Join us as we unravel the complexities of early Christian teachings, focusing on Apostle Paul’s distinct message to the Gentiles. Can we reconcile Paul’s teachings about grace with the historical covenant of circumcision? We journey through the New Testament to examine Peter’s revelatory vision, an essential turning point that paved the way for Christianity’s expansion beyond the Jewish community.
00:00:00 Introduction to Apostle Paul’s Trustworthiness
00:06:00 Exploring Differences Between Two Peoples: Israel and Gentiles
00:13:00 Contradictions Between Paul’s Teachings and Previous Covenants
00:20:00 Comparisons Between Paul and Joseph Smith
00:25:00 Peter’s Vision and the Acceptance of Gentiles
SPEAKER 01 :
Greetings to the brightest audience in the country and welcome to Bob and Your Life. Today we’re getting into a really interesting question. Why do we trust the Apostle Paul? Interestingly enough, a lot of people have drawn parallels between Paul and Joseph Smith. Paul and the Mormon founder, cult leader Joseph Smith, because they both seem to be proclaiming a new message to a new people group with new commands. And the Bible so explicitly warns us to be hesitant and to be super skeptical of people who come bringing a new message or anything resembling a new message. message, and that’s a really scary thing. So with that said, why do we trust Paul? This is a sermon I had the honor of giving at Agape Kingdom Fellowship. Let’s jump right into it. Today’s message is titled, Why Do We Trust Paul? Why? Do we trust the Apostle Paul sent to the Gentiles? Why do we trust him? Last week we discussed the two separate groups of believers in the New Testament. There is the group, those comprising the Bride of Christ, who were under the law. and those who comprised the body of Christ, those who were under grace. And we discussed how there are two different sets of marching orders given one set for one group and another set for another group. Israel, those who comprise the bride of Christ, they were under the law, and their marching orders were keep the law to be saved. And Israel, they were given a bit of an odd name. They were given the name the circumcision. That was their name. But the Gentiles, on the other hand, the Gentiles, those who comprise the body of Christ, their marching orders are, have faith in Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Works are not needed. Following the law is not needed. Just as Israel, as they were named the circumcision, not so surprisingly, the body of Christ, the Gentiles, are named the uncircumcision. Circumcision, of course, being an act of the law, and therefore you see how the names make sense that the circumcision keep the law, the uncircumcision do not keep the law. And we discussed how to tell the difference between what is for the Gentiles, for us today in the body of Christ, and what was for the bride of Christ, Israel. And we saw how that the writings of Paul were addressed to the Gentiles, where basically everything else in the Bible was addressed to the bride of Christ, to Israel. We saw in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 7, 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. So, Paul to the Gentiles and the 12 apostles to the circumcised to Israel. But today’s topic is very important. How can we trust Paul? Why do we trust Paul? How can we possibly trust him? Because since the days of Abraham, Israel has been a people of the law. God stated explicitly that if you wanted to have a relationship with him, you must keep the law. You must circumcise. In fact, let’s rewind the clock about 2,000 years before Paul and go back and see what God said to Abraham. In Genesis chapter 17, and God said to Abraham, as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you forever. throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you. Every male child among you shall be circumcised and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised every male child in your generations. He who is born in your house or bought He has broken my covenant. Notice again that we explicitly see here, my covenant shall be an everlasting covenant. My covenant shall be an everlasting covenant. God establishes the everlasting covenant of circumcision. And then what does Paul say 2,000 years after that? What does he say about circumcision? Well, in Galatians chapter 5, he says, Indeed, I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ. You who attempt to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace. So God tells Abraham that circumcision will be an everlasting covenant. Paul, 2,000 years later, says that circumcision will profit you nothing, and if you circumcise, you will be estranged from Christ. So how in the world could we possibly trust Paul? We saw last week what Jesus taught was needed for salvation in Matthew 19, verse 16. Now behold, one came and said to him, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? Jesus answered in the next verse, if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. James said in James 2.24, you see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. And Paul, he utterly contradicted both Jesus and James’ words by teaching the exact opposite. Romans 3.28 says, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from deeds of the law. So how in the world can we trust Paul? He is walking back on the covenant with Abraham, the law of Moses, the teachings of the prophets, the teachings of the apostles, and the very words of Jesus himself. So how can we trust him? What Paul, he says, as we discussed last week, there’s two different groups and two different messages for these two groups, but why do we trust Paul when he claims this? Why do we trust him when he says there’s two different messages? Why is he even in our Bibles if he so blatantly contradicts this covenant with Abraham? right? He says that God, I loved him, but I seeked him ignorantly, and I didn’t understand things until Jesus, until he appeared to me in a bright light, and he revealed that I have this new message for this new people group. And very ironically, that is exactly what Joseph Smith said. almost verbatim, almost verbatim, Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, he said, I loved God, but I was ignorant. Then Jesus appeared to me in the woods, and it was a bright light, and he gave me a new message, a new gospel for a new people. A lot of people look at Paul, even people who say, I love Jesus and I want to follow Jesus, they look at Paul and they say, he is no different from Joseph Smith. He