Throughout my walk with Christ and studying the scripture, I have been battling in my mind why Paul’s teachings have been so contradicting to Jesus teachings? Did Jesus and Paul preach two different gospels? Is it possible that Paul was just missunderstood or perhaps he was one of the tares planted straight after Jesus’ death and resurrection?
I think it is important we question everything and not accept everything at face value just because it’s been taught for centuries or because of traditions. I’ve always been very inquisitive person and perhaps that is why I also departed from faith in the past and drifted into different teachings… What brought me back to faith was realization of Satan’s existence through my personal experiences. This I will explore on my testimony in another video. In this video I wanted to explore the teachings of Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles and the author of majority of books found in the New Testament.
After posting the video on “the narrow gate”, I received a comment that challenged my thinking. I have to admit that this thought of Paul being a false Apostle crossed my mind before when I was being frustrated during conversations with other Christians who insisted we do not have to follow the Law as we have been saved by grace and me defending the Law. I would bring scripture: “if you love me, keep my commandments” John 14:15 to them bringing back the verse: “for by grace we have been saved through faith” Ephesians 2: 8-9. I would question why people take words of a man who wasn’t even a disciple of Jesus over the words of Jesus or the words of God in the Old Testament:
“‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.” ’ ” Jeremiah 11: 3-5
“Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’ ” Jeremiah 11:8
I know I am not the only one questioning the authority of Paul as I found a lot of videos and books that were written about Paul’s false teachings but I had to grow into this thought myself.
One of the most repeated warnings Jesus gave to his disciples was: “be careful that no one deceives you”, and that “many will come in my name after me”. We know that as soon as Jesus died, Satan made sure that truth would be mixed with lies to bring confusion onto people. God is not an author of confusion, therefore how come the author of majority of books that are found in the New Testament, contradicts the words of God? And now, modern Christianity is based on the teachings of Paul over the words of God. Could it be that perhaps Paul did not have bad intentions to deceive people but found a “way out” of following the Law and saw this as an opportunity of a new found freedom? This is of course only my personal assumption not based on any evidence.
First let’s examine how Paul became an Apostle and preacher to the Gentiles.
The first argument I need to bring is who is an Apostle?
The term apostle was used in the New Testament to describe an individual who was commissioned and sent by a community or church to preach the gospel. An apostle as defined strictly by the New Testament, no longer exists today, since these three conditions had to be met: The person had to have been an eyewitness to Jesus after his resurrection (1 Corinthians 9:1); had to have been chosen by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:15); and had to have ministered with miraculous signs and wonders (Acts 2:43; 2 Corinthians 12:12).
But Paul, a late arrival to the team of Apostles, also claimed to be qualified as an eyewitness. Was his claim legitimate?
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9: 3-6
Can Paul be an eyewitness if he never actually saw Jesus in the first place? Can we accept a vision of Christ as legitimate evidence as an eye witness? We lack direct evidence here so this can be open to discussion and doubt.
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.” Galatians 1: 15-19
We see that Paul received the revelation of Jesus Christ and Paul was not taught by any man but by God himself. Paul had contact with Peter who was a disciple of Jesus for fifteen days, therefore he did not spent a lot of time with someone who knew Christ personally. Paul then said he was appointed as an apostle to the Gentiles by God and not by the community or church:
“for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” 1 Timothy 2:7
“But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12
In the book of Matthew, we see Jesus saying that only He is the teacher:
“And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” Matthew 23:10
We also see that only Jesus’ disciples were appointed to teach after Jesus:
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:16:20
With this we see that Jesus disciples were given authority to teach to all the nations and to teach them observe the commandments, as Jesus was observing the commandments while on earth.
Moreover, we also see that Paul had a conflict with Peter, who was Jesus’ disciple and appointed by Jesus:
“But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Galatians 2: 7-16
Now we could argue who was right and what Paul meant when he said: “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?”. But the main argument here is the fact that Paul was teaching to relax, to forget the Law, that we can do what we want because we are justified by faith. And that was evident throughout most of Paul’s teachings. What we see now in Christianity is a big division between people who follow the Law and people who say the Law is finished.
When we look at the argument often brought by people of why the Law of God was abolished, people would bring the Gospel of John, when Jesus said on the cross: “it is finished”. However, few verses before, we see Jesus praying to God before the crucifixion and saying: “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” Therefore, the words “it is finished” meant the work which God has given to Jesus, not the Law. What was the work that was given to Jesus?
