This blog is a follow-up to my previous WORKS OF THE LAW blog. In that blog we saw that ‘works of the law’ is a GOOD thing. In this blog we will discover WHEN ‘works of the law’ appears to be a BAD thing. I believe this finding will explain what the Apostle Paul was wrestling with in his churches. That struggle lies at the heart of his focus on ‘works of the law’. So, let’s see precisely what the Apostle was condemning, since it obviously was NOT ‘works of the law’. We’ll start by listing the relevant verses in the NT:
…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Romans 3)
…nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:2)
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5)
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” (Galatians 3:10)
Like last blog, let’s take them one verse at a time:
…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)
διότι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, διὰ γὰρ νόμου ἐπίγνωσις ἁμαρτίας. (Greek text)
[more literal] since from works of law all flesh will not be justified in His sight; because through law [is] full consciousness of sin.
The key word in the first phrase is the verb “justified”. Paul plainly states that justification can NOT take place by ‘works of the law’. We won’t get into the details of ‘justification’. Let’s define it simply as ‘God approves of you’ (instead of punishes you). So, right there in the very first verse we find the answer to this blog. JUSTIFICATION was the issue, NOT ‘works of the law’. But let’s keep looking to see if there were other issues.
The key statement in the last phrase is “knowledge of sin” (Greek: certain awareness of, full consciousness of). Paul says that “knowledge of sin” is the end result of “the Law.” I’m not going to get into the age-old debate about Paul’s meaning of ‘the Law’. It is important to see that ‘works of the law’ is connected to ‘the Law’ in Paul’s statement here. Since the word ‘law’ occurs in both phrases, we can assume that they are connected in some way and may even be synonyms. Using common sense based on our knowledge of how governments work, it is likely that ‘the Law’ is a reference to the laws plus law enforcement of the nation, whereas ‘works of the law’ is a reference to the citizen’s obedience to those laws. The relationship between government law enforcement and the citizen’s obedience to the law has been discussed in previous blogs.
In any case, Paul is pointing out to us that the PURPOSE of ‘the Law’ is to CONDEMN us. Now compare that with what he just said the laws and law enforcement CANNOT do: justify us. In other words, Paul is twice repeating the same thing about this subject through the use of opposites. ‘The Law’ condemns us and at the same time it does NOT justify us. Simple concepts, right?
Let’s take that truth and see what Paul is bad-mouthing in the above verse. He’s definitely NOT condemning ‘works of the law’ because the grammar points that out to us. Notice the following: The subject of the sentence is “flesh,” the verb of the sentence is “will be justified,” and the prepositional phrase is “by works of the law.” ‘Flesh’ here is obviously a special reference to ‘people’. So the thing Paul condemns is JUSTIFYING people USING ‘works of the law’. That’s quite different from the claim that Paul’s words condemn the ‘works of the law’ themselves. So, although ‘works of the law’ is a good thing, apparently someone was using it in a bad way. And that bad way is the false claim that God will justify you BY your obedience to the laws of the nation.
Just think of it like this: If I obey all the laws in America that apply to me, can I claim that God will justify me because I’m doing everything the law requires of me? We can all see how absurd that idea is! But now apply that same idea to Israel, a Theocracy with YHWH as their highest authority. If I am a citizen of Israel’s Theocracy and obey all the laws that apply to me, can I claim that God will justify me because I’m doing everything the law requires of me? Let’s remember that Israel was a special nation because they received their laws directly from God. And those laws were designed to make the lives of all the citizens, and the life of the whole nation, conform to God’s idea of how people and nations should behave. In that scenario will God ‘theologically’ justify such a person due to their obedience to HIS laws instead of man-made laws (like those in the Gentile nations)? According to the above verse, ‘the law’ tells you what you‘re doing WRONG. IT points out your sin. So when you obey it perfectly, you’re merely escaping the effect of having sins pointed out to you, and thus being fined or worse, for transgressing the laws.
At this point, the questions I want answered are WHO claimed that people can be justified by obeying the law, and WHY. Those answers will give us a more accurate understanding of the issue that Paul was addressing in his churches. But before we answer those questions, let’s take a look at the next verses:
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Romans 3)
It’s obvious here that the problem Paul was dealing with was BOASTING. But WHO was doing this boasting and WHAT were they boasting about? We will look at this when we answer the previous two unanswered questions so that we can also see why this boasting was so problematic. Meanwhile, let’s take note that Paul clearly tells us WHY boasting does not work. Again, it has to do with justification, just like in the previous verse.
