September 7, 2025 • 59 mins
The principle that "God shows no partiality" (Romans 2:11) shaped Paul's ministry approach as he navigated the complex relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers in the first-century church.
• Paul consistently went to Jewish synagogues first when entering new cities
• Early Christian Gentiles in Rome were deeply integrated with Jewish synagogue communities
• The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) established minimum requirements for Gentile believers in Jewish communities without imposing full Jewish law
• Synagogues served as centers for community, worship, education, and economic support in the ancient world
• Paul demonstrated cultural sensitivity by having Timothy circumcised and taking Nazarite vows
• First-century Christians lived in a transitional period between covenant ages
• Christ fulfilled the law and brought reconciliation to the saints at Pentecost
• The destruction of the Temple in AD 70 marked the full end of the old covenant age along with the Law.
• Paul's approach wasn't anti-law but pro-Christ, seeing Jesus as the fulfillment of the law
• Paul used the Jewish scriptures to prove Jesus was the promised Messiah King that the Jews awaited.
Blog Post: https://wakinguptograce.com/062-god-shows-no-partiality-romans-2-11/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello and welcome to the Waking Up To Grace podcast,
where we celebrate and explorethe finished work of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Tune in to the Waking Up ToGrace podcast on every major
platform.
You can also listen to ourepisodes and read our full
transcripts atwakinguptogracecom.
And now here's Lenny.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome back to the podcast everyone.
And now here's Lenny.
Welcome back to the podcasteveryone.
Today I have a loaded messagefor you guys that's prepared to
set the context for our Romanstudy as we move forward.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
In Romans, chapter 2, verse 11,paul proclaims that God shows no
partiality.
I think this statement made byPaul perfectly sums up the
(00:45):
picture he's painting for hisaudience in his argument about
the judgment of our Lord.
As we read so far, all ofmankind will be judged based on
what they have done, good andbad.
We've also discussed how thisultimately pertains to belief
and unbelief.
Yahweh has mercy on thefaithful when it comes to
judging.
(01:05):
Does mankind show partiality?
We know God shows no partiality, but the same can't be said
about mankind from a corporateview.
A corporate view meaningmankind as a whole.
Paul has given us quite a viewof corporate mankind so far in
Romans, hasn't he?
The worst of the worst when itcomes to sin gets placed on
(01:27):
corporate mankind.
It's not as though we all havethese exact attributes, but as a
whole.
The unfaithful are responsiblefor all of them, and through
Adam, mankind has fallen fromgrace and stands in opposition
to Yahweh.
Pagans love to argue that truthis not objective, meaning
there's no truth, but rather itis subjective and depends on our
(01:50):
opinions.
Somehow, if we haven't seenfirsthand the damage of this
cultural view in America, wemust be closing our eyes.
A Christian should be abovethis, but sadly, as humans we
tend to adapt to society aroundus, at least to some extent,
unless we're very careful.
I think the first century Jewshad a similar struggle.
(02:11):
Partiality to their own race asthe superior race was a
struggle that even Peter seemedto share with his culture, prior
to Yahweh waking him up tograce a bit more by sending him
to the Gentile Cornelius withthe gospel.
In Acts 10.43, we read.
So Peter opened his mouth andsaid Truly I understand that God
(02:34):
shows no partiality, but inevery nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right isacceptable to him.
Peter was now beginning tograsp what had clearly not been
taught to him by the Jewishleaders of their day that God
shows no partiality.
We see this declared to theJews explicitly in Deuteronomy,
(02:58):
chapter 10.
We read For the Lord, your God,is God of gods and Lord of
lords, the great, the mighty andthe awesome God who is not
partial and takes no bribe.
He executes justice for thefatherless and the widow and
loves the sojourner, giving himfood and clothing.
Love the sojourner, therefore,for you are sojourners in the
(03:20):
land of Egypt.
You shall fear the Lord, yourGod.
You shall serve him and holdfast to him, and by his name you
shall swear.
It's important to note thiscircumcision of the heart, as
Paul uses this same term, soonin our coming passages.
But Yahweh wanted the Jews to bean example of faith and of
faithfulness to the Gentile whowanted to worship Yahweh and
(03:44):
turn away from those foreigngods.
But from corporate Israel wesee partiality to the Jewish
race.
This was not new to the firstcentury.
Think back on Jonah.
He was so upset that the Lordmade him preach to the Gentiles.
He just couldn't get over it.
He tried everything in hispower to escape it.
But Yahweh had another plan inmind, didn't he?
(04:06):
So it was with Christ.
The Jews did not succeed atbeing a light to all nations, so
Yeshua came and did it for them.
God does not show partiality,and he didn't want his holy
people to display partialityeither.
In Chronicles 19 we read Now,then, let the fear of the Lord
be upon you, be careful what youdo, for there is no injustice
(04:29):
with the Lord, our God, orpartiality or taking bribes.
In the Amalekite, chapter 2, weread but you have turned aside
from the way.
You have caused many to stumbleby your instruction.
You have corrupted the covenantof Levi, says the Lord of hosts
.
And, as we read, national Israeldid in fact show partiality,
(04:59):
mark 11 states and they came toJerusalem and he entered the
temple and began to drive outthose who sold and those who
bought in the temple.
And he overturned the tables ofthe money changers and the
seats of those who sold pigeons,and he would not allow anyone
to carry anything through thetemple.
And he was teaching them andsaying to them.
Is it not written my houseshall be called a house of
(05:20):
prayer for all the nations.
You have made it a den ofrobbers.
This was Christ Yeshua speakinghere.
Why do you think he was soangry?
Was he upset that they wereasking too much for the pigeons?
Was this about price gougingand corrupt business practices?
(05:41):
Well, the truth can be found inthe text that Christ Yeshua
quotes from Isaiah.
Isaiah 56, 7 says these I willbring to my holy mountain and
make them joyful in my house ofprayer, their burnt offerings
and their sacrifices will beaccepted on my altar, for my
house shall be called a house ofprayer for all people.
He's talking about Gentiles.
God does not show partiality.
(06:03):
The temple was to be a place ofworship for all people, all
people.
But the leaders of Israeldidn't seem to mind that the
place where the Gentiles wereallowed to worship, outside of
the inner court, was filled withmerchants and money changers.
The Jews were robbing theGentiles of their place to
worship.
This is what they had stolen.
(06:25):
They were to be a light to theGentiles and this was the
respect that they gave them.
Christ Yeshua's reaction wasjust as well as symbolic of what
he was about to correct, asPaul also writes in his Romans
letter.
For, as it is written, the nameof God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you, andthat's Romans 2.24.
(06:47):
Paul's quoting from Isaiah 52and Ezekiel 36.
When I covered the beginning ofRomans, chapter 2, would be a
light to those nations and theywould soon be filling the temple
, courts and synagogues.
When I covered the beginning ofRomans, chapter 2, I was seeing
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Paul continuing to direct hisconversation at corporate
mankind.
In coming to this conclusion, Iignored the context of a new
chapter beginning.
I do this intentionally.
It's critical that we realizethese verses, chapters and
headers did not exist in Paul'sletters.
Scholars put them there to helpus and often they do, but not
always.
There's an objective truth inscripture and we don't always
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fall in line with that.
Our goal as Christians ought tobe that our minds are shaped by
the scripture and not the otherway around.
If we catch ourselves shapingscripture around our minds, we
should take caution.
In our society today and inevery generation before us, it
seems that the primary goal ofthe Christian is to win the
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argument, but when we study thewritings of Paul, I see a man
who wanted to win over the soulsof those who he preached to.
I've begun to see his argumentsthat we tend to see as
imaginary opponents, not so muchas opposition in Paul's mind,
but an opportunity to unitethose who were in error with
truth.
In other words, he was tryingto help them, not trying to rub
(08:19):
their face in their error, as wesee all over the internet and
social media going on today,mindlessly attacking one another
in order to force submissionand shame on those who don't
agree with us.
As we dive into Paul's argument.
I want you to consider that Paulis having an interlocking
conversation with an imaginaryobjector whose paradigm would
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have been familiar as thecorporate view of the Jews in
their day, would have beenfamiliar as the corporate view
of the Jews in their day.
In other words, paul wanted toengage with that mindset and
interlace with it.
While he laid out his argument,like an attorney might have,
with the utmost of care anddetail, from beginning to end.
But getting back to our pointthat God shows no partiality, I
(09:02):
changed my mind about who Pauldirected the beginning of
chapter 2 at.
The detail that I overlookedwas that he changes from using
them, and they in verses 19-32of chapter 1 to you, beginning
in chapter 2.
The you represents Paul'simaginary Jewish interlocutors
(09:24):
whom he is addressing.
He uses a rhetorical deviceknown as diatribe to stage a
conversation between himself andthe Jewish thought process of
their day, which would have beenvery familiar to them as they
experienced it in the synagogues.
Although I can't see any majorsignificance in the difference
here, in understanding whether Iwas right or wrong, my
(09:46):
hermeneutics were off a bit, soI wanted to point that out to
you guys.
My goal is not to be rightabout everything so much as it
is to be united with the truth.
That may sound like double talk, but the mindset of being right
all the time is a trap.
We must let the Holy Spiritguide us through Scripture.
This involves discerning ourown ignorance as well as the
(10:06):
ignorance of scholars.
Truth is all over the place,but we have to sift through
error to find it in most cases.
This doesn't make truthsubjective in any way.
Scripture is inspired.
Our job is to understand itcorrectly.
Let this be an example that I'mnot always right, but I'm
humble enough to admit if I seeI was wrong.
(10:28):
I pray that the Lord continuesto humble me but also protects
me from falling into error andignorance.
I've come to realize that afterthis study is over, I could
practically go right back aroundand do it again, while
continuing to gain spiritualinsight.
I couldn't be more grateful forthose in my circles who
encourage me and help me toshape my paradigm around truth.
(10:48):
I'm assembling all kinds ofexcellent resources to have at
my disposal as we go along aswell.
So be prepared If you're likingour study so far, you won't be
let down.
The verse that I'm speaking ofat the beginning of the second
chapter of Romans readsTherefore, you have no excuse, o
man.
Every one of you who judges forin passing judgment on another,
(11:10):
you condemn yourself becauseyou, the judge, practice the
very same things.
We see Paul begin his argumentusing corporate mankind and Adam
to build his case.
However we look at this verse,whether it describes a man's
view of superiority prior tonational Israel or the view of a
pretentious Jew.
(11:30):
What was the purpose of thestatement and who was it
primarily written to In hisletter?
Was Paul trying to correct theviews of the Christian Jews in
Rome or the Christian Gentilesin Rome?
Who is he teaching when he saysGod shows no partiality.
If his imaginary conversationtakes place with a man with a
(11:52):
false Jewish thought process,who is the conversation actually
being held for?
Who is to benefit from thiswriting?
In my last several messages wetalked about eschatological
reasons for Paul making thestatement, for the Jew first and
also the Greek.
Who is the Gentile?
Beyond the eschatologicalreasoning, can you think of
(12:14):
another reason that Paul wouldhave made this statement several
times?
Do you think that Paul's wordshere are for the Jews or the
Gentiles?
We see Jewish context emerginghere, but who do you think Paul
is directing his statement atwhen he says God shows no
partiality?
It would seem, based onhistorical context, that the
church in Rome was largelyGentile.
(12:35):
Melissa and I cover thesedetails in message 33 and 34.
I believe so far that Paul isestablishing neutral ground for
both the Jew and the Gentile.
But the first question thatarises here, based on the
context, is why might thepredominantly Gentile church in
Rome need to be hearing this?
Was it because they needed tounderstand their place in the
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faith, or is it because they hadplaced themselves higher than
they ought in their own minds?
Were the Gentiles being temptedto see themselves as superior
to the Jews?
Had some of the Gentiles placedthemselves in the first
position of salvation, so tospeak?
Was Paul actually writing thisto correct a view that some
Gentiles were beginning toentertain due to the error and
(13:19):
persecution coming from theChrist-rejecting Jews?
Is it possible that theGentiles were beginning to adopt
that same superior mindset thatthey despised in their
Christ-rejecting enemies?
Was Paul using his Jewishargument to remind Gentiles that
God shows no partiality?
In most of our theology today,we predominantly see a context
(13:43):
established where Paul isconstantly standing up to the
Jews and defending the Gentiles.
We know that Paul does not allowhis Gentile churches to be put
under the law.
