Did the Apostle Paul Start Christianity & Walk Away from Israel?

If you were to poll average Christians, they would say that Jesus started what we call Christianity and the Church today. They would also state that Jesus came to build His church on the belief that He was our Savior and His Father had sent Him to be our forgiveness of sin. But, when they would begin to be specific about Church doctrine and teaching, they would probably quote from the Apostle Paul in his letters from the New Testament. Stated in an over-simplified manner, the Old Testament and Gospels get us to Jesus, but from the book of Acts and forward, the Apostles take over, and the Apostle Paul is the foremost teacher for the Gentile Church.

Echoing this from their standpoint, religious Jews say that Paul started Christianity, not Jesus.

Even further, the majority of Christians quote from Paul when the question arises concerning salvation and whether believers in Jesus should keep the commandments and the Law of Moses. They argue that Paul has taught that our faith in Jesus has not only gotten us forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life, but it has also freed us from the Law.

There is no need to quibble about this. This is the basic teaching of Christians, whether you are Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Baptist, or anything else. This is what Christians are fed every Sunday.

But here is the problem…the New Testament Scriptures do not teach that. Yeshua the Messiah taught the opposite of what the Church teaches today. Still further, the Apostles, including Paul, emphatically taught that believing Gentiles are to keep the Law of Moses as well.

Let me back that up quickly to address the point of this article.

Yeshua said that He came to teach and keep the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish them, modify them, annul them, or otherwise replace them with something else.

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke [scribal marks] shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17–20

Not only do Churchmen think that Jesus did away with the Law, or some parts of it, they teach others the same and criticize those who would keep God’s commandments.

The Apostles, who were commissioned by the Messiah, were told what to teach the rest of the world.

And Yeshua came up and spoke to them [the eleven Apostles], saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18–20

Yeshua said that they were to teach every believer of Him to observe all the commandments. I would remind my readers that the Father and the Son are One, and the commandments given at Mount Sinai were given by the Son as well. Yeshua repeatedly said that if you love Him, you will keep His Commandments.

The Apostle John was there, and here is some of what he taught.

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

1 John 2:3–4

Whoever believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:1–3

The Apostle Peter was there, and here is some of what he taught.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. the grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:13–25

Peter is quoting the Law and the Prophets and stating that this is the teaching for Christians.

None of the eleven apostles who were with Yeshua, ever spoke against the Law (the commandments of God), suggesting that they were not necessary. In particular, James shares the testimony of the first believers in Jerusalem after Yeshua’s resurrection.

And when they [James and his brethren in Jerusalem] heard it [the testimony of Gentiles becoming believers by Paul] they began glorifying God; and they said to him [Paul], "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

Acts 21:20

I remind the reader that those Jews were the first Christians, even before the Gentiles.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Paul became an Apostle after Yeshua had ascended to His Father. The book of Acts, chapter nine, details how he came to believe in the Messiah and his commissioning to be the Apostle to the Gentiles.

… for he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake.

Acts 9:15b-16

In Romans, chapters nine through eleven, Paul teaches, from the Law of Moses, how God chooses His Remnant and how the Prophets of Israel foretold the Gospel being taken to the nations to be part of the Commonwealth of Israel (the Kingdom). He states emphatically that he has been commissioned by God to be the Apostle to the Gentiles so they can be grafted into the tree called Israel.

But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

Romans 11:13

Paul was an excellent teacher for the Gentiles. He was a scholar of God’s Law. He had been a Pharisee, a disciple of Gamaliel, an observant Jew who had a reputation of “keeping the Law.”

He taught the Law, which teaches that righteousness is a result of faith (believing the promises of God). He explained how Abraham is our best example of that principle. He taught that obedience is the result of loving God and obeying the greatest commandments. He taught that blessings are the result of obeying, and curses are the result of disobeying God. He also taught that God’s grace is NOT a license to violate God’s commandments at any time.

Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

Romans 3:31

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:1–2

So, why do Christians teach that Paul taught against the Law, emphasizing that Grace is the order of the day and the true path of following God?

Let us read the last sentence in that paragraph from Romans 6.