Paul reasons that boasting fails because of a certain kind of “law”. Does this word ‘law’ refer to the Mosaic laws? No, it refers to the COVENANTS. That is, Paul is referring to the realm within which laws and law enforcement operate. In contrast, the word “works” refers to obedience to the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant, but not to the covenant itself. So, ‘law’ here is a reference to a system of governance. In this case, both the Mosaic Covenant which created Israel’s government system, and the Abrahamic Covenant which is the basis of Faith in God and Jesus’ redemption.
And as we’ve seen in previous blogs, the systems of governance that God establishes come into existence through covenants. Notice the two kinds of ‘law’ that Paul lists: WORKS and FAITH. We saw this in my previous blog on Galatians 3 where I pointed out that Paul identifies the Mosaic Covenant as LAW and the Abrahamic Covenant as PROMISE/FAITH. The literary convention he uses by doing that is called METONYMY.
So, in the above verse I think Paul is equating the word WORKS with the Mosaic Covenant (the nation Israel) and the word FAITH with the Abrahamic Covenant (believing God’s promises). That is, WORKS and LAW refer to the MOSAIC covenant. Those words do NOT refer to the laws found in the Mosaic covenant, that is, the stipulations of the Covenant. And he is stressing the fact that boasting has no place in the Abrahamic Covenant while simultaneously identifying the basis of justification, which is belief in God’s promises contained in the Abrahamic Covenant. Which Jesus fulfilled. I discussed this in the previously related blogs.
And since it is the Abrahamic Covenant through which people get justified (in Jesus Christ), it can’t be the Mosaic Covenant. Let’s remember that the Abrahamic Covenant came into existence long before the Mosaic Covenant. So technically speaking, justification by faith PRECEDED works of the law. Therefore, anyone who performs ‘works of the law’ under the Mosaic Covenant can’t boast about justification being procured under that covenant because justification came first through a different Covenant (the Abrahamic Covenant). So, no matter how meticulously you obey the Mosaic law, you can NEVER be justified by God for doing so, because you are merely fulfilling your legal obligations under that covenant. Therefore, faith (believing God’s promises about Jesus’ redemption, etc.) is what justifies a person, NOT obeying the Mosaic law as a citizen of Israel. Do you see how simple this is when looked at in terms of two different covenants?
…nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
Same issue again: justification. This was so important that Paul hammers it. We discussed this a bit in the previous blog. Suffice to say that Paul is merely rehashing the same subject from a different angle. That is, HOW one gets justified. He is not explaining why this is true. Instead, he is emphatically pointing out the source of justification: “faith in Christ Jesus” instead of “works of the law.”
Also note in the above verses that Paul includes two groups in his justification list: LEADERS (“even we”) and NON-LEADERS (his readers). He probably added leaders to his explanation to give his hearers more convincing evidence of his claim. In other words, although those in leadership obeyed the 2nd Temple laws (Written law + Oral law) as a matter of lifestyle (‘works of the law’), they too had the same need to be justified by faith in Christ Jesus and could NEVER be justified by their ‘works of the law’. So, no one was exempt from ‘justification by faith’, not even 2nd Temple leaders! Similarly, no one could claim justification by works of the law regardless of their authority.
This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:2)
We also discussed this in a previous blog. It has to do with the material evidence of justification and the cause of it. Same point as above. The evidence is experiencing God’s HOLY SPIRIT ACTIVITY, whereas the cause is faith in God’s promises, as delivered by Jesus’ duly appointed authority with ‘laying hands on’ the people so they could receive God’s Spirit. Unfortunately, we don’t see anything like that today in the churches. There may be ‘laying on of hands’ but receiving God’s Spirit like they did back then is an anomaly today! I believe the reason is the deplorable condition of Christianity world-wide. Christians are all essentially committing idolatry through observance of their religious traditions while simultaneously serving the Satan-State. It’s painfully obvious that nearly all the Christian leaders are serving mammon, which Jesus condemned in Matthew 6. Imagine…they’re all giving their allegiance and labor (money) to Satan instead of YHWH. And they don’t even see it because they’re so thoroughly brainwashed. How sad!
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5)
Same as above: Paul directs his readers’ attention to the real-life evidence and cause of that evidence. The evidence proves that God justifies those who believe instead of those who are 2nd Temple citizens who obey that nation’s laws. The cause is their faith in the messages that they heard Paul teach them, not their obedience to ‘the laws of the land’.
