From Saul to Paul

 When it comes to the Apostle Paul there are a lot of claims thrown around, and with this post I want to adress the most prominent claims and show what is to them

 

One of the most common claims is

-"Paul was a jewish plant to corrupt Christianity"

Well, this is what this post is basically about, and to do this we need to look at his life and his message and teachings about Christ, wether they contradict or align with what Christ and the Bible as a whole preached. But to cut things short I take the stance of the Apostle Peter who said

15Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. 16He writes this way in all his letters,g speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort,h as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Now to look at his life, he did start off as one of the most wicked people in the Bible, basically hunting and killing Christians for fun. But then, and this is basically what the entire book is about, he repented. He recognized his error and was redeemed by God, and in this God displays His transformative powers, that even one like him could be made a rightous man. And thats what he means when he wrote. 

15This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

If we now deny Paul for his past, dont we then deny the entire message of mercy Christ told us too? 

I would add that someone who lies does so usually for his own benefit. But Paul was well respected, and had high standing and prestige among his people, and he forsook all of this so he travel, spread the gospel, and for this was scorned, beaten, tortured and even killed eventually. 

And yet kept on working to spread the message and bring the people to Christ.

 

Or so the official story. So what is the message he spread? This is probably the best way to determine his faithfulness, so lets look at the claims

-"He spoke against the law and said its illegit when Christ affirms it"

Thats a gross oversimplification. He argues not that the law is bad or illegit, rather he argues its incomplete and superceded. Any written codex is limited and cant account for every possibility. More so in ancient times when writing material was rare and expansive so it can cover only the basics and as such functions as a guideline of what God deems good and well, and which he abhors. As such he said 

23Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Christ taught us the more intimite matters of the law, how to combine the mercy and forgiveness with rightousness and justice. I would like to refer to John Chrysostoms take on this from his "8 Homilies against the jews"

(5) We do not say this in accusation of the Law. Heaven forbid! We say it because we wish to show forth the surpassing riches of the grace of Christ. For the Law is not contrary to Christ. How could it be, when he is the one who gave the Law, when the Law leads us to him? But we are forced to say all these things because of the untimely contentiousness of those who do not use the Law as they should. The ones who outrage the Law are those who bid us stand apart from it once and for all and come to Christ, and then tell us to hold fast to it again. The Law has profited our nature very much. I agree to that and would never deny it. But you Judaizers cling to it beyond the proper time and will not let us see how very useful it has been.
(6) It would be the greatest source of praise for a tutor if his young pupil no longer needed him to keep watch over his conduct because the lad had advanced so greater virtue. So, too, it would be the greatest praise for the Law that we no longer had need of its help. For the Law has brought that very thing to pass for us: it has prepared our soul to receive a greater philosophy.
(7) So it is that he who still sits at the feet of the Law and can see nothing greater than what is written therein derives no great profit from it. But I put the Law aside and ran to the loftier teachings of Christ; yet I could grant to the Law the greatest dignity because it made me such that I could go beyond the trivialities written therein and rise to the loftiness of the teaching which comes to us from Christ.

(8) The Law did profit our nature greatly, but only if it led us sincerely to Christ. If this be not the case, it did us harm by depriving us of the greater things because of our close attention to those which are less; it also hurt us by still keeping us in the countless wounds of our transgressions.

The next claim we adress is

-Paul said works dont matter

Again gross oversimplification. What he did say is that we dont get saved by our works, but by the mercy and love of God, who wants us to live, and through Whose sacrifice we were cleansed of our sin, making salvation entirely of God, and not of us. He told us to not work for reward, but out of love, for the other people and for God.  

As such he wrote 

14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

More so in wise anticipation of the slander against his words he already refuted the that we should not sin 

3But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

and more so, he told us to work extra hard even 

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. 26Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. 27No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

 

The next claim we adress is

-"He led people to sin to make Christs sacrifice be "worth it""

This again he directly refuted when he wrote 

20The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

1What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

Now one that I encoutnered a few times now, which I deem to be the weirdest
-"Paul never spoke of a literal Jesus or resurecction"

This is usually combined by bringing up that Paul never met Christ in the flesh, and so was claiming it was all some visions the people had like he only saw Christ in a vision. But Paul tells us directly

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Cephasa and then to the Twelve. 6After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

The scriptures clearly stating that Christ came, died and resurrected in the flesh.

I would also like to add that Pauls preachings is directly opposing that of enemies of Christ. As such he states
-jews are cursed for rejecting Christ and their place given to others

17Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, 18do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly notg spare you either. 22Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

This makes them mad since they really like their special status as we see too when they desired to arrest Christ when he tells them of the parable of the wicked tennants.

 -Christ is the only begotten son of God who died on the cross and resurrected on the third day

This directly contradicts the muslim account which denies Christs divinity as well as his death and resurrection, claiming that Christ on the cross was switched out with a look alike

-That no degenerates and immorals will inherit the kingdom of heaven

Which really is agains the modern hippy branch of Christianity that tends to approve of the sin in order to attract a new follower to the church. 

 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

 With all this in mind, I can see no fault in his ministry.