Wednesday, December 20, 2023

The Apostle Paul: A Jewish Christian free to live like a Gentile for the sake of the Gospel - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 and Galatians 2:11-14

The antidote to lies is the truth, the antidote to heresy is orthodoxy.  In that vein, let me offer up an illustration from the life of the Apostle Paul, a man who formerly lived in the utmost strict observance of the Law of Moses as a Pharisee with a spotless reputation, but who after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus had a very different understanding about the relationship between Law and Grace and how he now needed to live as a follower of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23  New International Version

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Given that the First Fruits of Zion (Torah Clubs) assert that EVERY member of the Early Church during its first few generations fully kept the Law of Moses as Jesus intended them to do, both Jews and Gentiles, it behooves us to actually read God's Word and see the truth of the matter.  {For a detailed examination of the various unorthodox beliefs of this organization see: The Dangers of the First Fruits of Zion and their Torah Clubs} Ultimately, this bold claim of widespread Torah observance among early Christians (that supposedly justifies returning to this "pure" version of our faith) fails as a thesis historically, biblically, and theologically, the demonstration of which is a task worthy of a thick book, but can also be easily illustrated with these straightforward words of the Apostle Paul written to the church at Corinth and the churches in Galatia.

In this section (above) illustrating the freedom he has in Jesus Christ, Paul explains that he is willing and able to live both like a Jew (himself being a Jew) and live like a Gentile, if in doing so it would enable him to share the Gospel more effectively with either group.  This is not Paul compromising himself morally or going against his conscience in the name of evangelism, rather it is Paul living out his conviction that in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free.  To Paul, then, how he lived with respect to Torah observance was NOT a moral question, at all, but instead a practical one that related to how others perceived him.  To keep kosher, for example, was not a matter of conscience or morality for Paul, but a question of not offending those Jews with whom he hoped to share the Gospel.  When he was among his Jewish brethren, Paul kept the kosher rules along with all the other Jewish distinctives, but when he was among Gentiles he ate and acted according to their customs.  It was not Law that dictated Paul's actions, but love for those with whom he shared Jesus.

We should not be surprised to see Paul write with this expression of freedom in Christ to the church in Corinth given that years earlier he had confronted the Apostle Peter about the hypocrisy of pretending that he lived only like a Jew (i.e. according to the ceremonial aspects of the Law of Moses) when in the company of some misguided Jewish Christians who lived as if they were still under the Law, when in fact both he and Peter knew better.  How do we know that Peter knew better?  He, "used to eat with the Gentiles."  Had Peter lived a fully Torah observant life AFTER the Resurrection and Pentecost, this would not have been possible.  The Apostle Peter had been living by grace until those embracing legalism led him astray, they even led Barnabas astray, but not Paul.

Galatians 2:11-14  New International Version

11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

In the end, it was not a corruption of the original Gospel proclamation of Jesus when the Church fully embraced the truth that neither its Jews nor its Gentiles were under the Law of Moses, rather it was the result of the profound freedom offered by the renewal of our hearts and minds by the Blood of Christ, as well as the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, that quickly won the day in debates like that of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).  

If it helps your Gospel witness to live like a Jew so that you can share the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord among observant Jews, then go right ahead.  Paul did that when it helped the Gospel.  Likewise, if it helps your Gospel witness to live like the Chinese so that you can share the Good News within a Chinese cultural setting, then go right ahead.  Hudson Taylor did that in the 19th century and enjoyed massive success, much as had Francis Xavier and the Jesuits in the 16th century who employed the same openness to meet those with whom they shared the Gospel on ground that was familiar to them.  If your ministry is among motorcycle clubs, then embrace that culture's dress and tattoos if it helps you share the love of God with those who need to see and hear it.

In Christ we are free, free to serve the Kingdom of God and share the Gospel.  What we are not, however, is bound to any one cultural expression in doing so, for in the New Covenant all may approach God by the same route, the only route, by faith in Jesus Christ.  This truth has been known from the beginning, we see it in Paul's own words.  As always, the antidote to heretical lies is orthodox truth.


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