 |
"Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, |
Sir, what do you think of these words on NPP?
The
pre-Christian Saul
Proponents
of New Perspectivism usually argue that Paul, before conversion, was more of a
zealout for his nation (Israel) and their special place in God's plan than a
devout Jew who was trying to earn his salvation. This is important, because if
true, this means that Paul was not fighting legalism and that much Protestant
Pauline scholarship following upon Luther has been wrong."
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️First, let me ask some questions:
-
What is a zealot?
-
What's the special place of zealots in God's plan for the nation of Israel?
-
Did any of the three thousand devout Jews, who were converted on the day of
Pentecost, try to earn their salvation? If they did, for what purpose/to what
end did they believe in Jesus Christ?
-
If Apostle Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was not fighting against legalism, the
imposition of ceremonial laws upon the Gentile believers by the Judaizers, then
what was he fighting against?
-
What's the Protestant Pauline scholarship? Why was it wrong?
Mr Luther was wrong on a few important issues.
- He advocated justification by faith alone.
- The Scriptures declares, "... justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." "Justified freely by His grace" declares the MANNER the condemned guilty sinners are justified by God; "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" speaks of the BASIS of that free grace justification.
Second, mark the context of legalism
Fighting
against legalism WAS NOT an issue UNTIL the conversion of the Gentiles to
Christ and gathering them into the apostolic churches.
Apostle
Paul, THE Apostle to the Gentiles, fought against legalism BECAUSE the Judaizers
were intent on imposing the ceremonial laws of Moses upon the Gentile believers.
Legalism
was a NON-ISSUE among the devout Jews; they all agreed to the observation
of the ceremonial laws; they were all of the old covenant community.
Legalism
became a watershed life-and-death issue in the context of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Christ,
by His redemptive work, has not only fulfilled, BUT ALSO ABROGATED the
ceremonial laws. See Apostle Paul's extended arguments in Romans, Galatians,
and Hebrews. Instances of the intense disputes are recorded in Acts, too.
Christ
Jesus, by His redemptive work, HAS FREED His redeemed - whether Jew or Gentile - from the bondage of the
ceremonial laws.
Galatians
2:4 KJT — And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in
privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might
bring us into bondage:
Galatians
5:1 KJT — Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
The
Jewish believers were not only unbelieving of this wonderful deliverance from
the grievous bondage, but they insisted on REMAINING under this bondage.
Worse
still, they had the audacity to force the Gentile believers under the same
bondage. This is the legalism Apostle Paul fought against in defence of the
gospel of Christ.
May
the Lord grant you understanding. Amen.
