, did the Apostle Paul really take issue with the Law, or did he take issue with the Pharisees who taught salvation by the works of the Law? The former is rumor; the latter is TRUTH.
Those of today who suggest that a rumor addressed in the New Testament is really the truth is the height of religious paradigms. The New Testament says the rumor about Paul was not true and provides confirming evidence that Paul kept the Law. Yet, despite this, many teach the opposite because of their religious paradigm. They conclude that Paul was conveniently deceiving the Apostle James and thousands of other Jewish believers when he went to the Temple to prove there was nothing to the rumor. They justify this deception by saying that Paul was just “trying to get along with them.”
The religious model of the church is separate from the Torah, the teaching of Moses. Many promote the teachings of Paul over the Law of Moses, which Paul honored. But, they go further. They dismiss the words of Yeshua and say that Paul’s words concerning the Law are even more powerful than the Head of the Church. Maybe you remember what Yeshua said about the Law?
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. MAT 5:17-19
If the Apostle Paul really did annul any of the Law of Moses, then we will find Paul being one of the least in the future kingdom.