But in other places, such asRomans 7, we see that Paul has a
great respect for the law.
Would you say that Paul has alaw rejecting gospel or a law
respecting gospel?
When we examine our views inthe context of Scripture, do we
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find a Paul who rebelled againstthe law or a Paul who preached
the Messiah and a salvation bygrace through faith alone, while
remaining respectful to the law?
If we were to understand Paul'swritings, wouldn't it help a
lot to understand Paul?
We should begin byunderstanding Paul's genuine
love for his Jewish brothers.
(14:43):
In Romans 9, we read thecovenants, the giving of the law
, the worship and the promises.
To them belong the patriarchs,and from their race, according
to the flesh, is the Christ, whois God over all, blessed
forever, amen.
Then, romans 10, we readBrothers.
My heart's desire and prayer toGod for them is that they may
be saved, for I bear themwitness that they have a zeal
(15:07):
for God, but not according toknowledge.
I think it's hard to wrap ourGentile minds around this, don't
you?
But I think it is also, in asense, an example of the great
(15:29):
measure of the Holy Spirit thatPaul was given, allowing him to
love his enemies.
Paul understood well that someof his Jewish brothers who were
opposed to him would receive achange of mind from Yahweh, and
the only way that that wouldhappen was through preaching
Christ.
To them, christ was the end ofthe law, paul says.
This indicates that the wholelaw was about Christ Yeshua in
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the first place.
This was the knowledge theydidn't have.
This was their major error.
The Jews believed that sincethey had the law and the
prophets that they wereautomatically holy, having the
law made them righteous in theirminds, they didn't need to be
saved from their sin.
That's what their animalsacrifices were for.
Would Paul find a soft spot inthe heart of his Jewish brothers
(16:15):
by rebelling against the lawthat they held in the highest of
regards?
Would Paul's primary goal be toget Jews to stop observing the
law or to start believing inChrist Yeshua, their Messiah?
Whose work would it actually beto get the Jews to stop
observing the law, paul or theLord?
In Matthew 24, we read but heanswered them.
(16:37):
You see all these, do you not?
Truly, I say to you there willnot be left here.
One stone upon another will notbe thrown down.
Do you think that the apostlesgathered that the Lord would be
coming to judge Israel and thatthe result would be the
destruction of the temple andthe end of the law?
In my last several messages,I've highlighted the fact that
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the apostles all believed thatthe return of Christ would come
in their generation.
It would be a return of wrathand judgment, the judgment for
the saints resulting in eternallife.
It's not surprising that theapostles had a good
understanding of eschatology.
After all, when Yeshua rosefrom the dead, he appeared to
them and taught them throughouta 40-day period.
(17:20):
In Acts 1 we read he presentedhimself alive to them after his
suffering by many proofs,appearing to them during forty
days and speaking about thekingdom of God.
Do you think you could learn alot from our Lord if he taught
you throughout a forty-dayperiod?
I definitely think so.
I'd say they had a superiorknowledge when it came to the
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fulfillment of all prophecy, andit wouldn't be much different
for Paul.
In Galatians 1.11, we read For Iwould have you know, brothers,
that the gospel that waspreached to me is not man's
gospel, for I did not receive itfrom any man, nor was I taught
it, but I received it through arevelation of Jesus Christ.
Then, right around the corner,in our Roman study, paul
(18:04):
considers the final judgment tobe part of his gospel.
In Romans 2.16, we read On thatday when, according to my
gospel, god judges the secretsof men by Christ Jesus.
The point I make here is thatthe apostles would have been
awaiting what occurred in AD 70.
They knew that the law wouldcome to an end at the final
(18:24):
judgment.
Hebrews 8.13 says In speaking ofa new covenant, he makes the
first one obsolete.
And what is becoming obsoleteand growing old is ready to
vanish away.
So if the Lord would be makingsure that the observation of the
law would come to an end, whatwould Paul's focus be in
teaching his Jewish brothers inthe meantime?
(18:44):
Would it be to reject the lawor to understand the law
properly?
In Matthew 5.17, christ Yeshuasays Do not think that I have
come to abolish the law or theprophets.
I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
For truly I say to you, untilheaven and earth pass away, not
an iota, not a dot will passfrom the law.
(19:05):
Until all is accomplished andwhen was all accomplished?
Luke 21, we read but when yousee Jerusalem surrounded by
armies, then you know that itsdesolation has come near, for
these are days of vengeance.
To fulfill all that is written,all was accomplished in AD 70,
when Yeshua had his finaljudgment day.
(19:26):
So what time frame does thatplace our Roman's letter?
In the New Covenant Age or theOld Covenant Age?
Now, this is a concept that weneed to allow our paradigms to
absorb.
We have to let this teaching bepervasive and saturate our
understanding in order to haveclarity on the covenants.
The author of Hebrews certainlyunderstood the covenants when
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they wrote.
In speaking of a new covenant,he makes the first one obsolete,
and what is becoming obsoleteand growing old is ready to
vanish away.
The new covenant age began atPentecost, when the work of
Christ at the cross andresurrection resulted in the
believers receivingreconciliation to Yahweh through
the Holy Spirit.
But, as we see in our Hebrew'sletter and the teaching of
(20:10):
Christ Yeshua, the law was stillbeing observed.
So what can we say about thetime frame they were living in
when Paul wrote his letter tothe Romans?
It was a transition period.
The new covenant age had begunbut was not fully consummated,
and the old covenant age wasbecoming obsolete and would soon
vanish.
The apostles lived in atransitional period of time.
(20:32):
They lived at the end of an age.
The New Age had not made itsfull transition at that time.
On one hand, they were maderight with God by the blood of
Christ.
2 Corinthians 5.18.
All this is from God who,through Christ, reconciled us to
himself and gave us theministry of reconciliation that
is in Christ.
(20:53):
God was reconciling the worldto himself, not counting their
trespasses against them andentrusting to us the message of
reconciliation.
And then, on the other hand,they were awaiting redemption
Romans 5.9,.
Since, therefore, we have nowbeen justified by his blood,
much more shall we be saved byhim from the wrath of God.
(21:14):
For if, while we were enemies,we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more,now that we are reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life.
As I explained in message number60, they awaited redemption.
That redemption was eternallife in Christ.
Eternal life is being in thepresence of God, and that was
(21:35):
the whole purpose of theresurrection in AD 70.
It was to bring the saints,those still living on earth and
those who slept, into thepresence of the Lord.
Those who slept were the deadIn Sheol.
The presence of God did notexist.
The dead slept apart from theLord.
The living waited forredemption, which was to be
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brought into the spiritualpresence of the Lord, where life
exists eternally.
Separation from the Lord isdeath.
To be in the presence of theLord is life.
That's why Paul writes Forwhile we were still enemies, we
were reconciled to God by thedeath of his son.
Much more, now that we arereconciled, shall we be saved by
his life?
Shall we or have we been?
(22:19):
Paul could have said much more.
Have we been saved?
Yes, he could have, but herather writes shall we be saved?
Paul knew the Holy Spirit wastheir seal for the day of
redemption Ephesians 4.30, butthey did not yet identify as
redeemed.
For them, redemption was near.
(22:39):
For us today, redemption ishere, this or that.
It's important to pay attentionto the words in our scripture.
For example, when Christ Yeshuaspeaks of the coming judgment,
he says in this generation.
But today most Christians hearhim saying that generation.
When he says this generation,it could only mean the one they
(23:01):
were living in, not ours.
If the saints at the time ofPaul's writing were in the
presence of Yahweh, what was thepoint of the resurrection.
All kinds of outlandish thingscan be made up about this, but
none of the claims can besupported in scripture.
So let's talk about thesynagogues and Paul's missionary
journeys.
Paul, as well as the otherapostles, certainly believed
(23:23):
that a final judgment was comingand that the law which
continued to be observed by theJews would soon vanish.
The question I want to ask isif the law had not yet vanished
during Paul's ministry, how didPaul feel about the law being
observed by the Jews who did notyet have faith in the Messiah?
How can we apply Paul'sstatement?
(23:44):
God shows no partiality to hispresent situation at the time of
the writing, as Christ himselfproclaimed in Matthew 5.17,.
So what does this mean for themostly Gentile Christians that
Paul wrote to in Rome?
Not an iota, not a dot willpass from the law until all is
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accomplished.
So what does this mean for themostly Gentile Christians that
Paul wrote to in Rome?
Paul's letter was writtenbefore the AD 70 destruction of
the temple and the law was stillin effect.
Let's consider some key pointsabout the context in which Paul
wrote his letter.
The work of Christ at the crossand resurrection fulfilled the
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law for those who believed inhim Matthew 5.17.
Not an iota, not a dot hadpassed from the law.
Matthew 5.18.
What was becoming obsolete andgrowing old was ready to vanish
away.
Hebrews 8.13.
We can clearly discern fromthese points that the believers
no longer needed to observe thelaw.
The law was fulfilled in themthrough Christ Yeshua.
(24:53):
This leads us into thefollowing questions.
Was it unholy for the Jews whodid not yet believe to observe
the law?
Would it be unholy for aChristian to observe the law in
order to win over those who didnot yet believe?
For a Christian to observe thelaw in order to win over those
who did not yet believe?
We know that God shows nopartiality, but how could Paul
honor this view in his life?
(25:14):
How could Paul preach to Jewsand Gentiles without showing
partiality?
A Christian was made holy bythe blood of Christ, and
non-believing Jews still believethat observing the law was holy
and faithful.
So would Paul's focus towardnon-believing Jews have been
rejecting the law or preachingthe Messiah?
(25:34):
When we look at the Acts of theApostles, the book of Acts, we
see Paul preaching the Messiahand the fulfillment of the law
that came through him.
He even faced trouble andpersecution for preaching the
resurrection of the dead thatwould soon come through Christ
Yeshua.
This was a teaching that heproved in the Jewish scriptures,
the Tanakh, which we know asour Old Testament.
The Apostle's focus seems tohave been for those under the
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law to believe in the Messiah,not for those under the law to
reject the law.
After all, christ did notreject the law, he fulfilled it.
The law would be fullyabolished and vanish away when
the Lord returned.
The final judgment would takecare of that.
Paul was well aware of this.
He didn't need people to rejectthe law.
(26:18):
He wanted them to accept theChrist.
Paul has all kinds of positivethings to say about the law in
Romans 7, but he also recognizedthat it was a curse.
Not because the law was in someway bad.
It was because of mankind andsin that it became a curse.
The law, which was holy, causedsin to increase and became
(26:39):
utterly sinful Romans 5.20 andRomans 7.13.
So if the law was good and holy, according to Romans 7, and
mankind was the real problem,then what would Paul's view be
on how to handle the situationwhich they found themselves in
in that first century AD?
How would a Jew who loved hisJewish brothers make his
approach sharing Christ asMessiah.
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In 1 Corinthians 9 we read Forthough I am free from all, I
have made myself a servant toall that I might win more of
them To the Jews.
I became as a Jew in order towin Jews To those under the law.
I became as one under the law,though not being myself under
the law, that I might win thoseunder the law To those outside
(27:23):
the law.
I became as one outside of thelaw, not being outside the law
of God, but under the law ofChrist, that I might win those
outside the law To the weak.
I became weak that I might winthe weak.
I have become all things to allpeople that by all means I
might save some.
So how far would Paul go withthis approach, we might ask?
(27:45):
I think we should begin withthe events leading up to the
meeting of the Jerusalem Counciland the final decision that was
made there among the apostles.
In Galatians 2, 1-5, we read Iwent up because of a revelation
(28:06):
and set before them, thoughprivately, before those who
seemed influential, the gospelthat I proclaim among the
Gentiles, in order to make sureI was not running or had not run
in vain.
But even Titus, who was with mewas not forced to be
circumcised, though he was aGreek, Yet because of false
brothers secretly brought in,who slipped in to spy out our
(28:39):
freedom, that Jewish Christiansin Jerusalem were attempting to
force circumcision on Titus, whowas a Greek.
Just after this, paul writes ofan issue that came from the
people of James and he sharplyrebukes Peter for sharing in the
hypocrisy.
This would have been early interms of the maturity of the
apostles and, to be fair toPeter, I think it's very hard
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for us today to grasp just howdeeply woven the observance of
law was in the minds of thefirst century Jewish Christians.
For those who don't know,circumcision was a requirement
for the Jews, the holy people ofYahweh, which set them apart
from the world.
