“But That’s Just Paul!”
From his own day to ours, the apostle Paul has been a lightning rod of controversy. Many folks wrongly claim that Paul taught against God’s law. Even some of those who rightfully uphold God’s law accept this foolish notion and declare that Paul was a false teacher whose writings shouldn’t be in the Bible. Even during his own lifetime, some falsely accused Paul of breaking God’s law and teaching others to do likewise (Acts 21:20-24). Peter defended Paul from such accusations, observing that some of Paul’s writings are “hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:16). He then condemned “the error of unprincipled men” (2 Pet. 3:17; NASB). “Unprincipled” is Strong’s #G113, athesmos , which means “lawless.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon adds that it describes “one who breaks through the restraints of law and gratifies his lusts.” So it wasn’t Paul who rejected God’s law, but rather those who twi...