As the title indicates, this was written to the Gentile (and some Jewish) believers in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) who lived in Rome. It was written by Shaul (Paul) in 57 CE and meant to be a letter of introduction for him before he arrived there. This letter is one of the longest and most confusing of all the other letters he wrote, so I will break this down into two parts.

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In this letter Shaul talks about the Torah, and over time this letter has been used as a polemic against following the laws in the Torah, while the truth is that it is actually an apologetic to explain that even after accepting Yeshua as the Messiah, it is still important to follow the Torah, but that faith is the over-riding necessity for salvation.

Christianity has, over the centuries, misused this letter to justify ignoring the Torah, but Shaul wrote it to identify the difference between obeying the Torah in order to earn salvation (in other words, just to be “correct’) and obeying the Torah as the result of faithful obedience to God’s instructions, which tell us how he wants us to worship him and how he wants us to treat each other.

I put emphasis on the word “he”, meaning (of course) God, because religion tells us how the religion wants us to worship and treat each other, which (more often than not) is not what God has said.

The beginning of this letter has Shaul explaining that he is not ashamed of the gospel (which is translated as “truth”, i.e., truth of God’s salvation) and desires to preach it to both Greeks and non-Greeks (different races of Gentiles, as well as Jews), the wise (believers in God) and the foolish (in those days, a “fool” was one who refused to believe in or accept God). He states that he does this because the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; this truth is to be brought to the Jew first, then to the Gentile (Romans 1:16).

This is not only the order in which he will present the Good News, but a confirmation of what Yeshua said in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 15:24), when he told the woman from Shomron that he came only for the lost sheep of Israel. We read about the first time the salvation of God was made available to the Gentiles, coming from the Jews (through Kefa, also called Peter) to the Gentiles in Acts 10.

As we go deeper into this letter, Shaul relates how God’s punishment against the sinful is not only justified, but a righteous judgment. He states that God is evidenced throughout the world, and those who refuse to accept his existence and his laws are deserving of the punishment they will receive.

Near the end of Chapter Two, he begins to talk about when Jews who brag about following the law break it, they actually blaspheme God’s name among the Gentiles. What he means is this: when those who profess to worship God do not obey him, they are setting a bad example to non-believers, and essentially making it harder, if not impossible, for them to want to accept God and his Messiah. This theme of hypocrisy will be evident in many of the letters he writes with regard to the interpersonal relationship issues within the leadership of various congregations throughout Asia.

One thing that is misunderstood is Romans 2:28-29, which many people have been taught means circumcision is wrong for Gentiles. What Shaul says is that being physically circumcised doesn’t make one a Jew, but when our heart is circumcised by the Spirit (in Hebrew, Ruach haKodesh– Holy Spirit) then we are a Jew, inwardly. He is not saying circumcision is wrong (as we will also see in Galatians), but that physical circumcision is not enough- we must also be circumcised by the Spirit in our hearts to be a “total” Jew.

What he is saying, if you ask me, if that when we are circumcised in both the flesh and the heart, that is when we can say we are a total Jew.

The issue of circumcision to be accepted as a member of the family of God is a constant problem which he runs into throughout the congregations where Jews are together with believing Gentiles.

This passage also has been misinterpreted to indicate no one accepting Yeshua has to do any of that “Jewish” stuff; but Shaul denies that, saying being a Jew is very important because they have been entrusted with the very words of God (that would be the Torah- there is no other place, anywhere in the entire Bible, where God, himself, tells us what to do). He then starts his Jewish logic argument about how people may say if we are unrighteous, and God’s judgment on us is righteous, then doesn’t our unrighteousness bring out more of God’s righteousness, implying it is good to sin.

His reply is, of course, it is never good to sin. He reminds us (quoting from the Psalms) that no one is ever going to be righteous by trying to obey the Torah perfectly: it is only through faith in Yeshua being the Messiah God sent that will we be able to overcome our sinfulness.