It was the surgical removal ofthe foreskin on a man.
This surgery was performed atinfancy for the Jewish people
(29:22):
and was certainly the mostavoided requirement by Gentiles
who converted to Judaism.
It was a huge barrier betweenJew and Gentile.
Interestingly, there weredifferent views on whether a
Gentile needed to be circumcisedor not.
It was acceptable to much ofJewish thought that Gentiles
obey the Noahide laws.
The means of Gentiles obtainingsalvation was not something
(29:45):
overlooked by the Jews, butGentiles who converted to
Judaism were largely accepted inthe synagogue by obedience to
the Noahide laws.
They would not share all thesame benefits as those under law
, but they were accepted on thisbasis, according to history.
So let's talk about the Noahidelaws.
According to gotquestionsorg,the Noahide laws are seven
(30:08):
ancient laws that many peopleview as the basis of civilized
society.
According to gotquestionsorg,they are also called the
Noah-tion laws, the seven lawsof Noah, or the seven commands
(30:29):
for Noah's sons.
The idea of a formal set oflaws given to all humanity, all
the sons of Noah, comes from theTalmud and is therefore
extra-biblical.
Some scholars believe the Bookof Jubilees contains a possible
mention of the Noahide laws, butagain, the Book of Jubilees is
not inspired scripture.
However, the basic sevenNoahide laws are based on
(30:51):
biblical principles.
Here are the Noahide laws 1.
Do not deny God.
No idolatry.
2.
Do not murder.
3.
Do not steal.
4.
Do not engage in sexualimmorality.
5.
Do not blaspheme.
6.
Do not eat of a live animal.
(31:13):
No eating flesh taken from ananimal while it is still alive.
7.
Establish courts and legalsystems to ensure obedience of
these laws.
According to Jewish tradition,the first six of these seven
laws were given to Adam in theGarden of Eden.
The sixth law to not eat liveanimals was extraneous.
Given to Adam in the Garden ofEden, the sixth law to not eat
live animals was extraneoussince Adam did not eat any
(31:33):
animals.
When God established hiscovenant with Noah, he added the
seventh, and the sixth becameapplicable.
Each of the seven Noahide lawsis seen as a summary of more
detailed laws, about 211 total.
According to Judaism, a Gentiledoes not have to follow the
Mosaic law.
However, all Gentiles areobliged to follow the Noahide
(31:54):
laws.
The laws given to Noah'schildren are universally binding
.
A non-Jew who abides by theNoahide laws is considered a
righteous Gentile according toJudaism and will earn a reward
in the afterlife.
If his obedience is coupledwith the knowledge that the laws
come from God, a righteousGentile might also be called a
(32:14):
Hasidic Gentile or simply aNoahide.
I thought that was a prettygood summary, so I wanted to
share it with you guys.
Righteous Gentiles were alsoreferred to as God-fearers.
Knowing this information aboutthe belief of the first century
Jews, it, it becomes veryinteresting what was decided at
the meeting of the apostles inJerusalem known as the Jerusalem
(32:35):
Council.
Interestingly, the names we seestanding up here are James and
Peter, who were also named byPaul in his letter to Galatia.
But this time they come to anagreement and all seem to be
satisfied by and benefit fromthe spiritual gathering.
In Acts 15, 19-31 we read, forhe has read every Sabbath in the
(33:12):
synagogues.
Then it seemed good to theapostles and the elders, with
the whole church, to choose menfrom among them and send them to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
They sent Judas, calledBarsabbas, and Silas, leading
men among the brothers, with thefollowing letter the brothers,
both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the
(33:33):
Gentiles in Antioch and Syriaand Cilicia greetings.
Since we have heard that somepersons have gone out from us
and troubled you with wordsunsettling your minds, although
we gave them no instructions, ithas seemed good to us having
come to one accord.
It has seemed good to us havingcome to one accord.
It has seemed good to us havingcome to one accord to choose
(33:53):
men and send them to you withour beloved Barnabas and Paul,
men who have risked their livesfor the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
We have therefore sent Judasand Silas, who themselves will
tell you the same things by wordof mouth, for it has seemed
good to the Holy Spirit and tous to lay on you no greater
burden than these requirementsthat you abstain from what has
(34:14):
been sacrificed to idols andfrom blood, and from what has
been strangled and from sexualimmorality.
If you keep yourselves fromthese, you will do well,
farewell.
So when they were sent off,they went down to Antioch and,
having gathered the congregationtogether, they delivered the
letter and when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its
encouragement.
(34:36):
Do these requirements decided bythe Council for the Gentile
Believers not seem to be derivedfrom the Noahide laws?
They most certainly do, in myopinion.
But why would these things berequired for the Gentile
believer If the law wasfulfilled in Christ?
Why would the Gentiles berequired to be acceptable to the
Jews in this way?
What would make the church cometo this conclusion?
(34:57):
Was it because God shows nopartiality that they wanted to
display a sense of unity amongthe Gentiles and Jews?
An immediate question thatcomes to mind in regards to
Paul's views on circumcision inlight of this God shows no
partiality view is why did Paulcircumcise Timothy for the Jews
(35:18):
when we see him clearly standingagainst circumcision in
Jerusalem, as recorded in hisown letter to the Galatians, did
Paul fold under pressure?
In Acts 16.1 we read Paul camealso to Derbe and to Lystra.
A disciple was there namedTimothy, the son of a Jewish
woman who was a believer, buthis father was a Greek.
He was well spoken of by thebrothers at Lystra and Iconium.
(35:41):
Paul wanted Timothy toaccompany him and he took him
and circumcised him because ofthe Jews who were in those
places, for they all knew thathis father was a Greek.
As they went on their waythrough the cities, they
delivered to them, forobservance, the decisions that
had been reached by the apostlesand elders who were in
Jerusalem.
So the churches werestrengthened in the faith and
(36:01):
they increased in numbers daily.
We see in this text that as Pauland Timothy went through the
cities, they delivered the newsfrom their council meeting.
This news was that the Gentilesdid not need to be circumcised.
Why does Paul not follow thisnew rule after the meeting?
Well, there are a couple thingswe must factor about the
situation, making it quitedifferent than what was written
(36:24):
to the Galatians and alsodecided in the Council of
Jerusalem.
One Timothy was the son of aJewish woman, but his father was
a Greek.
Two, the Jews who were in thoseplaces, as Luke calls them,
were probably not Christians.
Timothy would have been sort ofcaught in between Jew and
Gentile culture, wouldn't yousay?
(36:44):
It seems Paul wanted him to beseen as a Jew in order to not
cause the weak to stumble.
By the weak I mean the Jews whodid not yet believe in Christ
Yeshua as Messiah.
How can I conclude that Pauldid this for non-believing Jews?
And what did the Jews have todo with the first century church
?
Well, first we need to realizethat Gentiles were grafted into
(37:06):
a Jewish faith Romans 11.
But equally as important, wemust come to understand where
the early Christians, certainlyin the time of a Roman's letter,
were often meeting and wherePaul always went first and spent
much time as he went from townto town with his gospel.
Paul always preached at thesynagogues.
God shows no partiality, andeither did Paul.
(37:28):
Timothy, who had a Jewishmother, would have been frowned
upon in certain Jewish citiesfor not being circumcised.
This would have been no smallthing for Timothy to undergo for
the sake of his non-believingJewish brothers.
How much more could he showlove for his weak and stumbling
brothers than to make thissacrifice, despite being free in
Christ and not under law.
(37:49):
In this context, I see this notat all like backing down.
I used to think that maybe theygave in to the pressure of
Judaizers, but this was anincredible act of love.
They weren't backing down atall, but striving for unity with
the stumbling Jews to the bestof their ability.
Paul practiced just as he taughtIn Romans 12.18,.
(38:10):
Paul writes If possible, so faras it depends on you, live
peaceably with all.
Paul and Timothy together musthave shared the view that Paul
expressed in what we readearlier 1 Corinthians 9.20.
But prior to the JerusalemCouncil, while facing Christian
(38:35):
Jews who were imposing the lawonto Gentiles, paul had no
problem rebuking their views.
Who were imposing the law untoGentiles, paul had no problem
rebuking their views.
1 Corinthians 9.21,.
So what we see is a Paul that'sconsistent and true to his
(38:56):
views, not a Paul who foldedunder pressure or compromised
his faith.
Paul spent much of his timeteaching in the synagogues and
in order to do so he had to winthe respect of the Jews in any
way that he could.
Although Paul was accused ofrejecting the law by the Christ
rejecting Jews in context he wasvery respectful of the law and,
(39:17):
as a result, proved to manythat Christ Yeshua was the
Messiah King who came from theline of David.
The very same point that Christhimself was making in his
ministry John 5, 39,.
You search the scripturesbecause you think that in them
you have eternal life, and it isthey that bear witness about me
.
That's Christ Yeshua speaking.
This was the point Paul wouldbe making to the Jews.
(39:40):
He proved his point by usingthe law, not by rejecting it and
making people upset.
It was their error thatconcluded Paul as a
law-rejecting Jew.
It was not Paul's paradigm.
Their anger was pure error.
To be clear, I'm not sayingthat Paul promoted Christ plus
law or Christ plus works.
This can be a difficult conceptto grasp at first, but I think
(40:04):
it makes the most sense when werealize that synagogues would
have had a major role in thefunction of the early church in
Rome.
When we begin to understand howthe synagogues operated and how
central they were to the Romanchurch, our eyes open up to a
whole new context.
When reading Paul's writing,let's talk about the
self-governing synagoguecommunity.
The Jewish synagogues wereessentially the center of Jewish
(40:26):
culture and the Jews were givenincredible privileges by the
Roman Empire, allowing them tofunction quite independently and
live in their own ways, setapart from the pagan society
around them.
About the governing systemwithin the synagogues, george La
(41:02):
Piana writes and moralauthority over its members, but
also a form of civiljurisdiction in regulating
contracts and settling disputes,and even a limited criminal
jurisdiction, with the power toinflict penalties which were
sanctioned by the publicauthorities.
In a word, the Jewishassociations taken all together,
actually possessed all theessential elements of
organization and governmentpertaining to a city and not
merely showed the semblance ofsuch institutions, as was the
(41:25):
case with Collegia.
This was from his writing.
Foreign Groups in Rome Duringthe First Centuries of the Roman
Empire, pages 3049-50, georgeLa Piana.
We see that prior to AD 70, thesynagogues held meetings for
worship on the Sabbath and otherholidays.
This community worship involvedthe study of Torah and prayer
(41:47):
and could be considered thecenterpiece of religious life
for the Jews.
They read from the scriptures,translated, interpreted, as well
as sharing commentary andexhortation.
This was something that thewhole community could partake in
.
The community also gathered insynagogues for festivals, meals,
education and business.
Further discussing this topic,mark Nanos writes the
(42:11):
responsibilities of synagogueleaders included both religious
and practical matters ofadministration.
Although each synagogue in Romewas autonomous.
They operated under the samestructure and associated with
the others.
The leadership included severalpositions synagogue ruler over
religious activities.
A council for general affairs.
(42:32):
An archon for non-religiousaffairs.
A secretary and an official forfinancial responsibilities.
They would have handled manyfinancial and ethical issues
necessary in the communityaffairs.
A secretary and an official forfinancial responsibilities.
They would have handled manyfinancial and ethical issues
necessary in the communityaffairs.
For example, they wereresponsible to ensure correct
behavior among the members,including judgment and
discipline.
Paul bears witness to this inthe early persecution of the way
(42:56):
in the Damascus synagogues andin the various floggings and
stonings he later underwent forthe same reasons at the hands of
the Jewish authorities.
One did not simply pass in andout of membership in the
synagogue community at will.
If one was a member of thecommunity, one was subordinate
to the synagogue leader'sauthority and discipline.
If one refused to do so, onewas no longer regarded as a
(43:18):
member of the community.
The leaders also answered tothe Roman authorities for the
collection and distribution oftaxes.
In this sense, they served asrepresentatives of the
government for the Jewishcommunity.
Additional activities undertheir jurisdiction included
schooling of children, providinglodging for travelers and the
burial of members.
(43:45):
This was taken from his writing,the Mystery of Romans, pages 47
and 49, mark D Nanos.
This information sheds a lot ofcontext on the operations
within the Jewish synagogues,doesn't it?
It is believed by Mark Nanosthat the church in Rome was very
tied to the synagogues.
