We read that Jesus's first teaching after coming out of the 40 days in the desert was "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Did Jesus preach the same gospel that Paul claimed was "the gospel of Christ"? That all depends. Do you believe the Gospels?
Jesus famously said, "God loved the world in this way; He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). He made it abundantly clear that "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18). Jesus told His listeners "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24). What was the critical component for "has passed from death to life"? Believe. "Now, hang on, Stan," someone might say, "He specifically said 'believes in Him who sent Me.' That's God." Yes, indeed, and He also said, "Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me" (John 12:44), making believing in Jesus and believing in God equivalent and making Himself equivalent with God. He told them "Whoever believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). He told Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25-26). Jesus repeatedly correlated "Believe in Me" with eternal life. That was His gospel.
Paul says that the gospel he preached -- the only gospel (Gal 1:6-9) -- was not his invention. He says he didn't learn it from anyone, but was given it "through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:11-12). He calls it "the gospel of Christ" (Gal 1:7 and elsewhere). He points to Abraham as his prime example of "saved by faith" (Rom 4:2-3; Gal 3:5-9). In fact, Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). It would appear that Paul, Abraham, Jesus, and God are all in agreement. The good news is that we are not saved by being good, but by putting our faith in Christ, either looking forward (as did Abraham) or looking back (for us). Despite the Pauline Dispensationalists who claim that Jesus taught a different gospel than Paul or the Social Justice Warriors that argue that Jesus taught a "good news for the poor" rather than "saved by faith" gospel, it appears that Jesus and Paul taught the same gospel: repent and believe and you will have eternal life.
4 comments:
Anyone that believes Paul and Jesus preached different gospels needs to abandon Christianity as the meaningless religion it would be if that were true. That's why the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture are so important. If you can't trust the words presented as the Word of God, and there are logical contractions and refutations within the books that claim to be spoken by God, then they are useless and should be just as ignored as any mythological story book.
I completely agree that Paul preached the same Gospel as Jesus, although he might have expressed himself differently.
Don't forget those who think that Jesus' Gospel message is defined and limited by His quoting if Isiah's prophecy, and His response to John The Baptist.
Apparently some would argue that repent and believe is inadequate for salvation, that adding a following of Jesus way to the mix is necessary. I guess there is a need to add at least one element of works to the gospel.
Dan says you're wrong, so...
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