Paul: Standing on the Law and Proclaiming the Gospel

Paul never presented himself as the founder of a new religion. He never turned his back on the Law or the Prophets. His writings consistently draw from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, the Tanakh. When Paul declared, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of Yah” (2 Timothy 3:16), he was not speaking about the New Testament. That collection of writings did not exist yet in compiled form. The only “Scriptures” available to him and his audience were the Hebrew Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament. Every major point in his letters about faith, justification, righteousness, and the promises of Yah is anchored in those writings.

Christianity often isolates Paul from this foundation. It lifts fragments of his words and interprets them as if he were teaching against the Law. But when read alongside Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, Paul’s message reinforces their authority and fulfills their prophecies. He was not contradicting the Old Testament. He was standing on it.

Did Paul Teach Against The Law?

The accusation that Paul rejected the Law did not begin centuries later. These charges were already being made in his lifetime, which is why he stood trial repeatedly. Yet Paul consistently denied them.

• In Acts 24:14, he says:

  
  

  “But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call heresy, so worship I the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.”

  
  

• In Acts 25:8, his defense was plain:

  
  

  “Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended anything at all.”

  
  

This is Paul’s own testimony. He had not broken the Law, nor had he taught others to reject it. The rumors that he opposed the Law arose from those who opposed his mission and were already spreading lies during his ministry. Later interpreters in Christianity carried those same distortions forward to justify discarding Israel’s covenant instructions.

Peter himself warned about this danger.

He wrote:

“…our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:15–16)

Paul’s letters could be misunderstood. And they were. But Paul’s own witness is clear, he upheld the Law and the Prophets.

The Gospel And The Great Commission

Christians often respond with, “But what about the Gospel? What about the Great Commission?” They assume it was the birth of a universal religion detached from Israel. Yet the Scriptures show otherwise.

The Gospel is not a new message, it is the announcement that Yah was fulfilling His promises to Israel.

• Luke 1:68–72:

  
  

  “Blessed be Yahuah Elohim of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham.”

  
  

The good news was first of all for Israel. It declared that Yah was remembering His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, raising up a Savior from the line of David, and restoring His people. This was the hope of Israel that Paul testified about constantly.

• Acts 26:6–7:

  
  

  “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of Yah unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving Yah day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.”

  
  

For Israel, the Gospel was the long-awaited fulfillment of promises given in the Tanakh. For the Gentiles, it was the announcement that salvation and forgiveness of sins could also reach them if they turned to Israel’s Elohim, joined themselves to Israel’s covenant, and followed Israel’s Messiah.

Paul explains this clearly:

• Romans 1:16–17:

  
  

  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Messiah: for it is the power of Yah unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of Yah revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

  
  

Notice Paul’s order: to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. The good news was not a bypassing of Israel but an extension of Yah’s mercy to the nations through Israel. Gentiles who desired to follow Israel’s Elohim now had access through faith in Yahusha. But this access did not erase their obligation to learn Israel’s ways from blood-born Israelites. It was inclusion under Israel’s covenant order.

This is why Paul described his entire mission as preaching nothing new but only what was written in the Law and the Prophets:

• Acts 26:22–23:

  
  

  “Having therefore obtained help of Yah, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Messiah should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”

  
  

Paul’s “good news” was exactly what the Tanakh had already declared. Yahusha was the promised Messiah. Through Him Israel was being restored, and through Israel the nations could receive salvation. The Gospel was Israel’s redemption and also the open door for Gentiles to become fellow citizens in the Kingdom.

The “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:19–20 was given to Israel’s apostles:“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…”

This was not a transfer of covenant identity from Israel to Rome or to later Christian institutions. It was the confirmation of Israel’s mission as described in the Prophets:

• Isaiah 49:6:

  
  

  “It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”

  
  

Israel was chosen to be the vessel of Yah’s truth to the nations. The apostles were carrying out that assignment, not creating a Gentile-led replacement system.

