Paul's Life, Law or Lawless?
The Case Against Paul, Was He Teaching the Law as a Lifestyle as Peter claimed or Lawlessness as a lifestyle as Marcion the Gnostic claimed?
Deuteronomy 19:15
"A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge/matter be established.
Many (especially Gnostics, Ebionits, Muslims and Jews) have accused Paul of teaching against G-d's Law which would make Paul a false prophet, a very serious charge. So, was Paul against the Scriptures that Timothy Studied? On the basis of 2-3 witnesses a matter is established, so let us now look for what the witnesses of Scripture tells us.
Isa 8:20 To the Torah and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
First Witness, Peter Concerning Paul's Message in Relation to the Torah:
Exhibit A:
2nd Peter 3:16
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at Shalom. 15And count the patience of our Adonai as salvation, just as our BELOVED BROTHER PAUL/Sha'ul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHICH THE IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE TWIST to their own destruction, as they do THE OTHER SCRIPTURES. 17You therefore, beloved, KNOWING THIS BEFOREHAND, take care that you are not carried away with THE ERROR OF LAWLESS/TORAHLESS People and lose your own stability. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Adonai and Maschiaich Yeshua. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Did Peter just say that other people (teachers of Lawlessness) would TWIST the difficult words of Paul to say that we don't have to keep G-d's La and the earlier Scriptures are now "done away with"? Implying that Paul isn't teaching Lawlessness, but many will use his words to do so, like soundbites are used in political campaigns.
"Isaiah 9:16 For the leaders of this people cause [them] to err, And [those who are] led by them are destroyed.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the Torah of your God, I also will forget your children. "
Exhibit B: Paul's Letter to the Romans
Could some of the confusion come from the six or seven ways Paul used the Greek word "Nomos" or "Law", which sometimes refers to the Torah, and sometimes refers to the Law of Sin Equals Death, Legalism, the Temple System of Sacrifice, the Law of Being a Slave to Sin, and so on.
In Romans 7:22-25 alone, Paul used the Greek word "Nomos" translated "Law" in 4 different ways! talk about the "difficult words of Paul"
Romans 7:22 2For I delight in the LAW OF G_D (Torah) in my inner being, 23but I see in my members ANOTHER LAW (Aside from Torah) waging war against the LAW OF MIND and making me captive to the LAW OF SIN that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the LAW OF G-D with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the LAW OF SIN.
Exhibit C:
Paul's Words To His Disciple Timothy Concerning the Torah:
2nd Timothy 3:16
14But as for you,continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15and how FROM CHILDHOOD (Timothy was born before the Resurrection) you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you WISE FOR SALVATION through faith in Yeshua HaMaschiaich. 16 ALL SCRIPTURE (Torah and Tanach)is breathed out by Yahweh and PROFITABLE for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for TRAINING in Righteousness. 17that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
VERSES HE REFERENCED IN THAT PASSAGE:
Nehemiah 9:13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them RIGHT RULES and TRUE LAWS, GOOD STATUES AND COMMANDMENTS, 14and you made known to them your HOLY Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15You gave them bread from heaven (Yeshua Bread of Life) for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst (Yeshua Spring of Living Water), and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them (The Kingdom of Heaven).
Deuteronomy 6:4"Hear, O Israel:The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7You shall TEACH THEM (this Torah) DILIGENTLY TO YOUR CHILDREN, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Did Paul just say that the TORAH will TRAIN us in Righteousness???? If Paul thinks it is "done away with" then how can we still use it to train us in righteousness?
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the Torah is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Exhibit D:
Paul's Words to the Church in Rome:
Romans 3:31:
31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the Law.
2nd Witness, the Bereans:
Was Paul afraid of being "Discovered" as Anti-Torah??
Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURE DAILY (Torah and Tanach) to see if these things were so. (and apparently they were, because they accepted Paul and His message after their study, and Paul praised them for checking to see if he lined up with the Torah)
EXHIBIT E:
Did Paul start a "new religion" or was he simply following a Sect of Judaism called "The Way"
Acts 24:14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect (of Judaism) I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law (He believed the whole Torah) and written in the Prophets,
EXHIBIT F:
Did Paul think that the Law was Contrary to the Spirit?
Romans 7:14 For we know that THE LAW IS SPIRITUAL, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
EXHIBIT G:
Did Paul Love the Law or Think it a Burden?
Romans 7:12So the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means!
Romans 7:22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my membersanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me fromthis body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
EXHIBIT H:
Paul's letter to the Corinthians
2nd Corinthians 6:14 "What fellowship can Righteousness have with Lawlessness/Torahlessness? What fellowship can light have with darkness? What fellowship can Christ have with Baal?"
If Paul told Timothy that the Torah is training for Righteousness, and Torahlesness is the opposite of Righteousness, doesn't that mean that He believes living G-d's Law and a Right Life Style go together?
WITNESS 3:
Did Not King David take the same view as Paul, and was David not a man after G-d's own Heart?
Psalm 1:2
but his delight is in the Torah of the LORD,and on His Torah he meditates day and night.
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do your will, O my God;your Torah is within my heart."
Psalm 119:70
their heart is unfeeling like fat,but I delight in your Torah.
Psalm 119:77
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;for your Torah is my delight.
Psalm 119:92
If your Torah had not been my delight,I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalm 119:174
I long for your salvation (Yeshuat), O LORD,and your Torah is my delight.
Psalm 119:47 I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.
EXHIBIT H:
The Apostle John also agreed with Paul and David:
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
Isa 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the Torah and make [it] honorable.
Detueronomy 12:32 "Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
Psalm 111:7-10 - The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand FAST FOREVER AND EVER, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his COVENANT FOREVER: holy and reverend is his name. The fear of YaHWeH is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever. "
"Great Shalom have they which love thy Torah: and nothing shall offend them." Psalm 119:165
For some more insight into this subject check out the audio sermons on this website
http://www.thinknot.net/
And this free book download
"Does the Law of G-d Still Apply?" at http://www.biblelaw101.com/
You can also learn more about the roots of the whole "Paul was Against the Law" concept
http://www.doubleportioninheritance.com/ look for Media/Podcasts/Gnosticism
Deuteronomy 19:15
"A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge/matter be established.
Many (especially Gnostics, Ebionits, Muslims and Jews) have accused Paul of teaching against G-d's Law which would make Paul a false prophet, a very serious charge. So, was Paul against the Scriptures that Timothy Studied? On the basis of 2-3 witnesses a matter is established, so let us now look for what the witnesses of Scripture tells us.
Isa 8:20 To the Torah and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
First Witness, Peter Concerning Paul's Message in Relation to the Torah:
Exhibit A:
2nd Peter 3:16
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at Shalom. 15And count the patience of our Adonai as salvation, just as our BELOVED BROTHER PAUL/Sha'ul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHICH THE IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE TWIST to their own destruction, as they do THE OTHER SCRIPTURES. 17You therefore, beloved, KNOWING THIS BEFOREHAND, take care that you are not carried away with THE ERROR OF LAWLESS/TORAHLESS People and lose your own stability. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Adonai and Maschiaich Yeshua. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Did Peter just say that other people (teachers of Lawlessness) would TWIST the difficult words of Paul to say that we don't have to keep G-d's La and the earlier Scriptures are now "done away with"? Implying that Paul isn't teaching Lawlessness, but many will use his words to do so, like soundbites are used in political campaigns.
"Isaiah 9:16 For the leaders of this people cause [them] to err, And [those who are] led by them are destroyed.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the Torah of your God, I also will forget your children. "
Exhibit B: Paul's Letter to the Romans
Could some of the confusion come from the six or seven ways Paul used the Greek word "Nomos" or "Law", which sometimes refers to the Torah, and sometimes refers to the Law of Sin Equals Death, Legalism, the Temple System of Sacrifice, the Law of Being a Slave to Sin, and so on.
