A Rabbi Speaks

According to the words of Rabbi Paul (formerly, for whatever mostly forgotten reason, known as Saul) – “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” – If this is the message proclaimed in synagogues in this nation and around the world, then I would greatly rejoice – for were these not also this Rabbi’s words? ~ “Believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and you shall be saved? Or.. “brethren, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved?” – lol!

The Apostle Paul ‘only’ wrote Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians- etc!.. We should all read these epistles sometime and see what’s inside!

Yes, wasn’t it this Pharisee, born of the tribe of Benjamin who God used mightily in proclaiming the Good News of the Messiah in synagogue after synagogue? And what was their welcoming response to this Good News? The Promised Messiah has come! Is this the same message proclaimed today? Salvation is by grace, through faith, unto good works! The message of the cross! The Tslav. The Execution Stake. And then there is the matter of the resurrection and the ascension of the Chosen One.. lol! Without a doubt, topics of study in synagogues everywhere!

Yes, Paul even taught us what the purpose of the Torah was! (and is!..)It appears to me that we do err, (greatly) not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God! We seem to have forgotten one central character, One whose is called Savior. And Redeemer. And Prince of Peace.

And in the very words of the Philippian jailor: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Whether a Rabbi or a rabblerouser, here are the words we all need to hear: ~ Believe on the LORD Jesus (who is the) Christ, and you (too) will be saved ~ For what was the message of the Crucified One? ~ I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life.. NO MAN comes to the Father, but by Me! ~

As ~ EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue confess “Jesus is LORD,” ~ It is my suggestion we start to practice this now.

Skip wrote “everything Paul said about his full compliance would be either duplicitous or schizophrenic.” If I read correctly, nothing Paul wrote exist except in third or fourth copies with their possible revisions. Also we have no actual knowledge of who Paul was other than his own testimonies in the letters attributed to him. By the time Paul’s letters had been revised so many times and possibly translated from other sources, it is no wonder that Paul seems schizophrenic when we try to make sense of his teaching. Paul’s writings may have been well sanitized for our reading enjoyment.

Example of some of the laws that would solve a lot of problems in our country today:
Negative Commandment 277
Favoring an Indigent Defendant
“You shall not favor a poor man in his cause”—Exodus 23:3.
A judge may not have mercy on an indigent litigant and improperly rule in his favor. The judge may not think, “This litigant is poor, and both the rich person [who is suing him] and I are commanded to provide for his sustenance. I will therefore rule in his favor and he will thus have his needs met in an honorable fashion.”
Rather, a judge may not differentiate between the wealthy and the destitute, and if the law calls for it, he must find the poor person guilty and require him to pay that which he owes.

Negative Commandment 275
Favoring a Litigant
“You shall not honor an important person”—Leviticus 19:15.
A judge may not show favoritism to one of the litigants in the course of a trial, even if that individual is a highly respected and great person. The judge may not accord him honor or demonstrate any sign of favoritism whatsoever.

Negative Commandment 278
Condemning an Evil Litigant
“You shall not pervert the judgment of the impoverished in his cause”—Exodus 23:6.
A judge is enjoined not to rule against a litigant due to the fact that he is known to be an evil sinner. In the words of our Sages, “An upright person and an evil person are standing before you in trial. You may not say, ‘Since he is evil, I will rule against him.'”
(The Sages understand the word “impoverished” in the afore-cited verse as meaning “impoverished in good deeds.”)

Negative Commandment 273
Dispensing Proper Justice
“You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment”—Leviticus 19:15.
A judge is forbidden from distorting justice; he may not deviate from the Torah law regarding a case’s verdict.

but, the law was done away with…….well, in this country no one can argue that can they..

Hello Skip! Great Word for today. Amen! 🙂

If i may and i will try to keep it under a thousand words when discussing anything regrading ” Paul ” .., but i find it of most importance to revamp some of chapter 9 then into 10 flowing over into chapter 11 a bit to give some clarity about Shaul’s position concerning his message in Romans.

Romans Chapters 9-11

Beginning in chapter nine, addresses national Yisra’el’s rejection of Yeshua as their Messiah. He points out that Elohim will bring into His family Gentiles, and that only a remnant of national Yisra’el will be saved (25-29). This brings us to the end of chapter nine, which reads:
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (9:30-33, emphasis mine).