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” (Galatians 3:10)
Boy, have I heard every kind of fancy explanation for this verse. What fantasies! But according to my theory, the meaning is very simple and easy to grasp. The first phrase merely states a well-known fact of life that we all grew up learning. When you are a citizen of a nation you are therein obligated to obey all the laws of that nation which apply to you. If you fail to obey any of the laws then you get fined or worse, depending on the violation. We covered this in previous blogs. Paul is merely telling us what we already know: If you break the law, you will pay the way the system requires you to pay. So, this verse is saying what Romans 3:20 (above) says. Paul is merely saying it in a different way: ‘the law’ only brings CONDEMNATION, NOT JUSTIFICATION! That’s the only thing it CAN do.
Thus, if you CANNOT get justified by God as a result of obeying the Mosaic law because the system is incapable of doing so, then what is the point of becoming a citizen of 2nd Temple Israel? That is Paul’s question to the churches of Galatia. The problem is that theologians and scholars have interpreted the above verse (in conjunction with other verses) so as to turn it into a religious ideological issue which asserts that God got rid of the Mosaic law when Jesus died on the cross. But as we have seen, that’s not what Paul means, nor is it what he is saying.
Let me give you a real-life example from living in America as a ‘natural born citizen’. America was founded on the principle that the government’s sole purpose is to protect the rights of the American people. The American people, NOT the government, are the highest human authority in this nation. So theoretically, the average person should be free to go about his business unhindered, on the condition that he or she doesn’t harm anyone in the process, damage anyone’s property, or otherwise do something morally objectionable. That is true freedom! But over the course of time, lawyers got involved and developed a political-legal system of LICENSING. This is where much of the evil began. I am convinced this was all a pre-engineered, well-executed conspiracy. But that’s a different subject!
An important concept to understand in this regard is what a license is. It is a STATE-CREATED PRIVILEGE. The paperwork that explains the terms and conditions of the license is a legal instrument that the state constructs to keep track of those whom the state has authority to control. Note that applying for a license is optional, not mandatory. It is optional in America, because it’s a privilege, not a right. Everyone is born with rights, but not everyone exercises state-created privileges. A license is optional because you can opt out of having one by choosing NOT to participate in that particular state-created taxable activity. Notice I said taxable. The license is nearly always accompanied by a tax. They call it a license ‘fee’ but in reality, it is just another TAX. I know this to be true because they told me themselves.
One example of a state-created licensed activity is DRIVING on the roads, which requires a DRIVER LICENSE. Before these licenses came into existence, the American people were free to go about their affairs just like I said above. That is their “Right” under the authority of the fundamental laws of this nation (for example, the Declaration of Independence and Constitutions). But eventually the lawyers and bureaucrats working for evil rich men, cooked up very convincing state programs wherein they eventually tricked and intimidated everyone in America into getting a driver license. After a while, it became TRADITION. In other words, today everyone VOLUNTARILY applies for a driver license even though they have a perfectly intact God-given Right to enjoy the same activity, which has always been out of reach of government licensing, control and taxation. Incidentally, based on my research, I understand the driver license to apply only to those persons who WORK IN COMMERCE. This is another big subject, so we won’t address it here.
The point is, American law enforcement’s mandate to COERCE the common man into ‘applying for a driver license’ is the counterfeit and exact opposite of PROTECTING the common man’s free enjoyment of his God-given Right of liberty. The subject of PRIVILEGES vs. RIGHTS parallels what the Apostle Paul is talking about when he refers to CIRCUMCISION vs. LIBERTY IN CHRIST. The key concept here is STATE CONTROL OVER YOU through their control of your state-created privileged activities, instead of state protection of your enjoyment (self-government) of your God-given Right of the same basic activity. There are many other God-given Rights like this, all of which have become converted into state-created privileges. The state coerces everyone into ‘volunteering’ for them, which results in the state being able to control them. In contrast, each Right has its associated RESPONSIBILITIES that we are required to fulfill in order to be at liberty, and essentially free from bureaucratic control.
Based on those facts, consider this question: What need do you have of a driver license if you have a perfectly viable Right that you can exercise freely and unhindered when engaged in the same kind of activity? In other words, WHY SIGN-UP FOR STATE CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE when you can live any way you please, so long as you don’t do damage or harm? That’s pretty much what the Apostle Paul is saying here. Why sign up for 2nd Temple citizenship, when you can freely follow God’s Spirit while learning to live the way God wants you to live? Why not take responsibility for yourself and your family by studying God’s law and applying it to your life under the guidance of His indwelling Spirit. And why not also responsibly fellowship with a community of like-minded believers with the expectation that YHWH will bless you all with ‘the gifts of the Holy Spirit’, while everyone enjoys the benefits of the community’s wealth of ‘the knowledge of God’?