This Roman church of mostlyGentile Christians would have
been learning to behave likeJews in order to participate in
their society.
Why might they care to do so,we might ask?
(44:07):
Well, a few key points we needto consider here would be
personal copies of scripturewere very rare in those times
and the synagogues had access toscripture.
The scriptures were being readand taught in the synagogues,
and the Christians would have achance to participate in the
commentary.
Gentile Christians were enteringinto a Jewish faith and
(44:29):
learning about a Jewish Messiah,so learning scripture would be
vital for their spiritual growth.
Despite Paul writing to apredominantly Gentile church, he
constantly quoted scripture toprove his case.
How would they understand hiswriting if they didn't
understand Jewish scripture?
Paul considered the Jews to bebrothers.
Despite the rejection of Christ, he desired for them to receive
(44:52):
the gospel before the end ofthe age.
Preaching in the synagogueswould be the only way to reach
the elect within the Jewishcommunities.
Reaching in the synagogueswould be the only way to reach
the elect within the Jewishcommunities.
As we see here, there are a tonof reasons for Gentile
Christians to partake in theJewish community, and this
information certainly helps usto better understand the
(45:13):
submission to authorities thatwe see Paul write in about later
in chapter 13 of his letter aswell.
We'll also find that it sheds awhole new light on who the weak
and the strong refer to laterin the Apostles' Romans letter.
In regards to culture, gentileChristians likely struggled to
participate in the pagansocieties upon converting to
Christianity.
Judaism essentially offeredthem protection, as they had
(45:34):
privileges in the synagoguecommunities in Rome that they
would not have otherwise had thesynagogue communities in Rome
that they would not haveotherwise had.
Doing business in Gentilecommunities would have been tied
into emperor worship, pagangods and all kinds of
non-Christian practices.
A Christian was probably notvery highly regarded in pagan
communities and would likelyfind synagogue communities to be
a safe haven in comparison.
(45:55):
When we discover how deeplywoven early Christians would
have been into Judaism, itbecomes apparent why issues like
circumcision were such a hottopic as a necessary initiation
for Gentiles in certain Jewishcommunities.
These early Christians werevery much part of Jewish culture
and being taught about a JewishMessiah.
In order to gain insight intotheir faith, they had to
(46:19):
participate in the Jewishcommunities.
Getting kicked out of thesynagogues, which did happen
under Christian persecution,would have been far from
desirable.
It would have been devastating.
We often overlook just how tiedto the synagogues Paul, our
apostle to the Gentiles,actually was.
Paul always went to the Jewfirst, and also the Greek, just
(46:40):
as he preached in his Romanswriting.
God shows no partiality.
Paul was looking for thefaithful among all people, not
just a certain color or race.
We even see Paul making alaw-based Jewish vow, recorded
by Luke in the Acts of theApostles, acts 18.18,.
After this, paul stayed manydays longer and then took leave
(47:02):
of the brothers and set sail forSyria, and with him Priscilla
and Aquila.
At Sancreia he cut off his hair, for he was under a vow.
It's worth noting that Lukerecords Paul making this vow
after receiving heavypersecution and physical attacks
from the Jews in a synagogue atCorinth.
In Acts 18.6,.
(47:23):
Paul declared your blood be onyour own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to theGentiles.
But then Yahweh came to Paul ina vision and said Do not be
afraid, but go on speaking anddo not be silent, for I am with
you and no one will attack youto harm you, for I have many in
this city who are my people.
According to the NIV CulturalBackground Study Bible, one
(47:48):
normally shaved the head at thecompletion of a vow in Jerusalem
, but Paul may have shavedbefore a long vow, or perhaps
many Diaspora Jews undertookvows without requiring
completion in Jerusalem, so wedon't seem to know exactly why
Paul makes this vow, but it'sthought to have been a Nazarite
vow.
It's easy enough to findinformation on Nazarite vows.
(48:09):
I found some simple informationon gotquestionsorg.
In a brief summary of thearticle we read the vow is a
decision individuals who havevoluntarily dedicated themselves
to God.
The vow is a decision, actionand desire on the part of people
who desire to yield themselvesto God completely.
By definition, the Hebrew wordNazar simply means to be
(48:31):
separated or consecrated.
The Nazarite vow, which appearsin Numbers 6, 1-21, has five
features.
Numbers 6, 1 through 21 hasfive features it is voluntary,
can be done by either men orwomen, has a specific time frame
, has specific requirements andrestrictions and at its
(48:52):
conclusion, a sacrifice isoffered.
It was also mentioned that,although the vow was usually
done by an individual by theirown choice, samuel, samson and
John the Baptist all receivedthe Nazarite vow from birth.
We then see vows being madeagain later in Acts, in chapter
21.
When we had come to Jerusalem,the brothers received us gladly.
On the following day.
(49:12):
Paul went in with us to James,and all the elders were present.
After greeting them, he relatedone by one, the things that God
had done among the Gentilesthrough his ministry, and when
they heard it, they glorifiedGod and they said to him you see
, brother, how many thousandsthere are among the Jews for
those who have believed.
They are all zealous for thelaw, and they have been told
(49:34):
about you that you teach all theJews who are among the Gentiles
to forsake Moses, telling themnot to circumcise their children
or walk according to ourcustoms.
What, then, is to be done?
They will certainly hear thatyou have come.
Do, therefore, what we tell you.
We have four men who are undera vow.
Take these men and purifyyourself along with them and pay
(49:56):
their expenses so that they mayshave their heads.
Thus, all will know that thereis nothing in what they have
been told about you, but thatyou yourself also live in
observance of the law.
But as for the Gentiles whohave believed, we have sent a
letter with our judgment thatthey should abstain from what
has been sacrificed to idols andfrom blood and from what has
(50:17):
been strangled and from sexualimmorality.
Then Paul took the men, and thenext day he purified himself
along with them and went intothe temple giving notice when
the days of purification wouldbe fulfilled and the offering
presented for each one of them.
And then again in the NIVcultural background study Bible,
we read Judeans deemed piousthose who sponsored Nazarites.
(50:40):
By this period, jewish peopleexpected such vows.
Bible, we read, offeredsacrifices on the seventh day.
Scripture did not specify aminimum length for vows, though
(51:01):
Jewish tradition in this periodnormally required at least 30
days.
Ephesus was the chief city ofthe Roman province of Asia, and
some members of the synagoguethere had reason to dislike Paul
.
Larger riots occurred in thetemple on a number of occasions
and sometimes led to massacresor to thousands being trampled.
This is all difficult tounderstand if we carry the
(51:24):
mindset that Paul was anti-law,as most Christians do today,
especially as Protestants.
Now you may have your guard upright now, thinking what is this
guy trying to say?
But hear me out, I'm not aJudaizer.
If you listen regularly or readmy blog posts, you know that
I'm not even close to legalismin my teaching.
I'm not arguing that Paul was alegalist and condoned
(51:47):
observance of the law forrighteousness.
I don't suggest that Paulbelieved that he needed to make
sacrifices for his sin anylonger as a Christian Jew.
But I do think Paul saw the lawas holy and good.
After all, as Christ Yeshuasaid, the law pointed to him
John 5.39.
The law did not contain eternallife, but it led to Christ
(52:09):
Yeshua in its proper context.
The Christ-rejecting Jews werein error and Paul wanted to save
as many as he could.
Just as God shows no partiality,paul also lived his life not
displaying partiality.
After the ascended Christ cameto him on the road to Damascus,
despite being the apostle toGentiles, paul continued to love
(52:30):
his Jewish brothers as the Lordput on his heart.
After all, paul did write thatGod shows no partiality.
Romans 2, 11.
As Paul went from town to townwith his gospel, the first place
he would go was the localJewish synagogue.
Let's look at the multitude ofinstances.
We see this recorded in thebook of Acts, acts 13.45,.
(52:51):
But when the Jews saw thecrowds, they were filled with
jealousy and began to contradictwhat was spoken by Paul,
reviling him.
And Paul and Barnabas spoke outboldly saying and when the
(53:20):
Gentiles heard this, they beganrejoicing and glorifying the
word of the Lord.
It would be easy to see Paulbeing completely done with the
Jews at this point and moving onto the Gentiles, but, as we'll
see, paul continued to do thesame thing repeatedly, as
(53:40):
recorded in the Acts of theApostles.
This Jew-'ll see Paul continuedto do the same thing repeatedly,
as recorded in the Acts of theApostles.
This Jew first approach wasPaul's way.
He writes his reasoning laterin Romans, in Romans 11,.
Paul writes Now I am speakingto you, gentiles.
Inasmuch, then, as I am apostleto the Gentiles, I magnify my
ministry in order somehow tomake my fellow Jews jealous and
thus save some of them.
(54:01):
Paul wanted to reach theremnant through the diaspora as
well as the Gentiles who wouldbelieve.
The Jews were supposed to bethe light to the Gentiles all
along, but they failed.
Our Jewish Messiah, christYeshua, became that light for
the Jews, and his light wasreaching the Gentiles.
Yahweh, through Paul's ministry, was now using the Christian
(54:22):
Gentiles to be a light to theJews.
And we see Paul continue fromsynagogue to synagogue, as
recorded by Luke Acts 13.
Now Paul and his companions setsail from Paphos and came to
Perga and Pamphylia and Johnleft them and returned to
Jerusalem.
But they went on from Perga andcame to Antioch, in Sidia, and
on the Sabbath, and returned toJerusalem.
But they went on from Perga andcame to Antioch, in Sidia, and
(54:42):
on the Sabbath day they wentinto the synagogue and sat down.
Acts 14.
Now, at Iconium, they enteredtogether into the Jewish
synagogue and spoke in such away that a great number of both
(55:12):
Jews and Greeks believed.
Acts 17.1.
Acts 17.10.
By night to Berea, when theyarrived, they went into the
Jewish synagogue.
Now, these Jews were more noblethan those in Thessalonica.
They received the word with alleagerness, examining the
scriptures daily to see if thethings were so.
Acts 17, 16.
Now Paul was waiting for them atAthens.
(55:33):
His spirit was provoked withinhim as he saw that the city was
full of idols.
So he reasoned in the synagoguewith the Jews and the devout
persons and in the marketplace,every day with those who
happened to be there Acts 18.1.
After this, paul left Athensand went to Corinth and he found
a Jew named Acula, a native ofPontus, recently come from Italy
(55:54):
, and his wife Priscilla.
Because Claudius had commandedall the Jews to leave Rome and
he went to see them, and becausehe was of the same trade, he
stayed with them and worked, forthey were tent makers by trade
and he reasoned in the synagogueevery Sabbath and tried to
persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy arrivedfrom Macedonia, paul was
(56:14):
occupied with the word,testifying to the Jews that the
Christ was Jesus.
And when they opposed andreviled him, he shook out his
garments and said to them yourblood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to theGentiles.
And he left there and went tothe house of a man named Titus
Justus, a worshipper of God.
His house was next door to thesynagogue.
(56:36):
Crispus, the rue of thesynagogue, believed in the Lord,
together with his entirehousehold and many of the
Corinthians hearing Paul,believed and were baptized Acts
18.19,.
And they came to Ephesus and heleft them there, but he himself
went into the synagogue andreasoned with the Jews Acts
19.8,.
And he entered the synagogueand for three months spoke
(56:57):
boldly, reasoning and persuadingthem about the kingdom of God.
But when some became stubbornand continued in unbelief
speaking evil of the way beforethe congregation, he withdrew
from them and took the discipleswith him, reasoning daily in
the hall of Tyrannus.
This continued for two years.
So all the residents of Asiaheard the word of the Lord, both
Jews and Greeks.
(57:18):
Acts 28.
After three, to see thehistorical context unfold, do
(57:39):
you have a better understandingof what Paul meant when he said
God shows no partiality inRomans 2.11?
My hope is that this messagewill shape our paradigm as we
move further into our Romansletter and allow us to extract
the full depths of truth in thewriting that Paul intended for
his audience in Rome.
It has become clear to me thatPaul did not shape his message
(58:00):
to better fit the Gentiles, butrather shaped the Gentiles'
minds through the Jewishscripture in order for them to
fully know their Jewish Messiah.
Much error has been recorded inhistory due to the
Gentilization of the church,which happened right after the
apostles, beginning with theearly church fathers.
I've come to realize that we dodamage to scripture when we
(58:22):
view it through the wrong lens.