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:14

“Oh My! There it is! Paul is teaching that we are not to follow the Law. Grace has replaced the Law for us Christians. It is right there in my King James Bible!!!!”

Did you know that that verse in Romans and other verses in the Letters of Paul are used to teach that Grace has replaced the Law, that the Church has replaced Israel, that the New Covenant has replaced all the previous older Covenants, and we should leave all that “old stuff” to the Jews?

In the days of the Apostles, Peter had an interesting comment about Paul and his teachings. He said that there were some people who did not understand Paul’s teachings, and that they had twisted everything around and were making a mess.

And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,

2 Peter 3:15–17

Not all Gentile believers knew what Moses and the Prophets taught. When an unbelieving Jew would argue with a believing Gentile, he would frequently distort what Paul taught from Moses and the Prophets. Paul had many disputes with Jews who did not teach Moses or the Prophets correctly. Remember, Paul taught that Yeshua came in accordance with the Law and the Prophets. Unbelieving Jews argued against the Law. They taught their precepts and their traditions as a replacement for the actual commandments.

When the Jews heard that Gentiles were believing in the “Jewish Messiah Yeshua,” they instructed them that they had to be circumcised to be saved. They had to keep the Law to be saved. Paul disputed that by saying salvation was by God’s grace through faith. This is discussed specifically in the first council of Jerusalem in Acts 15.

Some men [Jewish believers of Yeshua] came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

Acts 15:1–2

But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them [the new Gentile believers] and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

Acts 15:5

This was a very interesting meeting. In this example, there were Jews who believed salvation came from keeping the Law and the customs of Moses. The Torah did not teach that, and Paul did not teach that. To this day, Jews are taught in synagogues that you are saved by saying daily prayers, making amends for your bad deeds (penitence), and doing good deeds (mitzvot).

This is a very significant doctrine of our faith. How does a person receive salvation from God? The council in Jerusalem resolved the issue by explaining that all people, including Jews, are saved by faith, not by keeping commandments. But then, what are the commandments that Gentiles are to keep? It is already settled that Jewish believers are to keep all the commandments.

The Apostle James served as the moderator and judge of this matter and rendered a ruling for all believers to follow.

Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.

Acts 15:19–21

A letter was dispatched to all Gentile believers wherever they were, carried by two believers from Jerusalem, separate from Paul and the others, to make it clear which commandments the Gentile believers were to keep.

It was simply stated to make the matter clear: abstain from all idolatry, do not fornicate or participate in improper sexual behavior, and eat only what God has declared to be food.

In summary, all Torah teachers refer to this three-part teaching as the “heart of the Law.” It comes from Leviticus chapters 17 and 18. However, the Leviticus teaching is far more detailed and specific. The letter from James was a summary of the Torah teaching. James then concluded by instructing the Gentiles to go to where Moses and the Torah is taught every Sabbath to further understand the other commandments connected to the summary list.

Where did Christians get the idea that they were NOT to be taught the Law of Moses or observe the commandment of the Sabbath? They were not taught that by the apostles.

This letter to the Gentiles is restated again later in Acts, chapter 21, when Paul returned to Jerusalem. Despite this letter, a rumor arose against Paul. Many people were saying that Paul was teaching Jewish and Gentile believers not to circumcise their sons or keep the customs of Moses (the Torah).

And they [the believers in Jerusalem] have been told about you, that you [Paul] are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

Acts 21:21

This was a vicious rumor spoken by Jews for the purpose of disrupting Paul’s relationship with his Jewish brethren. This was also connected to the decision to corrupt Paul’s teaching of Moses to the Gentiles, which the unbelieving Jews disputed intensely.

But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.

Acts 21:25

The Pharisaic Jews could not stop Paul from teaching Moses to the new Gentile believers, but they could destroy his reputation with the rest of Israel. Paul was directed by James to take four men under Nazarite vows to the Temple. This would prove the rumor was false and that Paul was obedient to the Lord concerning all His commandments.

[You Paul] take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

Acts 21:24

Paul was arrested in the Temple, again falsely charged with another violation of the Temple laws. This is what led Paul to being arrested, as he was also a Roman citizen, and being tried by the Roman Governors, Felix and Festus, in Caesarea. The Roman Tribune learned of a plot to kill Paul if he attempted to resolve the reason for the arrest with the Chief Priests in Jerusalem.