So, instead of putting yourself under MAN’S SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE which oppresses you with ‘the knowledge of sin’, why not put yourself under GOD’s system? In contrast, Satan’s counterfeit substitute for God’s Holy Spirit ruling over you is man ruling over man through government-instituted violence. God’s system of governance operates in two spheres of life: 1) God’s Spirit ‘indwelling’ the individual (Romans 8); 2) True church leaders overseeing the congregants who influence each other (2 Corinthians 3). That is how it’s supposed to happen in God’s Kingdom beginning from the time Jesus gave his Holy Spirit to humanity on up to today.
By way of contrast, it is noteworthy that in the future Messianic Kingdom when Jesus rules over all the nations of the world, God’s governance over the nations will be more like the Mosaic covenant. The main difference will be that Jesus will exercise military force against the rebellious. Such force will be absolutely intimidating! But that’s another subject about apocalyptic events. In the final analysis, Paul is saying that you can either become a citizen of Israel and obey all the laws of Israel, or you can become a citizen of God’s Kingdom and obey God’s law the way GOD wants you to obey it… through the guidance of His indwelling Holy Spirit and fellowship with true believers under duly appointed leadership.
This is a very important subject. It is also very expansive because in order to live under God’s governance like that, we first need to identify who the true people of God are today (Christians), who the true church communities are today (covenant communities), and who the true church leaders are today (church officers). These are subjects for other blogs. Although I already briefly discussed some of this in previous blogs, it still needs further elaboration.
At this point we have presented evidence that justification is at issue rather than works of the law. Now is a good time to answer the two questions we asked at the beginning about WHO was wrongly utilizing ‘works of the law’ and WHY. Also, WHO was boasting, about WHAT and WHY? Let’s consider the problem of misusing a good thing, like we see with guns. A gun is a good tool when used properly, just like the law is a good tool when used properly (1 Timothy 1:8). You can hunt game and feed your family, as well as protect your home and community with a gun. But if the gun falls into the wrong hands, it can be used for evil! That’s what Paul is communicating here. So, WHO was perpetrating this evil that got Paul all worked up? Let’s take a look:
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (Galatians 2:14)
You can see that in the Galatian churches it was none other than the Apostle PETER (Cephas) who was stirring up trouble! But who or what influenced him to do that? We need to get the back story for that:
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. (Galatians 2)
“Certain men from James…the party of the circumcision” are… you guessed it… 2nd Temple Jews! What kind of Jews were these men? Let’s reason it out. James was the leader of the Acts 15 Council. That means he was ‘top dog’ in Jerusalem with regard to ‘Christians’. And remember that all those Christians in James’ group were Jews. Since James sent these men, they must have had some kind of authority. In discussing the 120 in Acts 1, John Lightfoot says these men had authority equal to 2nd Temple bureaucrats. In contrast, let’s consider modern ‘church’ authority. Today we naturally consider it pretty LAME because it doesn’t have the powers of life and death like government authority does. Consequently, church people can live as they please and the church really can’t do anything to control them except use emotional and group manipulation techniques. It is obvious to everyone that the power of today’s churches isn’t very convincing, especially with regard to influencing people’s behavior. So, James’ delegates must have had some kind of compelling power that Peter had difficulty ignoring. What do you suppose that power was? I answer this below.
Next, notice the issue in which Paul condemned Jews not eating with Gentiles. We mentioned this in another blog. From a Jewish perspective, there are essentially two main issues with Jew-Gentile relations: 1) To a 2nd Temple Jew the Gentile world was perpetually unclean due to Gentile IDOLATY. So Jews who came into contact with Gentiles would automatically become defiled; 2) Gentiles eating with no regard for 2nd Temple food laws would cause the same result for Jews eating with them. As mentioned in a previous blog, when discussing 1 Corinthians Peter Tomson does a good job on this subject in his book “Paul and the Jewish Law”.
So, the conclusion I draw from what I know about these subjects is, Peter feared becoming unclean/defiled from being in contact with Gentiles according to 2nd Temple law. But does God concern himself with 2nd Temple law for justification? According to Paul, the answer is NO. Why? Because the Mosaic covenant is incapable of justifying anyone.
Under such circumstances (Jew-Gentile relations), Peter would be at odds with his fellow countrymen (Israeli Jews) when he returned to Jerusalem because they would automatically believe he was ‘unclean’ through his contact with Gentiles. Another consideration is that although the God-fearing Gentiles that Peter met with very likely obeyed the Written law (such as the Mosaic food laws), that was not enough to satisfy ‘the men from James,’ because the perps were not only Gentiles, they were also not obeying 2nd Temple law, which is the standard that the Jews followed. So at the very least, the ‘men from James’ were some kind of authority who were ‘policing’ FOOD AND DRINK and FOREIGN RELATIONS among fellow Jews, based on 2nd Temple government requirements (Acts 10:28).
