If the Apostle Paul was Torah observant as you say, why do his writings say otherwise? Part 2

This week we are going to continue with the teaching that the Apostle Paul taught the Torah and not some new theology. Remember that the only Scriptures Paul and all the writers of the New Testament used was the Tanak. Paul affirmed the whole Law in 1 Tim1.8; Rom 2.13; Rom 3.29-31, 7.12-22; 1 Cor 7.19. There never was a distinction between the Moral and Ceremonial Law as some say. It is never used in all of the Bible. The whole Torah was considered as one set of instructions that applied to Jews and Gentiles. The Torah was used by Paul as a textbook for teaching all believers (Acts 17. 2-4, 17.11; 1 Tim 4.13; 2 Tim 3.15; Rom 15.4). There was no New Testament Scriptures for Paul to use, in fact the term "new" testament for the Gospels and epistles is not even a biblical name for them. The epistles were Torah commentaries for the life of a believer in Yeshua. Paul never taught that any part of the Torah was irrelevant ( 2 Tim 3.16-17, Acts 26.22-23). The New Testament contains examples where Paul taught the Gentiles to follow certain laws found in the Torah (Acts 16.4) and to follow the elders in Jerusalem who were all Torah observant Jews (Acts 15.29). The "yoke" Peter was talking about in Acts 15 was not the Torah because it was never considered "unbearable" (Deut 30.11-14). This yoke was the layers and layers of oral tradition and religious practice accumulated over the centuries of Rabbinic theology. Yeshua's yoke was easy (Mt 11.29-30) and we know He was Torah observant and wanted believers to follow Him. The Torah was considered a delight (Psa 119). It maintained unity in the congregations, which is the reason why there are so many Christian denominations today. They don't follow the Torah and do whatever seems right in their own eyes. We know the Corinthians celebrated Passover with Paul because he used he used the concepts of Passover to teach life lessons (1 Cor 5.6-8). 2 Cor 6.16 through 7.1 infers that they had to have learned about what contaminates the body and spirit and how to purify themselves. In Eph. 2.11-22, 3.6 and Col 3.11-12 Paul teaches that Gentiles are united with Jewish believers as fellow citizens of Israel. He also uses Jer. 11.16 as a metaphor of the olive tree to explain that the Gentiles were grafted in (Rom 11.17-18,24). People who believe that the Torah is only for Jews have failed to realize that Paul said that believers cannot separate from the Jews without pruning themselves from the olive tree ( Rom 10.11; Gal 3.28-29). When writing to the Thessalonians Paul told them to imitate the "ekklesia" or congregations in Judea and we know they were set up like synagogues otherwise they would not have been permitted to exist. The concept of the New Covenant is not a new teaching beginning with Yeshua and the apostles but found in Jer 31.31-34. In this New Covenant, God said that He will write the Torah on the heart. The circumcision of the heart is found in the Tanak (Deut 10.16, 30.6; Jer 4.4, 9.26; Ezek 44.7-9) and it is where the term "born again" derives. To have a circumcised heart means to live or be born again. Yeshua taught that the Law would not be changed until heaven and earth passed away (Mt 5.17-19). He also did not give his disciples a separate "curriculum" for Gentiles (Mt 28.19-20). Paul taught the Gentiles to observe and obey the Parts of the Torah that applied to them. There is not one verse in the New Testament that says that God expects believers to NOT follow the Torah. So, instead of having a clear "Thus saith the Lord" that the Lord has changed His mind, many teachers just assume that God's guidelines (Torah) were old and have used that assumption as the foundation for interpreting New Testament passages, thus developing a "replacement theology" over the centuries. What people need to do is to lay aside all preconceived assumptions and study the New Testament in the context of Paul being a Torah observant Jew. Once you see it from that point of view you will find that the passages used to say otherwise will be faulty. Next week we will continue with this all important teaching and give some examples of those passages that people use to support their view that the Law has been done away with and show you that when you understand what Paul taught you will see how flimsy those interpretations are.

