Hello again.
Before Paul was converted by Christ, he was a violent persecutor of Christians
point of clarification
not Christians but, as scripture put it Jews that believe. No one was called a Christian until the believing gentiles were in Antioch. Never once in scripture is a believing Jewish person called a Christian. Rather they are "followers of the Way," or "Jew that believe." Only believing gentiles were called "Christanos." [sp?? I'm *sure* your Greek is better than mine
]
and persecuted the church of G-d because of his zealous loyalty to the Jewish traditions. The crux of Paul's conversion to Christianity (He became Apostle)
another point.... becoming an Apostle did not make one a Christian. ALL the Apostles were Jews and as I have shown in a previous post, also kept Torah. Sha'ul himself proclaimed at the end of his life that he had been zealous for the Torah all his life and had never transgressed the traditions as well
Acts 25
7 When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him which they could not prove. 8 In reply, Sha'ul said, "I have committed no offense - not against the Torah to which the Jews hold, not against the Temple, and not against the Emperor."
Here is what the Jewish leaders thought(vs a group known as the Judeans and which later writers translated "the Jews", but as you can clearly see in this passage they did not represent anyone but themselves... and again Sha'ul claiming he still kept the Torah/Law...
Acts 28
17 After three days Sha'ul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they had gathered, he said to them: "Brothers, although I have done nothing against either our people or the traditions of our fathers, I was made a prisoner in Yerushalayim and handed over to the Romans. 18 They [the Jewish leaders] examined me and were ready to release me, because I had done nothing to justify a death sentence. 19 But when the Judeans objected, I was forced to appeal to the Emperor - not that I had any charge to make against my own people. 20 This is why I have asked to see you and speak with you, for it is because of the hope of Isra'el that I have this chain around me." 21 They said to him, "We have not received any letters about you from Y'hudah, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we do think it would be appropriate to hear your views from you, yourself; for all we know about this sect is that people everywhere speak against it."
is that he once was an enemy of Christ and Christ intervened and converted him.
most definitely Messiah intervened - but I do not agree that Sha'ul converted. There was nothing for him to convert to.... He was Jewish and Yeshua turned him back (called t'shuvh [literally "to return" or "turn back toward"], or repentance in English) toward G-d and full truth.
He became a chosen instrument of G-d to explain the Law in light of grace.
we agree there!
G-d foreknew that Paul's expertise in the Jewish traditions would inspire Paul to produce 14 epistles of the New Testament. He became a Christian but with expertise in the Jewish tradition.
nah,
he became a Torah observant Jew who believed and taught the truth about Messiah, the Jewish Messiah, who had also opened the way to a salvific relationship with the G-d of the Universe to all who would also believe
I agree. I speak of the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Abram is no longer Abram but Abraham.
G-d changed his name to Abraham.
Isaac was a figure and shadow of the Sacrificial Lamb (Jesus) who was crucified.
this is handy and is taught in many denominations ... a name change is a niffty and significant thing but not everyone who returned to G-d had their name changed, in fact only a few did. Sha'ul, like many Jews of that day and most today, had two names. His Jewish name and his gentile name. He had always been Paul to the gentiles he knew and Sha'ul to the Jews he knew.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the revelations and prediction of the Prophets.
again we agree
The crux of this is that Christians are under a new and better covenant, which is the blood of Jesus Christ.
He is our (Christians) only Mediator and High Priest.
a new covenant does not eliminate the previous one. In fact the only reason the new one has any standing is in direct correlation to it's connection to and support of the previous one. Covenants were not ever discarded, amended, added to, but never discarded. Especially when the G-d of the Universe said it would stand for ever
Faith in the Blood of Messiah is what the sacrificial system is all about. Both before Yeshua laid down His life and afterward
It has always been this Faith that saved, never the blood of animals. Obedience to the commands of G-d has always been the fruit/evidence of that Faith. Just as it is today
b'Shalolm
Henaynei
sorry I could not get to more posts, but I have yet to get to bed and have to be up in 2 hours ...