Incidentally, why do you think this Jamesian authority scared Peter to the point that it motivated him to behave hypocritically when he knew better? I believe it had to do with his public REPUTATION and fear of government LAW ENFORCEMENT. Acts 5 says that the Apostles, including Peter, had a reputation that gave them a certain level of respect among their fellow countrymen in Jerusalem. We’re talking about the nation’s Capitol, not some religious organization. In addition, when a person became unclean through Gentile contact, 2nd Temple law required them to go through a government instituted ritual and pay the public official (priest) money in order to become clean again.
One has to wonder how that would affect Peter’s reputation, especially since he had been ‘top dog’ at Pentecost (Acts 2) after Jesus sent his Holy Spirit upon them all. What do you think would happen to Peter’s credibility among his peers in Jerusalem at the Capitol? Worse yet, what if the public officials considered him perpetually unclean as a result of his repeated contact with Gentiles overseas? What would the law require? What would happen to Peter?
Paul deals with these Jew-Gentile relations in his many letters. It is evident that this issue is one of his primary concerns in all of his church letters. The obvious explanation is that he was managing communities composed of Jews and Gentiles, each group having very different social customs, based on very different national laws. Let’s see some of Paul’s words on this subject. And note that the word “Greek” is a synonym for the word “Gentile” (see Lightfoot, Vol. 4, pp 148-9). Paul’s obvious goal was UNITY amidst ‘diversity’ (Ephesians 4:1ff):
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him (Romans 10:12)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
…a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11)
Paul targeted both Jews and Greeks in his work (Jews first):
In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. (Acts 14:1)
And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. (Acts 18:4)
This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:10)
This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. (Acts 19:17)
…solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)
For I [Paul] 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)
Now let’s see who Paul identifies as his opponents. I’m referring to the people who intimidated Peter and were intimidating the new Gentile believers to act on the false premise that justification is procured by performing works of the law as a 2nd Temple Israeli citizen:
8 But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; 9 for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. (1 Corinthians 16)
The problem of Paul’s adversaries was not insignificant.
10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision [Israeli citizenship], why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves. (Galatians 5)
Someone in the ‘church’ was pushing the false agenda. Paul says “mutilate” with reference to “circumcision”, which means he was directing this comment at some political Jew. Paul must have been very angry to spew out this kind of vulgar curse! Remember that these Judaizers were trying to force 2nd Temple citizenship upon these Gentiles (circumcision is the sign of citizenship).
1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (Acts 11)
The men who confronted Peter were “circumcised”. By that, Paul is referring to 2nd Temple Israel Jews (legal authorities is assumed). Note the issue: Jews EATING WITH uncircumcised men (lit., with the foreskin = Gentiles).
1 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 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…4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.” (Acts 15)
The issues: CIRCUMCISION and OBSERVE THE LAW OF MOSES (inseparable). Remember that ‘circumcision’ is the mark of 2nd Temple citizenship. There was a lot more to this than just getting your foreskin removed. Legally, they had to qualify for citizenship, but that’s another subject. And once someone became a citizen of 2nd Temple Israel, they took on the additional obligation of obeying all the 2nd Temple laws that applied to them, of paying all the taxes that applied to them, and of submitting to all the relevant authorities, especially in business and work. You can read about this in the Jewish literature. It is quite involved and also interesting to see the status that new citizens had (it was pretty low!). Note that these were public officials making this claim. They were PHARISEES but they were also BELIEVERS in ‘Jesus’!
The Acts 15 verses clearly show us that 2nd Temple leaders who believed in Jesus were insisting that Gentiles adhere to ‘works of the law.’ Note the two conditions they asserted: 1) CIRCUMCISION; and 2) OBSERVE THE LAW OF MOSES. What did they mean by ‘the Law of Moses’? They meant obeying all the government’s laws, which are mostly man-made legislation, adjudication, rule-making, administrative procedure, etc. Apparently, the Pharisees were concerned about controlling these new Gentile believers using official government law enforcement methods! Effectively, these Pharisees were saying that in order for the Gentiles to be ‘saved’, God required them to become citizens of 2nd Temple Israel (circumcision) and to obey all the laws of the land (the Law of Moses). This text clearly answers the WHO and WHAT questions above. Understanding the mind and practices of public officials answers the WHY above: It was their job!
17 After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you 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. 22 What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 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. 25 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.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. (Acts 21)
The first noteworthy fact is these Jewish leaders were believers in Jesus but they strictly followed and enforced the 2nd Temple laws (“zealous for the Law”). The second is that they were concerned about what Paul was teaching to the diaspora Jews (not the Gentiles). Why? Because that would give them cause to accuse him in the Jerusalem courts. Essentially, they were accusing Paul of MISLEADING. That is, he was teaching the Jews to FORSAKE THE LAW OF MOSES. That’s a capital crime, as we saw in previous blogs, referring to David Instone Brewer’s paper on Jesus’ trial. I find it interesting that these Jews were accusing Paul of the exact thing they accused Jesus of, which they used in the courts get him ‘strung up’. ‘Misleading’ is a violation of the Deuteronomy 13 law against FALSE PROPHETS. So this wasn’t just some petty religious matter. It was a matter of life and death by legal process in the courts implemented by government operatives (like today’s FBI, DOJ and Attorney General in America’s government). In other words, Paul was under indictment by 2nd Temple public officials and bureaucrats (Pharisees).
Based on Acts 15:5 above, I assume these diaspora Jews had dual-citizenship, which gave the Pharisees jurisdiction over them and obligated them to obey the laws of the land of Israel that applied to diaspora Jews living in foreign countries. It’s obvious that the Jewish ‘brethren’ (Pharisees) wanted to make sure Paul and his associates were teaching diaspora Jews to maintain Israeli citizenship and to obey the ‘Mosaic law’ like they would if they lived in Israel. I presume that obligation fulfilled ‘the Shema’ found in Deuteronomy 6. And take special note of this intriguing fact: They were requiring this of the Jewish families (their children) after they believed in Jesus. That is what this text is all about. It’s about getting diaspora Jews to continue to be CIRCUMCISED (each successive generation) while also teaching them to OBEY the ‘law of Moses’ (Acts 15:5).
Now note the Apostle Paul’s response: He followed all their instructions by obeying the ‘Mosaic’ laws that they specified, which I’m sure he well knew, having been a Pharisee himself. In other words, Paul did NOT oppose them in their demand that HE obey the ‘Mosaic Law’ (written and oral law). Doesn’t that seem strange based on Evangelical ‘law vs. grace’ theology? Does that mean Paul was a HYPOCRITE or that he CHANGED HIS MIND about ‘justification by grace through faith’? No. Instead, there appear to be 2 PARALLEL ISSUES in this historical narrative:
- Diaspora Jews could believe in Jesus (justification by faith) and ALSO be citizens of Israel, obeying all the laws of the land (dual citizenship plus obedience to Mosaic laws).
- Gentiles who were not citizens of Israel but had come to believe in Jesus were given a starting point in their obedience to the law of Moses, which included some 2nd Temple law. I say that because the text of Acts 15 implies that they were to learn the rest of God’s law in the synagogues (Acts 15:21). Note that some of these Gentiles were attending synagogue before conversion while others were ‘pagan idolaters’ who had never stepped foot in a synagogue. The Acts 15 Council deals with this issue.
The dual citizenship and Gentile obedience is a discussion for another blog. In any case, one has to wonder why the Apostle Paul would introduce what appears to be a CONFLICT OF LAW, at least according to the way Evangelicals see it. Here he’s promoting obedience to the law of Moses for believers (works of the law), yet he abjectly refuses to accept the idea of justification BY ‘works of the law’. Seems like a contradiction doesn’t it? At least according to Evangelical ideology. But it really isn’t, which we shall see in an upcoming blog.
Now let’s look at a special expose by the Apostle Paul himself. This is very descriptive of the meaning of ‘works of the law’ from a public official’s perspective. I’m referring to his explanation of justification by works of the law, which he expresses in his court defense before Agrippa and Festus in Acts 26:
4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?
9 “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.
12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
Paul emphasizes the point of his serious commitment to living honorably as a Pharisee in verses 4-5 (“strictest sect”). He also makes the point about his peers in government leadership knowing all about him from the time of his youth up to his working as a government official (verse 5). So, he provides his own testimony of his background and character, as well as the potential testimony from others who could affirm those facts. Then in verse 6 Paul shifts focus to God’s promise to Abraham, clarifying it as the resurrection (an apocalyptic ideology related to God’s Kingdom and Messiah) in verse 8. In verse 7 Paul directly states the intent and work of the nation Israel: “…the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day.” In other words, the government and the people of the nation make it their goal in life to obey the law of Moses to the best of their ability (which hearkens back to the 2 great commandments in the law) as the CONDITION upon which they would ACHIEVE the resurrection. This is Paul’s first reference in this speech to ‘works of the law.’ All Israel was performing these ‘works of the law’ in order to achieve the resurrection (or the equivalent in the 2nd Temple mindset).