The writers of our scriptureswere Hebrew, other than Luke,
who would have had close tieswith the Jews.
If we're to gain the most fromour scripture, we want to
understand it the way that theHebrew author intended it to be
understood by their audience.
I will make my best attempt atdoing so as we go through our
Roman study and, of course,we'll never lose sight of who we
(58:44):
are in Christ Yeshua.
Thanks to his finished workalong the way.
In Christ, we have theprivilege of learning all about
our Lord while resting in hisamazing grace.
As a Christian, you are a saint, a fully forgiven person.
You've been made perfect by theblood of our Lord and your life
is as long as forgiven person.
You've been made perfect by theblood of our Lord and your life
is as long as His.
Now You've put on immortality,so let's live like it.
(59:06):
Shall we Grace and peace to youand have a great day out there.
Talk to you at our next study.
Speaker 1 (59:12):
Thank you for listening to the Waking Up to
Grace podcast brought to you bythe finished work of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
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Hello and welcome to the Waking Up To Grace podcast,
where we celebrate and explorethe finished work of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
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And now here's Lenny.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome back to the podcast everyone.
And now here's Lenny.
Welcome back to the podcasteveryone.
Today I have a loaded messagefor you guys that's prepared to
set the context for our Romanstudy as we move forward.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
In Romans, chapter 2, verse 11,paul proclaims that God shows no
partiality.
I think this statement made byPaul perfectly sums up the
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picture he's painting for hisaudience in his argument about
the judgment of our Lord.
As we read so far, all ofmankind will be judged based on
what they have done, good andbad.
We've also discussed how thisultimately pertains to belief
and unbelief.
Yahweh has mercy on thefaithful when it comes to
judging.
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Does mankind show partiality?
We know God shows no partiality, but the same can't be said
about mankind from a corporateview.
A corporate view meaningmankind as a whole.
Paul has given us quite a viewof corporate mankind so far in
Romans, hasn't he?
The worst of the worst when itcomes to sin gets placed on
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corporate mankind.
It's not as though we all havethese exact attributes, but as a
whole.
The unfaithful are responsiblefor all of them, and through
Adam, mankind has fallen fromgrace and stands in opposition
to Yahweh.
Pagans love to argue that truthis not objective, meaning
there's no truth, but rather itis subjective and depends on our
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opinions.
Somehow, if we haven't seenfirsthand the damage of this
cultural view in America, wemust be closing our eyes.
A Christian should be abovethis, but sadly, as humans we
tend to adapt to society aroundus, at least to some extent,
unless we're very careful.
I think the first century Jewshad a similar struggle.
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Partiality to their own race asthe superior race was a
struggle that even Peter seemedto share with his culture, prior
to Yahweh waking him up tograce a bit more by sending him
to the Gentile Cornelius withthe gospel.
In Acts 10.43, we read.
So Peter opened his mouth andsaid Truly I understand that God
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shows no partiality, but inevery nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right isacceptable to him.
Peter was now beginning tograsp what had clearly not been
taught to him by the Jewishleaders of their day that God
shows no partiality.
We see this declared to theJews explicitly in Deuteronomy,
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chapter 10.
We read For the Lord, your God,is God of gods and Lord of
lords, the great, the mighty andthe awesome God who is not
partial and takes no bribe.
He executes justice for thefatherless and the widow and
loves the sojourner, giving himfood and clothing.
Love the sojourner, therefore,for you are sojourners in the
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land of Egypt.
You shall fear the Lord, yourGod.
You shall serve him and holdfast to him, and by his name you
shall swear.
It's important to note thiscircumcision of the heart, as
Paul uses this same term, soonin our coming passages.
But Yahweh wanted the Jews to bean example of faith and of
faithfulness to the Gentile whowanted to worship Yahweh and
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turn away from those foreigngods.
But from corporate Israel wesee partiality to the Jewish
race.
This was not new to the firstcentury.
Think back on Jonah.
He was so upset that the Lordmade him preach to the Gentiles.
He just couldn't get over it.
He tried everything in hispower to escape it.
But Yahweh had another plan inmind, didn't he?
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So it was with Christ.
The Jews did not succeed atbeing a light to all nations, so
Yeshua came and did it for them.
God does not show partiality,and he didn't want his holy
people to display partialityeither.
In Chronicles 19 we read Now,then, let the fear of the Lord
be upon you, be careful what youdo, for there is no injustice
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with the Lord, our God, orpartiality or taking bribes.
In the Amalekite, chapter 2, weread but you have turned aside
from the way.
You have caused many to stumbleby your instruction.
You have corrupted the covenantof Levi, says the Lord of hosts
.
And, as we read, national Israeldid in fact show partiality,
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mark 11 states and they came toJerusalem and he entered the
temple and began to drive outthose who sold and those who
bought in the temple.
And he overturned the tables ofthe money changers and the
seats of those who sold pigeons,and he would not allow anyone
to carry anything through thetemple.
And he was teaching them andsaying to them.
Is it not written my houseshall be called a house of
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prayer for all the nations.
You have made it a den ofrobbers.
This was Christ Yeshua speakinghere.
Why do you think he was soangry?
Was he upset that they wereasking too much for the pigeons?
Was this about price gougingand corrupt business practices?
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Well, the truth can be found inthe text that Christ Yeshua
quotes from Isaiah.
Isaiah 56, 7 says these I willbring to my holy mountain and
make them joyful in my house ofprayer, their burnt offerings
and their sacrifices will beaccepted on my altar, for my
house shall be called a house ofprayer for all people.
He's talking about Gentiles.
God does not show partiality.
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The temple was to be a place ofworship for all people, all
people.
But the leaders of Israeldidn't seem to mind that the
place where the Gentiles wereallowed to worship, outside of
the inner court, was filled withmerchants and money changers.
The Jews were robbing theGentiles of their place to
worship.
This is what they had stolen.
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They were to be a light to theGentiles and this was the
respect that they gave them.
Christ Yeshua's reaction wasjust as well as symbolic of what
he was about to correct, asPaul also writes in his Romans
letter.
For, as it is written, the nameof God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you, andthat's Romans 2.24.
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Paul's quoting from Isaiah 52and Ezekiel 36.
When I covered the beginning ofRomans, chapter 2, would be a
light to those nations and theywould soon be filling the temple
, courts and synagogues.
When I covered the beginning ofRomans, chapter 2, I was seeing
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Paul continuing to direct hisconversation at corporate
mankind.
In coming to this conclusion, Iignored the context of a new
chapter beginning.
I do this intentionally.
It's critical that we realizethese verses, chapters and
headers did not exist in Paul'sletters.
Scholars put them there to helpus and often they do, but not
always.
There's an objective truth inscripture and we don't always
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fall in line with that.
Our goal as Christians ought tobe that our minds are shaped by
the scripture and not the otherway around.
If we catch ourselves shapingscripture around our minds, we
should take caution.
In our society today and inevery generation before us, it
seems that the primary goal ofthe Christian is to win the
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argument, but when we study thewritings of Paul, I see a man
who wanted to win over the soulsof those who he preached to.
I've begun to see his argumentsthat we tend to see as
imaginary opponents, not so muchas opposition in Paul's mind,
but an opportunity to unitethose who were in error with
truth.
In other words, he was tryingto help them, not trying to rub
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their face in their error, as wesee all over the internet and
social media going on today,mindlessly attacking one another
in order to force submissionand shame on those who don't
agree with us.
As we dive into Paul's argument.
I want you to consider that Paulis having an interlocking
conversation with an imaginaryobjector whose paradigm would
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have been familiar as thecorporate view of the Jews in
their day, would have beenfamiliar as the corporate view
of the Jews in their day.
In other words, paul wanted toengage with that mindset and
interlace with it.
While he laid out his argument,like an attorney might have,
with the utmost of care anddetail, from beginning to end.
But getting back to our pointthat God shows no partiality, I
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changed my mind about who Pauldirected the beginning of
chapter 2 at.
The detail that I overlookedwas that he changes from using
them, and they in verses 19-32of chapter 1 to you, beginning
in chapter 2.
The you represents Paul'simaginary Jewish interlocutors
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whom he is addressing.
He uses a rhetorical deviceknown as diatribe to stage a
conversation between himself andthe Jewish thought process of
their day, which would have beenvery familiar to them as they
experienced it in the synagogues.
Although I can't see any majorsignificance in the difference
here, in understanding whether Iwas right or wrong, my
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hermeneutics were off a bit, soI wanted to point that out to
you guys.
My goal is not to be rightabout everything so much as it
is to be united with the truth.
That may sound like double talk, but the mindset of being right
all the time is a trap.
We must let the Holy Spiritguide us through Scripture.
This involves discerning ourown ignorance as well as the
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ignorance of scholars.
Truth is all over the place,but we have to sift through
error to find it in most cases.
This doesn't make truthsubjective in any way.
Scripture is inspired.
Our job is to understand itcorrectly.
Let this be an example that I'mnot always right, but I'm
humble enough to admit if I seeI was wrong.
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I pray that the Lord continuesto humble me but also protects
me from falling into error andignorance.
I've come to realize that afterthis study is over, I could
practically go right back aroundand do it again, while
continuing to gain spiritualinsight.
I couldn't be more grateful forthose in my circles who
encourage me and help me toshape my paradigm around truth.
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I'm assembling all kinds ofexcellent resources to have at
my disposal as we go along aswell.
So be prepared If you're likingour study so far, you won't be
let down.
The verse that I'm speaking ofat the beginning of the second
chapter of Romans readsTherefore, you have no excuse, o
man.
Every one of you who judges forin passing judgment on another,
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you condemn yourself becauseyou, the judge, practice the
very same things.
We see Paul begin his argumentusing corporate mankind and Adam
to build his case.
However we look at this verse,whether it describes a man's
view of superiority prior tonational Israel or the view of a
pretentious Jew.
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What was the purpose of thestatement and who was it
primarily written to In hisletter?
Was Paul trying to correct theviews of the Christian Jews in
Rome or the Christian Gentilesin Rome?
Who is he teaching when he saysGod shows no partiality.
If his imaginary conversationtakes place with a man with a
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false Jewish thought process,who is the conversation actually
being held for?
Who is to benefit from thiswriting?
In my last several messages wetalked about eschatological
reasons for Paul making thestatement, for the Jew first and
also the Greek.
Who is the Gentile?
Beyond the eschatologicalreasoning, can you think of
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another reason that Paul wouldhave made this statement several
times?
Do you think that Paul's wordshere are for the Jews or the
Gentiles?
We see Jewish context emerginghere, but who do you think Paul
is directing his statement atwhen he says God shows no
partiality?
It would seem, based onhistorical context, that the
church in Rome was largelyGentile.
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Melissa and I cover thesedetails in message 33 and 34.
I believe so far that Paul isestablishing neutral ground for
both the Jew and the Gentile.
But the first question thatarises here, based on the
context, is why might thepredominantly Gentile church in
Rome need to be hearing this?
Was it because they needed tounderstand their place in the
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faith, or is it because they hadplaced themselves higher than
they ought in their own minds?
Were the Gentiles being temptedto see themselves as superior
to the Jews?
Had some of the Gentiles placedthemselves in the first
position of salvation, so tospeak?
Was Paul actually writing thisto correct a view that some
Gentiles were beginning toentertain due to the error and
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persecution coming from theChrist-rejecting Jews?
Is it possible that theGentiles were beginning to adopt
that same superior mindset thatthey despised in their
Christ-rejecting enemies?
Was Paul using his Jewishargument to remind Gentiles that
God shows no partiality?
In most of our theology today,we predominantly see a context
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established where Paul isconstantly standing up to the
Jews and defending the Gentiles.
We know that Paul does not allowhis Gentile churches to be put
under the law.
But in other places, such asRomans 7, we see that Paul has a
great respect for the law.
Would you say that Paul has alaw rejecting gospel or a law
respecting gospel?
When we examine our views inthe context of Scripture, do we
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find a Paul who rebelled againstthe law or a Paul who preached
the Messiah and a salvation bygrace through faith alone, while
remaining respectful to the law?
If we were to understand Paul'swritings, wouldn't it help a
lot to understand Paul?
We should begin byunderstanding Paul's genuine
love for his Jewish brothers.
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In Romans 9, we read thecovenants, the giving of the law
, the worship and the promises.
To them belong the patriarchs,and from their race, according
to the flesh, is the Christ, whois God over all, blessed
forever, amen.
