Christians & Mosaic Law

According to Paul

Joe McMichael
Professor Becker
CC 215: The Christian Tradition
September 13, 2006

Honor Code:

I have neither given or received, nor have I tolerated others’ use of

unauthorized aid.
 Christians & Mosaic Law According to Paul

I. Introduction

II. Life of Apostle Paul

a. Jewish Education

b. Life as a Pharisee

c. Revelation from Jesus

d. Apostolic Career – Providing Guidance for Christian Churches

III. Paul’s Theological Teachings

a. Embrace of Gentile Christians

b. Beliefs Concerning Observance of Mosaic Law

i. Reassurance to Gentile Christians of God’s Salvation
ii. Scripture transforms Christians
iii. Justification by Grace through Faith

d. Disagreement in the Early Church

i. The Incident of Antioch

IV. Protestant Interpretations

a. Influence on Development of Protestant Theology

b. Martin Luther, John Wesley

V. Roman Catholic Interpretations

a. Misinterpretations of Paul’s Letters

VI. Conclusion: Implications for Modern Christians

a. Westminster Confession of Faith

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I. Introduction

In this essay I will explore the Christian’s relation to Mosaic Law according

to the Apostle Paul. In particular, I will examine Paul’s teachings about the

nature of Christian obedience to God and later theologians’ interpretations of

these teachings. Paul’s insights fundamentally influenced the development of the

early church, helping to propel a break with Judaism and create a separate

Christian faith.

Mosaic Law, also known as the Halakhah, is a collection of

commandments that God gave to the Israelites. This Law was a gift aimed at

guiding Israelites to live a pure and unblemished life. The Mosaic Law begins

with the Ten Commandments and includes the laws of observance found

throughout the Old Testament. Examples of behavior governed by this law

include: sexuality, idolatry, and relations with Gentiles.1 This tradition was not

all drawn together in a single document until around second century A.D.2

Paul’s theology downplayed the value of Mosaic Law for Gentile

Christians. It did not outright reject the Law, but rather emphasized that one

cannot be saved solely through observance of it. Paul explains that human beings

inherited sinful behavior as a result of the Fall, and are unable to totally observe

the Law. Therefore, Paul stresses that due to our sinful state we must receive the

grace of Christ in order to receive salvation.

1
Peter Tomson, Paul and the Jewish Law. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990), 97.
2
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005 – Jewish Law.
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However, many Christians still consider the Mosaic Law important for the

following reasons:

(1) Christians understand the Mosaic Law is unattainable and are

pushed to receive the grace of Jesus proclaimed in the Gospels.

(2) The Mosaic Law contains moral content such as the Ten
Commandments which is still applicable to Christians today.

The influential Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas argued that the concepts of

grace, forgiveness, and love found in the Gospels were the completion of the

Mosaic Law. Aquinas likened the Mosaic Law to the “seed [that] contains the

whole tree, virtually.” 3

One cannot fully understand the nature of obedience to God without the

message of salvation found in Paul’s letters. Paul substitutes faith for obedience

to account for the problem created by the Mosaic Law.4 According to theologian

Joseph A. Fitzmyer, “[t]he Pauline message of judgment is what the Christian

needs to hear first (see 3:6), and in the light of that message the message of

justification by grace through faith takes on new meaning.”5

II. Life of Apostle Paul

Saul of Tarsus was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin. According to

Acts chapter 22, verses 26-28, his father was a Roman citizen and his family

valued Jewish tradition highly.6 Paul received a rigorous Jewish education as a

3
Stephen J. Casselli, “The Threefold Division Of The Law In The Thought Of Aquinas.” Westminster
Theological Journal (Fall 1999): 186.
4
Joseph Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. (New York: Double
Day, 1993), 134.
5
Fitzmyer, Romans, 307.
6
Catholic Encyclopedia – Saint Paul. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm (accessed September
16, 2006).
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young child, and studied under the influential Rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem

before becoming a Jewish Pharisee. According to the Microsoft Encarta

Encyclopedia, “Paul excelled in the study of the Law.… and his zeal for it led him

to persecute the nascent Christian church, holding it to be a Jewish sect that was

untrue to the Law and that should therefore be destroyed.”7

As a Pharisee, Paul was a fearsome enemy to followers of Christ. In

Philippians chapter 3, verse 6, Paul writes that he persecuted Christians to the

death. In Acts chapter 7, verse 58, he is present at the martyrdom of the

Christian missionary Stephen.

