By Brother Michel Lankford
Today’s Question:
Why Do You Believe that Paul the Apostle was NOT Teaching AGAINST Obeying the Old Testament Law? It seems pretty clear that Paul was teaching that.
The Question Came from: Anonymous.
Neighbor, I thank you for your question. Before I try to answer your question in earnest, please let me do a couple of housekeeping things.
First: Let me say that I do understand and respect that you sincerely believe what you say, when you say that you believe Paul was teaching that we should not honor the Old Testament Law anymore because of Christ. I understand what you believe. I understand why you believe that particular way. I understand how you got there. After all, it is what the vast majority of Christians are taught. It is what most bible colleges teach. It is what some bible passages appear to say when you do a surface reading all the Scriptures. So, I place no condemnation upon you, if you start out believing that Paul the apostle was teaching against keeping God’s Law in the Old Testament. All of that having been said however, I will have a problem with you, if you choose to remain in that belief, because the Weight of Biblical Evidence is OVERWHELMING, if you look at Scripture objectively, that Paul was clearly NOT teaching that believers should not keep God’s Commandments in written Scripture. This is easily visible, and easily understandable to anyone who is willing to look at Scripture objectively. Anyone with eyes to see; anyone with ears to hear; anyone that has a receptive heart that is good and fertile ground for the good seed of God’s Word; anyone with a willingness to be obedient to what God Says, should not have any problem understanding and believing the truth, when the case is concise and laid out before you.
Those with ears to hear, let them hear what the Holy Spirit of God says to the churches.
Second: There is literally a mountain of evidence that Paul the apostle was NOT teaching AGAINST keeping the Old Testament of written Scripture. I will bring you the evidence. I will lay out the case for you is plainly as I can, but I will be doing it in a series of multiple podcasts and not a single episode, the way that I can kick lee answer questions. This question is too critical to miss the answer. So, I will be bringing you the evidence one piece at a time in multiple podcasts.
We know that Paul was NOT teaching AGAINST keeping the Old Testament, because Paul SAID he was not teaching that.
People who insist on saying that Paul was teaching that believers supposedly should NOT keep the Old Testament Commandments, are often willfully ignoring what Paul testify about his own teaching. Paul overtly testified before magistrates that he was not teaching against the Law.
As It Is Written: ““But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. (Acts 24:14–16 NASB95)
- Paul overtly testified that he served the God of Isaac Abraham and Jacob, (the God of his fathers). Flat out, there is NO WAY to serve the God of Isaac Abraham and Jacob, (as Paul said that he did), without guarding the Torah. Rejecting God’s Commandments is the Biblical definition for SIN, and it always has been, (Hosea 8:1; Daniel 9:11; Isaiah 5:20–24; Romans 7:7; 1 John 3:4), even by New Testament Standards: As it is Written: “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law*”*** (1 John 3:4).
- Paul overtly testified that he, “Believed EVERYTHING in ACCORDANCE with the Law and the Prophets.” If Paul was truly teaching ‘Reject the Law’ ‘Don’t obey the Law’ ‘Do the opposite of what God’s Law teaches people to do in the Torah and in the prophets,’ if that’s what Paul was teaching, then there is NO WAY around it. That would mean that Paul boldface lied about what he believed practiced and preached in Acts 24:14-16). If Paul was truly teaching against honoring the Torah, then that also means by definition that Paul DID NOT truly believe, EVERYTHING in ACCORDANCE with the Law and the Prophets;” if he was teaching AGAINST those things. That is a serious problem that most Christians refuse to face or even attempt to reconcile.
- Paul overtly testified that he, “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. If Paul was truly teaching ‘Reject the Law’ ‘Don’t obey the Law’ ‘Do the opposite of what God’s Law teaches people to do in the Torah and in the prophets,’ if that’s what Paul was teaching, then there is NO WAY around it. That would mean that Paul boldface lied when he testified that he always did his best to keep the clear conscience before God and before men. If Paul was actively teaching that people should reject the Law of God, then by any definition, Paul is promoting sin. If Paul is promoting what the Bible calls sin, and then there is not even the remotest possibility that Paul was doing his best to keep a blameless conscience before God and before men. By any standard of objective truth, if Paul was openly promoting sin, then there is no way, that Paul could be doing his best to keep the clear conscience. That statement would be a bold-faced lie. No two ways about it.
As It Is Written: “After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove, while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?” But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. (Acts 25:7–10 NASB95)
Here, the Apostle Paul makes two extraordinary claims before the magistrate Festus:
- “I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”
- “I have done no wrong to the Jews.”
