Bible study - anyone?

[Blik]

God's ways are so higher than ours, there is definitely a reason why God literally handpicked Paul for the Gentiles even though his head was full of all the knowledge of the Torah and his heart was for the Jews....yet, step back and look through God's eyes......what do you see?

I see a master plan! It would take someone like Paul to bridge the gap between the Jew and the Gentile - a special someone that would understand how to "engraft the branch of the Gentile into the Jewish branch."

Also, when the time of the Gentiles are ended and God turns his focus back to the Jews, it could be very possible that it will be the writings of Paul that lead the Jews to their Messiah.

So, yes definitely! God has used and will continue to use the knowledge that Paul had of the Torah and also Paul's knowledge of the Righteousness of God that is received by faith in Jesus Christ as Messiah, Hosanna, Savior, Lord and King.



It can be difficult to understand how the law contained in the Torah actually fits into the Gift of Salvation.....

It's easy to think that Jesus Christ completely took the law and threw it away when He died on the cross but, that is NOT True. The Law has not been thrown away, it has been FULFILLED by Jesus Christ FOR US.

So, the only way for us to fulfill the Law is to receive Jesus Christ's Blood and Body - by so doing, our sins are forgiven and the law is fulfilled! Hallelujah!! Hosanna! Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Savior, Lord and King of the Jews and Gentiles - and whosoever will come!

It's a joy to discuss scripture with you @Blik !

And with you!!!! You would even allow us to disagree, that is true discussion and accepting the love Christ gives us. Bless you.

 

[Lafftur]

And with you!!!! You would even allow us to disagree, that is true discussion and accepting the love Christ gives us. Bless you.

Beautiful Blik, you are greatly loved and desired by God.....He waits for you.....He waits and aches for your love....

God has hidden His deep desire for our love secretly behind obedience...He is very jealous for our love.....God hungers for our love for Him....He says, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.”

What He is really saying is, “If you love Me, you will choose Me.”

God is love.....the greatest need and desire of love is to love and be loved.

God has already shown us His love for us with Jesus Christ, it’s our turn now.....to respond with, “I love You, too! I choose YOU!”

 

[infinitekhanol]

"Lafftur, posted: God's ways are so higher than ours, there is definitely a reason why God literally handpicked Paul for the Gentiles even though his head was full of all the knowledge of the Torah and his heart was for the Jews....yet, step back and look through God's eyes......what do you see?

I see a master plan! It would take someone like Paul to bridge the gap between the Jew and the Gentile - a special someone that would understand how to "engraft the branch of the Gentile into the Jewish branch."

Also, when the time of the Gentiles are ended and God turns his focus back to the Jews, it could be very possible that it will be the writings of Paul that lead the Jews to their Messiah.

So, yes definitely! God has used and will continue to use the knowledge that Paul had of the Torah and also Paul's knowledge of the Righteousness of God that is received by faith in Jesus Christ as Messiah, Hosanna, Savior, Lord and King.



It can be difficult to understand how the law contained in the Torah actually fits into the Gift of Salvation.....

It's easy to think that Jesus Christ completely took the law and threw it away when He died on the cross but, that is NOT True. The Law has not been thrown away, it has been FULFILLED by Jesus Christ FOR US.

So, the only way for us to fulfill the Law is to receive Jesus Christ's Blood and Body - by so doing, our sins are forgiven and the law is fulfilled! Hallelujah!! Hosanna! Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Savior, Lord and King of the Jews and Gentiles - and whosoever will come!

It's a joy to discuss scripture with you @Blik ! [/QUOTE]


I believe the reason Paul was chosen was because of the integrity of his heart towards God. Before he was called, Paul was someone that loved God and was serving God sincerely with all his heart albeit ignorantly. He was faithfully carrying on God's work to the best of his understanding according to the Jews religion. His faith towards God was not in question. He was not a hypocrite as most of the learned Pharisees were. What Jesus did was to redirect his path to the right path and use him for the ministry.

I believe that the ten commandments as handed over to Moses is still valid today if interpreted spiritually. What changed is the methodology of fulfilling the law. Paul never said they are not applicable if we truly understand him well but not applicable as it is used to apply in the days of old. He used his arguments to defend his gospel of faith and in Romans he echoes Love is the fulfillment of the law.

 

[Lafftur]

"Lafftur, posted: God's ways are so higher than ours, there is definitely a reason why God literally handpicked Paul for the Gentiles even though his head was full of all the knowledge of the Torah and his heart was for the Jews....yet, step back and look through God's eyes......what do you see?