Understand this: no one can overcome their sinfulness because no one, as we are told throughout the Bible, is able to live a sinless life. The way we overcome sinfulness through Yeshua is that his death as a universal sacrifice for sin, replacing the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem, makes it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins. Especially since the temple was destroyed and that left no place to bring a sacrifice. Our sins can be forgiven through Yeshua, but not automatically, and not without repentance, and not without asking for it.

Shaul makes the argument that because Abraham was not circumcised when he was credited as righteous by his faith, then faith comes before obedience to the law. But he also points out that does not mean the law is done away with.

Later on, after going through a somewhat confusing diatribe about grace, faith, and the law, in Romans 6:15, having told us that grace can always be greater than sin, he asks if we can then go ahead and continue to sin because we are not under the law but under Grace? His answer?

By no means!

He explains that we were slaves to sin, but with Messiah we are slaves to righteousness, and that a slave must obey his master (remember how Yeshua said no one can serve two masters? Matthew 6:24). So, now that we are slaves to righteousness, and sons of God, he says we must be obedient to what is righteous.

His point is that as believers in Messiah, even though we are sons of God through faith more than circumcision, as slaves to righteousness we must do that which is righteous.

(So, nu? Let me ask you: where you find the things to do that are righteous?
You got it- in the Torah!)

In Chapter 10, Shaul begins to make an argument for legalism verse faith. My way of stating the difference between legalistic obedience and faithful obedience is that the former is a performance-based salvation, while the latter is a faith-based salvation, but not faith alone- it is faith demonstrated through obedience! (James 2:17)

When discussing Israel’s rejection of Yeshua, he shows that God will not forever abandon his people because of it (Deut. 33:21; Isaiah 65:1-2), and how the prophets have indicated that those who were once not God’s people (i.e., the ones rejecting Yeshua) will be called sons of God. In other words, Shaul is talking about the remnant of Israel (Jews) who have, and in the future will, accept Yeshua.

Next lesson we will start with Chapter 11, which is one of the most ignored chapters, if you ask me, by traditional Christian teachings.

Until then, l’hitraot and Baruch haShem!

Titus has been mentioned in a number of letters, such as in 2 Corinthians 8:23, and was a protégé’ of Shaul, traveling with him and also being sent as a messenger. He was working with the congregation in Crete when this letter was sent to him.

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This is one of those letters that some scholars believe was NOT written by Shaul, but possibly from someone using his name or from notes he had scribed. The time of the letter is around 63-65 A.D., which would be the time Shaul was a prisoner in Rome. However, at the end of the letter Shaul asks Titus to come to him in Nicopolis, where he intended to winter. Either Shaul was very optimistic about having his case heard and being set free (which I do not get from any of the other letters he wrote during this period), or maybe this is why it is thought he didn’t write this, rather that someone else did from notes he may have made before he was imprisoned in Rome.

The letter is simply a reminder of how Titus should choose the leadership for the congregation that was being set up there. Apparently, it was still in its formative stages.

The message is very similar to what he wrote Timothy with regards to choosing upright people, those who did not have a bad reputation, were self-disciplined, and who hold firmly to the Good News that was given to them.

Shaul tells Titus to be aware of, and watch out for, the reputation that the Cretans have. Even today, the term “Cretan” is a slur, indicating a baseless and vile person, with no understanding. Shaul quotes one of their own prophets, a man named Epimenides, who called his own people liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons (Titus 1:12; the name of the prophet is not mentioned in the letter but in a footnote of the NIV Quest Study Bible).

Shaul also warns against what he calls the “Circumcision group”, who were the believing Jews that insisted anyone following Messiah must undergo B’rit Milah in order to be able to become a member of God’s family. We hear a lot about these believing Jews in other letters, as well (Romans and Galatians, for two).

In light of the problems Titus is facing from both the believing Jews and the Cretans, who were known universally to be stubborn and argumentative, Shaul advises Titus to aways teach sound doctrine so that it can be used against the wrong teachings and false doctrine that was being used against him.

