Paul’s continuing “Jewishness”

Paul the Christian apostle firmly and adamantly denied the efficacy of the law for salvation and law-keeping for the Gentile. Yet he did not eradicate “the law” completely from his life as a Jewish Christian believer.  

Paul’s continued “Jewishness”.

• Praying in the temple, Acts 22:17 (referring back to an earlier time).
• Preaching in the synagogues, Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4; 19:8.
• The circumcision of Timothy, Acts 16:1-3.
• Hair-cutting vow at Cenchrea, Acts 18:18.
• Trying to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost, Acts 20:16.
• Joining in a temple purification, Acts 21:23, 26; 24:18.
• Referring to himself as a Pharisee, Acts 23:6.
• Loving his own people, Romans 9:1-5; 10:1.
• Submitting to the Law, without appealing to his Roman citizenship, 2 Corinthians 11:24.
• General statement about circumcision and uncircumcision, 1 Corinthians 7:17-24.

A few comments.

Paul consistently expressed love for his nation (Israel, Jews) even though often frustrated by them.

The Acts 21 incident is intriguing, seeing that it failed to pacify the Jews in Jerusalem regarding Paul’s “Jewishness.”

Paul submitted to the Law five times in receiving 39 lashes from the Jews. In these cases he apparently did not appeal to his Roman citizenship, though he would have had neither religious nor social reasons to submit – which he would do. He could have theologically justified not receiving the stripes, and appealed to his citizenship.

Galatians 5:11 suggests that he thought some might charge him as still preaching circumcision.

Paul taught Christians to restrict their liberty for the purpose of furthering the gospel.

Other verses to consider: Acts 24:11, 17, 21; 26:5-8; 28:17; 1 Corinthians 9:20-23.

Concluding question.

At times, in our understanding of the new covenant, we may ignore, or at least not sufficiently consider, the fact that the earliest church members were Jews who, in some respects in their general lifestyle, continued to live as they had before becoming Christians. This needs to be understood and accounted for in rightly dividing the New Testament. What does Paul’s continued “Jewishness” teach us? What are your thoughts?