Connecting the Dots Part 2 – The Truth About the Apostles

When one has questions or is looking to defend ones stance on a particular subject in the Bible where do most turn 9 times out 10? My guess would be Paul’s letters. They seem to be the “go to” for many of us today.

Generally speaking, Christians and churches today tend to revolve most of their belief system & theology around Paul’s letters. Sometimes even by-passing what Yeshua (Jesus) and God  said about the commands and the new covenant. Who is the ultimate authority? Putting all of your stock into Paul’s letters can be very detrimental if you don’t understand Paul correctly. Especially when it comes to God’s laws. Paul is definitely hard to understand sometimes, so much so, that even Peter said,

“…just as our beloved Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other Scriptures.” 2 Peter 3:15-16

As we’ve discussed in Part 1, Yeshua (Jesus) was our living example of how to keep and teach God’s laws. We also discussed that the commandments of God are the same commandments Yeshua spoke about. There’s nothing different.

So how DID the apostles live while Yeshua was here on Earth and after his ascension? After all, every believer is now under the new covenant. Does this mean the old testament laws and temple system were done away with?

Can Paul and the apostles add or contradict God’s commands? If one thinks the answer is yes, then logically speaking the apostles would fall into the category of false teachers & prophets.

Today we are going to focus on the most common misunderstandings of Paul’s letters:

1. God’s laws of the OT were nailed to the tree
2. There were no sacrifices needed anymore as Yeshua was the once for all sacrifice
3. The old covenant was made obsolete so that means the OT laws are also negated
4. There is no need for the OT laws since we now have Christ and are under the new covenant.

If we truly understand and research scripture, we will be able to ask and answer the following questions and clear up any misunderstandings:

• Did Yeshua or the Father say His laws were done away or negated because of Yeshua and the new covenant? NO.
• Did Yeshua or the Father say to stop offering sacrifices/offerings now that Yeshua is on scene? NO.
• Does Yeshua continue to encourage the sacrifice/offerings while on Earth? YES
• Did the apostles continue to keep God’s OT laws given to Moses and endorse others to do the same? YES
• Did the apostles keep the Biblical Feasts and Sabbath? YES
• Do we see the apostles still bringing sacrifices to the temple? YES

Here are a few scriptural examples which describe how they lived and what they taught:

Regarding Sabbath:
– Acts 13:14-15, 27, 42-44; 15:21; 16:13;18:4

Regarding the God’s Feasts:
– Acts 2:1; 8:21; 20:6, 16; 27:9
– 1 Corinthians 5:7, 8; 16:8

Regarding Sacrifices aka Offerings:
– Acts 21:23-24, 26 – Nazarite vow; 24:11-12, 17-18
– 1 Corinthians 9:13; 10:18

Regarding God’s Laws/Commandments:
– Acts 22:3; 24:14
– Romans 2:13; 3:31; 7:12, 22
– 1 Corinthians 7:19, 39; 9:9; 14:21
– Ephesians 6:2
– Titus 1:3
– 1 John 2:3-4, 7; 3:24; 4:21; 5:2-3
– 2 John 1:4-6
– Hebrews 10:28
– 2 Peter 2:21
– Revelation 12:17; 14:12

Again, I can’t stress enough that NO apostle or teacher has the authority to add, take away or contradict God’s instructions. God warns his people about this on many occasions:

“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it” Deuteronomy 12:32

“Do not add to His words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:6

“if any one adds to them, God will add to him plagues described in the book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city.” Revelation 22:18-19

I don’t know about you but I take these scriptures very seriously. This is why we are to know God’s Word (like the Bereans) and stay vigilant so we know how to discern.

Let scripture interpret scripture.

So hopefully with all of the scriptures provided, we now know Yeshua, the one true Messiah, and the apostles continued the story of our creator, keeping and teaching God’s laws. We also know they did not change or do away with the laws. So, one must conclude that Paul has been misunderstood by the body and their leaders. You can’t have it both ways.

It’s also important to remember that Paul was a Pharisee (aka a teacher of God’s laws). He grew up surrounded by Pharisees and studied under one of the most influential and respected teachers of his time. He was well equipped to understand that even through Messiah the laws were not done away. He knew the true Messiah had to abide by the ultimate authority, God. He knew the penalty of sin, the law about sin was death. This is what was nailed on the tree; the penalty, death, the old man, the carnal man, the one born of flesh.

We are slowly unpacking the truth with truth but there’s still a lot to resolve regarding the new covenant, the sacrifices/offerings and how the Gentiles fit in. I am sure there are still many questions running through your mind like what is the new covenant and how is it different from the old; Were the temple services made void after Yeshua (Jesus); Are the OT laws only for the Jews to keep? We will answer those questions in the next few blogs but I hope for now you are starting to connect the dots.