Here Sha’ul juxtaposes the Gentiles who pursue righteousness by faith with Yisra’el who pursued righteousness by the Torah [ law ] as if by works. This is critical to understand: righteousness NEVER was obtained through a person’s own works of obedience to the law! Using obedience to Torah for your own righteousness is a misunderstanding of the function and purpose of Torah! Torah DOES bring life, as i explain shortly, but not by works. As Sha’ul states in the verses that follow,
For I bear them witness that they [the Yisra’elites] have a zeal for YHWH, but not according to knowledge. For,being ignorant of the righteousness of YHWH, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to YHWH’s righteousness (10:2-3, emphasis mine).
You see, the Torah was given AFTER the people of YHWH were redeemed from the land of slavery! Wright emphasizes the fact that YHWH’s law is given in a context of grace:
…Sha’ul’s entire understanding of the Mosaic law is that it never was intended as a ladder of good works up which one might climb to earn the status of “righteousness.” It was given, yes, as the way of life (Romans 7:10), but it was the way of life for a people already redeemed… YHWH did not say to Yisra’el in Egypt, “Here is my Torah; if you keep it perfectly for a year or two, then I will liberate you from your slavery,” but “I am liberating you now because I promised Abraham I would do so; when, and only when, I have done so, I will give you the way of life that you will need for when you come into your promised land.” …the Torah, the Mosaic law [ the reality – the Law YHWH gave to Moshe to give to Yisra’el ] , was never given or intended as a means whereby either an individual or the nation as a whole might, through obedience, earn liberation from slavery, redemption, rescue, salvation, “righteousness” or whatever else. The gift always preceded the obligation. This is how Yisra’el’s covenant theology worked (231-232, emphasis mine).
Wright’s analysis is significant for YHWH does not change! The Torah was given for a people already redeemed. He did not redeem Yisra’el from Egypt based on their merit. Likewise, YHWH does not redeem us based on our merit. YHWH’s grace always precedes anything man does. Man’s obedience or disobedience to YHWH is a faith-based response to what YHWH has already initiated.
The problem that Sha’ul is addressing is that the Yisra’elites were using Torah as a means to establish their righteousness, as opposed to using it as a response to the righteousness that YHWH freely gives them. They were pursuing righteousness through the law by works instead of faith, something that is completely unbiblical, even in the Torah! YHWH did not change how we are declared righteous. It was NOT first through works, but because we failed, then through faith. No, it was always through faith, by His grace! And the response of the faithful is always obedience to His commands!
Now, that being said, Sha’ul says something very interesting in this passage, that one might not catch at first. He says, “. . . that Yisra’el who pursued a Torah [ law ] that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works” (31-32a). Sha’ul says that the law WOULD LEAD to righteousness, but only if pursued by faith, and not by works. C.E.B. Cranfield, a scholar and commentator on the book of Romans, says the following about this passage:
It is of the greatest importance to recognize something which is often completely ignored, namely, that there is not the slightest suggestion here that to pursue the law was wrong or useless. It is not for its pursuit of the law, not on account of the fact that it had pursued, and was still pursuing, the law, that Israel is condemned, but for the way in which it had pursued the law. The implication is that Paul thought that, had Israel pursued the law [out of faith], it would indeed truly have come to grips with it, and that his desire for Israel was not that it should henceforward not pursue the law, but that it should cease to pursue it [out of works] and henceforward pursue it [out of faith] (510).
If Israel had pursued the law by faith, it would have led to righteousness. But they didn’t and instead pursued righteousness by works, thereby NOT ATTAINING righteousness. Pauline scholar E.P. Sanders disagrees with Cranfield, saying that to pursue righteousness from the law by any means is to pursue righteousness apart from Christ (37).
Sanders assumes the two are mutually exclusive, when in fact, they are one in the same. A pursuit of righteousness by the law out of faith reveals a righteousness that comes from Y’shua haMashiyach alone. As i will show below, this is exactly what Sha’ul goes on to say in Romans 10.
Many such as Sanders believe that it is wrong to pursue a righteousness from the Torah [ law ]. This is simply not the case and is not the problem Sha’ul is addressing, for Sha’ul clearly establishes that the Torah [ law ] CAN lead to righteousness. No, the problem for the Yehudim is that they sought this righteousness from the Torah [ law ] BY WORKS! They thought, “If we obey it carefully enough, we will be saved. If we erect enough fences (the oral law) around it so that the Torah itself will never be violated, we will be saved.” As it says in 10:3, they were ignorant of the righteousness of YHWH and sought to establish their own. Pursuing righteousness through the Torah BY WORKS is not the purpose of obedience to Torah! Rather we are to pursue the Torah (obey the law) BY FAITH, and this leads to righteousness. How so? What is the righteousness that the Torah, when pursued by faith, leads to? It is Mashiyach! That is what Sha’ul so poignantly states in 10:4:
For Yeshua haMashiyach is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
The Greek word commonly translated “end” is τέλος (telos). According to BDAG, while this word can mean end as in termination, it can also mean “goal” or “outcome,” as in “the goal toward which a movement is being directed.” For example, one could say the end of attending college is to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. But a more accepted way of saying this would be the goal of attending college is to attain a Bachelor’s degree. With this in mind, the most current version (2011) of the NIV translation of Romans 10:4 reads as follows:
Y’shua is the culmination of the Torah [ law ] so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
And the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) translation reads this way:
For the goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah, who offers righteousness to everyone who trusts.
Romans 10:4, far from saying that the Messiah is the ‘end’ or ‘termination’ of the Torah is saying that the Messiah is what the Torah is all about, that HE is the righteousness that it ultimately depicts and points to!
Cranfield agrees that “goal” is the best translation of telos in this context. In his commentary on Romans, Cranfield shows that in the larger passage (9:30-10:13),
Sha’ul is concerned to show that Yisra’el has misunderstood the Torah [ law ]. At this point a statement that Mashiaych is the goal to which all along the law has been directed, its true intention and meaning, is altogether apposite. Yisra’el has misunderstood the Torah [ law ], because it failed to recognize what it was all about … Yeshua Ha Mashiyach is the goal, the aim, the intention, the real meaning and substance of the Torah [ law ] —apart from Him it cannot be properly understood at all (519).

