Does Paul Contradict Himself?

🙂 Romans 3:20 For by works of the Torah no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 

🙂 Romans 3:28 Then we conclude a man to be justified by faith without works of Torah. 

🤨 Romans 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the Torah who are just with God, but the doers of the Torah who shall be justified. 

There's a lot of people who reject Paul as a teacher because they say he contradicts himself, he contradicts Yeshua, and he supports lawlessness (the law being abolished).

Paul is certainly a man of many words! It's especially hard to follow him when you have no context, or when you don't know any of the people he was speaking to and what they believed. Instead of trying to really understand what Paul is saying, a lot of people (some I believe out of pure laziness), just throw him out and call him a false teacher because it's too much work to figure out what his message is. I for one, though, am certain Paul never contradicted Yeshua, nor encouraged anyone to break the Torah.

It wasn't just people of today who accused Paul and others like him of going against the law - it happened in their day too. This was because in those days, believers in the Messiah had come to understand that it was the Torah alone one should follow, not the manmade version of righteousness the pharisees prescribed along with all their additions to Torah.

Acts 6:13 [of Stephen] And they stood up false witnesses, who were saying, This man does not cease speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the Torah; for we have heard him saying that this Yeshua the Nazarene will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses delivered over to us. [We know the Messiah did neither of those things, nor did His followers say that of Him].

Acts 21:21-24 [of Paul] And they were informed about you, that you teach falling away from Moses, telling all the Jews throughout the nations not to circumcise their children, nor to walk in the customs. What then is it? At all events, a multitude must come together, for they will hear that you have come. Then do this, what we say to you: There are four men who have a vow on themselves; taking these, be purified with them, and be at expense on them, that they may shave the head. And all shall know that all what they have been told about you is nothing, but you yourself walk orderly, keeping the Torah.

Paul was certainly not lawless. Let's dive into what Paul meant by "not being justified by works of the Torah, yet the doers of the Torah being justified."

In Romans 3, Paul describes how all have sinned. Not one is righteous before God - both Jews and Gentiles. Those who claim to keep the Torah and those who do not keep the Torah are sinners.

Romans 3:19,21 Now we know that whatever the Torah says it speaks to those who are under the Torah, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the Torah no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the Torah comes knowledge of sin.

Paul talks about a righteousness from man's perspective. The Jews/Pharisees believed they could be saved through the works of the Torah alone - this is a works gospel. Then Paul describes the righteousness that comes through God. People such as Abraham were called righteous and extoled for their faith. Yes, they were righteous because they stayed obedient to God's laws, yet their obedience was coupled with putting their faith in the coming Messiah who would wipe away their transgressions. If we seek to obey the Torah and do everything it tells us to do, yet deny the need for faith in Yeshua, we cannot be justified nor saved because no one can blamelessly keep the Torah. Works or obedience to the Torah alone CANNOT bring salvation.

Whenever Paul talks about salvation from the Torah being unattainable, or works of the Torah, he is specifically talking about those who obey the Torah without any faith in the Messiah.

Romans 9:31,32 ...but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone...

Here now Paul describes those who are righteous APART from keeping this law of all-works-no-faith:

Romans 3:21-28 But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law [obedience without faith], being witnessed by the Torah and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ toward all and upon all those believing; for there is no difference, for all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, as a demonstration of His righteousness through the passing over of the sins that had taken place before, in the forbearance of God, for a demonstration of His righteousness in the present time, for His being just and justifying the one that is of the faith of Jesus. Then where is the boasting? It was excluded. Through what law? Of works [obedience without faith]? No, but through a Torah of faith. Then we conclude a man to be justified by faith without works of the law [obedience without faith].

This means that the moment we come and lay down our lives of sin before Yeshua, putting our faith in Him to cleanse us from sin, we are made righteous. We have done nothing to acquire that righteousness, save submitting to Him. Forgiveness is freely given. Once we have repented of sin and put our faith in Him, though, do we then willfully break the Torah, living in the grace of His forgiveness? I think not. To conclude this very same chapter, Paul says the following:

Romans 3:31 Then is the Torah annulled through faith? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.

Paul describes how Abraham's faith made him righteous:

Romans 4:2,3 For if Abraham was justified by works [obedience without faith], he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

So many people feel like Paul and James were contradicting each other on this subject. Some assume Paul is saying salvation is by faith alone (no obedience to the Torah necessary) because he was stressing so much the importance of faith - but Paul never denies the need for obedience. He's just fixated on the topic that obedience without faith cannot justify. Below James is speaking the exact same message as Paul (faith and works together), but James is instead stressing on the need for works (don't leave out obedience to the Torah). Likely, both Paul and James are speaking to two different groups of people who need to be reminded, it's not just works, or, it's not just faith. Both go together.

James 2:20-24 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

So to conclude - whenever it seems like Paul is saying the works of the Torah cannot save, he is talking about trying to obey the Torah apart from any faith in God being the one who redeems us.

Romans 10:2–5 For I bear them witness that they [Jews/Pharisees/those obedient to the law without faith] have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For the Messiah is the goal of the Torah for righteousness to everyone who believes. Moreover, Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the Torah, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. [Faith in the Messiah + Obedience to Moses' Torah = Life]

Matthew 19:17 And [Yeshua] said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 

Faith along with Obedience = Life

Faith without obedience = Death

Obedience without Faith = Death