If Paul was truly teaching ‘Reject the Law’ ‘Don’t obey the Law’ ‘Do the opposite of what God’s Law teaches people to do in the Torah and in the prophets,’ if that’s what Paul was teaching, then there is NO WAY around it. The two statements that Paul made in Acts 25:7-10 would be a lie. I mean, it could correctly be said that Paul had not committed offense against Caesar, but it could not correctly be said that he had committed no offense against the Law of the Jews. Neither could it be said that he had done no wrong to the Jews. There’s no way that can be true in such a case.
As It Is Written: “After three days Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. “And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. “But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. “For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. (Acts 28:17–21 NASB95)
In his testimony, the Apostle Paul now makes his sixth declarative statement that he was NOT teaching against honoring the Torah of the Old Testament.
“Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Once again, we have the same problem with this statement as are also true with the other five declarations.
If Paul was truly teaching ‘Reject the Law’ ‘Don’t obey the Law’ ‘Do the opposite of what God’s Law teaches people to do in the Torah and in the prophets,’ if that’s what Paul was teaching, then there is NO WAY that Paul had done nothing against the customs of his fathers. Such a statement would be a bold-faced lie. Paul’s testimony and declaration could not possibly be true in such a case. He would be openly lying,
Revealing What Paul SAID
(Acts 24:14–16; Acts 25:7-10; Acts 28:17-21)
- Paul clearly said that he the God of Isaac Abraham and Jacob, served
- Paul clearly said that he believed EVERYTHING, and that he was in ACCORDANCE with the Law and the Prophets.
- Paul said that he always did his best to maintain a clear conscience before god and before man.
- Paul said that he had committed no offense against the Law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor again Cesar.
- Paul said that he had done no wrong to the Jews.
- Paul said that he had done nothing against the customs of the Jewish fathers.
Six times Paul the apostle openly testified that he was NOT believing, he was NOT practicing, he was not teaching, and he was NOT promoting AGAINST honoring the Torah of written Scripture. He made six clear statements to that affect.
If Paul was truly teaching ‘Reject the Law’ ‘Don’t obey the Law’ ‘Do the opposite of what God’s Law teaches people to do in the Torah and in the prophets,’ if that’s what Paul was teaching, then there is NO WAY around it. If call truly taut against honoring the Torah of YHWH, then that means that Paul LIED no less than 6 times in the book of Acts. If Paul was telling the truth in his own testimony, then there is no possibility that Paul was truly teaching against honoring the Torah, (which means that Christians are misunderstanding Paul when they believe he was teaching against honoring the law).
On the other hand, IF Christians have a right, and Paul was truly teaching against keeping the Commandments of the Old Testament, like Christians think he was, then that means that Paul openly lied six times in the book of Acts, when he SAID that he believed and he was NOT teaching contrary to Law. IF Paul was truly teaching do not obey the Commandments, as most Christians believe that he was, then there is NO CHANCE, but Paul was telling the truth about what he believed, what he practiced and what he did in the book of Acts.
- If Paul was telling the truth about what he believed practiced and preached, then he could not have been teaching against honoring God’s Law, because he openly said he was not teaching that.
- On the other hand, if Paul was truly teaching don’t honor YHWH’S Commandments, when he openly testified it is not teaching AGAINST the Commandments, that leaves no other option than Paul was LYING.
- Here is the staggering implication. Paul the apostle was truly teaching against honoring God’s Law, when he clearly said he was not teaching that, then Paul would be LYING. Paul was a liar, then he is not even saved, let alone an Apostle, (Revelation 21:8). If Paul is a liar and he’s not saved because he lied about what he’s teaching, then nothing that Paul wrote in his letters with the valid anyway. That blows up 2/3 of the New Testament.
- Conversely, if Paul was telling the truth, that also means that we must believe that Paul was NOT teaching people to disregard the Old Testament, and not to honor the Commandments of written Scripture, because that is what Paul said about his own teaching. The uneasy implication there though, means that modern Christians have it wrong when they insist on claiming that Paul was teaching against honoring the Torah of YHWH period Paul could not have been teaching what Christians claim that he was teaching, because Paul openly said he was not.
For the record, I believe that Paul was telling the truth. I believe that Paul is a legitimate Apostle of Jesus Christ. By the same token, that also means that Paul could not have been teaching against honoring God’s Commandments in written Scripture, because Paul repeatedly clearly said that he was not teaching that, which means Christians are clearly misunderstanding Paul, when they insist on using Paul to teach against honoring and against Obeying God’s Commandments.
Thank you for your kind attention
Brother Michel Lankford