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Jesus or Paul Part 5 (And Then Paul Changed Everything!)


Paul formed a community around his ideas and beliefs. In his community he was the only apostle, he preached a different gospel, and “righteousness had nothing to do with doing acts of tzedaqah.” The Epistle to the Romans clearly describes his new reality.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

In Paul’s exclusive gospel, righteousness is not something people do – it is mysteriously revealed by faith to those who believe what Paul taught.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. (Romans 3:21-22)

In Paul’s gospel, even though “works” and “righteousness” are unrelated. However, something most believers in Paul’s message do not seem to know about is that what people do could keep them out of the Kingdom of God.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

The bottom line is Jesus taught people how to do acts of tzedaqah -- things that restored the shalom of their communities by restoring shalom in individual lives – in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Paul taught people that God wanted them to “believe the right things about the Christ” and “not do certain sins” -- to enter and stay in the Kingdom of God.
For me, this sums up the most striking differences between Jesus and Paul:

● Jesus taught a “community-centered” message, in which people are interdependent of each other. It is a community in which all people are viewed as being “created in the image of God.” The protection and preservation of human lives are the highest values of God and the community. He did not teach or require beliefs in a theology or Christology. It is through interactions with others that one connects with God.

● Paul taught a “self-centered” message, in which people are dependent on human authorities for “knowing the right things to believe.” The costs for “believing or doing wrong things” were “loss of membership in the Kingdom of God” and “not being resurrected at the end of days.” Paul’s way requires no interactions with others.

What kind of community would you prefer for you and your family to live in – Jesus’s or Paul’s? Do you value people’s lives or institutional beliefs the most? It all depends on who you follow – Jesus or Paul?   

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