Q. If the Apostle Paul was Torah observant as you say, why do his writings say otherwise?

A. One of the things that I have been constantly confronted with is the fact that many people believe that the Apostle Paul was not a Torah observant Jew and that his writings prove it. They then quote Galatians or Romans to show that they are correct. The truth is, Paul was not only Torah observant but he taught others to do so as well. People who believe that Paul was not Torah observant and believe that his writings also reflect that, have a fundamental misunderstanding of the Scriptures. That misunderstanding will reflect back on how they interpret the Bible and this false premise is very hard to point out unless the person is open to studying and investigating the real Saul of Tarsus. So, over the next several weeks I am going to show you that the Apostle Paul not only was Torah observant but he taught it to other believers.
First of all, Torah observance was never for salvation or righteousness. The Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation are very clear about that. Righteousness is a gift from God and it is by faith that we receive it. But the Lord wants us to be obedient to His commands and that is where the Torah comes in. Torah is Hebrew for "teaching, instruction, guidance" and it is an archery term for "hitting the mark." The term for sin in Hebrew is "Chata'at" and it is also an archery term for "missing the mark." What Paul did not teach was the man-made laws of the Rabbi's of his day. He did not teach people to offer animal sacrifices outside of the Temple, in fact, he offered animal sacrifices himself at the Temple 30 years after Yeshua (Acts 21.17-26). He did not teach people to punish people by stoning. That could only be done by properly appointed judges. Most of Paul's teaching was not recorded because it was done verbally, face to face. His instructions for new believers was not included in his letters. In several synagogues he remained for over a year teaching from the Torah (1 Thes 4.2; 2 Thes 2.15, 3.6; 2 Tim 1.13; 2.2). According to Paul, all his teachings agreed with his own lifestyle ( 1 Cor 4.16-17). Other Jewish believers remained Torah observant after their conversion and so did Paul (Acts 22.12; Acts 21.20). When one investigates the lifestyle of first century believers according to historical records we find that Torah observance was normal and not done when only in the presence of other Jews. That would have been hypocritical and Paul did not approve of that sort of behavior. 1 Cor 9.20 is interpreted by many to say just that, but what he means there is that he accommodated Gentile customs that were not in direct violation of the Torah. Paul rebuked Peter for this type of behavior in Gal 2.11-14 and so so say that Paul acted like a Jew with Jews and a Gentile with Gentiles is not only a bad interpretation but down right hypocritical. In Acts 21.24 Paul is coming out of a Nazarite vow and not only offered his own sacrifices but paid for the offerings of four other messianic believers to show he was Torah observant, contrary to some of the rumors going around about him. He came to Jerusalem to keep a festival and offer sacrifices according to the Torah instruction about coming out of a Nazarite vow (Num 6; Acts 24.17). When on trial, Acts 23.6 says that Paul was a Pharisee (present tense) and said he was in "good conscience" in doing so (Acts 23.1). Some try to refute this but there was enough evidence to show that Paul's claim was valid because other Pharisee's stood and said that they found nothing wrong with him(Acts 23.9). In Acts 24.14 he says that he serves the Lord, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law (Torah) and the Prophets. In Acts 26, Paul is still on trial and is brought before King Agrippa. He says in verse 5 that his enemies have known about him for a long time and if they are willing to testify (which they didn't) that he lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. Notice he says "our" religion, not "their" religion!. Paul's words and deeds led people to believe that he was living according to the Torah (Acts 28.17). Paul also taught the Gentiles to follow his lifestyle ( 1 Cor 11.1-2; Phil 3.17, 4.9; ! Cor 4.16-17; 1 Thes 1.5-7; 2 Thes 3.6-9). He wanted them to follow him as he followed the Messiah and wanted others to be like him ( Acts 26.28). So far, we have seen that Paul's own lifestyle and teachings show that he wanted others to follow the Torah. Next week we will continue with this all important premise that will help you interpret the Scriptures correctly. You have to see the writers of the New Testament for who they were. In other words, they were Torah observant believers in Yeshua saved by grace and so their writings could not have reflected anything otherwise. They weren't doing one thing and writing another. They were consistent in what they did and what they wrote. The confusion came in later when people who were anti-Torah began to take their built-in biases and make the New Testament fit into their own preconceived theological misconceptions.