Gentiles As Citizens In The Kingdom Of Israel

From the beginning, Yah made provision for the stranger who wished to join Israel. The Law instructed that a stranger was to be treated as a native-born Israelite if he dwelt among them and submitted to the same covenant instructions.

• Exodus 12:49:

  
  

  “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”

• Leviticus 19:34:

  
  

  “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Yahuah your Elohim.”

  
  

• Numbers 15:15–16:

  
  

  “One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before Yahuah. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.”

  
  

These commands show clearly that Gentiles did NOT form a separate covenant or a parallel system. They were folded into Israel’s covenant as citizens, living under Israel’s laws, worshiping Israel’s Elohim, and learning Israel’s ways from the blood-born Israelites who were given the covenant. Gentiles did not come in as teachers of Israel, but as students who learned the commandments from those to whom they were entrusted.

Paul echoes this truth with his teaching on adoption. Gentiles are not natural-born heirs, but through faith and obedience they are welcomed into Yah’s family as adopted children.

• Romans 8:15:

  
  

  “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

  
  

• Ephesians 1:5:

  
  

  “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Yahusha Messiah to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

  
  

Adoption means inclusion, not replacement. Gentiles are brought into the household of Elohim by being joined to Israel’s covenant through Yahusha. They gain citizenship as adopted children, and just like the strangers in the Torah, their role is to submit, to learn, and to follow Israel’s ways.

This is why the New Jerusalem described in Revelation has twelve gates and twelve foundations, each named for the tribes of Israel and the apostles of the Lamb:

• Revelation 21:12–14:

  
  

  “And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

  
  

There is no gate for Rome. There is no gate for Christianity. Every gate is marked by the tribes of Israel, and every foundation stone by the apostles who were Israelites. The only way into this Kingdom is through Israel. Yahusha reigns on David’s throne, and His Kingdom, the restored Kingdom of Israel, will never end (Luke 1:32–33).

Paul confirms this explicitly:

• Ephesians 2:19:

  
  

  “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the chosen, and of the household of Elohim.”

  
  

Gentiles who believe in Yahusha are no longer outsiders. They are adopted into Yah’s family, made citizens in the commonwealth of Israel, and taught the ways of Elohim by Israel, the nation chosen to guard the covenant.

Christianity As The Deception

Yahusha warned in advance of a massive deception:

• Matthew 24:24: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

  
  

The rise of a religion claiming allegiance to Israel’s Messiah while rejecting Israel’s covenant, replacing Israel with itself, and dismissing the very Law upheld by both Yahusha and Paul fits this description. Christianity became that deception.

It presents itself as “the continuation of the faith,” yet its doctrines consistently separate Yahusha from the Law, distort Paul’s words, and marginalize Israel’s role. That is not the faith once delivered to the chosen of Israel. It is a substitute.

Core Truths

From Paul’s own testimony and the witness of Scripture, these truths stand firm:

• Paul never contradicted the Old Testament. His letters are saturated with quotations and allusions to it.

• Paul never taught against the Law. He affirmed it repeatedly.

• The Gospel was Israel’s covenant promise realized. The prophets had declared it, and Yah fulfilled it through Yahusha. It was good news for Israel’s redemption and restoration, and also the announcement of salvation for Gentiles who desired to follow Israel’s Elohim and learn Israel’s ways.

• Gentiles enter Yah’s Kingdom only by joining themselves to Israel, just as strangers did in the Torah, becoming citizens under Israel’s Messiah, learning the ways of Yah from blood-born Israelites, and being adopted as children into the household of Elohim.

• The Great Commission was Israel’s charge. The apostles carried forward the mission to teach the nations under Israel’s Messiah.

• The Bible is Israel’s book. Written by Israelites, for Israel, and about Israel’s destiny. Gentiles are brought into this hope only through Israel’s Messiah, following Israel as Israel follows Yahusha.