"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call
heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things
which are written in the law and in the prophets:"
If Paul taught against the law (which is not true) then he certainly wouldn't have
worshiped by believing those things written therein. Paul was not a deceiver by
opposing his own beliefs that he taught to others.
Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.
For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. after Acts 13, Acts 26:7
-here Paul says that his hope to come, is in the promises given to the twelve tribes.
4Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants,
and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Romans 9:4
-the promises and the covenants of God, all the sonship and the glory, belong to Israel.
Jer 7:22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that
I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
-No burnt offerings or sacrifices orginally given, but to obey his voice.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
-no good standing with our Savior if you do not believe Moses and the prophets.
1. Paul was a Pharisee. A teacher of God's law. He continued to
call himself a Pharisee even after joining the church. (Acts 23:6)
Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees,
called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.
"I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead."
2. Paul loved God's law. It was a delight to him.
(Romans 7:22) For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
3. Paul called God's law holy.
(Romans 7:12) So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy,
righteous and good.
4. Paul knew that breaking God's law is the very definition of sin.
(1 John 3:4) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law.
5. Paul said that we don't nullify the law of God by our faith in Jesus Christ.
(Romans 3:31) Do we nullify the law by this faith? By no means! Rather we uphold the law.
6. Paul often read from the scriptures on the sabbath (which is kept by the apostles 84
times in the book of Acts). And the only scriptures at that time was the old testament.
(Acts 17:2) As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,
and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.
7. Paul was accused of forsaking the law of Moses when he first joined the church.
(And ironically, he's still being accused today.)
(Act 21:21) They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among
the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children
or live according to our customs.
8. These accusations were shown to be false.
(Acts 21:24) Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses,
so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth
in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.
9. When Paul was accused of forsaking the law of Moses, he always denied this,
and said he does live according to the law.
(Acts 24:14) But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call
a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law
and written in the Prophets,
10. Paul said that those who refuse to submit to the law are "carnal minded"
and hostile to God.
(Romans 8:7-8) The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit
to God's law, nor can it do so. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
11. Paul continued to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate God's feast days
after joining the church.
(Acts 18:21) But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that
cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
12. Paul often quoted from Moses's writings, and cited it as authority.
(1 Corinthians 9:9-10) Do I say this merely on human authority?
Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses:
“Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God
is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us,
because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
13. Paul claimed that ALL scripture is good for instruction in righteousness,
and given through inspiration of God. He never singled out Moses' writings.
(2 Timothy 3:16) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness,
14. Paul mentions that priests are still offering sacrifices to God
even after Christ's death on the cross.
(Hebrews 8:3-4) Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,
and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.
If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests
who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.
15. The most well known teaching in Paul's letters is the one where he says
"you are not under law but under grace".
Millions of people quote this scripture, they almost always leave out the scripture
that immediately follows it. Watch what happens when you add the context....
(Romans 6:14-16) For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under
the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law
but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to
someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether you are
slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
16. Paul told the Colossians not to let anyone judge them because they were observing
God's sabbaths and feasts because these appointed times are "a shadow of things to come".
Meaning they reveal future events, just like the passover foreshadowed Christ's
sacrifice on the cross.(Colossians 2:16-17)
17. Paul never repremanded anyone for obeying God's law. Instead, he repremanded
new gentile converts, the Galatians, who were trying to be justified by the law,
instead of faith in Jesus Christ.
(Galatians 2:16) Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith
in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by
faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
18. The Galatians, who Paul was repremanding for trying to be justified by the law,
were going back to serving other gods after they were circumcised. This is why Paul
had to explain that the works of the law can't earn your salvation.
(Galatians 4: 8-11) Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those
who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God
—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish
to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months
and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
- those weak and miserable forces where not Gods convocation
19. Paul understood that obedience to God's law is a natural result of salvation.
Once you become a true christian, God writes His law on your heart and mind,
and causes you to walk in them.(Hebrews 10:16)
(Hebrews 10:16) "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,
says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."
20. Paul's letters come with a warning label attached to them.
(2 Peter 3:16-17) He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these
matters.His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant
and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you
may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.