Titus is also told to ensure the members of the congregation always obey the legal authorities, which he says elsewhere, in order that the populace may see believers in Messiah as upright, and not have anything to hold against them. He especially warns against getting involved in useless arguments, such as over genealogies and controversial topics: if someone is being divisive, he is to be warned twice, then abandon that person and have nothing to do with him as he is self-condemned.

A bit of history: we do not hear anything else, really, about the Cretan believers. It is likely that being on an island, isolated from other believers and surrounded by non-believers (who were not the easiest people to get along with), that congregation was not able to survive.

The last letter in the New Covenant attributed to Shaul is Philemon, but I am not going to discuss that one because it is a personal request from Shaul, which really doesn’t add much except to demonstrate Shaul’s ability to lay a guilt trip on someone.

I will conclude this teaching series in my next lesson.

Until then, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

The first letter Shaul wrote to Timothy, one of his protégé’s who had a Greek father and Jewish mother, and apparently was very young to be in the position of authority he was given, was written around 63-65 A.D. The second letter was written a few years later. Timothy was stationed in Ephesus at the time of these writings.

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Shaul’s reason for writing to Timothy was to encourage him to stand firm against false teachings, which were (apparently) rampant within the congregation in Ephesus. The letter Shaul had written to this congregation was only a year or so prior, so it seems to me that the problems he wrote about not only failed to improve… but got worse!

In the first letter, Shaul talked about the rapture and reminded Timothy how Shaul had wanted Timothy to stay in Ephesus. He was concerned about how they were engaged in different activities, such as Elitism (the idea that only a few with special knowledge would be saved, similar to Gnosticism- the same problem the Galatians, Corinthians, and Colossians were dealing with), Idealism (matter is evil), and myths and genealogies. All of these were leading the people further and further away from the path of faith.

Shaul tells Timothy that women are not to teach or speak in services, which sort of goes against what he says in other letters, or his constant praising of women who hold positions of authority in other congregations, such as Euodia and Syntyche (Philippi), Priscilla and Lydia (Corinth), and Phoebe (Corinth), to name a few. So, even though Shaul is here saying that women should be subservient, and not speak in services, he clearly is not a misogynist, only speaking to a specific issue that was happening in Ephesus.

He also states that the women should dress modestly, so the underlying problem might have been that too many of the female congregants were being immodest, and could that include speaking out of turn? We really can’t tell, exactly, what the problem was, but clearly Timothy had to deal with issues regarding some of the women in the congregation.

Another problem Timothy was dealing with, in Chapter 4, was being looked down on by the older members of the congregation (again, remember this: there were no churches at that time, only the pagan temples, Jewish synagogues, and the messianic congregations meeting in people’s homes). Shaul tells him that he must stay away from idle gossip and myths and be a shining example of godliness. He reminds Timothy that he was prophesied to be a leader, so he should be firm and teach that which is correct.

He advises Timothy not to be harsh with anyone, but to exhort them to live correctly: he says to treat older men as fathers, to treat younger men as brothers, treat older women as mothers, and be like a brother to the unmarried women.

There were issues with the widows (most likely the younger ones) being spiritually turned from the truth, which is part of the false teachings going on there, and Shaul tells Timothy to deal with this by administrating to the widows based on their individual need. The ones who the congregation should care for must be over 60 years of age, have been faithful to their husbands, good to children, and shown that during their lives they lived a godly lifestyle. The younger widows should be cared for by their families, not the congregation.

There were also problems with the male leadership, which is why Shaul gives a very detailed set of requirements for anyone who is to be a leader in the congregation (the Hebrew word is Shamash). He states that some sins are easily seen, while others may not be so visible, which is why Timothy has to look at the whole picture, so to speak: the person, the person’s wife, their children, and his public reputation.

Going off topic for a minute, let me share a personal experience. I was on the Council at the messianic synagogue I attended in Philadelphia, and we hired a new rabbi. He seemed to be just what we wanted and gave a really good story about being called to Philadelphia. But it wasn’t until later that we found out he had been sent away from his prior congregation and his actions, more and more, showed that he was not a good choice. Eventually, after the original council members had all left, he destroyed the congregation from inside, not to mention the building interior because his children were uncontrollable. It is very hard to recognize a liar when the liar believes they are telling the truth, but as Shaul tells Timothy, you can get an idea about who a person really is by looking past them and to their family and past.