In Romans 7:22-25 alone, Paul used the Greek word "Nomos" translated "Law" in 4 different ways! talk about the "difficult words of Paul"
Romans 7:22 2For I delight in the LAW OF G_D (Torah) in my inner being, 23but I see in my members ANOTHER LAW (Aside from Torah) waging war against the LAW OF MIND and making me captive to the LAW OF SIN that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the LAW OF G-D with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the LAW OF SIN.
Exhibit C:
Paul's Words To His Disciple Timothy Concerning the Torah:
2nd Timothy 3:16
14But as for you,continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15and how FROM CHILDHOOD (Timothy was born before the Resurrection) you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you WISE FOR SALVATION through faith in Yeshua HaMaschiaich. 16 ALL SCRIPTURE (Torah and Tanach)is breathed out by Yahweh and PROFITABLE for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for TRAINING in Righteousness. 17that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
VERSES HE REFERENCED IN THAT PASSAGE:
Nehemiah 9:13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them RIGHT RULES and TRUE LAWS, GOOD STATUES AND COMMANDMENTS, 14and you made known to them your HOLY Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15You gave them bread from heaven (Yeshua Bread of Life) for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst (Yeshua Spring of Living Water), and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them (The Kingdom of Heaven).
Deuteronomy 6:4"Hear, O Israel:The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7You shall TEACH THEM (this Torah) DILIGENTLY TO YOUR CHILDREN, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Did Paul just say that the TORAH will TRAIN us in Righteousness???? If Paul thinks it is "done away with" then how can we still use it to train us in righteousness?
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the Torah is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Exhibit D:
Paul's Words to the Church in Rome:
Romans 3:31:
31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the Law.
2nd Witness, the Bereans:
Was Paul afraid of being "Discovered" as Anti-Torah??
Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURE DAILY (Torah and Tanach) to see if these things were so. (and apparently they were, because they accepted Paul and His message after their study, and Paul praised them for checking to see if he lined up with the Torah)
EXHIBIT E:
Did Paul start a "new religion" or was he simply following a Sect of Judaism called "The Way"
Acts 24:14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect (of Judaism) I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law (He believed the whole Torah) and written in the Prophets,
EXHIBIT F:
Did Paul think that the Law was Contrary to the Spirit?
Romans 7:14 For we know that THE LAW IS SPIRITUAL, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
EXHIBIT G:
Did Paul Love the Law or Think it a Burden?
Romans 7:12So the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means!
Romans 7:22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my membersanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me fromthis body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
EXHIBIT H:
Paul's letter to the Corinthians
2nd Corinthians 6:14 "What fellowship can Righteousness have with Lawlessness/Torahlessness? What fellowship can light have with darkness? What fellowship can Christ have with Baal?"
If Paul told Timothy that the Torah is training for Righteousness, and Torahlesness is the opposite of Righteousness, doesn't that mean that He believes living G-d's Law and a Right Life Style go together?
WITNESS 3:
Did Not King David take the same view as Paul, and was David not a man after G-d's own Heart?
Psalm 1:2
but his delight is in the Torah of the LORD,and on His Torah he meditates day and night.
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do your will, O my God;your Torah is within my heart."
Psalm 119:70
their heart is unfeeling like fat,but I delight in your Torah.
Psalm 119:77
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;for your Torah is my delight.
Psalm 119:92
If your Torah had not been my delight,I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalm 119:174
I long for your salvation (Yeshuat), O LORD,and your Torah is my delight.
Psalm 119:47 I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.
EXHIBIT H:
The Apostle John also agreed with Paul and David:
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
Isa 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the Torah and make [it] honorable.
Detueronomy 12:32 "Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
Psalm 111:7-10 - The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand FAST FOREVER AND EVER, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his COVENANT FOREVER: holy and reverend is his name. The fear of YaHWeH is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever. "
"Great Shalom have they which love thy Torah: and nothing shall offend them." Psalm 119:165
For some more insight into this subject check out the audio sermons on this website
http://www.thinknot.net/
And this free book download
"Does the Law of G-d Still Apply?" at http://www.biblelaw101.com/
You can also learn more about the roots of the whole "Paul was Against the Law" concept
http://www.doubleportioninheritance.com/ look for Media/Podcasts/Gnosticism