Paul's Acts 13 Sermonette

An entire sermonette from Paul is recorded in Acts 13.  In this brief presentation there is absolutely NO mention - or even a hint - that Yeshua (Jesus) is God!  My article entitled, Facts from Acts, discusses the crucial importance of Acts and the clear facts that can be learned from it regarding the false teaching that Yeshua is God.

Acts 13:16-23

¹⁶ Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. ¹⁷ The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. ¹⁸ And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. ²⁰ And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. ²² And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. ²³ Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Yeshua:

The previous verses give a brief, skeletal synopsis of the work of YHVH (God) up to the point Yeshua came onto the scene.   Note how Paul explicitly teaches:

1. The same God that brought Israel out of Egypt,
2. destroyed the nations of Canaan,
3. gave unto Israel judges and Samuel,
4. gave Saul as King,
5. and "raised up" David
6. ALSO "raised up" Yeshua, FROM David's seed, meaning Yeshua was CLEARLY a 100 percent human being.
7. David was "raised up" just as was Yeshua.  Does this mean David was also God?  Of course not.  YHVH raised up Yeshua PRECISELY as He did David, in the sense of bringing him on the scene to fulfill part of God's divine plan (logos = divine plan).  The Greek term rendered "raised up," implies to be raised from obscurity.  Just as David was raised up from the obscurity of a common shepherd boy and the youngest of 8 sons, so Yeshua appeared on the scene from the relative obscurity of a carpenter's son from Nazareth with other brothers and sisters.  Also, just as David is not God, so Yeshua is not as well.

   Additionally, clear distinction between God and Yeshua is shown by the fact a DEAD Yeshua was "raised up."  Common sense demands the DEAD one raised up and LIVE one by whom he is raised cannot be one and the same entity.

Continuing...

Acts 13:24-29

²⁴ When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. ²⁶ Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. ²⁷ For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. ²⁸ And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. ²⁹ And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

Note in the previous verses Paul doesn't make any mention whatsoever that Yeshua is God.  There isn't even a hint at such an outrageous concept.  Paul is reminding them of the prophetic teachings and in no way does he imply those teachings foretold of an "incarnate man" being the Messiah.  Also, the casual way in which Paul briefly makes mention of the death of Messiah would be a gross oversimplification if Yeshua were actually God!  IF Yeshua were God you can be certain Paul would have REALLY made a big deal out of the fact that a small band of envious men in Jerusalem - those many he was speaking to respected as religious leaders - had "killed god".  However, there is no hint of the blasphemous concept that God can be killed.  The ease at which those claiming Yeshua is God teach God was killed betrays a gross lack of respect for the Almighty YHVH.

Acts 13:30-37

³⁰ But God raised him from the dead: ³¹ And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. ³² And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, ³³ God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Yeshua again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. ³⁴ And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. ³⁵ Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. ³⁶ For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: ³⁷ But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

The previous section of verses (30 - 37) begin the core of Paul's sermon.  It is from them we glean clear insight into what Paul thought regarding the debate that is forced by those claiming Yeshua is God.  There are numerous, rapid-fire points Paul CLEARLY makes here:

1. God RAISED Yeshua from the dead.  As stated numerous times, common sense demands one recognize that the DEAD one being raised and the LIVE one doing the raising cannot be one and the same entity.
2. Yeshua was seen as flesh many days following his resurrection.  The latter chapters of the gospel accounts make this fact undeniable.
3. Paul mentions how Yeshua was raised again.  Paul here refers to the raising from obscurity, just as before.  Of course, in this case Paul is also referring to the miraculous raising from the obscurity of death!
4. Paul also clearly refers to the fact Yeshua's body did not see corruption.  The clear implication is that it should have seen corruption.  From this we can determine Paul realized, and was teaching, that the MAN, Yeshua did not suffer the same corruption as other MEN.  To drive home the point Paul uses the fact that another "anointed one" of God, David, DID see corruption; thus, implying Yeshua had a superior anointing from God as THE promised Messiah (anointed one).  Common sense again dictates we must recognize Yeshua was a MAN and NOT God.

Acts 13:38-41

³⁸ Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: ³⁹ And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; ⁴¹ Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Paul ends his sermonette with the mention of how through Messiah mankind is able to lawfully receive the benefit of YHVH's (God's) grace.  However, I feel a slight irregularity in the translation and understanding of the Greek words, aphesis [af'-es-is] and dikaioo [dik-ah-yo'-o] leads most astray as to what Paul is here teaching.

Most traditional Christians - if not all - immediately accept the term "forgiveness" in verse 38 to mean forgiveness from all sin.  Whereas we do have forgiveness in Messiah, some go so far as to suggest it means all, as in all past, present, and even future sins that they may commit after "accepting Jesus."  It is this latter "license to sin" mentality present in so many Christians that may be the most dangerous false teaching in all religion and which is NOT what Paul is here stating.  This false teaching is a primary teaching of Southern Baptists and most other evangelical Christian organizations.  It is a prime example of demonic distortion of Scripture and a primary doctrine of the antichrist, Beast religious system that "attempts to change times and laws" [Dan. 7:25].  Strangely, it is also one of the easiest false teachings to prove wrong.  All it takes is a simple reading of Scripture with an open mind.  Almost from the start of Genesis one is constantly bombarded with Scriptural proofs proving the need to persevere in obedient faith.