However, Paul’s attitude changed drastically after a miraculous revelation.

According to Acts chapter 9:

As [Saul] neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from

heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice
say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you,
Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he
replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what
you must do.’ (Acts 9:3–9)

Following his conversion Paul is lost from sight for between five and

fifteen years, probably contemplating his life-changing decision to join the

Christians he had fought for so long.8 The next years are commonly considered

the most productive of Paul’s career. Paul had a leading role in the Council of

Jerusalem, during which the Church decided that Gentile Christians need not be

circumcised.

7
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005 – Saint Paul.
8
Catholic Encyclopedia – Saint Paul.
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Paul’s dramatic change of heart is very intriguing. He swings from harsh

persecution of “lawless” Christians to proclamation of the salvific power of Jesus

Christ. Over the next few years Paul traveled extensively and founded Christian

churches throughout Asia Minor. Often he resorted to writing letters to resolve

disputes in congregations because he was unable to visit in person. While in

Jerusalem, Paul was arrested by Jews for antinomianism, or preaching freedom

from moral law. On his journey to trial in Rome, Paul gave a stinging rebuke of

complacent Jews:

Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you
will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown
dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest
they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should
heal them. Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of
God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it! (Acts
28:26–28)

In this statement, Paul both proclaims God’s care and love for Gentiles and

criticizes Israel’s blindness to the ways of God. Paul advises the audience to

accept the salvation of Jesus’ crucifixion for our sins. It is commonly accepted

that Paul died as a martyr in Rome.

III. Paul’s Theological Teachings

Paul made major theological contributions to the early Christian church.

The apostle had a revelation that Gentiles should be embraced as Christians.

Acts 15, verse 9, emphasizes that “[God] put no difference between us and [the

Gentiles], purifying their hearts by faith." Paul is known as the “Apostle to the

Gentiles,” for his fierce dedication to the message of Jesus for all humanity.
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Most theologians would assert that Paul valued belief in Jesus as superior

to the observance of Mosaic Law.9 However, there is a clear tension between

Romans 14:7-12, which states that “those who observe the law will be justified

before him,” and Romans 3:24, “all are justified by faith apart from deeds

prescribed by the law.” In his commentary on the Book of Romans, theologian

Joseph A. Fitzmyer argues that there is no real inconsistency. According to

Fitzmyer:

Paul seems to say we are justified by faith, but judged by works.

The justification of the Christian is accompanied by an assurance of
deliverance from the wrath to come; the verdict of acquittal has
already been pronounced in what Christ Jesus has achieved for
humanity, and there is no longer any condemnation of it….10

Paul taught that Scripture transformed Christians through the Holy Spirit,

helping one to receive forgiveness and live a more godly life. In Romans chapter

13, verse 10, Paul writes that "love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is

the fulfilling of law."

Paul’s teachings were controversial even in the early church. In the

“Incident of Antioch,” Peter and Paul had an open disagreement at the Council of

Jerusalem. According to Acts, Paul was sent to Jerusalem to resolve a dispute

regarding Mosaic Law. Peter and Barnabas were also present to discuss whether

Gentile Christians should be circumcised. Acts chapter 15, verse 2, tells us that

“Paul spoke maintaining firmly that [the Gentile Christians] should stay as they

were when converted; but those who had come from Jerusalem ordered them,

9
Rebecca Moore, Voices of Christianity: A Global Intr0duction. (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006), 25.
10
Fitzmyer, Romans, 307.
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Paul and Barnabas and certain others, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and

elders that they might be judged before them about this question.”