Shaul’s final issue in this first letter is that Timothy must counteract the false teachings and especially those who are preaching false doctrine and getting paid for it. He quotes from the Tanakh that those doing God’s word are entitled to be paid, but that (here is a well-known but often misquoted adage) the love of money is the root of many evils (1 Timothy 6:10); he warns Timothy that men there have turned from the true faith to preach false doctrine for money.

The second letter to Timothy dealt with what appears to have been a general feeling Shaul had that he had been abandoned by his congregations because he was a prisoner in Rome. He asked Timothy to not be ashamed of him (Shaul) because he is a prisoner and suffering.

He tells Timothy to warn people against arguing about words because it is of no value (2 Timothy 2:14)

{Ed: which would be a good thing for the “Holy Namers” to remember}

and that he should watch out for Hymeneaus and Phileitus, both of whom are spreading false teachings that the resurrection of the dead has already happened, which will destroy the faith of some and be like gangrene within the congregation.

Shaul states in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all scripture is God-breathed and good for teaching.” This statement has too often been applied to the New Covenant writings: that is a wrong thing to do because the only scripture that existed when Shaul wrote this was the Tanakh. As we can see in the letters Shaul wrote, there isn’t any “God-breathed” scripture here- just good advice, based on the real God-breathed scripture in the Tanakh.

These letters, as with this one to Timothy, are instructing the leadership of the various congregations Shaul created how to handle the all-too-human problems they were having within the congregation.

Shaul’s final words are a request for Timothy to come to him quickly and bring certain items he left behind, how he feels abandoned because friends deserted him in Rome and have gone to other places, leaving him alone to defend himself. Also, Timothy should be careful of Alexander the metalworker who has been speaking out against him, and how despite all this, God will bring Shaul to his heavenly kingdom.

It sounds very much like Shaul doesn’t expect to get out of this one alive, doesn’t it? And he was right to feel that way.

The next letter written by him that is included in the New Covenant is the one to Titus, which is the last of the Pauline Epistles we will talk about.

Until then, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

It is interesting to note that although everyone agrees that Shaul wrote the first letter to the Thessalonians, there is doubt that he wrote the second letter.

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These letters were written around 50-51 A.D. and address concerns that Shaul had about the faithfulness of these believing Gentiles as they came face-to-face with persecution by the Jewish population there.

As always, Shaul starts off praising their faithfulness and how thankful he is for their continued growth in the Lord. He reminds them that he was not a burden to them, how he had so many issues (there were riots which caused him to leave earlier than he wanted to when he was first there) and how he suffered for their sakes. He also qualifies his ministering as not using scams and lies, which apparently, he was accused of. He states he was blameless and upright in all he did when there, even earning his own living instead of taking any help from them.

As he does in so many of his letters, Shaul says how humble and unassuming he was when with them, all the while telling them he did so much for them and suffered for them, not taking from them anything he was entitled to as a worker for the Lord.

Overall, this letter is not so bad, as his letters go. He isn’t chiding them for lack of faithfulness or for doing wrong things, as most of his other letters addressed. In fact, this letter is quite the opposite: he congratulates them on maintaining their faith, which Timothy (who he had sent to them to make sure they were still faithful) reported back to him.

The second letter addresses a specific problem, in that there was a supposed letter from Shaul saying that the Day of the Lord has already come. He reminds them of the lessons he gave them when he was there regarding the Acharit haYamim (End Days) and how HaSatan (the Devil) is constantly working to separate them from the faith.

He does chide them in this letter regarding those who he has heard are being idle and tells them to follow his example, working and not being a burden to anyone. He states that if anyone among them is not working, he should be shunned, but not hated. He should be made to feel ashamed so that he will get back on track. But anyone who doesn’t work shouldn’t be fed.