I see a master plan! It would take someone like Paul to bridge the gap between the Jew and the Gentile - a special someone that would understand how to "engraft the branch of the Gentile into the Jewish branch."

Also, when the time of the Gentiles are ended and God turns his focus back to the Jews, it could be very possible that it will be the writings of Paul that lead the Jews to their Messiah.

So, yes definitely! God has used and will continue to use the knowledge that Paul had of the Torah and also Paul's knowledge of the Righteousness of God that is received by faith in Jesus Christ as Messiah, Hosanna, Savior, Lord and King.



It can be difficult to understand how the law contained in the Torah actually fits into the Gift of Salvation.....

It's easy to think that Jesus Christ completely took the law and threw it away when He died on the cross but, that is NOT True. The Law has not been thrown away, it has been FULFILLED by Jesus Christ FOR US.

So, the only way for us to fulfill the Law is to receive Jesus Christ's Blood and Body - by so doing, our sins are forgiven and the law is fulfilled! Hallelujah!! Hosanna! Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Savior, Lord and King of the Jews and Gentiles - and whosoever will come!

It's a joy to discuss scripture with you @Blik !

I believe the reason Paul was chosen was because of the integrity of his heart towards God. Before he was called, Paul was someone that loved God and was serving God sincerely with all his heart albeit ignorantly. He was faithfully carrying on God's work to the best of his understanding according to the Jews religion. His faith towards God was not in question. He was not a hypocrite as most of the learned Pharisees were. What Jesus did was to redirect his path to the right path and use him for the ministry.

I believe that the ten commandments as handed over to Moses is still valid today if interpreted spiritually. What changed is the methodology of fulfilling the law. Paul never said they are not applicable if we truly understand him well but not applicable as it is used to apply in the days of old. He used his arguments to defend his gospel of faith and in Romans he echoes Love is the fulfillment of the law.[/QUOTE]

I just noticed something about Paul as I was reading your post.....

Paul's life before and after meeting Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus is a picture of one living life under the Law of Moses verses one living life under the Law of Faith in Jesus Christ.

After meeting Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul no longer preached the Law of Moses but rather Jesus Christ as Savior, Messiah, Lord and King.....and even preached to the Gentiles.

 

[infinitekhanol]

I believe the reason Paul was chosen was because of the integrity of his heart towards God. Before he was called, Paul was someone that loved God and was serving God sincerely with all his heart albeit ignorantly. He was faithfully carrying on God's work to the best of his understanding according to the Jews religion. His faith towards God was not in question. He was not a hypocrite as most of the learned Pharisees were. What Jesus did was to redirect his path to the right path and use him for the ministry.

I believe that the ten commandments as handed over to Moses is still valid today if interpreted spiritually. What changed is the methodology of fulfilling the law. Paul never said they are not applicable if we truly understand him well but not applicable as it is used to apply in the days of old. He used his arguments to defend his gospel of faith and in Romans he echoes Love is the fulfillment of the law.

I just noticed something about Paul as I was reading your post.....

Paul's life before and after meeting Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus is a picture of one living life under the Law of Moses verses one living life under the Law of Faith in Jesus Christ.

After meeting Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul no longer preached the Law of Moses but rather Jesus Christ as Savior, Messiah, Lord and King.....and even preached to the Gentiles.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I think it is a matter of knowing and understanding the Truth. Before Paul was called, though he was serving God with all his heart, he was doing that in ignorance of the truth of God and thus, in unbelief. After meeting Jesus, he knew the truth, lived and taught in accordance with the truth. I believe he taught the law but not in the way and manner it was being taught under their Torah.

The bible tells us in 1 John 5:20 that Jesus Christ has come and has given us an understanding of the true God, that we may know him that is true----- Christians follow, serve and worship God as declared by Jesus. So, Paul would not have taught differently. Jesus brought to man a higher understanding of God than Moses declared. God did not reveal himself fully to Moses as we read in Exodus 33:18 - 23. As a result, Moses could not express or declare God’s fullness neither can any of us know and express the fullness of God on the basis of His dealings with Moses and the Israelites of old even though Moses was a true servant and Prophet of God. Their lives serve as lessons to us. As St Paul said, the Levitical Priesthood cannot lead us to Perfection. The gifts and sacrifices of the old covenant could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience (Hebrews 9:9)

The issue to me is not about preaching or teaching the law, it is about knowing and understanding the Truth. The ten Commandments that say we should not commit adultery or murder or bear false witness against another person are as valid today as they have ever been. Adultery, murder etc. remain as sinful as they were before the coming of Jesus Christ. The application differs. The understanding differs. Under the law for instance, it is said, stone any woman that is caught in adultery. But we know what happened when the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. We learnt about the grace (love and kindness) of God, forgiveness, judgment and a whole lots of things but above all, we learnt that sin is still sin whether under the law or under grace as he told the woman --go and sin no more. There is need to become a new creature.

