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Day 26: Paul Was Confusing

Many people think that the apostle Paul taught in his letters that the Law of Moses was no longer in effect, contrary to the teachings of Jesus that we've seen. To come to such a conclusion requires a selective reading of Paul, as we’ll see in the next few studies.

However, some context is given by Peter in his second letter. He states that Paul’s letters can be confusing and hard to understand, and that some people had distorted them to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15-16). Moreover, he goes on to warn his readers that they not distort Paul's writings, and fall into “the error of lawless men” (2 Peter 3:17). It seems that many have fallen into this error throughout the centuries.

In Acts 21, Paul makes a visit to Jerusalem, where he finds that people believe a false rumor about him, that he has been telling people in his travels to turn away from the Law of Moses and not do what it commands. So Paul goes to a lot of trouble to pay for some people’s purification rites for the express purpose of disproving these false rumors, thereby proving that he was living in obedience to the Law of Moses (Acts 21:17-25).

Paul’s position is clear in this incident, but what could have led these people to think that Paul taught contrary to the Law of Moses? I think that it was probably a misunderstanding of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, one of his earliest writings.

Galatians deals with the same issue as the disciples dealt with in Acts 15, the question of whether Gentile believers in Jesus should convert to Judaism. The answer in both cases is: No, they should not! It is recognized that people without any background in following the Torah cannot realistically embrace it all at once when they turn to Jesus. So, the disciples give them four laws to start out with. Following these strictures would make Gentile believers more acceptable to the Jewish community in the synagogues where they worshiped. The suggestion seems to be that they attend synagogue on the Sabbath to learn about the Law, and embrace practices gradually as they become aware of them.

In the same way, we should be reading and learning from the books of the Torah, and when we see things that God wanted His people to do, we should integrate them into our lives.

Reflection

Are you reading and learning about God’s instructions given through Moses?

How can you find out more about them and determine which are appropriate for you to practice today?