Romans 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

Gamaliel, a highly respected instructor of the law, was Paul’s teacher. His instructions would have been thorough, extensive, and traditional. So why didn’t Gamaliel see Christ in the Old Testament?

Cultural experience focused on national identity and left personal salvation as matter for the conscience of the individual. God brought Israel out of bondage as a nation. God prepared a place in the Promised Land for Israel as a nation. Prophets were seen as a voice to the nation and Israel was rewarded and punished as a nation.

All throughout the OT are the words that promise the gospel of peace for the individual but if you look at it from a nationalist framework, you miss it. It wasn’t until Paul was saved that he saw that the scriptures contained the message of personal salvation. It took Paul some fourteen years to come to grips with the depth of understanding required to renew his mind and reconcile what he was taught with the truth.

Are we any different? How much religion have we received prior to coming to know Christ on a personal level? How much of our religion has to be reconciled with the truth? Do we take responsibility to seek truth for ourselves or do we allow others to tell us what to think and believe? Personal salvation comes at a cost of personal responsibility. While we are all flawed and capable of error that does not relieve us of the responsibility in seeking the truth for ourselves.

The second and necessary part is in testing your understanding of those truths with others. The truth will stand up in the light while error will be seen.