Ep.1114: Did the Apostle Paul Contradict Jesus? Contradictions Series
Decoding Jesus' treatment of the Law through the words of Paul
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CHAPTERS
Theme Scripture: Matthew 5:17
There is no denying the New Testament - and actually the entire Bible - is all about Jesus. His sacrifice for humanity is proclaimed from Genesis to Revelation. He IS the key to the gospel. Having said this, the life and writings of the Apostle Paul dominate much of the New Testament. His experiences and teachings are pronounced, and in the eyes of many, go too far. Critics see the Apostle Paul as a combatant against the gospel of the kingdom Jesus taught. The basis for their criticism is the way Jesus reflected the role of the Jewish Law and the way that Paul essentially wrote it off. How do we manage this? Was Paul at odds with the core values and teaching of Jesus?
Jesus vs. Paul?
One of the big debates in the early church raging on even today is whether or not Paul threw out the Jewish Law that Jesus not only followed but confirmed in Luke 16:17: "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail." Critics argue that Jesus never said Christians DON'T have to fall in line under the Law's many requirements. On the other hand, Paul was clear that the new Gentile converts would NOT be subject to all the Law's requirements like circumcision and food restrictions. Who was right? Aren't we all taught that at least the 10 Commandments are valid in their admonitions to love God, love our neighbor and so forth?
Moral - Ceremonial - Judicial
The key to cracking this case is understanding that the Jewish Law was divided into three parts: moral, ceremonial and judicial. The moral law of love, as expressed in the 10 Commandments, will never be replaced. It remained in play for both Jew and Gentile. In God’s future kingdom, it will stand as a beautiful requirement for all of mankind.
Shadow vs. Reality
Not only did the ceremonial parts have to do with cleanliness of people and food, but also how the Israelites atoned for their sins with sacrifices. Special sacrifices were required year after year in order to temporarily “cleanse” them of sins. This allowed a relationship with the heavenly Father to continue as long as the people remained in that clean state. These are recorded in great detail in the Old Testament. In hindsight, we see these foreshadowed the monumental sacrifice of Jesus that allowed the early Christians to have a relationship with God. This applies to Christians throughout the age - right down to you and me. The comparison between the “shadow” of the literal ceremonial events with how Jesus fulfilled them as the reality of the shadow is striking and faith-inspiring. Paul explains in many texts how Jesus replaced this part of the Law.
After Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, the ceremonial parts of the Law were no longer necessary to have a relationship with God. (And they were completely obsolete after the Temple burned down in 70 A.D.!) What about the judicial parts of the Law? These had to do with pronouncing and administering the consequences to breaking the Law. But with the ceremonial parts obsolete, the judicial part would necessarily shift to personal responsibility of how we are judged and how we judge others. On this point, it is easy to show how Jesus and Paul agreed.
Christianity was not to be a sect of Judaism. Jesus’ death and resurrection changed everything – except the fundamental law of LOVE. Listen to our podcast from February 24, 2020 called, “Did the Apostle Paul Contradict Jesus?” It is the last of our four-part series on the Apostle Paul and really brings the details of the controversy front and center. Paul lived, breathed and taught Jesus and the gospel 24/7. He devoted his life to being a faithful steward. What an example for all of us!
The message of the cross is that the born again person is
justified by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ crucified,
what He accomplished for us on the cross. And that the only
way to truly be righteous is by faith in Jesus Christ
crucified. Sin can only truly be overcome, not by self will,
but by daily putting faith in Jesus Christ crucified.
But that no man is Justified by the Law in the sight of God,
it is evident (because it is impossible for man to perfectly
keep the Law): for, the just shall live by Faith (Faith in
Jesus Christ and what He accomplished at the Cross). And the
Law is not of Faith, but, the man who does them shall live
in them. (Galatians 3:11-12) The Believer has a choice to
live by Law or Faith. He cannot live by both. The just shall
live by Faith deals with Faith in Christ and His Finished
Work. We are saved by Faith. We walk by Faith. We live by
Faith. Everything hinges on Faith. Amen.
Paul says, ” Through the law I died to the law that I might
live for God” (Galatians 2:19). While Paul was trying to
please God by keeping the law, he was not really living for
God. The more he tried to keep the law,the more he saw how
much he failed. It was only when he gave up trying to achieve
righteousness on his own and accepted the righteousness of
God by faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross that he
truly began living for God.
No one can keep law, any law, after being saved, any more
than before being saved. Just as we can only be saved by
faith in Jesus Christ crucified for justification, bondage to
the sinful desires of the flesh can only truly be broken by
faith in Jesus Christ crucified. Only by faith that; Rom 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should
not serve sin.
can we; Rom 6:11
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Only by faith in what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the
cross can we; Phl 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Good lesson
The is there to guide us but we live by faith and to share out faith with other
Thank you for your comment. – Christian Questions
Faith is suptance of thing which hope fo r meaning we don’t see the thing or the person but we live to love and trust him
Great point! – Christian Questions
What the the law if fornication is it a sin atone for
Hi Sherrie, we aren’t sure what you are asking. Can you please restate? – Christian Questions
Love the lesson It really a blessing
Praise God for His wonderful guidance! – Christian Questions
Thank you so much for taking the time to write. We really learned a lot in prepping the research for this one. There is always something more to learn! – Christian Questions
Want to know more about God
Excellent! There links are some good place to start: Episode #938: Who is God? and also in our resource center: How to Study the Bible and Have it Make Sense. Here we have recommended podcasts, videos and a step-by-step process of how to study the Bible. May the Lord bless your studies – Christian Questions
The law does end with Jesus, for the law is The character of Jusus so the bible does not contradict it self
Thank you for your comment. – Christian Questions
What did the apostles say that non-Jewish Christians should do in Acts, pretty easy to understand, so many trying to make something so easy hard, the Bible is based on one word in its most simplistic form. Love.
Thank you for your comment. – Christian Questions
Faith without works is dead. The thing to remember here is that works of obeying the law alone are as pointless as believing Jesus died for your sins while also hating your neighbor and your brother.
James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
1 John 4:20 “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
1 John 3:15, “Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”