Keeping the Law to Win Jews
1 Corinthians 9:19-20 “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; (20) and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law.”
We saw earlier, that the apostle Paul who consistently teaches gentile believers not to keep the law, himself kept the law. Obviously Paul did not fall into the category of Jewish believers that were weak in faith. So what was Paul’s motivation for his keeping of the law? Paul reveals his motivation to us in the above passage of scripture. He kept the law so that he could win Jews to the kingdom of God. Paul was a trained rabbi. And as such, he had credibility among the unbelieving Jewish people. You will recall how that he and Barnabas would go to the local synagogues, and while they were there, the leaders would ask them to share with them. The unbelieving Jews would never allow Paul and Barnabas to teach in their synagogues if they were not practicing Jews. Obviously the Holy Spirit gave Paul, Barnabas and the other Jewish apostles’ grace in this area, in that He continued to allow them to keep the law, so that they in turn could minister the gospel to the unbelieving Jewish nation. And so we see that from being babes in Christ, to becoming mature believers with the right motives, that the Holy Spirit has no problem with Jewish believers keeping the law. As we will see in the next section however, this is not the case with regards to gentile believers.
Acts 21:21 “but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.”
Although Paul and the other mature Jewish believers did keep the law, they still taught the keeping of the law in the correct context. In that they taught the Jewish believers that there was no benefit in their keeping of the law. We have already looked at some of the scriptures highlighting that fact earlier. And so when they taught that concept, as revealed to us in the above passage of scripture, the unbelieving Jews took it to mean that Paul was teaching the believing Jews to forsake Moses. This is one of the reasons why the unbelieving Jews hated Paul to such an extent that they were constantly trying to kill him.
Acts 6:13-14 “They also set up false witnesses who said, "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; (14) for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”
The above passage of scripture refers to Stephen, who was martyred for the Lord. Stephen was also accused by the unbelieving Jews, of teaching the same doctrine that Paul taught, and it cost him his life. This gospel is definitely not popular among unbelieving Jews.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments