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Paul the Law-Keeper

By David Hinkley

Isaac Newton was the man who began the revolution that would recover much lost knowl-
edge of our Universe. Knowledge that could only be recovered by a God-Fearing, Truth-Seeking
Law-Keeper (as much as he could know). By the same token, this same knowledge could only have
been lost during the dominance of lawless heathens such as the ones that ruled secular and relig-
ious life during the Dark Ages. Truly can "you know them by their fruits."

Sir Isaac Newton once declared prophetically:

"About the Times of the End, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their atten-
tion to the prophecies and insist upon their literal interpretation in the midst of much
clamor and opposition."

He was only partly right because "WE" are turning our attention to ALL SCRIPTURE --
Torah, Prophecy, Wisdom Writings and Epistles. And in that spirit it is time to declare that Saul of
Tarsus, the last Apostle (called Paul), was a devout Law-Keeper and Teacher of the Law.

Scholars Vs. Blind Faith

There is a large community of people who are church leaders and educators thoroughly
versed in scripture and many others who are mature, reasonably educated, adults that have lived as
Christians or Jews most of their adult lives. And yet, they still prefer the traditions of men over the
simple, eternal truths of God. Some are worse. Ones, such as those of the World Wide Church of
God, that deliberately turn from sound doctrine and refuse to advance their poor ones in favour of
appeasing the broad "main-stream" community.

However, I should make it clear that I know first-hand that there are many sincere "seek-
ers" and "believers" out there that honestly believe many of the doctrines of lawlessness that are
attributed to Paul's epistles. Perhaps many of you reading this now. And I think that explaining the
trap you've fallen into is a good place to start and I don't think I can improve on the words of Sam-
uele Bacchiocchi, Professor of Church History and Theology at Andrews University in Berrien
Springs, Michigan.

Dr. Bacchiocchi, originally from Rome, Italy, came from a devout Catholic family that
turned to Sabbath worship after they began, for the first time, actually reading the scriptures for
themselves. His family eventually became Seventh-Day Adventists and Samuele went on to be the
first non-Catholic student at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has authored 12 pub-
lished books on biblical topics beginning with the now famous From Sabbath to Sunday. His lat-
est book God's Festivals in Scripture and in History is a reversal in one of his scholarly
opinions. He once presumed that only the "10 Commandments" were completely binding on Chris-
tians and that all other laws were done away -- his latest book re-evaluates his former stance.

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