Paul later confronted Peter publicly about his reluctance to share a meal

with Gentile Christians, explaining in Galatians chapter 2 that “I opposed [Peter]

to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong" and telling him "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?” Finally, Paul convinced Peter that this

behavior would cause misunderstandings and conflict in the future.11

IV. Protestant Interpretations

The majority of Protestants believe that Paul’s teaching emphasizes the

importance of faith and love over Mosaic Law. Theologian Martin Luther

identified the book of Romans as “the chief book of the New Testament . . . it

deserves to be known by heart, word for word, by every Christian.”12 Protestants

point to certain passages to support their argument, including:

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for
with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with
the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
(Romans 10:9-10)

This passage stresses faith from the heart as the way to salvation. Romans

chapter 5, verses 1-2, presents the concept of justification by grace through

faith often cited by Protestants:

11
Catholic Encyclopedia – Saint Paul.
12
Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans
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Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have
gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

The Book of Romans was a central text in the development of Luther’s 95 Theses

criticizing the medieval Roman Catholic Church. Romans also played a major

role in John Wesley’s founding of Methodism.

Following John Calvin, Reformed Christians have recognized the

important role of the Law. The Westminster Confession of Faith, written

in 1646, is an example.13 This confession separates the Mosaic Law into

three areas: moral, civil, and ceremonial. Under the Westminster

Confession, only the moral laws such as the Ten Commandments apply to

Christians. The Westminster Confession is used by Presbyterians and

Calvinists today.

V. Roman Catholic Interpretations

Roman Catholics have tended to interpret Paul differently on this point.

Catholics accept the necessity of faith for salvation, but also assert the necessity

of living a virtuous life. For Catholics, faith is dead without works.14

Romans 2:5-11 supports this ideal:

[God] will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who
by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and
immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and
wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth
evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and
peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to
the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.

13
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005 – Calvinism.
14
Catholic Encyclopedia – Saint Paul.
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Roman Catholic theologians point out that it is easy to twist the meaning

of Paul’s letters. They assert that Paul is not advocating lawlessness. This danger

is apparent in 2 Peter 3:16-18, which warns:

[Paul’s] letters contain some things that are hard to understand,

which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other
Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since
you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be
carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure
position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.

Catholics understand Paul to say that we are justified by grace, but that

this faith is inseparable from the life we live. Even today there is an

“unbreakable relationship … that links Christianity to the Jewish religion

as its perennially living and valid matrix…,” according to Pope Benedict

XVI.15 Even though adherence to Law is unattainable, both faith and

virtue are important to Catholics in leading a pious life.

VI. Conclusion: Implications for Modern Christians

Paul passed on a rich and complex understanding of the Law to the

churches he founded and to the Christian tradition. For Paul, grace

received by faith is the primary truth. Theologian Theophylact of Bulgaria

likened Jesus’ gift of the Gospels to an artist coloring in an old sketch.16

The “color” in the Gospel adds the promise of salvation for believers, but in

some sense makes it even harder to live a pious life. Now Christians are

15
“Pope Benedict on James Less.” Catholic Online (June 29, 2006).
http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=3436 (accessed September 16, 2006).
16
Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library – Homilies of the Gospels.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf106.v.ii.viii.html (accessed September 16, 2006).
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judged by their thoughts, words, and deeds, rather than just their actions.

Ultimately, Paul calls Christians to live a pure life from the inside out with

the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

 Joe McMichael
CC 215: The Christian Tradition

Bibliography

Calvinism. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005.

Casselli, Stephen. “The Threefold Division Of The Law In The Thought Of

Aquinas.” Westminster Theological Journal (Fall 1999): 175-207.

Fitzmyer, Joseph. Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and

Commentary. New York, NY: Double Day, 1993.

Homilies of the Gospels. Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf106.v.ii.viii.html (accessed
September 16, 2006).

Jewish Law. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005.

Moore, Rebecca. Voices of Christianity: A Global Introduction. Boston, MA:

McGraw Hill, 2006.

“Pope Benedict on James Less.” Catholic Online (June 29, 2006).

http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=3436 (accessed
September 16, 2006).

Saint Paul. Catholic Encyclopedia.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm (accessed September 16,
2006).

Saint Paul. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005.

Tomson, Peter. Paul and the Jewish Law. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press,
1990.