Paul Was Not an Antinomian: A Rebuttal to Rabbi Tovia Singer

Addressing Rabbi Singer's Antinomian Claims

• 💡 Rabbi Tovia Singer asserts that Paul "detested the law of Moses" and discouraged its observance, promoting antinomianism.
• 🎯 The ministry argues that Paul was "pronomian," upholding the Torah and teaching followers of Yeshua to abide by it.
• ⚠️ Singer's claims are presented as an "anti-missionary" agenda to discredit Paul and lead believers away from the Messiah.

Paul's Fidelity to the Torah and Sabbath

• 🧠 Rabbi Singer blames Paul for Christians largely disregarding the Sabbath, but this teaching contends he criticizes a "distorted caricature" of Paul.
• ✅ Paul never taught Christians to abandon the Torah or commandments like the Sabbath; this idea originated from later Christian teachers or misinterpretations.
• 🚀 The New Testament itself warns against twisting Paul's writings to support antinomianism.

Early Christian Interpretations of Paul

• 📜 Luke, Paul's traveling companion, consistently portrays Paul as prioritizing Sabbath worship in synagogues and observing it.
• 🤝 The apostolic decree, endorsed by Paul, expected Gentile followers to attend synagogue on Sabbath to hear the Law of Moses.
• 🛡️ James and Paul directly refuted rumors that Paul taught forsaking the Law, with Paul participating in temple rituals to demonstrate his faithfulness.
• ⚠️ Peter warned that "ignorant and unstable people" misinterpret Paul's letters, connecting this to the "error of lawless people" who reject the Law.

Clarifying Paul's Views on Ritual Law

• 🍎 Contrary to Singer's claims, Paul did not "detest ritual law"; he explicitly commanded the Corinthian community to observe festivals like Passover.
• ⚔️ Paul's opponents in Galatians were not those who kept the Torah, but Jewish teachers who insisted Gentile believers must become Jews (via circumcision) to be saved, which Paul opposed as a "different gospel."
• 🚫 In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul is not discouraging Sabbath or festival observance, but rather urging readers not to be judged for keeping them by strict ascetics.

The Law's Role and Fulfillment in Christ

• ⚖️ Paul commands readers to "fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2), which scholars understand as fulfilling the Law of Moses in a Christ-like way, not abandoning it.
• 💡 While the Law reveals sin, Paul's full theology shows it has a "significant ongoing role" in believers' lives, being called holy, righteous, good, and spiritual.
• ✨ In Romans 7, Paul teaches believers are released from the Law's condemnation of sinners, not from the obligation to keep the Law itself, because Christ died for their sins.
• 🌱 Paul agrees with Ezekiel that the Holy Spirit empowers believers to keep the commandments (Romans 8), enabling them to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law.