But Abba, Paul Told Me I Could (Part One)

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

In This Study:

-          9 Biblical Reasons Why We KNOW That Paul Was NOT Teaching against the Law

9 Biblical Reasons Why We KNOW That Paul Was NOT Teaching against the Law.

The majority of modern-day Christians are passionately convinced by tradition and by practice that Paul the apostle SUPPOSEDLY taught AGAINST KEEPING Yahweh’s Laws Commandments and Instructions given to Moses. This EXTREMELY FALSE doctrine is exceedingly popular and widespread. This false doctrine attributed to Paul, is the primary reason why the majority of Christianity feels completely justified in actively disobeying what Almighty God COMMANDED, what Messiah and the apostles actually PRACTICED, and even many of the things which Paul himself specifically SAID are IGNORED to support this supposed Pauline doctrine.

The reason that we CANNOT rightly support the common, “Lawless Grace,” or, “Abolition,” doctrine which is so commonly attributed to Paul, is simply that it is NOT TRULY BIBLICAL, regardless of what we have been taught to believe by tradition. This paper outlines the biblical basis for this assertion. I’m not speaking by my opinion, but by what SCRIPTURE, yes even NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE, actually says.

This paper gives the KEY bullet points and overview of the BIBLICAL reasons we KNOW that Paul WAS NOT teaching AGAINST KEEPING Yahweh’s Laws Commandments and Instructions given to Moses. Here is why we know that Paul WAS NOT teaching that:

Paul would be destroying the very foundation of the gospel: Paul specifically SAID, that God’s household was built on three things: the foundation of: (a) The apostles; (b) The Prophets; and (c) Jesus Christ, (See Ephesians 2:20). By definition, Moses is a prophet. If the words of Moses and the other prophets have been abolished, done away with, or removed, then the very foundation of the gospel is also undermined by definition. Moreover, Paul is the ONLY apostle who is even remotely believed to have taught AGAINST KEEPING Yahweh’s Commandments, (even though this is mistaken), every other apostle, and Jesus Christ is known by clear teaching to have supported KEEPING the Father’s Commandments. Paul would not have gone against that which HE defined to be the foundation of God’s household. Paul would be CONTRADICTING GOD’S Word. He would be CONTRADICTING MESSIAH’S Word. He would be CONTRADICTING EVERY single PROPHET. He would also be CONTRADICTING EVERY APOSTLE.

Paul Would Then Be Teaching AGAINST the Biblically Established Definition of TRUTH. Because Messiah said that God’s Word IS TRUTH. God’s word also describes God’s Law to be truth AND EVERLASTING: so if Paul taught that God’s everlasting law and everlasting truth could be abolished at the cross, he would be teaching against what Scripture already defines to be truth.  (John 17:17; Psalm 19 7-14; Isaiah 8:20; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:142; Psalm 119:144; Psalm 119:151; Psalm 119:160 etc.).

Paul Would Then Be PROMOTING the Biblical Definition of SIN: (1 John 3:4; Hosea 8:1; Daniel 9:11; Isaiah 5:20-24).

Paul Would Then Be PROMOTING what Jesus already SAID will be CONDEMNED on the future DAY OF JUDGMENT, (so Paul would then be preaching AGAINST Jesus Christ’s teachings, (Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 13:41-42; Matthew 24:12-13; John 8:34-36).

Paul Would Then Be Undermining His Own Apostleship, According to Christ. Paul was an apostle and servant of Jesus Christ (e.g. Titus 1:1). An apostle means to be a messenger. According to Messiah, the messenger who is sent with a message is NOT greater than the ONE who SENT him to deliver the message, (John 13:16). So Messiah is the One who sent Paul. Messiah already declared that those who lived a lifestyle of walking outside the Laws Commandments and Instructions which God gave to Moses will be CONDEMNED, on the future Day of Judgment, (see preceding item). That’s what walking in lawlessness means. If Paul was saying that the same thing which Jesus already says will be condemned is now the NEW Grace, then Paul would be putting his own word above what Jesus Christ has previously said. Paul would not be a legitimate apostle of Jesus Christ by definition, if he taught the opposite of what Christ said, and claimed that what Christ condemns is now Grace.

