Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

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Elijah John
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Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

Post #1

Post by Elijah John »

Proverbs 21.3
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
How does one reconcile this proverb with the Pauline doctrine that it is sacrifice (namely that of Jesus) which is acceptable to God and not our right and just actions, i.e."works"?

Is this an example of contradiction of Biblical principles?
My theological positions:

-God created us in His image, not the other way around.
-The Bible is redeemed by it's good parts.
-Pure monotheism, simple repentance.
-YHVH is LORD
-The real Jesus is not God, the real YHVH is not a monster.
-Eternal life is a gift from the Living God.
-Keep the Commandments, keep your salvation.
-I have accepted YHVH as my Heavenly Father, LORD and Savior.

I am inspired by Jesus to worship none but YHVH, and to serve only Him.

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Re: Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

Post #2

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Elijah John wrote:... the Pauline doctrine that it is sacrifice (namely that of Jesus) which is acceptable to God and not our right and just actions, i.e."works"?
Emphasis MINE.


Hello, do you have a verse mind to support the supposition that Paul taught that God does NOT accept our "right and just actions" (work)?


GALATIANS 6:9,10
So let us not give up in doing what is fine [...] let us work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith

HEBREWS 6:10
For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name

TITUS 2:13
[Jesus Christ] gave himself for us to set us free from every sort of lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people who are his own special possession, zealous for fine works.

TITUS 3:8
I want you to keep stressing these matters, so that those who have believed God may keep their minds focused on maintaining fine works.

1 CORINTHIANS 3: 8,9
Each person will receive his own reward according to his own work. For we are God’s fellow workers


All quotes from the NWT

To answer the question as is, yes, *IF* Paul taught that God does not accept the fine works of his servants that could indeed be seen as a biblical contradiction.




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"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

Post #3

Post by Checkpoint »

Elijah John wrote: Proverbs 21.3
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
How does one reconcile this proverb with the Pauline doctrine that it is sacrifice (namely that of Jesus) which is acceptable to God and not our right and just actions, i.e."works"?

Is this an example of contradiction of Biblical principles?
Maybe it is "right and just" that we accept that "Pauline doctrine"?

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Re: Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

Post #4

Post by Checkpoint »

[Replying to post 1 by Elijah John]

My post 3 was a little tongue in cheek...

It was really just to test something else.

You see, I now find your thread "Jesus preaching hate" to be locked, and I want to post there.

How can I unlock it??

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Post #5

Post by Elijah John »

Checkpoint wrote: How can I unlock it??
Moderator Clarification

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You cannot. Only a moderator can lock or unlock threads. I will PM you as to the reason this one is locked, though it is already stated.


______________

Moderator clarifications do not count as a strike against any posters. They serve as an acknowledgment that a post report has been received and/or are given at the discretion of a moderator when he or she feels a clarification of the rules is required.
My theological positions:

-God created us in His image, not the other way around.
-The Bible is redeemed by it's good parts.
-Pure monotheism, simple repentance.
-YHVH is LORD
-The real Jesus is not God, the real YHVH is not a monster.
-Eternal life is a gift from the Living God.
-Keep the Commandments, keep your salvation.
-I have accepted YHVH as my Heavenly Father, LORD and Savior.

I am inspired by Jesus to worship none but YHVH, and to serve only Him.

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Re: Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

Post #6

Post by Elijah John »

[Replying to post 2 by JehovahsWitness]

Good observation that good works are acceptable to God in different contexts. But why do you suppose the Proverb constrasts good works, right and just actions, with sacrifice?
My theological positions:

-God created us in His image, not the other way around.
-The Bible is redeemed by it's good parts.
-Pure monotheism, simple repentance.
-YHVH is LORD
-The real Jesus is not God, the real YHVH is not a monster.
-Eternal life is a gift from the Living God.
-Keep the Commandments, keep your salvation.
-I have accepted YHVH as my Heavenly Father, LORD and Savior.

I am inspired by Jesus to worship none but YHVH, and to serve only Him.

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Post #7

Post by Overcomer »

EJ quoted Prov. 21:3:
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
It's important to note that not all sacrifices were acceptable to God. If a sacrifice was given without sincere repentance and if a person's life didn't reflect that repentance, then God was not pleased with the offering. Consider Isaiah 1:11 which reads:

The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?� says the Lord.
I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

If we read that verse in context, we see that the people are making sacrifices, but they are living sinful lives. Obviously, there is no repentance behind the sacrifices, making them meaningless in God's eyes. God wants them to live godly lives of repentance and obedience rather than offer worthless sacrifices to him.

And, in fact, if we look at the preceding verse in Proverbs 21, we read this: "A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart." So we see that, in context, this is exactly what Solomon is talking about here. He's talking about the arrogant who do what they want apart from the Lord. Sacrifices made by such people are meaningless to God. Put another way, religious acts are without value apart from righteous living.

So this proverb isn't saying that people don't have to make sacrifices to atone for their sins. It's saying that sacrifices made with an impure heart aren't acceptable to God. Cain is a perfect example of this. See here:

http://www.letusreason.org/Doct100.htm

And there's Psalm 51:16-17, which reads, "For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Again, it's about one's heart attitude. Prov. 21:3 isn't talking about salvation at all.

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Post #8

Post by Checkpoint »

Elijah John wrote:
Checkpoint wrote: How can I unlock it??
Moderator Clarification

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You cannot. Only a moderator can lock or unlock threads. I will PM you as to the reason this one is locked, though it is already stated.


______________

Moderator clarifications do not count as a strike against any posters. They serve as an acknowledgment that a post report has been received and/or are given at the discretion of a moderator when he or she feels a clarification of the rules is required.
Thank you.

When, do you estimate, will it become unlocked again?

Days, weeks, months, how many?

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Post #9

Post by Elijah John »

Checkpoint wrote:
Elijah John wrote:
Checkpoint wrote: How can I unlock it??
Moderator Clarification

Rules
C&A Guidelines

You cannot. Only a moderator can lock or unlock threads. I will PM you as to the reason this one is locked, though it is already stated.


______________

Moderator clarifications do not count as a strike against any posters. They serve as an acknowledgment that a post report has been received and/or are given at the discretion of a moderator when he or she feels a clarification of the rules is required.
Thank you.

When, do you estimate, will it become unlocked again?

Days, weeks, months, how many?
I'll PM you.
My theological positions:

-God created us in His image, not the other way around.
-The Bible is redeemed by it's good parts.
-Pure monotheism, simple repentance.
-YHVH is LORD
-The real Jesus is not God, the real YHVH is not a monster.
-Eternal life is a gift from the Living God.
-Keep the Commandments, keep your salvation.
-I have accepted YHVH as my Heavenly Father, LORD and Savior.

I am inspired by Jesus to worship none but YHVH, and to serve only Him.

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Re: Paul's theology of sacrifice, against Proverbs 21.3?

Post #10

Post by DPMartin »

[Replying to post 1 by Elijah John]



Pro_16:11 A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.

the Cross is the work or offering or sacrifice of the Lord, not man's offering or sacrifice. therefore His work, it has weight in His Judgement.

and there's no such thing a Pauline theology set forth by the Apostle to the Gentiles Paul. such titled "theology" is the views and thoughts of men of what Paul wrote down, and Paul taught the views of the Lord in respect to the fulfillment of the Gospel towards the Gentile despite Paul's efforts towards his countrymen, the Hebrew.

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