Then, romans 10, we readBrothers.
My heart's desire and prayer toGod for them is that they may
be saved, for I bear themwitness that they have a zeal
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for God, but not according toknowledge.
I think it's hard to wrap ourGentile minds around this, don't
you?
But I think it is also, in asense, an example of the great
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measure of the Holy Spirit thatPaul was given, allowing him to
love his enemies.
Paul understood well that someof his Jewish brothers who were
opposed to him would receive achange of mind from Yahweh, and
the only way that that wouldhappen was through preaching
Christ.
To them, christ was the end ofthe law, paul says.
This indicates that the wholelaw was about Christ Yeshua in
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the first place.
This was the knowledge theydidn't have.
This was their major error.
The Jews believed that sincethey had the law and the
prophets that they wereautomatically holy, having the
law made them righteous in theirminds, they didn't need to be
saved from their sin.
That's what their animalsacrifices were for.
Would Paul find a soft spot inthe heart of his Jewish brothers
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by rebelling against the lawthat they held in the highest of
regards?
Would Paul's primary goal be toget Jews to stop observing the
law or to start believing inChrist Yeshua, their Messiah?
Whose work would it actually beto get the Jews to stop
observing the law, paul or theLord?
In Matthew 24, we read but heanswered them.
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You see all these, do you not?
Truly, I say to you there willnot be left here.
One stone upon another will notbe thrown down.
Do you think that the apostlesgathered that the Lord would be
coming to judge Israel and thatthe result would be the
destruction of the temple andthe end of the law?
In my last several messages,I've highlighted the fact that
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the apostles all believed thatthe return of Christ would come
in their generation.
It would be a return of wrathand judgment, the judgment for
the saints resulting in eternallife.
It's not surprising that theapostles had a good
understanding of eschatology.
After all, when Yeshua rosefrom the dead, he appeared to
them and taught them throughouta 40-day period.
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In Acts 1 we read he presentedhimself alive to them after his
suffering by many proofs,appearing to them during forty
days and speaking about thekingdom of God.
Do you think you could learn alot from our Lord if he taught
you throughout a forty-dayperiod?
I definitely think so.
I'd say they had a superiorknowledge when it came to the
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fulfillment of all prophecy, andit wouldn't be much different
for Paul.
In Galatians 1.11, we read For Iwould have you know, brothers,
that the gospel that waspreached to me is not man's
gospel, for I did not receive itfrom any man, nor was I taught
it, but I received it through arevelation of Jesus Christ.
Then, right around the corner,in our Roman study, paul
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considers the final judgment tobe part of his gospel.
In Romans 2.16, we read On thatday when, according to my
gospel, god judges the secretsof men by Christ Jesus.
The point I make here is thatthe apostles would have been
awaiting what occurred in AD 70.
They knew that the law wouldcome to an end at the final
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judgment.
Hebrews 8.13 says In speaking ofa new covenant, he makes the
first one obsolete.
And what is becoming obsoleteand growing old is ready to
vanish away.
So if the Lord would be makingsure that the observation of the
law would come to an end, whatwould Paul's focus be in
teaching his Jewish brothers inthe meantime?
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Would it be to reject the lawor to understand the law
properly?
In Matthew 5.17, christ Yeshuasays Do not think that I have
come to abolish the law or theprophets.
I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
For truly I say to you, untilheaven and earth pass away, not
an iota, not a dot will passfrom the law.
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Until all is accomplished andwhen was all accomplished?
Luke 21, we read but when yousee Jerusalem surrounded by
armies, then you know that itsdesolation has come near, for
these are days of vengeance.
To fulfill all that is written,all was accomplished in AD 70,
when Yeshua had his finaljudgment day.
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So what time frame does thatplace our Roman's letter?
In the New Covenant Age or theOld Covenant Age?
Now, this is a concept that weneed to allow our paradigms to
absorb.
We have to let this teaching bepervasive and saturate our
understanding in order to haveclarity on the covenants.
The author of Hebrews certainlyunderstood the covenants when
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they wrote.
In speaking of a new covenant,he makes the first one obsolete,
and what is becoming obsoleteand growing old is ready to
vanish away.
The new covenant age began atPentecost, when the work of
Christ at the cross andresurrection resulted in the
believers receivingreconciliation to Yahweh through
the Holy Spirit.
But, as we see in our Hebrew'sletter and the teaching of
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Christ Yeshua, the law was stillbeing observed.
So what can we say about thetime frame they were living in
when Paul wrote his letter tothe Romans?
It was a transition period.
The new covenant age had begunbut was not fully consummated,
and the old covenant age wasbecoming obsolete and would soon
vanish.
The apostles lived in atransitional period of time.
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They lived at the end of an age.
The New Age had not made itsfull transition at that time.
On one hand, they were maderight with God by the blood of
Christ.
2 Corinthians 5.18.
All this is from God who,through Christ, reconciled us to
himself and gave us theministry of reconciliation that
is in Christ.
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God was reconciling the worldto himself, not counting their
trespasses against them andentrusting to us the message of
reconciliation.
And then, on the other hand,they were awaiting redemption
Romans 5.9,.
Since, therefore, we have nowbeen justified by his blood,
much more shall we be saved byhim from the wrath of God.
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For if, while we were enemies,we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more,now that we are reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life.
As I explained in message number60, they awaited redemption.
That redemption was eternallife in Christ.
Eternal life is being in thepresence of God, and that was
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the whole purpose of theresurrection in AD 70.
It was to bring the saints,those still living on earth and
those who slept, into thepresence of the Lord.
Those who slept were the deadIn Sheol.
The presence of God did notexist.
The dead slept apart from theLord.
The living waited forredemption, which was to be
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brought into the spiritualpresence of the Lord, where life
exists eternally.
Separation from the Lord isdeath.
To be in the presence of theLord is life.
That's why Paul writes Forwhile we were still enemies, we
were reconciled to God by thedeath of his son.
Much more, now that we arereconciled, shall we be saved by
his life?
Shall we or have we been?
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Paul could have said much more.
Have we been saved?
Yes, he could have, but herather writes shall we be saved?
Paul knew the Holy Spirit wastheir seal for the day of
redemption Ephesians 4.30, butthey did not yet identify as
redeemed.
For them, redemption was near.
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For us today, redemption ishere, this or that.
It's important to pay attentionto the words in our scripture.
For example, when Christ Yeshuaspeaks of the coming judgment,
he says in this generation.
But today most Christians hearhim saying that generation.
When he says this generation,it could only mean the one they
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were living in, not ours.
If the saints at the time ofPaul's writing were in the
presence of Yahweh, what was thepoint of the resurrection.
All kinds of outlandish thingscan be made up about this, but
none of the claims can besupported in scripture.
So let's talk about thesynagogues and Paul's missionary
journeys.
Paul, as well as the otherapostles, certainly believed
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that a final judgment was comingand that the law which
continued to be observed by theJews would soon vanish.
The question I want to ask isif the law had not yet vanished
during Paul's ministry, how didPaul feel about the law being
observed by the Jews who did notyet have faith in the Messiah?
How can we apply Paul'sstatement?
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God shows no partiality to hispresent situation at the time of
the writing, as Christ himselfproclaimed in Matthew 5.17,.
So what does this mean for themostly Gentile Christians that
Paul wrote to in Rome?
Not an iota, not a dot willpass from the law until all is
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accomplished.
So what does this mean for themostly Gentile Christians that
Paul wrote to in Rome?
Paul's letter was writtenbefore the AD 70 destruction of
the temple and the law was stillin effect.
Let's consider some key pointsabout the context in which Paul
wrote his letter.
The work of Christ at the crossand resurrection fulfilled the
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law for those who believed inhim Matthew 5.17.
Not an iota, not a dot hadpassed from the law.
Matthew 5.18.
What was becoming obsolete andgrowing old was ready to vanish
away.
Hebrews 8.13.
We can clearly discern fromthese points that the believers
no longer needed to observe thelaw.
The law was fulfilled in themthrough Christ Yeshua.
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This leads us into thefollowing questions.
Was it unholy for the Jews whodid not yet believe to observe
the law?
Would it be unholy for aChristian to observe the law in
order to win over those who didnot yet believe?
For a Christian to observe thelaw in order to win over those
who did not yet believe?
We know that God shows nopartiality, but how could Paul
honor this view in his life?
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How could Paul preach to Jewsand Gentiles without showing
partiality?
A Christian was made holy bythe blood of Christ, and
non-believing Jews still believethat observing the law was holy
and faithful.
So would Paul's focus towardnon-believing Jews have been
rejecting the law or preachingthe Messiah?
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When we look at the Acts of theApostles, the book of Acts, we
see Paul preaching the Messiahand the fulfillment of the law
that came through him.
He even faced trouble andpersecution for preaching the
resurrection of the dead thatwould soon come through Christ
Yeshua.
This was a teaching that heproved in the Jewish scriptures,
the Tanakh, which we know asour Old Testament.
The Apostle's focus seems tohave been for those under the
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law to believe in the Messiah,not for those under the law to
reject the law.
After all, christ did notreject the law, he fulfilled it.
The law would be fullyabolished and vanish away when
the Lord returned.
The final judgment would takecare of that.
Paul was well aware of this.
He didn't need people to rejectthe law.
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He wanted them to accept theChrist.
Paul has all kinds of positivethings to say about the law in
Romans 7, but he also recognizedthat it was a curse.
Not because the law was in someway bad.
It was because of mankind andsin that it became a curse.
The law, which was holy, causedsin to increase and became
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utterly sinful Romans 5.20 andRomans 7.13.
So if the law was good and holy, according to Romans 7, and
mankind was the real problem,then what would Paul's view be
on how to handle the situationwhich they found themselves in
in that first century AD?
How would a Jew who loved hisJewish brothers make his
approach sharing Christ asMessiah.
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In 1 Corinthians 9 we read Forthough I am free from all, I
have made myself a servant toall that I might win more of
them To the Jews.
I became as a Jew in order towin Jews To those under the law.
I became as one under the law,though not being myself under
the law, that I might win thoseunder the law To those outside
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the law.
I became as one outside of thelaw, not being outside the law
of God, but under the law ofChrist, that I might win those
outside the law To the weak.
I became weak that I might winthe weak.
I have become all things to allpeople that by all means I
might save some.
So how far would Paul go withthis approach, we might ask?
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I think we should begin withthe events leading up to the
meeting of the Jerusalem Counciland the final decision that was
made there among the apostles.
In Galatians 2, 1-5, we read Iwent up because of a revelation
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and set before them, thoughprivately, before those who
seemed influential, the gospelthat I proclaim among the
Gentiles, in order to make sureI was not running or had not run
in vain.
But even Titus, who was with mewas not forced to be
circumcised, though he was aGreek, Yet because of false
brothers secretly brought in,who slipped in to spy out our
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freedom, that Jewish Christiansin Jerusalem were attempting to
force circumcision on Titus, whowas a Greek.
Just after this, paul writes ofan issue that came from the
people of James and he sharplyrebukes Peter for sharing in the
hypocrisy.
This would have been early interms of the maturity of the
apostles and, to be fair toPeter, I think it's very hard
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for us today to grasp just howdeeply woven the observance of
law was in the minds of thefirst century Jewish Christians.
For those who don't know,circumcision was a requirement
for the Jews, the holy people ofYahweh, which set them apart
from the world.
It was the surgical removal ofthe foreskin on a man.
This surgery was performed atinfancy for the Jewish people
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and was certainly the mostavoided requirement by Gentiles
who converted to Judaism.
It was a huge barrier betweenJew and Gentile.
Interestingly, there weredifferent views on whether a
Gentile needed to be circumcisedor not.
It was acceptable to much ofJewish thought that Gentiles
obey the Noahide laws.
The means of Gentiles obtainingsalvation was not something
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overlooked by the Jews, butGentiles who converted to
Judaism were largely accepted inthe synagogue by obedience to
the Noahide laws.
They would not share all thesame benefits as those under law
, but they were accepted on thisbasis, according to history.
So let's talk about the Noahidelaws.
According to gotquestionsorg,the Noahide laws are seven
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ancient laws that many peopleview as the basis of civilized
society.
According to gotquestionsorg,they are also called the
Noah-tion laws, the seven lawsof Noah, or the seven commands
(30:29):
for Noah's sons.
The idea of a formal set oflaws given to all humanity, all
the sons of Noah, comes from theTalmud and is therefore
extra-biblical.
