Expert: Dean Gade - 12/6/2005

Question
Are I and II Timothy and Titus called the pastoral epistiles?

Did Paul, at no time in his lifetime, believe that it was necessary to be guilty before God, because God provided detailed intructions in the Law to preserve mankind from sin- including instruction about how to make atonement for the occasional sinds that migh occur?

Answer
Yes, these letters are often called that because they were written to the two named pastors.  A pastor is one called by God to be a shepherd to a congregation.

Paul had been a well schooled Pharisee and they were very intent on keeping the Law of Moses and the ceremonial laws of the Jews.  

At that time, Saul saw the law as means to salvation. That is, that the Law was given by God to show a person how to be righteous before Him and earn salvation.  There were many sacrifices connected with following the law and atoning for sins whether frequent or occaisional.

Saul, the Pharisee, did not teach that the Law could preserve a person from sinning , but that it gave the means of atoning for sins.

When Jesus the Messiah came into his life Paul, the Christian,  saw the Law in a completely different light.  He saw that the Law was given to the Jews not as a means to gain heaven but to show everyone that they were sinners and unable to gain heaven by following the Law.  For the Law required that one must always obey every law and any one failure meant that they had failed to keep the whole Law.  Which is what God demanded to gain heaven.

The sacrifices for sin offered by the priests were not only just temporary but they could not take away the punishment for sin because these sacrifices were not great enough to do that.  People could only rely on the promise of God that He would forgive their sins through the promise made to Abraham.

The promise was fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ/Messiah. He was perfect both in His nature and in His live of perfect obedience to the Father.  He alone could be the atonement by taking the sins and punishment for sin on Himself.

A few of the many passages which explain the place of the Law to those who have recieved the Christ:

Matt 5:17

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.


Rom 3:19-25

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.


Rom 8:1-4
8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,   2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,   4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.


Gal 2:15-16

15 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.


Gal 3:10-14
10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."   11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."   12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."   13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."   14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
(all above from New International Version)