>>983 >What's going on here? It seems like the one who made the post in the image is confused about the meanings and content of Paul's letters. He is far from the first; Many Christians new and old, early and contemporary, find themselves perplexed by them. I won't pretend for a moment to know everything about Paul either. It's difficult to dive into specifics when the bullet points in the pic are short summaries of scripture, with no actual scripture cited. One must always be careful when summarizing the Bible or taking verses out of context. I could try and look into each one, but it would take a good bit of time to search through and find what verses these bullet points are vaguely referencing. For example, the image says: >"Jesus Says The Law Continues, But Paul Says No." Where does the person who wrote this get that idea? Who knows. But one well-known passage about Jesus and the Law is in Matthew 5: >“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (Matt. 5:17-18 NKJV)" Jesus is saying that he has not come to destroy the Law that the Israelites have known for so long. He has come to fulfill it, to complete what has been told and prophesized in the Old Testament. Looking into that part of the Bible, to the Psalms and to Isaiah and other books, we can see that all of it prophesizes the coming of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ. (Footnote: jot and tittle are referring to the smallest stroke and letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Jesus is saying that not even a single dot or line of the written Law will be removed until everything is fulfilled.) So already, we see that the original poster of this pic is a bit confused. "Continue" might not be the best word to describe what Jesus was sent to the Earth to do. The word "fulfil" is very important, as it is also specifically used in other parts of the Gospel to talk about prophecy. The pic says: >"Paul Says No." What does he mean by "says no"? Again, it's completely unclear. But if we presume he is saying that Paul thought the Law should stop being taught/enforced, that is not true at all. Paul taught that the Law was something the Jews should value, because it was the teachings and Scriptures of God. >"What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. (Romans 3:1-2 NJKV) (Remember that "circumcision" is referring not only to the actual procedure of circumcision, but also to the adherence to the Law in general.) Paul talks a lot about the Law in his letters to the Romans. Later on in Romans 6, he talks about how, while the Jews are under the Law, the Romans and other Gentiles are ruled by grace. But this does not mean that the Gentiles have free reign to sin because they don't have to follow every letter of the Law. If people live a life of sin, they cannot be obedient to God, the One who freed them from death. Because if they sin, they are following it and are a slave to it, and cannot be a slave to righteousness at the same time. >"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." >"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6: 14-18 NKJV). Looking at both of these points together, we can see that Paul and Jesus are not at odds with each other when it comes to the Law. And I would be far from surprised if, after some investigation, the other statements made in the picture are proven to be flawed statements too. Who knows if the person who made the post in the picture was serious or trying to cause trouble, but either way, remember that if you find yourself confused about something: >"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5 NKJV)."

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