It is all about achieving the righteousness of God here on earth which we cannot attain through the law for reason I have mentioned above, and others which Paul also enumerated in his letters. We can only be perfect (holy and blameless) which God our father enjoins us to be through the faith of our lord Jesus Christ and not through the law of Moses. Through faith, the law is fulfilled not jettisoned. Through faith, the Holy Spirit walking with us teaches and gives us the true understanding and meaning of the law the way Jesus wants us to understand them

I may have exceeded the word limit, so I stop.

 

[Lafftur]

Just a quick summary of Romans 1 - 3, Paul is writing to ALL believers in Rome which are both Jews and Gentiles. (If you want to look at these chapters verse by verse, go back and find the previous posts in this thread.)

In Romans 1, Paul is addressing that all are without excuse if anyone denies the existence of God because even creation declares His existence. So, there is a God, He is to be known and loved by His creation, otherwise people will follow after ungodliness and lawlessness.

In Romans 2, Paul is addressing the critical judgmental attitudes of the Jews in regard to the Gentiles which is great advice for all believers to learn not to be critical and judgmental towards other believers - we are all one in Christ.

Paul begins to tear down the walls of division and foundations of works that the Jews stand on which elevate them in their own eyes as better than the Gentiles and separate from the Gentiles. The walls and foundations are first - The Law of Moses which includes all the ceremonial, dietary, civil, and ten commandments - everything in the Torah - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers). The written Law does not save.

In Romans 3, Paul continues to dismantle both the "walls" and "foundation" so that the Jews and Gentiles can come together in unity as one in Christ by explaining that circumcision does not save.

=====================
It's time to move on to Romans 4! Yay!

In Chapter 4, Paul will address the wall and foundation of claiming Abraham as father.

 

[Lafftur]

Romans 4

Everyone, feel free to jump in and post your thoughts and insight!

1¶What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

Paul is now speaking about the "works" of Abraham........Paul is asking a rhetorical question to cause the Jews to consider the fact that Abraham did no works in the flesh that saved him.

2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

Paul is trying to help the Jews realize that if Abraham had done any works that could save him, then Abraham could glory, except of course no one glories before God because God gets all the glory and honor and praise.

3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Paul stays true to scripture and explains that Abraham did not "work," he just simply believed every word that God said and just by simply believing God, God credited Abraham with righteousness.

4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Grace is received WITHOUT works; whereas, we only end up with debt if we try to WORK for salvation by doing good works - we're NEVER good enough with our silly works of righteousness.

5¶But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Paul goes on to explain that anyone that simply believes on Jesus Christ - the one that can justify the ungodly, then the person that believes in the finished work of Jesus Christ for them, their belief is counted for righteousness.

 

[Graceguy]

Well, this is @kimberleygail 's thread......I'm thinking she probably wants to lead the Bible Study.... I'm good with whatever she wants to do!

Ya, I’m about ready to participate in a Bible study. God bless those who step up for leadership responsibilities. I don’t think anyone can have , “vast Biblical knowledge”, without aligning with at least ONE persons view on things. This seems to be a Pharisitical(?) position , set up to ensure that person is sure to agree with the leader’s position. Give me untainted enthusiasm any time. Where do I sign up?

 

[Lafftur]

Ya, I’m about ready to participate in a Bible study. God bless those who step up for leadership responsibilities. I don’t think anyone can have , “vast Biblical knowledge”, without aligning with at least ONE persons view on things. This seems to be a Pharisitical(?) position , set up to ensure that person is sure to agree with the leader’s position. Give me untainted enthusiasm any time. Where do I sign up?

Hello @Graceguy,

No worries, jump in with what the Lord gives you about the scriptures!

No one is actually "leading" this Bible Study because @kimberleygail hasn't been seen on CC since August of 2020.....so, a few others and I took the ball and ran with it! lol!

Again, feel free to share what you understand the scriptures to mean!