Then in verses 9-11 Paul tells the court how he himself worked at fulfilling that national goal, all in hopes of attaining God’s promise. He did it as a law enforcement officer, directing the fullest force of the law against his victims, WITH RAGE AND VIOLENCE. He convicted, imprisoned and participated in the execution of all dissenters, that is, everyone who refused to obey ‘the law’. In other words, 2nd Temple government officials applied a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY to what they considered rebellion against God’s duly appointed authority (the Israeli public officials and their man-made laws).
Now ask yourself how different that is from any Gentile government today or any human government in history? I say it’s no different at all because law enforcement is law enforcement regardless of the nation in which it occurs. And law enforcement officers are the same because they’re all human. Some are humane in their job, while others take sadistic pleasure in abusing people. I’ve seen this many times in my life. The BLIND ARROGANCE that drives these people is beyond description! Apparently, Paul had the same problem (“furiously enraged”). It’s all part of the way that human government systems work, and how those powers and the money behind them, influence the people who hold those offices.
Then consider what it took to wake-up the Pharisee Saul so he could become the Apostle Paul. He had to be literally blind-sided. Just think about that for a moment. What would happen to your life if you woke up one day and found yourself COMPLETELY BLIND? All life as you once knew it would come to a screeching halt, right? Paul explained in detail, his arrogance and violent activities as a public official who cherished ‘works of the law’ and ENFORCED them on every citizen in his nation. Like verse 11 says, he went to the synagogues (local government centers) to nab the Jewish-Christian perps. He even traveled overseas to expand his ‘outreach’ of this outrageous kind of law enforcement. In America, we call it ‘the long arm of the law.” And he did it because THAT WAS HIS JOB. He “asked for letters,” (Acts 9:1-2), which were probably ‘warrants’. He took pleasure in using violence to coerce people into obeying the government’s laws because he fancied them GOD’S LAW.
Paul’s testimony before the court answers all 3 questions above. The WHO is he himself, a Pharisee and a public official of 2nd Temple Israel. The WHY is, it was his job as a law enforcement officer. The WHAT is, enforcing the law of Moses through court orders, using a zero-tolerance policy, with out-of-control RAGE.
Essentially, ‘justification by works of the law’ amounted to law enforcement officers and judges coercing people into obeying their public policies using violence. Those policies were codified in the statutes and regulations of that society by the policy makers and lawyers. The little that remains of them in the historical record today is known as JEWISH HALAKHA, a little known subject among Christians. Anyway, that same political process is how it works today in every nation of the world. It has always been that way. But this use of the law is wrong and evil when applied to morally good people because as such, the law is used as a perverse instrument of oppression and exploitation instead of as punishment and correction against the lawless. Public offices, judgeships, and law enforcement are a SACRED TRUST. It’s the dispensing of deadly violence that destroys lives and communities. It is SACRALIGE to debauch those occupations and social institutions. According to the NT, the law was designed to punish and correct lawless people, not be a tool for social engineering:
8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. (1 Timothy 1)
Notice that Paul labels certain types of BEHAVIOR as SOUND TEACHING. In other words, sound teaching isn’t WORDS, it a WAY OF LIVING. We see that also in Titus 2:1:
But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.
Notice the list of behavioral habits that follows. Note also the absence of any babbling about theories and ideologies. Teachings and doctrines in Paul’s mind have everything to do with BEHAVIOR and LIFESTYLE. It was the judge’s job to ‘teach the law’. I discussed this briefly in previous blogs on James’ letter, but will discuss it in a future blog under the rubric of ‘works of the law’ for Christian living. In that blog I intend to take a look at the other side of ‘justification’: SANCTIFICATION. Except, we will look at it in terms of ‘works of the law’ instead of the typical meaningless euphemisms that I grew sick and tired of hearing from leaders and parishioners in the modern churches. In contrast, we will look at what the NT says about Christian SIN. Then we will inquire about the value and necessity of ‘works of the law’ in the Christian’s life as the antidote for SIN. This should raise a lot of eyebrows and will likely stir up the ire of many an Evangelical!
Here you can see how dangerous Saul had become to the Apostles as a public official:
And when he [Saul] had come to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. (Act 9:26)
Is it any wonder that Peter was afraid when ‘men from James’ showed up on his doorstep, threatening him?
Finally, let’s look at some verses in Acts that provide more evidence as to WHO was troubling Paul. These verses also reveal the kind of trouble they stirred up. You will notice that all the instigators were JEWS. Also note that these Jews did more than just try to shove a false belief down everybody’s throats (believers in Jesus). They were violent aggressors, just like Saul was before his conversion to Christianity. They used political agitation and legal processes to persecute Paul in the public places:
22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. 23 And when many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. And they were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; 25 but his disciples took him by night, and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket. (Act 9)
These Jews put a ‘mafia hit’ on Paul.