Sadly, the attempt by the antichrist Beast to change times and laws has been largely successful, since most Christians have already been deceived into thinking the Holy Scripture (Tanakh or "Old" Testament) has been superceded by a new Holy Scripture, the New Testament; this, despite the fact that neither Yeshua nor any of the New Testament authors hinted at such a replacement of the Holy Word of the Almighty God.  There is no more direct "changing" of God's laws than the "changing" [replacement] of the Scriptures themselves.

The Greek word, aphesis, appears to be correctly translated in verse 38 as "forgiveness;" however, the implicit meaning behind the term is not adequately conveyed.  The deeper meaning is of "liberty," "freedom," or "deliverance from" something.  That something from which we are set free can be derived from Paul's words in verse 39 in which he says, "³⁹ And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."  The Nestle Aland 26th Edition Greek New Testament with McReynolds English Interlinear New Testament directly translates forgiveness of sins as "sending off" of sins.  This sheds more light on Paul's meaning.

In the article that discusses how traditional Christianity accuses YHVH of being a sinner, I briefly mention how the Torah (Law), with few exceptions, provided no sacrifices for intentional sins.  The sacrificial system remedied ONLY those sins committed out of ignorance.  Intentional sins were dealt with via punishment - often death to the sinner.  It was very rare, however, due to the enormous sanctity of human life that was held by the Judaic court, for capital punishments to be carried out.  Nevertheless, the Torah defined just such penalties and by violating them, the courts themselves were violating Torah.  Therefore, there truly was no justification available in Torah for willful sin.  If you can find where there was, please let me know.  This additional remedy for sin is one way in which the sacrificial death of Yeshua allowed that "by him all that believe are justified [freed, declared righteous] from all things, from which ye could not [willful sin] be justified by the law of Moses."

One could argue that the Day of Atonement provided "justification;" however, it most certainly did NOT provide for the penalty of willful sin to be removed, since those that sinned a sin worthy of death during the year, legally, shouldn't have been around to take part in the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) service.  Actually, an argument can be made that the Day of Atonement was more an occasion for the purification of the yearly defilement of the Temple than for atonement for sin.  The fact is, no one has ever really been able to fully understand ALL the details of what the Day of Atonement represents.  An example of the mystery behind the Atonement service is the scapegoat ritual.  Two lambs were taken, one for YHVH and one for "azazel."  The one for azazel is often referred to as the scapegoat.  This goat was not killed.  Instead it was lead out into the wilderness by a selected individual to meet an unknown fate - probably death.  There is even debate over what "azazel" means, a debate I will not enter into here.  My point is that there truly is an unexplainable element of Yom Kippur, a mystery which will only be fully understood when Yeshua the Messiah returns, since I have absolutely NO doubt much of the mystery relates to the completion of his mission as YHVH's chosen agent.  And be sure, despite what many within traditional Christianity may think, there are yet numerous aspects of the Messiah's mission that remain unfulfilled.  I sometimes wonder if the 2 goats somehow relate to the 2 appearances of Messiah. ???  Speculation accomplishes little.  It is best to await our King Messiah and let him explain it to us.

So, the terminology Paul used describes how through Yeshua we are delivered, or set free, from the curse of sin in a way that did not exist prior to Yeshua; thus, the Torah was completed in Messiah with the addition of atonement for even willful sin.  However, there is no hint that Paul intended his words to imply one is free so that he/she CAN sin!  There is NO "license to sin" anywhere in Scripture, and those that promote the terrible false doctrine of once saved, always saved represent the most direct opponents to YHVH's teachings that exist.  They completely remove ALL fear of God from large numbers of Christians, resulting in openly sinful lifestyles with no motivation for the sinner to change.  The freedom we have in Messiah is a freedom from the death penalty resulting from willful rebellion (sin) against God - it is a freedom from the "curse of the Law," which was death.  It is the CURSE of the Law of which we are free, NOT the Law itself!  We are NOT free to reject Torah!  Those that say we are directly contradict Yeshua's own words in Matthew 5:17-19 as well as numerous other clear passages which exhort us to persevere in obedience.  It is a freedom which allows us a means of justification previously missing.  The Torah remains, but with the first coming of Messiah there is now an additional aspect to Torah - an additional means of atonement - the added means for even willful sinners to receive legal forgiveness (liberty) IF he/she acknowledges (confesses, agrees with God) his/her sin and repents (returns to God's way - way = Torah).  Thus, the deliverance we enjoy through Messiah is limited to ONLY those that sincerely change their ways to align with the ways of Messiah, which were obedience and service to his God.  When and if we fail in our sincere attempts, we can be sure Yeshua's death takes the place of the death we deserve, but this should NEVER be taken for granted or treated as a license to sin.  We also see a direct relationship - as yet not completely understandable - to Yom Kippur by the term "sending off of sins," which the literal Interlinear translation shows.  The comparison to the literal sending off of sins upon the scapegoat (the goat for azazel) in the Yom Kippur ritual cannot be ignored and conceals deeper meaning we have yet to have fully revealed.