Mathew 23 verses 1-12
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses’ chair [of authority as teachers of the Law]; so practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them. The scribes and Pharisees tie up heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter]. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their tassels long. They love the place of distinction and honour at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation], and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi. But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers. Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ. But the greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honour.
In an attempt to have an academic discussion, on the above teaching of Jesus Christ, with some senior pastors of the Nigerian Pentecostal churches, some of these pastors tried to counter the teachings of Christ on this particular subject, by citing texts from certain epistles of Paul- a self-confessed Pharisee, who extols his Pharisaic antecedents at every opportunity:
1 Timothy 1:1-2; Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus by the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed) our Hope [the fulfilment of our salvation], to Timothy, my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
The irony here escapes many; Jesus Christ, God, Prophet, The Rabbi, was prophesying and teaching about people like Paul, even before He, Christ, commissioned Paul to evangelize. Secondly, those using Paul’s actions and behaviour to counter the words of Jesus Christ, to refuse to obey Jesus Christ, are now, just like Paul, praying in the name of Jesus Christ, and not in the name of Paul. Furthermore, in the writings of Luke, in Acts 17, Luke documented a speech made by Paul at the Areopagus on Mars Hill in Athens, though Paul did not deem it fit enough to document it in his epistles: Acts 17:24-25; The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.
Above illustrates the greatest irony, ignorance, lack of understanding, self-veneration (on the part of Paul), and a direct contradiction to, and contained in Paul’s usual introductory text of his many epistles. How can you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, and yet refuse to follow His teachings?
The Bible says in Acts 16:1-3: “Then came he [the Apostle Paul] to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”
Timothy was a young man, a Jew through his mother’s lineage (his father was Greek). In order not to be a stumbling block to the unsaved Jews to whom they would preach for the rest of their ministries, Paul took Timothy and physically circumcised him. Timothy could not be discredited. Titus, a full-blooded Greek, did not need to be physically circumcised. This is significant in light of the context, Galatians chapter 2 (parallel is Acts chapter 15). The issue here is whether or not Paul’s Gentile converts needed physical circumcision for salvation (deliverance from Hell), justification (imputed righteousness).
Pauline Christianity or Pauline theology (also Paulism or Paulanity), otherwise referred to as Gentile Christianity, is the theology and form of Christianity which developed from the beliefs and doctrines espoused by the Hellenistic-Jewish Apostle Paul through his writings and those New Testament writings traditionally attributed to him. Paul’s beliefs were rooted in the earliest Jewish Christianity, but deviated from this Jewish Christianity in their emphasis on inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s New Covenant, and his rejection of circumcision as an unnecessary token of upholding the Mosaic Law.
Proto-orthodox Christianity, which is rooted in the first centuries of the history of Christianity, relies heavily on Pauline theology and beliefs, and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of Jesus. Since the 18th century, a number of scholars have proposed that Paul’s writings contain teachings that are different from the original teachings of Jesus and those of the earliest Jewish Christians, as documented in the canonical gospels, early Acts, and the rest of the New Testament, such as the Epistle of James.
See the article below:
