In Defense of Paul
by Jim Jester
Scripture Reading: Acts 22:1-21, Paul’s defense at Jerusalem.
Revised June 2014
There are certain writers on the Internet who discredit Paul as being a genuine apostle. I prepared this message because I felt like the accusations against Paul need to be answered for the benefit of others who come across such criticism. Some people have dropped out of church fellowship because of these anti-Paul claims. Paul knew about the machinations of our enemy and warned us about their fables.
There are those who take the position that Paul was not a true apostle and cannot be trusted because he was against the Law of God. These people thus viewing Paul as an antinomian theologian have misconstrued some of Paul’s statements regarding the law as being “abolished” or “done away.” They say his writings conflict with the plain statements of Jesus in the gospels. Such as:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-18).
Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? (John 7:19)
But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed (John 7:49).
In the above verses, Jesus is speaking to, or about, the Jews. The Jews prided themselves as keepers of the Law. We know that Judah (the southern kingdom) had been more faithful to the Law than Israel (northern kingdom) had. Yet, we see that Jesus said, “this people who know not the law are cursed.” In other words, they did not keep it in the proper way nor recognized its true intent and they even added their own alterations to the Law. By “fulfill” in the above quote means, “to explain to its highest meaning or intent.”
Let us examine some of Paul’s statements and then look at other evidence in favor of Paul as being a legitimate apostle.