Paul and the Law

Churchianity has been torn asunder, for as long as it existed, on the issue of “the law”. Arguments, divisions, anger, prosecution, persecution, imprisonment and even murder by famous “reformers” splatter the bloodstained pages of Christian history.

At the centre of it all? The law!

The earliest reference regarding this divisive issue is recorded in the New Testament itself. This happened in 49 AD, a mere 18 years after the death and ascension of Christ.

The Apostle Paul was struck down on the Damascus road about 33 AD. He went into Arabia for three years where Christ directly taught him. He returned to Damascus about 36 AD and “immediately” started declaring Christ as the promised savior of mankind. A significant schism develop between Paul, his preaching partner Barnabas, and the converts from the Pharisaic sect who insisted that the Gentile converts “circumcise ... and keep the law of Moses” [Acts 15:5]. This highly flammable issue within the fellowship reached incendiary levels about 13 years later in 49AD and a General Conference was convened by the Apostles to resolve the dispute.

Two central issues emerged from their deliberations: the nature of JUSTIFICATION and the OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW OF MOSES.

The justification issue was easily resolved for all time by the declaration in Acts 13:38-39: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man [Yeshua the Messiah] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” [Author's emphases throughout.]

The law issue was just as easily resolved at that time, except that already during the lifetime of both Paul and Peter, there was an influx of false teachers – wolves in sheep’s clothing – that deliberately twisted the writings of Paul and the Old Testament Scriptures!

Christ and Paul had warned about it [Mathew 7:15; Acts 20:29] and Peter spelled it out in his second epistle. Writing while Paul was imprisoned at Rome, around 61-62 AD, Peter states at 2 Peter 3:15-16 “... our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned [Greek: ignorant!] and unstable [Greek: unfixed in the scriptures; the law] wrest [twist, distort, misrepresent, change], as they do also the other scriptures [the Old Testament witness], unto their own destruction.”

Understanding and interpreting the law issue became blurred – misunderstood and misinterpreted – by willful, planned and deliberate deception and obvious ignorance on the part of false teachers that crept into in the church – operating under the noses, so to speak, of the Apostles.

The situation has not changed over the last almost 2 000 years. The spirit of Satan and his demonic minions which infiltrated the body of true believers at that time is present to this day – pretentious cultic and mainstream ministerial maestros of spiritual deception, basking in self-adoration, posturing as true ministers of Christ in a deluded international churchianity [TBN, god Channel, et al.] who are ever lustful for the next "revelation", the next imaginary "trip to heaven" -- hungry for pompous and grandiloquent fictional "supernatural" entertainment!

The infiltrators have become the majority. These infiltrating deceivers, ignoramuses, ravening (Greek: extortionist) wolves who “devour widows’ houses” [Mark 12:40], indicating that they care not at all if the poorest of people give sacrificially to them while they live in palaces and fly in custom designed private executive jets and roll around in their chauffer-driven Rolls Royces clothed in $5 000 suits.

The fakes, frauds, and phonies have not only devoured the widows but overthrown the truth proclaimed to the ecclesia of the first century. They have by stealth and deceit declared that the laws have been annulled or abolished by the sacrifice of Christ; that by grace the law is no longer applicable to the true Christian.

To illustrate the utter fallacy of this demonic deception let’s look at the life of the Apostle Paul, touted as the so-called “Apostle of grace”. If Paul taught grace at the expense of the law then simple logic should demonstrate that Paul himself would have been an antinomianist – a hypocritical, lawless, Torah-rejecting teacher.

Yet, the TRUTH as revealed in Paul's own writings is the complete opposite!

Paul, after his conversion to Christ, not only taught the laws of God – the laws of the Old Testament – to the sacred assemblies of Christ, but set an example to all the congregations by KEEPING THE LAWS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT!

In his own testimony before an officially convened Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, Paul declared loudly: “I am a Pharisee!” he did not say: “I used to be a Pharisee.” Though having accepted Christ and living by the faith of Christ, Paul stated in the present aorist tense that he was an observant Pharisee living by the entire “law of Moses” -- as did thousands of other true Christ-followers! This was confirmed by the Apostles officiating in Jerusalem [Acts 21:20-24]. Therefore Paul was a Sabbath-keeping teacher of the law of God within the true ecclesia [congregation] of God!

It would have been completely impossible for Paul to have made that declaration if he did not faithfully keep, as Pharisees would have, totally, “the law of Moses”! This he stated towards the end of his life, circa 60 AD. For about thirty years as a converted Christ follower Paul was still a Sabbath observer! And that about thirty years after the death of Christ having supposedly done away with the laws of the Old Testament.

Isn’t there a glaringly obvious contradiction in this scenario?

The contradiction lies in the belief that the law had been rescinded by Christ’s death. But Paul still adhered to the law and taught the law to the congregations he discipled. Paul also taught observance of the law throughout his epistles.

Observe the further testimony of Paul. Paul appeared before the Roman King Agrippa, the Queen, and other officials to deliver his testimony, yet again. Shortly after he commenced mayhem erupted in Jerusalem. Decrepit, shriveled, scholarly-stooped, scruffy, silver-bearded “holy” men of the Sanhedrin screamed at each other in a “loud clamor” engaging in a “quarrel [that] became so violent” that these patriarchs of saintliness were ready to “tear Paul in pieces” on his admission that he was a Pharisee, therefor, though converted to Christ Paul was still a Torah observing Jew! [Quoted extracts as per Moffatt.]