Paul Would Then Be Teaching AGAINST the Biblically Established Definition of LOVING GOD. Depending on the biblical translation you use, God’s word DIRECTLY LINKS LOVING Him, with KEEPING His Commandments 18 times throughout Scripture. By comparison, God NEVER ONCE teaches that we can show our love toward Him, by disobeying His Commandments; (e.g. 1 John 5:2-3; John 15:10; John 14:15; John 14:21; cf. Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 11:1; Deuteronomy 11:22; Deuteronomy 19:9; Deuteronomy 30:16; Joshua 22:5; etc. etc. etc. and on and on…). So IF Paul was teaching AGAINST KEEPING Yahweh’s Commandments as so many suppose, he would literally be teaching us AGAINST LOVING GOD, according to Scripture.

Paul Would Then Be Preaching a SCHIZOPHRENIC Gospel. In reality, there is not one place in all of RIGHTLY DIVIDED Scripture, where one can truly demonstrate that they LOVE God by DISOBEYING His Commandments. Likewise, there is not one place in RIGHTLY DIVIDED Scripture, where one can demonstrate that they truly BELIEVE God, by doing the OPPOSITE of what He SAID to do. Throughout Scripture we are told that the way we demonstrate that we LOVE God, is to KEEP His Commandments. The way that we show that we BELIEVE God, is to hear His Words, and to DO what He SAYS (e.g. Deuteronomy 9:23; Luke 11:28; John 3:36; James 1:19-25, 2:14,17-18, 20,24, 26). So we demonstrate that we love God by KEEPING His Commandments. We demonstrate that we believe God by hearing the word of God and doing what He says to do. But in order to walk in the grace of the same God, we must now turn around and do the opposite of Yahweh's Commandments. So we walk in love by obeying God's commandments. We walk in faith by  hearing in doing what He said to do, but were been walking the grace of the SAME God, by doing the opposite of His Laws Commandments and Instructions?! That creates a situation where in order to walk in love and faith we must walk in one way of life, but in order to walk in God's Grace we must walk in the completely OPPOSITE way of life. Can God's love and God's grace truly be the mutual opposites of each other?! Not a chance!

Paul Would Then Be Making Himself into a Liar and a Hypocrite by Definition. Paul specifically SAID, “I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets." (Acts 24:14-16). So, if Paul was truly teaching that people should now DISOBEY what God said in the Law and in the Prophets, he would be lying when he testified about what HE BELIEVED and how HE WORSHIPED God. That's serious business. Paul also specifically said, “I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers.” (See Acts 28:17-21). Once again, if Paul was truly teaching people to DISOBEY the Commandments which Yahweh gave to Moses, this statement also would be a lie, (cf. Acts 25: 7-10). If Paul was telling the truth about his own testimony and how he lived, and how he believed, then there is no way that he could of been teaching people to do the opposite of God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions - Because HE SAID he wasn’t.

Paul Would Then Be CONTRADICTING Many of HIS OWN Teachings: this is perhaps the most pregnant point of all. When you do a diligent search of Paul’s teachings and compare Paul’s words with Paul’s words, it becomes clear that Paul was NOT teaching that we should now DISOBEY and do the OPPOSITE of God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions because of grace in Messiah. The problem is that if Paul was teaching that idea, he would be contradicting other teachings which HE HIMSELF TAUGHT.

The problem is that most Christians don’t bother comparing what Paul said in one area of Scripture, with what Paul supposedly said in another area of Scripture. When you do a diligent comparison of what Paul said with other things that Paul said, it becomes a lot clearer that Paul COULD NOT have been teaching AGAINST KEEPING Yahweh’s Laws Commandments and Instructions, without CLEARLY DENYING other PARTS of HIS OWN TEACHINGS at the same time.

As we continue with our studies in the future, we will look very closely at the teachings of Paul the apostle. We will compare Paul’s writings with Paul’s writings. We will see what Paul did say about the Old Testament Scriptures. Will inspect what Paul did say about the Law of God. In future studies will also see the common Scriptures which are used to teach that Paul taught against keeping Yahweh’s Commandments, and we will carefully investigate whether the claims truly hold water, or not. See you then.

Brother R Michel Lankford