What is interesting, again, is that the first letter is thought to be written by Shaul, but isn’t signed by him, but this second letter, which they say may not have been written by him, is signed with his own handwriting! It seems that the ambiguity of the timing of the End Days is what makes some scholars doubt that both letters were written by Shaul.

In any event, the message is the same with both: remain faithful, work for your keep by following the example Shaul set when he was there and watch out for false teachers and prophets.

Next, we will look at the letters he wrote to Timothy, addressing the problems that Tim was having with his congregation members.

Until then, l’hitraot and Baruch Ha Shem!

This is one of those letters that the scholars are not absolutely certain was written by Shaul. I am not sure why they think that. The reason given is that the writing style is different from other letters he has written. It seems strange to me that this would not be considered one of his because he states at the end he is signing in his own handwriting, which he has done on other letters (1 Corinthians, Galatians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon). However, many times letters were either dictated or notes left for a scribe to complete, in which case there would be a difference between the style of a dictated letter, and one that was completed by someone else, based on notes.

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This letter was written during the time Shaul was a prisoner in Rome, around 62 A.D., and addresses an issue the congregation was having with the Gnostics, who were turning their faith away from trust to needing special knowledge, and repeats not only the reasons for faith, but he goes further to instruct them on how to live a godly life, even to how to form proper familial relationships.

Shaul starts off reminding them of the power of God and the Messiah, and how they were introduced to the Gospel he preached to them about faith.

Shaul spends a brief time (in Chapter 2) telling them that they should not allow themselves to be turned away from the truth of Messiah by either of the philosophies they were being told about. One was the need for special knowledge, secret codes and such that is the system called Gnosticism. The other was the idea of performance-based salvation, which was the old argument of legalistic observance vs. faith-based obedience.

I see this same problem in Christianity today, as well as in Judaism (to a lesser degree): the need to know exactly when, what every little statement means (I mean, no one will ever know what the 666 means. I really believe when the antichrist is in charge, we won’t need to see his number- we’ll know that the world is being led by a demon. The need to know is not something that God requires of us; instead, it is the need to trust that he is in charge is all we really need to know- that and what he tells us to do in the Torah.

If you ask me, those who are all about the “proper” calendar, and numerology, and astrology, etc. are concentrating on minutia, and in some way, substituting the event as more important than the one the event is about. If I am celebrating the Holy Days based on the Jewish calendar I bought on Amazon, but somewhere there is a more accurate calendar that says I am a day off, here or there, I seriously doubt that I will go to hell for that.

The need to follow the “correct” calendar, to not worship anything not in the Torah, to refuse to worship anything created, to reject all man-made traditions Carte Blanc, is (as I have stated in my ministry many times) what I believe to be a modern form of the legalistic approach to worship that Shaul is arguing against in many of his letters to Gentiles who are being confused by both Jews and Gentiles regarding the proper form of worship.

He spends the majority of this letter reminding them that they were spiritually circumcised when they accepted Yeshua, and that their faith is what saves them. Their old ways of sin were put to death when they were reborn in the Messiah. He reiterates that they must do away with foul language, sexual immorality, lust, greed, and other sins of the flesh.

And, if we chance assuming that the issues he mentions are mentioned because he heard that they were problems being experienced within that congregation, then we can see that there was a lot to fix in this group of believers.

He states that all are one in the body of the Messiah- there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, free nor slave, etc. Of course, he is speaking figuratively here, talking about our spiritual selves. There will always be differences between people who are believers in the Messiah, Yeshua. The point is that we are not to hold onto any of the old biases or prejudices that we did before we were saved.

He gives one of my favorite verses in his admonitions on submission to each other, in that in Chapter 3, verse 23 he is telling slaves to do what they are told not because their master is watching; rather, they should do everything for the Lord, and not just for men, because that way they will receive an inheritance from God.

Even though he is addressing slaves, this is good advice for all of us.

Shaul ends with the usual greetings to everyone, and if he didn’t write this letter, I have to assume since he spent the time to sign it himself, he must have (at least) proofread it.

The next letters we will review are to the Thessalonians, and since both letters are fairly short, I will cover them both in the same lesson.

Until then, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!