The Torah describes in picturesque language and in minute detail exactly who the Messiah would be and what he would do in both his first and second coming. In the person of Yeshua of Nazareth is the entirety of the Torah revealed. He is the goal of the Torah.

The righteousness that the Torah [ law ] leads to, and has always led to, is the Messiah, but this righteousness (Y’shua himself) is only attained by faith, not by works! This is the faith of Abraham, whereby we trust that YHWH will achieve what man cannot do for himself, that is, justify us. At the same time, we acknowledge there is not one thing we can do to earn it or obligate YHWH to us. This is the kind of total reliance for which YHWH is looking.
Furthermore, if you attempt to pursue the law that leads to righteousness by works, it will NOT lead to righteousness! Instead, those who pursue it by works, inevitably stumble over Him and completely miss that He is what Torah is all about!

Why?
Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (9:32-33).

So, again, in 10:4, Sha’ul establishes that Mashiyach, the Messiah, IS the righteousness that is attained when the law is pursued by faith. Now is where it gets really exciting! Sha’ul is going to give the readers a specific example of exactly what this looks like, how the Torah [ law ] CAN lead to righteousness (namely, to Yeshua), when pursued by faith!
In verse 5, Sha’ul says that Moshe writes about the righteousness based on the Torah [ law ]. This is NOT a works-oriented righteousness. Sha’ul has already established that there IS a righteousness based on Torah [ law ], when pursued by faith. In verse 6, Sha’ul then begins to say, “But the righteousness based on faith says . . .” It is important to understand that Sha’ul is NOT setting up a sharp contrast between two opposing ideas, mainly “the righteousness based on the Torah [ law ] and “the righteousness based on faith.” Again, he has already established that there is a righteousness based on the Torah [ law ] that IS pursued by faith.
The “but” in verse 6 is the Greek word δὲ (de), which is a conjunction that means “but, and, or now,” and whose purpose is to connect two clauses. A strong contrast is not made with this word, and that is why some translations instead put in “more” or “moreover” in place of “but.” If Sha’ul were to make a strong contrast, he would have instead used the word ἀλλὰ (alla), which means “but, rather, on the contrary,” as he does in verses 18 and 19 of the same chapter.
So what is Sha’ul doing here? He states that there is a righteousness based on the Torah [ law ] (verse 5), and then begins to show in verse 6 how this righteousness can be pursued by faith, and he continues to do this through verse 11.
[Moreover] the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Yeshua down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Yeshua up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Master and believe in your heart that YHWH raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
To understand the point Sha’ul is making, we must first understand what he is quoting, which comes from Deuteronomy 30. To give some quick context, Deuteronomy 28 – 30 describes the blessings which will fall on Yisra’el when they obey YHWH’s commandments and the curses that will ensue when they disobey his commandments, the ultimate consequence being sent out of the land, in exile among the nations, a picture of being cut off from a relationship with YHWH. At the start of chapter 30, we see that YHWH does not leave the exiled Yisra’elites without hope, but states that if, though in exile, YHWH’s people begin to obey his commandments yet again, he will then circumcise their hearts, putting his law in their hearts, and restoring them both to the land and to a relationship with Himself. This leads us to Sha’ul’s quotation:
“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deut. 30:11-14).
Here Moshe is telling the Yisra’elites that YHWH’s commandments are not impossible to obey (contrary to much current theology that calls them a burden; cf. 1 John 5:3); they are not too hard to keep, nor are they far off, but they are near, even in their hearts, so that they CAN do them.
Now Sha’ul here employs a Yehudim teaching technique called a “midrash,” which is basically an interpretation or extrapolated teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures, whereby he shows the deeper and often hidden layer of meaning to the text, in this case, how it points to Yeshua. In Romans 10, he “midrashes” Deut. 30:11-14, showing that the commandment, at the deepest [ SOD ] level, IS Y’shua haMashiyach (cf. John 1:1). Our righteousness, the Messiah, is not found in heaven or beyond the sea; rather He is near us. He is the LIVING WORD, in our mouth and in our hearts. For we confess OUR FAITH in Him through our mouth and have OUR FAITH in Him in our hearts, and therefore, we are saved! Aha! The Torah [ law ] that leads to righteousness when pursued by faith! How incredibly rich and meaningful and exciting is Sha’ul’s teaching!
Unfortunately, what many fail to understand is that this IS NOT a replacement of the commandments by Y’shua! He is the meaning behind the commandments! He does not nullify them! As Y’shua says Himself in Matthew 5:17, he did not come to abolish the Torah [ Law ] but to fulfill it. When we keep the commandments, we proclaim who Messiah Yeshua is! When we walk them out, people see Yeshua haMashiyach in us. Consider that Messiah is the light of the world (Jn 8:12), but Yeshua says that we are the light of the world (Matt 5:14), and the Psalmist writes that the commandments are a lamp and the Torah is a light (Ps. 119:105; cf Prov 6:23). When we walk out the commandments, people see the light of Yeshua shining forth from us! He is the deeper meaning beneath the Torah! Moshe says the commandments lead to life! How clear this is when we realize that Yeshua is the Living Word, near us, in our mouths and in our hearts, so that we can obey Him! Once again, we see so clearly that the law leads to righteousness when pursued by faith, for the Word of YHWH IS life, blessing, and righteousness to those who have trusted in Him!
****
The final passage in this section that leads to confusion concerning the Torah [ law ] is Romans 11:6. In the first part of Romans 11, Sha’ul is showing that there is still a remnant from national Yisra’el, just as there has always been. Let’s look at verses 5-6, which read:
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
The key to understanding this passage is understanding the Greek word οὐκέτι (ouketi) which is here translated as “no longer.” According to BDAG, ouketi has two possible meanings: The Aramaic even gives more clarity.
The extension of time up to a point but not beyond ( translated as “no more” or “no longer”)
A marker of inference in a logical process (best translated as “not”)
Many assume that here, in Romans 11, Sha’ul is using ouketi in the first sense, which would mean that in the past, a remnant was chosen by works (of the law), but this is no longer the case, and now, instead, the remnant is chosen by grace (and therefore we do not need to obey the law). However, we know this cannot possibly be what Sha’ul means, for he has already made clear that, even as early as Abraham, YHWH operated and blessed on the basis of grace, not works (Romans 4). If Sha’ul has already argued this point, why would he now say something contradictory? Furthermore, many current Bible scholars readily show that the Torah [ law ] was for a people already redeemed and in no way earned redemption (see Wright, Justification, p. 231). Quite simply, YHWH NEVER operated on the basis of works, but rather always by grace!
Instead, the second meaning of ouketi best explains what Sha’ul is here arguing. In fact, BDAG, in describing the two usages of ouketi, lists Romans 11:6 AS AN EXAMPLE of this second usage of ouketi. Some translations capture this meaning better than others. Consider how the most current (2011) translation of the NIV reads:
So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace (emphasis mine).
Here we see that Sha’ul is using ouketi as a marker of inference in a logical process: If by grace, then not by works. Other places where Sha’ul uses ouketi in the same way include Romans 7:17, where Sha’ul is describing his inner-struggle with wanting to obey the law and yet not being able to do so. In verse 17 he says,
So now it is no longer (ouketi) I who do it, but sin that dwells within me (emphasis mine).

please chew but don’t choke ….

peace and blessings
Michael 🙂