To glorify God on the earth “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4
To make people believe in Him “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.” John 6:29
And salvation “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:39
Therefore the work was faith in Christ and his salvation. By saying “it is finished”, Christ was saying he acomplished what God has sent him to do. It was nothing to do with the Law of God or abolishing the Law. That is why we have very contradicting believes found in the New Testament:
“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. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5: 17-19
Versus 100 verses found in the New Testament of Paul condemning the Law:
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ” Ephesians 2: 14-16
“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” Romans 7:6
“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 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 pole.” 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.” Galatians 3 :10-14
“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6: 14
If you ask yourself this question: if the Law reveals what sin is, what now reveals the sin if the Law is no longer valid? Does that mean there is no sin? If Christ finished the Law, does that mean we are no longer sinners and therefore there will be no judgement for us? But we know we are sinners because:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1: 9-10
Therefore the Law must be valid as God himself highlighted it on many occasions:
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Now someone could argue that this is Old Testament, which we no longer follow. And this is the problem in modern Christianity…
First of all we see in the New Testament: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Second of all, when Jesus was on earth, he was teaching out of Torah and only quoting Old Testament. The only difference was that Jesus came to change the perception about the Law. Previous to Jesus, Pharisees were following the Law from the outward appearance, focusing on the minor details and taking away from the true essence of the Law. Jesus was highlighting that is not about the “cleanness of the hands but of the heart”, what is the intension behind. It doesn’t matter if you perform good deeds to “show off” but in your heart you are greedy. It doesn’t matter if you tick of the list of the Law, but in your heart you harbor hate towards others. Jesus wanted to bring the Law to life, to show it from a different perspective and why the Law was established in the first place. That was the purpose of Jesus fulfilling the Law and not abolishing it.
“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.” Matthew 5:17
In reality, what is New Testament? New Testament is the second division of the biblical canon, which consist of 27 books that are: Gospel of Jesus Christ and letters about the teachings of Jesus, which essentially is a commentary of the teachings found in the Old Testament. Therefore we can say that the Old Testament is still valid, useful for teachings and we also know that God does not change:
“I am the Lord, and I do not change” Malachi 3:6
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind” Numbers 23:19
It is important to know the Old Testament to better understand the reason behind Jesus sacrifice, to understand and to know God and to fully grasp what God really wanted from his chosen nation so that we would not make the same mistake. Skipping through the Old Testament is like watching a movie part 2 without watching the part 1 first. You might make sense of it throughout watching part 2, however it will not be the same experience. You will miss out on many important details and your opinion will be quite vague as well. You will deceive yourself into thinking that you know and understand the movie perfectly.
That is why during sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus’ teachings was about self-deception:
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7: 22-23
Notice the word – lawlessness, which means without the Law. Therefore those who do not follow the Law might be rejected by Jesus, even though they know and believe in Jesus and also “done many wonders in His name”. This does not guarantee that one can be accepted to the Kingdom of God:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” Matthew 7:21
What is the will of the Father?
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13
God demands living a holy live as He is holy: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1: 13-16
The idea of Paul that everything is clean contradicts the Law of God:
“I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.” Romans 14: 14-21
“You shall not eat any detestable thing.” Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.” “And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.” “Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.” Deuteronomy 14 : 3-19
Therefore we see that not everything is pure and clean as Paul states. And we know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever and God does not change. If it was the case, I am sure we would be made aware of those changes through Jesus or his disciples.
Another Paul’s teaching that changed the course of the modern Christianity is about abusing grace.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
And what Jesus and his disciples said about “works”?
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2: 14-17
We were called to follow in Jesus steps and “the works that I do he will do also”. We were called to go out and to make disciples, to baptize them, to show love to others, to love God with all of our hearts and observe the commandments. This is the works we have been called to do. The danger of Paul’s teaching is complacency and abusing grace through thinking that “God will forgive anyway…” It’s back to the carnal life and lack of the fear of God. If God forgives because He understands that we are sinners, then what is the point in following the Law, fearing God and rejecting the flesh? If everything is made pure, then what is the point in rejecting that which God calls unclean? If we are saved by grace, then what is the point in avoiding sin? If the Law is no longer valid then what is sin?
We could go on and on but the main argument here is, this is just an example that God warned us about the fact that people prefer teachings of men over the truth:
“He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Mark 7: 6-7
“They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” Titus 1:16
And what Jesus said when he was asked what to look out for in the last days?
“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Matthew 24:4
Was Paul’s teaching completely false? I don’t think so. The problem with Paul’s teachings is that they are confusing and mixed with lies, and we know that God is not an author of confusion or a man that can lie. If Paul was really sent by God, would his teachings be clear and not contradicting the teachings of Jesus? Paul’s approach was very philosophical and open for interpretation and therefore created division among people which resulted in many different denominations. When we look at historical evidence, we see that early Christians were Jews who followed the Law of Moses. Once the gospel started to spread to the gentiles, they were also following the Law and appointed feasts and Sabbaths, however this started to create hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles started to distinguish themselves by creating differences and eventually moving Sabbath to Sunday which was the Lord’s Day. That one change was just a first move in the domino effect of other changes… Therefore we can say that what we have today is miles away from what Jesus appointed his disciples to teach. Today’s Christianity is based on lies and it’s up to us to search for the truth. The church will not give us the truth because it has been indoctrinated. I always say that we have to question everything and not just accept it because of tradition. And with that I will also say who’s words do you believe the most, the words of a man or the words of God?
By Dagmara Z.