28 And he was with them moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. 30 But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. (Act 9)
Again, these Jews put a ‘mafia hit’ on Paul.
So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. (Act 11:19)
This “persecution” occurred at the Capitol city, Jerusalem.
1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, in order to mistreat them. 2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. 3 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people [so he could execute him also]. (Act 12)
Dirty politics at its finest…first ‘rub out’ the Apostle James, then put a hit on Peter!
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. (Acts 14:19)
This time the Jews actually did him in!
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:23ff)
One has to wonder what kind of reputation the Jews had in Ephesus that caused these pagan Gentiles to foment such an uproar in opposition to their presence in this legal forum? Also note that ‘Asiarchs’ were very wealthy people, which shows us that Paul was ‘well-connected’.
The NT has other salient messages along these lines but those should suffice to show you WHO the troublemakers were. They were POLITICAL-LEGAL JEWS. When I began digging into the banking, finance, and commerce aspects of these regions, I began to see the WHY underlying these intriguing historical accounts. As always, JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY!
To sum up, we began with the premise that ‘works of the law’ are good in and of themselves but using them the wrong way is bad. We have seen evidence in the NT showing that the 2nd Temple public officials were the ones using ‘works of the law’ in a bad way. That bad use occurred when the public officials falsely claimed that Israeli citizenship followed by ‘works of the law’ is the only way a person and their nation can be justified before God. However, we saw in previous blogs that Paul is crystal clear that the ONLY way a person can receive justification from God is by BELIEVING in His PROMISES based on Jesus Christ’s redemptive work. Which requires education on who Jesus is, what those promises are, and how the agreement works. We saw that some believers in Jesus who were 2nd Temple Pharisees (public officials) were shoving down everyone’s throat the false ideology that ‘works of the law’ can ‘justify’ you. To them, ‘works of the law’ meant becoming a citizen of Israel (circumcision) and obeying all the laws of the land (the Mosaic Law, both written and oral).
Then we saw from Paul’s own testimony in Acts 26:5 that it was those same public officials who believed the ideology that practicing ‘works of the law’ would bring about the Messianic era, thereby achieving the resurrection by their obedience as a nation. Eventually Paul admitted he was wrong about that but it took a life-changing event for him to realize it. We also saw why this happens: It is because this kind of behavior is intrinsic to law enforcement officers (and the public officials who authorize them). The simple fact is, behaving that way is part of their job. It is endemic to government as a rule. Essentially, these government officials were brainwashed to believe that ‘works of the law’ DOES IN FACT justify you, and eventually it WILL justify your nation. According to them, justifying individual people takes place by means of government approval (law enforcement). But justifying the nation comes by means of God’s approval. I suppose 2nd Temple public officials genuinely believed that they represented God in their work as government authority.
Finally, we saw in Paul’s own testimony that he believed that justification is what the government’s purpose was. If you obeyed the law you were justified, if you disobeyed the law you were condemned. But the fact is, government offered neither blessing nor reward. It was your duty to obey the law, or else! So apparently the 2nd Temple government officials mistook their own LEGAL justification determinations for God’s DIVINE justification determinations.
I’ll end this blog with a quick story from my past. A couple of decades ago I decided to test out a theory I learned after studying the American founding law and doctrines. I did everything peacefully and according to proper legal procedure…or so I thought! The result was, I ended up in court before a judge. After having presented all my evidence and law briefing, the judge looked at me, banged the gavel and simply said, “CHARGED AS STATED, PAY THE FINE!” At that point I had nothing more I could do except pay the fine and get my license reinstated (yes, I know about licenses from personal experience!). So, I bellied up to the clerk’s window and paid the fine. After the clerk gave me the receipt, he looked me in the eye and said, “How does it feel to be justified by the law and reinstated into good standing?” I still have no idea why he said this to me that day! But that’s what he said and there’s a crystal clear lesson in it for this blog. That lesson is, THE GOVERNMENT BELIEVES THEY JUSTIFY YOU WHEN YOU OBEY THEIR LAWS AS WELL AS WHEN THEY SUCCESSFULLY CORRECT YOUR BEHAVIOR IF YOU ARE NOT OBEYING THEIR LAWS. And remember, those events occurred under American commerce law, NOT 2nd Temple Mosaic law.
Thanks for taking the time to read this long blog. I feel it had to be explained, and with these legal-political matters which Christian religion has clouded, no simple explanation could suffice. OK, see you in the next blog!
(A big thanks goes out to my good friend Jim for editing this blog for grammar and content!)
Reality Bible 