Do Messianics Trust Paul?
Rabbi Nico here.
There is a common idea among Messianics where a lot of our people say that they “don’t trust Paul,” and therefore, they won’t read the epistles or accept them as valid teachings or parts of Scripture. This largely comes from the perception of Rev Sha’ul (Paul) as someone who taught against the Law of Torah.
I have engaged in various conversations with people, talking about specific passages in Paul’s writings, and showing how he is not anti-Torah, but, in fact, quite pro-Torah.
While breaking down these individual seemingly-anti-Torah passages is important, my wife has brought back to my attention a passage in 2 Peter that demonstrates how Paul was quite definitely not anti-Torah.
In 2 Peter 3:14-18, we read the following:
“14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
So, let’s talk about a particular phrase, “being led away with the error of the wicked.” Let’s look at that in the interlinear. The Greek word here translated as “wicked” is “athesmos.” The Greek word for “wicked,” however, is “kakos.” So, what is athesmos? If you look at it in the Strong’s Concordance, it translates to “lawless” or “unrestrained.”
So, here we have a very clear warning to be wary of people who twist Paul’s writings to suit their own agendas. This passage specifically refers to those people as “lawless.”
We find a similar echo in 1 John 3:4, which defines sin thusly:
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”
1 John 2:4 says, “Whoever says ‘I know Him’ but does not keep His Commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
2 John 1:6 says, “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”
Therefore, whenever we read the epistles, let us be careful not to read as we’ve often been taught to do so. Let us not assume that his writings are anti-Torah or anti-Law, but let us dig deeper, to see what he’s really talking about. Let us remember that there’s a difference between man’s law and G’d’s Law. Let us further remember that while the Law and obedience to it is not what saves us (G’d’s grace through the Messiah’s sacrifice does that), nonetheless the Torah (commonly referred to as the Law) helps us to understand what is sin so that we may avoid it.
Rev Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) instructions in his epistles, therefore, are to be understood as explanations of ways that we can properly keep the Torah.
At Romans 2:13, Paul said, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”
At Romans 3:31, Paul said, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
The Torah is a beautiful thing that G’d gave us. Not a burden. It enriches our lives, and following it gives us structure for living that improves us. We follow the Torah not so that we might be saved, but so that others may see our way of living, and be so emotionally moved that THEY might desire to be saved.
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