in the front seat

Quite interestingly, Paul’s gospel is one of the most divisive accounts in all of human history. “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” – Romans 5:1-2 (NLT) Before we can fully appreciate the new perspective on Paul, we must unpack the old perspective.  To begin, the term themselves are misleading. Paul preached salvation though the Grace of God to those who professed belief in Christ Jesus. From what we can tell, the original twelve apostles preached faith in Christ and a commitment to good works. What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? – James 2:14 (NLT) From a Catholic p...

“So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.   For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Romans 1:15-17 (NLT) The Letter to the Romans is one of Paul’s greatest works.  He did not write this to correct the Romans, he had not established the Church. Instead he wrote to introduce himself before he traveled there.  In it, he summarized his Gospel and made his plans clear. “ If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.  As t...

This challenge to Paul’s Gospel is quite the opposite the previous two examinations of the Judaizers and the legalistic approach.  Both of those ideas focus on a strict adherence to a code of law.  They were based on ethnicity, human constructs, and false teaching.  This next and final group is a type of “anything goes” way of life which flows from the false teachings of non-believers and “strange philosophies”. In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul writes “ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them .” – Hebrews13:8-9 (NLT) Paul speaks about “strange, new” ideas.  With a closer examination of his letter to the Colossians we see the “strange ideas emerge”.  Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from th...

Another challenge Paul encountered in defining the Gospel is the idea of Legalism. This is similar and related to the previous post on the Judaizers who wrongfully held that Christians must become Jewish in order to be favored by God.  Those who followed a path of legalism reduce Christianity to a series of rules.  This system holds that adherence to rules; dos and don’ts, all of which are human constructs, result in salvation. We must first define different types of law to which Paul is addressing.  There was Jewish Moral Law.  Paul required all Christians to follow this because it was revealed by God and is essential to righteous living.  There were Jewish Civil laws, some of which Paul followed.  These pertained to justice and communal living.  Lastly, there were ceremonial laws which he boldly said Christians were no longer bound. “Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in ...

One of the earliest groups to cause Paul trouble and challenge his gospel was a group of traditional-minded Jewish Christians.  We have labeled them Judaizers because this Christian faction preached that gentile converts needed to conform the Law of Moses making themselves Jews. While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question.  The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted. When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the...

When we speak about the Gospel immediately our mind wonders to thoughts of the four Evangelists.  To us, “gospel” is synonymous with a biography of Jesus, for that is essentially what the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are.  Each writer focused on different aspects of Jesus, highlighting his nature, mission, and manner.  In the end, each author told a story with an introduction, conflict, climax and resolution. Their stories, though different, were quite similar.  In fact, there were more similarities than differences when compared with what St. Paul calls his Gospel.  In each of four canonical Gospel accounts, Jesus lived, taught, angered the authorities, was executed, and rose from the dead fulfilling Old Testament Messianic prophecy. The word gospel literally means “good news”, not biography.  This term was not introduced to Christians by Mark (the first evangelist), it was first used earlier by St. Paul in his letters.  In fact, Pa...