WHY WE GET PAUL WRONG  Part 1

Introduction

Paul wrote an awful lot.  And he wrote very emphatically about everything.  The Church has always seen him as a prime source for its theology, its understanding of what the Christian faith is all about.  BUT the Church always read his writings through the lens of their own problems, which were different from the problems of Paul’s day.  So Paul came to be seen as not only a Very Big Brain but also as harsh and unbending.  Here are some instances from Paul’s letters.

Romans 3.23         All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 1.22- Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling- block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

2 Corinthians 4.6 It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2.19-22 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing.

Ephesians 2.8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

Philippians 3.8-9 I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.

Colossians 1.13-14 He (i.e. the Father) has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Some comments

Of course, this is a tiny sample of Paul’s writings, but they do bring out some of his main points.  Taking them in turn, they seem to say the following:

Romans 3.23 We are all miserable sinners and should crawl on the ground like worms.

1 Corinthians 1.22-  No one will understand what we preach, but that is OK, because God is on our side.

2 Corinthians 4.6 We are IN.  Everybody else is OUT.

Galatians 2.19-22 The law (i.e. religion) is useless, we need a personal experience of Jesus.

Ephesians 2.8-9 Faith is what counts, good works are useless.

Philippians 3.8-9 Faith is a ‘head’ thing.  Anything else, like religion and good moral actions are, if not rubbish, at least superfluous.

Colossians 1.13-14 Old life Bad – new life Good.

What’s the answer?

The trouble is that we read Paul as if he was setting out a carefully thought out theology.  He wasn’t.  For instance, when he quotes a very reasonable objection, e.g. “Is there injustice on God’s part?”, he hardly answers it but just replies, “By no means”. (Romans 9.14)

Paul was firing off letters to small Christian communities whom he cared deeply about, and always about problems they were trying to cope with.  It might be a church member living with his step-mother ( 1 Corinthians 5.1.), or rich Christians not sharing with poor Christians at the common meals (1 Corinthians 11.21), or people saying “He carries on like an ordinary bloke, not like a Christian leader” (2 Corinthians 10.2), or women not covering their heads in church (1 Corinthians 11.3-16), or people saying that death is the end (1 Corinthians 15.12), or taking a collection to support the church in Jerusalem (in almost all the letters). 

But the Big Problem that was always at the forefront of Paul’s mind was the relationship between Jews and Gentiles. 

Don’t miss next week’s explanation.