Posted by Illuminati on 6/20/2009, 10:41 pm, in reply to "Paul's Contradictions 1"
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Amir posted:
4.sacrifices to God:??
Paul says:
1Cor.5
[7] For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed.
Eph.5
2.And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Jesus says:
Matt.9
13.Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'
Jesus' atonement for us is probably the most eloquent message of God's mercy possible. Because He loves us so much, Jesus died for my sins and for yours.
Amir posted:
5.number and identity of leaders:??
Paul says:
1Cor.4
[15] For though you have countless leaders in Christ . . ..
Jesus says:
Matt.23
[10] Neither be called leaders, for you have one leader, the Christ.
Some of these "contradictions" are semantic and not substantive, it seems almost a waste of time to even discuss them. Neither Paul, no any other legitimate church leader in Paul's day tried to supplant Jesus as the Head of the church.
Amir posted:
6.He destiny of the Law and the Prophets:??
Paul says:
Rom.10
[4] For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.
Jesus says:
Matt.5
[17] Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.
[18] For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
From my perspective, this is the most substantive issue you have raised. I suspect that there are probably Christians who do think that Jesus did away with the law. If they claim that, in my opinion, they misunderstand Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings. Paul was an expert theologian, and as such, he supported his teachings from the Old Testament. Anyone who reads Paul’s writings will discover copious quotes from the Old Testament. Since Paul didn’t quote Jesus very often, he had the choice to either make assertions based on his own authority or to base his teachings on his Bible, the Old Testament. If you go back and follow Paul’s arguments and if you reread the original Old Testament material in context, the synergy between Paul’s writings and the Old Testament becomes clear.
As I have pointed out in previous posts, the gospel is contained in the Old Testament. Since Christians believe that the Old Testament contains prophecies about Jesus, they also believe that He is the fulfillment of those prophecies. In that sense, Jesus is the end of the law since its goal is to lead us to an understanding of Jesus. That does not in any way mean that the Old Testament was abolished by Jesus.
Amir posted:
7.On the commandments and eternal life: ??
Paul says:
Rom.7
9. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died;
10. the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me.
Jesus says:
Matt.19
17. And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.
Paul's statement is extremely important. I believe it is important for me to repeat the message in the gospel. We do righteousness because we are already saved, not in order to be saved. It is easy to misunderstand this principle, and to interpret it as a license to sin. That would be a mistake. No Bible prophet ever claimed that we will be saved if we willfully continue to sin.
Those who interpret the gospel as a license to sin, miss the point. When we understand the depths of the law as Jesus taught it, in our lost condition, we can not keep it sufficiently to merit eternal life. This is why legalists are often the most brutal unloving people on earth. They mistake outward compliance with a set of rules for outward behavior with righteousness. True Biblical righteousness is much more than abstaining from certain behaviors and partaking in others. It requires us to reflect God's unconditional love towards other people. Since none of us measure up, we are all depend upon God's mercy for salvation.
Amir said:
8.On forgiveness of trespasses:??
Paul says:
Eph.1
[7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
Rom.4
[25] who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Jesus says:
Matt.6
[14] For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;
[15] but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Paul is completely in accordance with the prophecy in Isaiah 53. No, Jesus didn't contradict Isaiah 53. If we don't forgive other people, it shows that we have not accepted Jesus' sacrifice for us, and therefore, we can not claim the benefits of His sacrifice.
Amir posted:
Like this there are many other instances where Paul contradicts Jesus(peace be upon him) but surprisingly his words are preffered other that of Jesus by christians who claim to love Jesus(peace be upon him).I think these examples would do for now.I can believe in jesus but not in paul because:...
I believe that Paul would appreciate your stance. Here is what Paul said on the subject:]
1 Cor 3:3-7
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
KJV
This same principle applies to those who ignore Jesus' teachings and instead say, "I am of Mohammad."
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