Paul’s Views On The Proper Relationship Of Judaism To Christianity

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Paul’s views on the proper relationship of Judaism to Christianity

The spread of Christianity to the Non-Jews or Gentile world could not have been possible without the works of one man, Paul of Tarsus. Paul the so call “apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 15:16) and the “minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles” (Romans 15:16) was one of the most important figures that “supplied the rational” (Hinson, 48) to incorporate the Gentiles into the church and to preach the gospel to them. He showed interest in defining the proper relationship of Judaism to Christianity.

What is the relationship of Christians to traditional Jews laws? The relationship between these two started with a lot of conflicts and controversies. Gentiles were being converted and demanded that they follow the Jewish Laws (Moses Laws). One of the Jewish laws that was debated was about circumcision. The claim was that Gentile believers should be circumcised, and then, as part of the covenant people of God, obey the laws of the covenant. You would think that Paul someone who grew up in good Jewish family, would agree with this notion but he clearly disagree with this. This is shown when he says “If you through a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatians 2:14). This verse shows that Paul agrees with Peter when Peter said "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are” (Acts 15:10-11). The point is that the Law of Moses were a burden that the Jewish people were not able to keep successfully. Those rituals showed that, no matter how hard people worked, they could never be perfect. They showed, for anyone who ever wondered, that works can never lead to salvation. On the view on what leads to salvation Pau...