When Paul went to trial before the Governors, he testified in court that he had done nothing that violated his faith or the teaching of Moses. In fact, he argued that by proclaiming Yeshua as the Messiah, he was keeping what the Law and Prophets had foretold of the coming redemption for the whole world.

When the religious leaders wanted Paul tried in Jerusalem, he knew that the Roman Governors would give in to the religious leaders, so he appealed to Caesar. According to Roman law, any citizen could appeal directly to Caesar, and it would be out of local hands and a Roman Governor.

While in Rome, Paul wrote his many letters, offering encouragement and correction for many of the congregations and fellowships he had started and visited on his missionary journeys throughout the Roman/Greco Mediterranean and Asia Minor regions.

Peter’s comment, that the writings of Paul were hard to understand by untaught and unstable persons, was born out of disputes about the Law with unbelieving Jews, rampant idolatry among the Gentiles, and staying focused on the work of redemption done by the Messiah. Many times, he reflected on his own testimony of first sinning against God by harming his own countrymen who had believed in Yeshua before Paul had begun to follow Yeshua. He even confessed to his part in the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem.

Many Christians and Christian teachers do not understand that Paul’s writings are actual teachings of the Law and Prophets. They are deep Torah concepts, including Redemption, Salvation, Justice, Truth, Atonement, Justification, and what to expect at the end of the ages, based on the prophecies that come from the Law and the Prophets. Many Christians are led to believe that Paul is teaching all-new concepts that Moses did not teach.

Why is there such a disconnect regarding the teachings of Paul? Why do Christians believe the old rumor about Paul, that he did not walk in an orderly way, keeping the Law? Why do they cherry-pick a few verses and try to change the entire context of his instructions?

There are many reasons for it, I suppose. I know from my own experience of being a good Christian in my formative years. I was stunned to discover that God did not reject Israel and set up the Church as the replacement. It was hard for me to hear Paul say, for example, that God had not rejected Israel because they rejected His Son. I had been told by all the members of my family, Sunday school teachers, and preachers that God did exactly that. I knew something was not right when I was told to “trust and obey” God, but not to get caught obeying any of His commandments. I was told that obeying those “old” commandments meant I did not believe in the Christ anymore and I was on the road to hell. If you did not believe in Jesus in the same way that they did, then you would definitely go to hell.

When I was twelve years of age, I had my own “on the road to Damascus moment with God.” I was walking outside of my house in the early evening, when suddenly I heard a voice ask me, “Monte, what would you do if everything you had been taught about God was wrong?”

I was stunned and perplexed, unable to even process the question, when I heard the voice in me give the answer, “God would have to save you then.” I agreed with that answer and asked for His help.

It was later, as I matured in my faith and could examine the same Scriptures that Paul used to teach from and write his letters, that I clearly saw Paul’s wisdom. The Church Fathers of Christianity have twisted Paul’s teachings to fit their religion, a religion where the Church made up their rules, as they dismissed the commandments of God as archaic, not relevant for today, and stating the opposite of what God had commanded. Sadly, Christians are so deceived that they cannot see the paradox.

I once quoted Yeshua the Messiah to a Pastor in a discussion about keeping Commandments. He replied that he was “sticking with the Apostle Paul.” I asked him how he could reconcile the rumor about Paul (not keeping the Law) and Paul’s efforts to convince his own brethren that the rumor was false (that he walked orderly, keeping the Law). He answered that Paul was purposely deceiving his brethren to further the Gentile church. I asked if he thought Paul’s teaching superseded what Moses, the Prophets and Yeshua had said. He said, “Yes.” I concluded that discussion by telling him that Paul was “not sticking with him.”

The good news is that God is leading us back to Him by His Spirit. Despite being taught many incorrect things about God and His plan, He remains faithful to us, leading us out of error and ignorance. I have learned that we only know Him if we listen to Him (not men) and do what He says. Let us commit ourselves to seeking the truth and being found faithful unto God. ■

Shalom,

Article written by Monte Judah

* Scripture references from the NASB95