Paul's Actions: Lawful Or Not?

Paul's teachings about the Law have always been a source of confusion and controversy. Paul himself was a Pharisee and a zealot of Judaism and the Mosaic Law. However, after his encounter with the risen Messiah, Paul's perspective on the Law changed. He no longer saw the Law as a means of earning salvation but rather as a way to reveal and condemn sin.

Paul made it clear that believers are not under the Mosaic Law but are instead under grace. He taught that the Law was given to Israel alone and that it revealed and condemned sin. The Law incited sin and could not make one righteous, as no one could keep it perfectly.

Paul's message to the Galatians was that believers are not to live under the administration of the Law but under grace, through faith in Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. He emphasized that believers have died to the Law and are now alive in Christ, no longer bound by its requirements.

While Paul acknowledged the importance of the Law in revealing sin and providing a standard for moral behavior, he made it clear that believers are not to be governed by it. Instead, they are to live by faith, love, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Paul's gospel was not a license to sin

In Romans 6:1-2, Paul asks, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?". Paul's point is that those who have died to sin should not continue living in it. They have been set free from the power of sin and are now able to live a new life in Christ.

In Romans 6:16, Paul writes, "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?". Paul understood that people are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. They cannot serve two masters. This understanding is reflected in his teachings and gospel message.

Paul's gospel was also not a license to sin because it was based on the truth of God's Word. In Romans 3:23, Paul writes, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". He recognized that everyone has sinned and is in need of God's grace. This understanding of the human condition is fundamental to Paul's gospel and prevents it from being a license to sin.

Furthermore, Paul's gospel was not a license to sin because it was focused on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul's gospel was centered on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was through faith in Christ that people were saved, not by their own works or efforts. This gospel message was a powerful reminder that sin has serious consequences and that only through Christ can people find forgiveness and eternal life.

In conclusion, Paul's gospel was not a license to sin. It was a message of grace, truth, and transformation. It called people to repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ. It was a gospel that changed lives and brought people into a right relationship with God.

Paul's gospel was not a rejection of the Law

Paul's statements on the law have always been a source of confusion and controversy. He taught that believers are not under the Mosaic Law but under grace (Romans 6.14). The Law was a “yoke of bondage,” a “ministration of death,” a “ministration of condemnation. He taught we are to “cast out the bondwoman,” and to “stand fast in the liberty of Christ. Paul taught that we fulfill the moral law by faith through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not by being under the Mosaic Law.

Paul's gospel was not a rejection of the Law's moral requirements

In God's matchless grace, God saved Saul of Tarsus. God redirected Paul's zeal for His own purposes and commissioned him "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans11.13) and the apostle of grace. No one ever experienced such a radical change in outlook and direction as Paul. As a Hebrew of the Hebrews, God sent him to Gentiles. As a legalistic zealot, God revealed righteous living apart from the administration of the Mosaic Law. To effect this transformation, God gave Paul revelations, "secrets" (μυστήριον), God had kept hidden from the Law and prophets, and from the Twelve.

Paul taught that Israel alone had received the Mosaic Law and was under its administration. Gentiles were excluded from the Law, as was the Church, the body of Christ (Ephesians 2.11-13; Romans 3.1-2, 6.14). However, Paul taught that when Gentiles or the Church come in contact with the Law, it has the same effect it had on Israel: it condemns (Romans 3.19).

Paul's gospel was not a rejection of the Law's ceremonial requirements

Paul’s statements on the law have always been a source of confusion and controversy. He himself was a Pharisee and a zealot of Judaism and the Mosaic Law. However, after his encounter with the risen Messiah, Paul’s teachings were completely contrary to what he had previously believed. Paul taught that believers of his gospel, the gospel of the grace of God, were to live under the administration of grace, not Law. Paul made it clear that the Mosaic Law was only for Israel, not for Gentiles, not for the Church. The Mosaic Law was moral, ceremonial, and civil. The Sabbath concerned the civil and ceremonial law of Israel. God’s moral law existed long before the 10 commandments. The two are not the same. Paul taught that believers live moral lives by faith, under grace, through the power of the Holy Spirit, not by being under the Mosaic Law. Paul wrote the book of Galatians to teach the Galatians that believers were not under the Mosaic Law. This is basic. If one does not understand this, he cannot live the Christian life. Paul taught that one lives the Christian life by faith, under grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the Mosaic Law.

Paul's gospel was not a rejection of the Law's civil requirements

In God's matchless grace, God saved Saul of Tarsus. God redirected Paul's zeal for His own purposes and commissioned him "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11.13) and the apostle of grace. No one ever experienced such a radical change in outlook and direction as Paul. As a Hebrew of the Hebrews, God sent him to Gentiles. As a legalistic zealot, God revealed righteous living apart from the administration of the Mosaic Law. To effect this transformation, God gave Paul revelations, "secrets" (μυστήριον), God had kept hidden from the Law and prophets, and from the Twelve.

Paul taught that Israel alone had received the Mosaic Law and was under its administration. Gentiles were excluded from the Law, as was the Church, the body of Christ (Ephesians 2.11-13; Romans 3.1-2, 6.14). However, Paul taught that when Gentiles or the Church come in contact with the Law, it has the same effect it had on Israel: it condemns (Romans 3.19).

Paul made it clear in his letter to the Galatians that believers are under the administration of grace, not the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was far more than the moral law. It governed Israel's moral, ceremonial, and civil life. Neither Gentiles nor the Church ever had anything to do with the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was a covenant. All covenants from the time of Abraham were to the Jews. What Paul is saying is that believers are not under the administration of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was more than the moral law. It was a complete package governing the moral, ceremonial, and civil law of Israel. It was also bondage according to what Peter and Paul said. Believers today are not under the administration of the Mosaic Law but under grace. Christians live by faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the Mosaic Law. Do you think one who is controlled by the Holy Spirit will lie, steal, murder, commit adultery? Jesus ministered to Israel under the Law. That was an entirely different program than today. As for the Sabbath, the Sabbath is the seventh day—Saturday. Christians celebrate the first day of the week because that was the day Christ arose from the dead. But, in reality, for Christians all days are equal. Put another way, every day for the believer is resurrection day—the day of hope and future glory.

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