Some scholars believe the Bookof Jubilees contains a possible
mention of the Noahide laws, butagain, the Book of Jubilees is
not inspired scripture.
However, the basic sevenNoahide laws are based on
(30:51):
biblical principles.
Here are the Noahide laws 1.
Do not deny God.
No idolatry.
2.
Do not murder.
3.
Do not steal.
4.
Do not engage in sexualimmorality.
5.
Do not blaspheme.
6.
Do not eat of a live animal.
(31:13):
No eating flesh taken from ananimal while it is still alive.
7.
Establish courts and legalsystems to ensure obedience of
these laws.
According to Jewish tradition,the first six of these seven
laws were given to Adam in theGarden of Eden.
The sixth law to not eat liveanimals was extraneous.
Given to Adam in the Garden ofEden, the sixth law to not eat
live animals was extraneoussince Adam did not eat any
(31:33):
animals.
When God established hiscovenant with Noah, he added the
seventh, and the sixth becameapplicable.
Each of the seven Noahide lawsis seen as a summary of more
detailed laws, about 211 total.
According to Judaism, a Gentiledoes not have to follow the
Mosaic law.
However, all Gentiles areobliged to follow the Noahide
(31:54):
laws.
The laws given to Noah'schildren are universally binding
.
A non-Jew who abides by theNoahide laws is considered a
righteous Gentile according toJudaism and will earn a reward
in the afterlife.
If his obedience is coupledwith the knowledge that the laws
come from God, a righteousGentile might also be called a
(32:14):
Hasidic Gentile or simply aNoahide.
I thought that was a prettygood summary, so I wanted to
share it with you guys.
Righteous Gentiles were alsoreferred to as God-fearers.
Knowing this information aboutthe belief of the first century
Jews, it, it becomes veryinteresting what was decided at
the meeting of the apostles inJerusalem known as the Jerusalem
(32:35):
Council.
Interestingly, the names we seestanding up here are James and
Peter, who were also named byPaul in his letter to Galatia.
But this time they come to anagreement and all seem to be
satisfied by and benefit fromthe spiritual gathering.
In Acts 15, 19-31 we read, forhe has read every Sabbath in the
(33:12):
synagogues.
Then it seemed good to theapostles and the elders, with
the whole church, to choose menfrom among them and send them to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
They sent Judas, calledBarsabbas, and Silas, leading
men among the brothers, with thefollowing letter the brothers,
both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the
(33:33):
Gentiles in Antioch and Syriaand Cilicia greetings.
Since we have heard that somepersons have gone out from us
and troubled you with wordsunsettling your minds, although
we gave them no instructions, ithas seemed good to us having
come to one accord.
It has seemed good to us havingcome to one accord.
It has seemed good to us havingcome to one accord to choose
(33:53):
men and send them to you withour beloved Barnabas and Paul,
men who have risked their livesfor the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
We have therefore sent Judasand Silas, who themselves will
tell you the same things by wordof mouth, for it has seemed
good to the Holy Spirit and tous to lay on you no greater
burden than these requirementsthat you abstain from what has
(34:14):
been sacrificed to idols andfrom blood, and from what has
been strangled and from sexualimmorality.
If you keep yourselves fromthese, you will do well,
farewell.
So when they were sent off,they went down to Antioch and,
having gathered the congregationtogether, they delivered the
letter and when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its
encouragement.
(34:36):
Do these requirements decided bythe Council for the Gentile
Believers not seem to be derivedfrom the Noahide laws?
They most certainly do, in myopinion.
But why would these things berequired for the Gentile
believer If the law wasfulfilled in Christ?
Why would the Gentiles berequired to be acceptable to the
Jews in this way?
What would make the church cometo this conclusion?
(34:57):
Was it because God shows nopartiality that they wanted to
display a sense of unity amongthe Gentiles and Jews?
An immediate question thatcomes to mind in regards to
Paul's views on circumcision inlight of this God shows no
partiality view is why did Paulcircumcise Timothy for the Jews
(35:18):
when we see him clearly standingagainst circumcision in
Jerusalem, as recorded in hisown letter to the Galatians, did
Paul fold under pressure?
In Acts 16.1 we read Paul camealso to Derbe and to Lystra.
A disciple was there namedTimothy, the son of a Jewish
woman who was a believer, buthis father was a Greek.
He was well spoken of by thebrothers at Lystra and Iconium.
(35:41):
Paul wanted Timothy toaccompany him and he took him
and circumcised him because ofthe Jews who were in those
places, for they all knew thathis father was a Greek.
As they went on their waythrough the cities, they
delivered to them, forobservance, the decisions that
had been reached by the apostlesand elders who were in
Jerusalem.
So the churches werestrengthened in the faith and
(36:01):
they increased in numbers daily.
We see in this text that as Pauland Timothy went through the
cities, they delivered the newsfrom their council meeting.
This news was that the Gentilesdid not need to be circumcised.
Why does Paul not follow thisnew rule after the meeting?
Well, there are a couple thingswe must factor about the
situation, making it quitedifferent than what was written
(36:24):
to the Galatians and alsodecided in the Council of
Jerusalem.
One Timothy was the son of aJewish woman, but his father was
a Greek.
Two, the Jews who were in thoseplaces, as Luke calls them,
were probably not Christians.
Timothy would have been sort ofcaught in between Jew and
Gentile culture, wouldn't yousay?
(36:44):
It seems Paul wanted him to beseen as a Jew in order to not
cause the weak to stumble.
By the weak I mean the Jews whodid not yet believe in Christ
Yeshua as Messiah.
How can I conclude that Pauldid this for non-believing Jews?
And what did the Jews have todo with the first century church
?
Well, first we need to realizethat Gentiles were grafted into
(37:06):
a Jewish faith Romans 11.
But equally as important, wemust come to understand where
the early Christians, certainlyin the time of a Roman's letter,
were often meeting and wherePaul always went first and spent
much time as he went from townto town with his gospel.
Paul always preached at thesynagogues.
God shows no partiality, andeither did Paul.
(37:28):
Timothy, who had a Jewishmother, would have been frowned
upon in certain Jewish citiesfor not being circumcised.
This would have been no smallthing for Timothy to undergo for
the sake of his non-believingJewish brothers.
How much more could he showlove for his weak and stumbling
brothers than to make thissacrifice, despite being free in
Christ and not under law.
(37:49):
In this context, I see this notat all like backing down.
I used to think that maybe theygave in to the pressure of
Judaizers, but this was anincredible act of love.
They weren't backing down atall, but striving for unity with
the stumbling Jews to the bestof their ability.
Paul practiced just as he taughtIn Romans 12.18,.
(38:10):
Paul writes If possible, so faras it depends on you, live
peaceably with all.
Paul and Timothy together musthave shared the view that Paul
expressed in what we readearlier 1 Corinthians 9.20.
But prior to the JerusalemCouncil, while facing Christian
(38:35):
Jews who were imposing the lawonto Gentiles, paul had no
problem rebuking their views.
Who were imposing the law untoGentiles, paul had no problem
rebuking their views.
1 Corinthians 9.21,.
So what we see is a Paul that'sconsistent and true to his
(38:56):
views, not a Paul who foldedunder pressure or compromised
his faith.
Paul spent much of his timeteaching in the synagogues and
in order to do so he had to winthe respect of the Jews in any
way that he could.
Although Paul was accused ofrejecting the law by the Christ
rejecting Jews in context he wasvery respectful of the law and,
(39:17):
as a result, proved to manythat Christ Yeshua was the
Messiah King who came from theline of David.
The very same point that Christhimself was making in his
ministry John 5, 39,.
You search the scripturesbecause you think that in them
you have eternal life, and it isthey that bear witness about me
.
That's Christ Yeshua speaking.
This was the point Paul wouldbe making to the Jews.
(39:40):
He proved his point by usingthe law, not by rejecting it and
making people upset.
It was their error thatconcluded Paul as a
law-rejecting Jew.
It was not Paul's paradigm.
Their anger was pure error.
To be clear, I'm not sayingthat Paul promoted Christ plus
law or Christ plus works.
This can be a difficult conceptto grasp at first, but I think
(40:04):
it makes the most sense when werealize that synagogues would
have had a major role in thefunction of the early church in
Rome.
When we begin to understand howthe synagogues operated and how
central they were to the Romanchurch, our eyes open up to a
whole new context.
When reading Paul's writing,let's talk about the
self-governing synagoguecommunity.
The Jewish synagogues wereessentially the center of Jewish
(40:26):
culture and the Jews were givenincredible privileges by the
Roman Empire, allowing them tofunction quite independently and
live in their own ways, setapart from the pagan society
around them.
About the governing systemwithin the synagogues, george La
(41:02):
Piana writes and moralauthority over its members, but
also a form of civiljurisdiction in regulating
contracts and settling disputes,and even a limited criminal
jurisdiction, with the power toinflict penalties which were
sanctioned by the publicauthorities.
In a word, the Jewishassociations taken all together,
actually possessed all theessential elements of
organization and governmentpertaining to a city and not
merely showed the semblance ofsuch institutions, as was the
(41:25):
case with Collegia.
This was from his writing.
Foreign Groups in Rome Duringthe First Centuries of the Roman
Empire, pages 3049-50, georgeLa Piana.
We see that prior to AD 70, thesynagogues held meetings for
worship on the Sabbath and otherholidays.
This community worship involvedthe study of Torah and prayer
(41:47):
and could be considered thecenterpiece of religious life
for the Jews.
They read from the scriptures,translated, interpreted, as well
as sharing commentary andexhortation.
This was something that thewhole community could partake in
.
The community also gathered insynagogues for festivals, meals,
education and business.
Further discussing this topic,mark Nanos writes the
(42:11):
responsibilities of synagogueleaders included both religious
and practical matters ofadministration.
Although each synagogue in Romewas autonomous.
They operated under the samestructure and associated with
the others.
The leadership included severalpositions synagogue ruler over
religious activities.
A council for general affairs.
(42:32):
An archon for non-religiousaffairs.
A secretary and an official forfinancial responsibilities.
They would have handled manyfinancial and ethical issues
necessary in the communityaffairs.
A secretary and an official forfinancial responsibilities.
They would have handled manyfinancial and ethical issues
necessary in the communityaffairs.
For example, they wereresponsible to ensure correct
behavior among the members,including judgment and
discipline.
Paul bears witness to this inthe early persecution of the way
(42:56):
in the Damascus synagogues andin the various floggings and
stonings he later underwent forthe same reasons at the hands of
the Jewish authorities.
One did not simply pass in andout of membership in the
synagogue community at will.
If one was a member of thecommunity, one was subordinate
to the synagogue leader'sauthority and discipline.
If one refused to do so, onewas no longer regarded as a
(43:18):
member of the community.
The leaders also answered tothe Roman authorities for the
collection and distribution oftaxes.
In this sense, they served asrepresentatives of the
government for the Jewishcommunity.
Additional activities undertheir jurisdiction included
schooling of children, providinglodging for travelers and the
burial of members.
(43:45):
This was taken from his writing,the Mystery of Romans, pages 47
and 49, mark D Nanos.
This information sheds a lot ofcontext on the operations
within the Jewish synagogues,doesn't it?
It is believed by Mark Nanosthat the church in Rome was very
tied to the synagogues.
This Roman church of mostlyGentile Christians would have
been learning to behave likeJews in order to participate in
their society.
Why might they care to do so,we might ask?
(44:07):
Well, a few key points we needto consider here would be
personal copies of scripturewere very rare in those times
and the synagogues had access toscripture.
The scriptures were being readand taught in the synagogues,
and the Christians would have achance to participate in the
commentary.
Gentile Christians were enteringinto a Jewish faith and
(44:29):
learning about a Jewish Messiah,so learning scripture would be
vital for their spiritual growth.
Despite Paul writing to apredominantly Gentile church, he
constantly quoted scripture toprove his case.
How would they understand hiswriting if they didn't
understand Jewish scripture?
Paul considered the Jews to bebrothers.
Despite the rejection of Christ, he desired for them to receive
(44:52):
the gospel before the end ofthe age.
Preaching in the synagogueswould be the only way to reach
the elect within the Jewishcommunities.
Reaching in the synagogueswould be the only way to reach
the elect within the Jewishcommunities.
