June 29, 2014 (Sunday)
On Monday we will look at the book of Galatians, in which Paul is agitated to the “Nth” degree by the capitulation into a legalistic religion by some of the Galatian converts. In preparation for Monday’s blog, it seemed prudent to explain the situation that upset Paul so much.
Before he became “The Apostle Paul,” he was “Saul of Tarsus,” a Jew. He never renounced his Jewishness. Late in life he wrote, “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless” (Philippians 3:4-6 NIV).
Paul’s plan for taking the gospel to a city was to go first to the synagogue and explain that Jesus is the Messiah. The response was basically the same in every place. Some of the Jews would accept Christ, and others would reject his message or agree to think about it without accepting it right away. Then there were Gentiles present who heard the gospel. They were known as “God-fearers” and attended worship at the synagogue, not having yet become proselytes. They were people who had become uncomfortable with paganism and were enamored of the view of God within Judaism. They usually showed great interest in the gospel and many of them accepted Jesus as their Savior. The converts who then formed the nucleus of a church were Jews (including Proselytes), God-fearers and pagans (Gentiles). Paul made clear that Gentiles were exempt from Jewish laws, particularly circumcision.
This view that faith alone, without the works of the Law, was the only requirement for salvation, was opposed by some local Jews, and in every place was reinforced by Jews from the outside who followed Paul to debate and oppose his teachings. Among Christians they came to be known as “Judaizers,” and they taught that Gentiles must first become Jews in order to accept the Jewish Messiah. This became a source of conflict for Paul and his companions everywhere they went, and a goad for Paul to write plainly about faith alone, without works, as necessary for salvation. The books of Galatians and Romans, as well as his other books, teach this doctrine.
Although he always considered himself a Jew, Paul made clear that both Jewish and Gentile converts are saved by grace through faith. The Judaizers, however, dogged his steps throughout his career as a Christian missionary, insisting upon a legalism that was inconsistent with the marvelous grace of God in Christ.