It would be the responsibility of the impostor antinomian churches – Roman Catholic, Protestant, Reformed, Charismatic, Pentecostal, and their numerous sectarian daughters – to demonstrate that the Apostle Paul taught against the keeping of the law. yet, against all evidence to the contrary, they insist on their monstrous manufactured historic fallacy and perversion of the scriptures!

Consider his teaching to the congregation at Rome consisting of many Gentiles and Jews, whom, in this particular section of his epistle he addresses as follows in Romans 2:21, “You therefore who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?" [Breaking the eighth commandment.]

Is Paul seeking to uphold the law or seeking to destroy it?

Verse 22: “You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? [Breaking the seventh commandment.] You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples?” Verse 23: "... you dishonor God by breaking THE LAW!”

Does it read like the Apostle Paul is an antinomianist – a rejecter of the laws of God? Is Paul "doing away with the Law"?

To understand any single scripture it should always be read and studied in context. The same goes for any book of the bible. It should be viewed in the context of the whole bible and in context of the character of its author – God!

Is God a law-breaker? Is he [forgive the near blasphemous analogy] a thief? [What shall He steal seeing he created the universe and all in it belongs to Him?] Can He be an idolater? [Whom shall He worship seeing He is the only God?] Can He be a murderer? [No, but He is an executioner of criminal, law-breaking people and nations, executing justice.]

Therefore, seen in the context of God’s own character, can it be at all possible that He would instruct immoral, law-breaking people to write a life-manual in which He supposedly teaches people to be idolaters, adulterers, thieves, liars, Sabbath breakers, and covetous? This is the very question Paul is posing to the Romans in the verses quoted above.

Therefore, would Paul be a teacher of law-breaking? Can Paul be an antinomianist -- against the law? A cursory reading of the epistles makes it plain that Paul taught obedience to the law of God.

“Yes!” screamed the Pentecostal minister who tried to persuade me when still a teenager, “Yes, Paul taught all the commandments, except the Sabbath.”

Strange that Paul would observe the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem according to the command in the law [Acts 20:16, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16:16]. If he observed an annual Sabbath he surely would not have neglected keeping the weekly Sabbath. He even observed the ceremonial laws relating to vows and paid out of his own pocket the expenses – something like R45 000 (+/- $3 000) – for four others to be released from their vows [Acts 21:23-26]. [Paul seemingly was not a pauper!]

In this context the Jerusalem elders confirmed that Paul “walks orderly and keeps the law” [Verse 24].

The new converts did not abandon the law of God to live like ribald morally vulgar pagans. All converts, Jew and Gentiles, were taught to keep the law. But keeping the law was not for justification. -- it was for sustainiing their sanctification in Christ.

Romans 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: [Both Jews and Gentiles are justified in the same way – by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Christ]. 30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through [the same] FAITH [Berean Literal Bible]. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish [uphold] the law.” Or, as the New Living Translation so aptly phrase it: “Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”

The Eternal does not have two or more standards of righteousness for His people. The same laws apply to both Jew and Gentile. It is a well-established principle. In Numbers 15:15 the Eternal states: “One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation (native born Israelites), and also for the stranger (the Gentile) that sojourns with you, an ordinance forever in your generations: as you are so shall the stranger be before the Eternal. 16 One law and one manner shall be for you and for the stranger that sojourns with you.”

The Eternal, being “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), declared in Malachi 3:6, “For I AM the Eternal, I change not…” Thus His laws regarding the relationship with His people change not.

The great moral law—the Ten Commandments—apply equally to all converts, whether Jew or Gentile. That’s what Paul and all the Apostles taught – and lived by.

IT REALY TAKES A FOOL TO DECLARE THAT PAUL HAS DONE AWAY WITH THE LAW, when it is the established witness of the Jerusalem Apostles that Paul was a Torah-keeping Christ-follower! And in consequence of that, he would not have taught the churches to disregard the law of God. Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” And in view of Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 we can say: “the fool hath said … there is no consistent, constant, coherent, stable, and reliable God.”

Antinominists, THROUGH THEIR ACTIONS AND TEACHINGS, offer Churchianity an inconsistent, incoherent, unstable, unreliable and changing God, who apparently expects His people to keep the law under the Old Testament dispensation and then not to keep the law in the New Testament context.

Psalm 14:1 continues: “They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

Isn’t it time the liberal, Christ-defying, law-rejecting ministers of Churchianity come to repentance and do some good by leading their flocks they deceived, to the way of the truth of an unchanging, consistent Creator of the universe and scripture?

To do that they first have to know the truth, which, of course, they don’t, having remained willingly ignorant of the truth or rejecting it when they were shown it [2 Peter 3:5; Romans 1:21].

Do the false antinomian preachers prefer to identify themselves with the “false prophets ... who would, according to the Greek, “privately” or “surreptitiously introduce” damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction”? [2 Peter2:1.]

Shall we pray for them, or is it too late? Has the three-fold Jeremiah prohibition [Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14 and 14:11] not to pray for the recalcitrant, rebellious, self-deluded, self-willed, unrighteousness haters of God’s law, already fully taken effect in the heart of God? Is there still time for the deceitful, insincere, counterfeit, pretentious, and misleading prelates and pastors of Churchianity to repent and turn to the true God and His Holy law?

The remedy lies in carefully and fearfully reading the epistles of Paul to discover the true Apostle Paul, the law-keeping Paul, the Christ-obeying Apostle Paul, the teacher of the law. The preserver of the WAY OF TRUTH – the truth of the law! And then, of course, as Paul admonished the Corinthian gentile-based congregation to follow him as he followed Christ – to teach and obey the law (1 Corinthians 11:1).