As we see here, there are a tonof reasons for Gentile
Christians to partake in theJewish community, and this
information certainly helps usto better understand the
(45:13):
submission to authorities thatwe see Paul write in about later
in chapter 13 of his letter aswell.
We'll also find that it sheds awhole new light on who the weak
and the strong refer to laterin the Apostles' Romans letter.
In regards to culture, gentileChristians likely struggled to
participate in the pagansocieties upon converting to
Christianity.
Judaism essentially offeredthem protection, as they had
(45:34):
privileges in the synagoguecommunities in Rome that they
would not have otherwise had thesynagogue communities in Rome
that they would not haveotherwise had.
Doing business in Gentilecommunities would have been tied
into emperor worship, pagangods and all kinds of
non-Christian practices.
A Christian was probably notvery highly regarded in pagan
communities and would likelyfind synagogue communities to be
a safe haven in comparison.
(45:55):
When we discover how deeplywoven early Christians would
have been into Judaism, itbecomes apparent why issues like
circumcision were such a hottopic as a necessary initiation
for Gentiles in certain Jewishcommunities.
These early Christians werevery much part of Jewish culture
and being taught about a JewishMessiah.
In order to gain insight intotheir faith, they had to
(46:19):
participate in the Jewishcommunities.
Getting kicked out of thesynagogues, which did happen
under Christian persecution,would have been far from
desirable.
It would have been devastating.
We often overlook just how tiedto the synagogues Paul, our
apostle to the Gentiles,actually was.
Paul always went to the Jewfirst, and also the Greek, just
(46:40):
as he preached in his Romanswriting.
God shows no partiality.
Paul was looking for thefaithful among all people, not
just a certain color or race.
We even see Paul making alaw-based Jewish vow, recorded
by Luke in the Acts of theApostles, acts 18.18,.
After this, paul stayed manydays longer and then took leave
(47:02):
of the brothers and set sail forSyria, and with him Priscilla
and Aquila.
At Sancreia he cut off his hair, for he was under a vow.
It's worth noting that Lukerecords Paul making this vow
after receiving heavypersecution and physical attacks
from the Jews in a synagogue atCorinth.
In Acts 18.6,.
(47:23):
Paul declared your blood be onyour own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to theGentiles.
But then Yahweh came to Paul ina vision and said Do not be
afraid, but go on speaking anddo not be silent, for I am with
you and no one will attack youto harm you, for I have many in
this city who are my people.
According to the NIV CulturalBackground Study Bible, one
(47:48):
normally shaved the head at thecompletion of a vow in Jerusalem
, but Paul may have shavedbefore a long vow, or perhaps
many Diaspora Jews undertookvows without requiring
completion in Jerusalem, so wedon't seem to know exactly why
Paul makes this vow, but it'sthought to have been a Nazarite
vow.
It's easy enough to findinformation on Nazarite vows.
(48:09):
I found some simple informationon gotquestionsorg.
In a brief summary of thearticle we read the vow is a
decision individuals who havevoluntarily dedicated themselves
to God.
The vow is a decision, actionand desire on the part of people
who desire to yield themselvesto God completely.
By definition, the Hebrew wordNazar simply means to be
(48:31):
separated or consecrated.
The Nazarite vow, which appearsin Numbers 6, 1-21, has five
features.
Numbers 6, 1 through 21 hasfive features it is voluntary,
can be done by either men orwomen, has a specific time frame
, has specific requirements andrestrictions and at its
(48:52):
conclusion, a sacrifice isoffered.
It was also mentioned that,although the vow was usually
done by an individual by theirown choice, samuel, samson and
John the Baptist all receivedthe Nazarite vow from birth.
We then see vows being madeagain later in Acts, in chapter
21.
When we had come to Jerusalem,the brothers received us gladly.
On the following day.
(49:12):
Paul went in with us to James,and all the elders were present.
After greeting them, he relatedone by one, the things that God
had done among the Gentilesthrough his ministry, and when
they heard it, they glorifiedGod and they said to him you see
, brother, how many thousandsthere are among the Jews for
those who have believed.
They are all zealous for thelaw, and they have been told
(49:34):
about you that you teach all theJews who are among the Gentiles
to forsake Moses, telling themnot to circumcise their children
or walk according to ourcustoms.
What, then, is to be done?
They will certainly hear thatyou have come.
Do, therefore, what we tell you.
We have four men who are undera vow.
Take these men and purifyyourself along with them and pay
(49:56):
their expenses so that they mayshave their heads.
Thus, all will know that thereis nothing in what they have
been told about you, but thatyou yourself also live in
observance of the law.
But as for the Gentiles whohave believed, we have sent a
letter with our judgment thatthey should abstain from what
has been sacrificed to idols andfrom blood and from what has
(50:17):
been strangled and from sexualimmorality.
Then Paul took the men, and thenext day he purified himself
along with them and went intothe temple giving notice when
the days of purification wouldbe fulfilled and the offering
presented for each one of them.
And then again in the NIVcultural background study Bible,
we read Judeans deemed piousthose who sponsored Nazarites.
(50:40):
By this period, jewish peopleexpected such vows.
Bible, we read, offeredsacrifices on the seventh day.
Scripture did not specify aminimum length for vows, though
(51:01):
Jewish tradition in this periodnormally required at least 30
days.
Ephesus was the chief city ofthe Roman province of Asia, and
some members of the synagoguethere had reason to dislike Paul
.
Larger riots occurred in thetemple on a number of occasions
and sometimes led to massacresor to thousands being trampled.
This is all difficult tounderstand if we carry the
(51:24):
mindset that Paul was anti-law,as most Christians do today,
especially as Protestants.
Now you may have your guard upright now, thinking what is this
guy trying to say?
But hear me out, I'm not aJudaizer.
If you listen regularly or readmy blog posts, you know that
I'm not even close to legalismin my teaching.
I'm not arguing that Paul was alegalist and condoned
(51:47):
observance of the law forrighteousness.
I don't suggest that Paulbelieved that he needed to make
sacrifices for his sin anylonger as a Christian Jew.
But I do think Paul saw the lawas holy and good.
After all, as Christ Yeshuasaid, the law pointed to him
John 5.39.
The law did not contain eternallife, but it led to Christ
(52:09):
Yeshua in its proper context.
The Christ-rejecting Jews werein error and Paul wanted to save
as many as he could.
Just as God shows no partiality,paul also lived his life not
displaying partiality.
After the ascended Christ cameto him on the road to Damascus,
despite being the apostle toGentiles, paul continued to love
(52:30):
his Jewish brothers as the Lordput on his heart.
After all, paul did write thatGod shows no partiality.
Romans 2, 11.
As Paul went from town to townwith his gospel, the first place
he would go was the localJewish synagogue.
Let's look at the multitude ofinstances.
We see this recorded in thebook of Acts, acts 13.45,.
(52:51):
But when the Jews saw thecrowds, they were filled with
jealousy and began to contradictwhat was spoken by Paul,
reviling him.
And Paul and Barnabas spoke outboldly saying and when the
(53:20):
Gentiles heard this, they beganrejoicing and glorifying the
word of the Lord.
It would be easy to see Paulbeing completely done with the
Jews at this point and moving onto the Gentiles, but, as we'll
see, paul continued to do thesame thing repeatedly, as
(53:40):
recorded in the Acts of theApostles.
This Jew-'ll see Paul continuedto do the same thing repeatedly,
as recorded in the Acts of theApostles.
This Jew first approach wasPaul's way.
He writes his reasoning laterin Romans, in Romans 11,.
Paul writes Now I am speakingto you, gentiles.
Inasmuch, then, as I am apostleto the Gentiles, I magnify my
ministry in order somehow tomake my fellow Jews jealous and
thus save some of them.
(54:01):
Paul wanted to reach theremnant through the diaspora as
well as the Gentiles who wouldbelieve.
The Jews were supposed to bethe light to the Gentiles all
along, but they failed.
Our Jewish Messiah, christYeshua, became that light for
the Jews, and his light wasreaching the Gentiles.
Yahweh, through Paul's ministry, was now using the Christian
(54:22):
Gentiles to be a light to theJews.
And we see Paul continue fromsynagogue to synagogue, as
recorded by Luke Acts 13.
Now Paul and his companions setsail from Paphos and came to
Perga and Pamphylia and Johnleft them and returned to
Jerusalem.
But they went on from Perga andcame to Antioch, in Sidia, and
on the Sabbath, and returned toJerusalem.
But they went on from Perga andcame to Antioch, in Sidia, and
(54:42):
on the Sabbath day they wentinto the synagogue and sat down.
Acts 14.
Now, at Iconium, they enteredtogether into the Jewish
synagogue and spoke in such away that a great number of both
(55:12):
Jews and Greeks believed.
Acts 17.1.
Acts 17.10.
By night to Berea, when theyarrived, they went into the
Jewish synagogue.
Now, these Jews were more noblethan those in Thessalonica.
They received the word with alleagerness, examining the
scriptures daily to see if thethings were so.
Acts 17, 16.
Now Paul was waiting for them atAthens.
(55:33):
His spirit was provoked withinhim as he saw that the city was
full of idols.
So he reasoned in the synagoguewith the Jews and the devout
persons and in the marketplace,every day with those who
happened to be there Acts 18.1.
After this, paul left Athensand went to Corinth and he found
a Jew named Acula, a native ofPontus, recently come from Italy
(55:54):
, and his wife Priscilla.
Because Claudius had commandedall the Jews to leave Rome and
he went to see them, and becausehe was of the same trade, he
stayed with them and worked, forthey were tent makers by trade
and he reasoned in the synagogueevery Sabbath and tried to
persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy arrivedfrom Macedonia, paul was
(56:14):
occupied with the word,testifying to the Jews that the
Christ was Jesus.
And when they opposed andreviled him, he shook out his
garments and said to them yourblood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to theGentiles.
And he left there and went tothe house of a man named Titus
Justus, a worshipper of God.
His house was next door to thesynagogue.
(56:36):
Crispus, the rue of thesynagogue, believed in the Lord,
together with his entirehousehold and many of the
Corinthians hearing Paul,believed and were baptized Acts
18.19,.
And they came to Ephesus and heleft them there, but he himself
went into the synagogue andreasoned with the Jews Acts
19.8,.
And he entered the synagogueand for three months spoke
(56:57):
boldly, reasoning and persuadingthem about the kingdom of God.
But when some became stubbornand continued in unbelief
speaking evil of the way beforethe congregation, he withdrew
from them and took the discipleswith him, reasoning daily in
the hall of Tyrannus.
This continued for two years.
So all the residents of Asiaheard the word of the Lord, both
Jews and Greeks.
(57:18):
Acts 28.
After three, to see thehistorical context unfold, do
(57:39):
you have a better understandingof what Paul meant when he said
God shows no partiality inRomans 2.11?
My hope is that this messagewill shape our paradigm as we
move further into our Romansletter and allow us to extract
the full depths of truth in thewriting that Paul intended for
his audience in Rome.
It has become clear to me thatPaul did not shape his message
(58:00):
to better fit the Gentiles, butrather shaped the Gentiles'
minds through the Jewishscripture in order for them to
fully know their Jewish Messiah.
Much error has been recorded inhistory due to the
Gentilization of the church,which happened right after the
apostles, beginning with theearly church fathers.
I've come to realize that we dodamage to scripture when we
(58:22):
view it through the wrong lens.
The writers of our scriptureswere Hebrew, other than Luke,
who would have had close tieswith the Jews.
If we're to gain the most fromour scripture, we want to
understand it the way that theHebrew author intended it to be
understood by their audience.
I will make my best attempt atdoing so as we go through our
Roman study and, of course,we'll never lose sight of who we
(58:44):
are in Christ Yeshua.
Thanks to his finished workalong the way.
In Christ, we have theprivilege of learning all about
our Lord while resting in hisamazing grace.
As a Christian, you are a saint, a fully forgiven person.
You've been made perfect by theblood of our Lord and your life
is as long as forgiven person.
You've been made perfect by theblood of our Lord and your life
is as long as His.
Now You've put on immortality,so let's live like it.
(59:06):
Shall we Grace and peace to youand have a great day out there.
Talk to you at our next study.
Speaker 1 (59:12):
Thank you for listening to the Waking Up to
Grace podcast brought to you bythe finished work of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
If you enjoyed today's episode,we would love to hear from you.
You can send encouragement ourway right from our episodes and
transcripts page or reach Lennyprivately from the contact form
at wakinguptogracecom.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.