was a con man with a new gospel, a new fake gospel. In fact, some Jews, and we were talking about this in Bible study, some Jews, they say, oh God, he gave Christians Mormonism so that they can understand how we feel about Christianity. They say it. And so it’s not too hard to blame them. The parallels, they are a bit eerie. So why do we trust Paul? Well, unlike Joseph Smith, Paul, he did not insert himself into scripture. He did not write himself into scripture. In fact, Joseph Smith, something I want to show you guys today. I have a Joseph Smith translation of the Bible. Joseph Smith, the Mormons, they say he had supernatural powers to translate ancient languages that God gave him. Ironically, they don’t use the Joseph Smith translation, which is funny. But I want to read to you. something in here. This is out of the sleeve cover. It says, primarily in Genesis, he inserted large editions of new texts. This is Joseph Smith in the Joseph Smith translation. And if any of you guys want to do this, this is just a fun little exercise. Turn your Bibles to the 50th chapter of Genesis. And first person to get there, just raise your hand if you can. I want to see who can get to their Bible the fastest. Usually you flip pages nowadays. Okay, it looks like Will tied with Deanna, but let’s go with Will. Will, I’ll pick on you. How many verses are in Genesis chapter 50? 26 verses. In the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible, there are 33 verses. No, I apologize. 36 verses in the Joseph Smith translation of Genesis chapter 50, and he inserted all sorts of things. And here’s one thing that he inserted, and I’m going to jump around a little bit because he, you know, is a little bit redundant. But he says, as if it was Moses who wrote this, he And again, a seer I will raise, saith the Lord, a seer I will raise, and that seer I will bless, and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father. If you don’t know, Joseph was Joseph Smith Jr., and he literally translated the Bible, I say in quotes, he translated the Bible and wrote himself into the Bible saying, oh, I was prophesied about thousands of years ago. So that’s what a con man like Joseph Smith has to do to present himself as reliable, as a good person, as a real prophet. But in reality, he was a fraud. He was a liar and a false prophet. And scripture warns us to be aware of false prophets, especially those who preach a changed gospel. So again, why do we trust Paul who came along saying, I have a new message. I’m preaching this new thing to a new people. Very similar to Joseph Smith. Why do we trust Paul? Well, luckily we are given an answer to this question in the Bible, specifically in the book of Acts. Recall that it was Luke who wrote the book of Acts, the same Luke who wrote the gospel according to Luke, the great historian Luke. In Acts, it records a story where Peter, he had been preaching to the Jews. In fact, I want to go to a little bit before this story and just read some of this. And let’s start in Acts chapter 9, starting in verse 32. Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that is Israel, all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Anas. who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “‘Aenas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.’ Then he arose immediately. So all who dwell at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” So Peter, he’s preaching to the Jews, and he heals this Jewish man in the Jewish town of Israel. This is one of the neat examples in the Bible where people witness a miracle, and as a result of that, they turn to the Lord. Almost always we see the opposite, but here this works in the people they believe. We then read right after that another story, a miracle Peter performs, raising a woman from the dead among the Jews in another Jewish town in Israel, and the town is named Joppa, and we’ll read that here. At Joppa, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds, which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room and all the widows stood by him, weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon a tanner. And again, we see a miracle. Peter raises this woman from the dead, resulting in faith. And this was in Israel, in a nearby town. And I read these two stories to illustrate a point, which is that Peter, he is more than happy at this point to do miracles and to try to convert the people of Israel. He’s more than happy to do that. He does so eagerly, without hesitation. Keep that in mind as we read through Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10 verse 1, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment. This man, Cornelius, was he a Jew or was he a Gentile? Well, he was a centurion of Italy, thus making him a Gentile. Verse 2, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius. And when he observed him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? So he said to him, your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do. And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually.” So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa. So pausing briefly, there is a Gentile from Italy, and an angel appears to him in a vision, and he says, you have to talk to Peter. Peter will tell you what you have to do. So Cornelius, the Gentile, he sends out servants to Joppa, where Peter currently is, and we continue reading in verse 9. The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners descending to him. And let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him and said, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. A voice spoke to him again the second time, what God has cleansed you must not call common. This was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again. So Peter is given this vision in which he sees all these animals on this sheet and he’s told, rise Peter, kill and eat, eat even these unclean animals. Peter, he presumably thinks this is a test of sorts. That’s my reading of this. And he says, no, no, I’m not going to do that. I’ve never eaten anything unclean, anything common. I would not violate the law. And so God, a voice of God doubles down and says, what God has cleansed, you should not call common. What God cleans, don’t call unclean. And so what does this mean? What does this vision mean? Well, a lot of Christians, they read about this vision and they instantly assume this means that Peter at this point and all Christians right here, they were allowed to start eating meat. And that’s why we can eat meat. eat meat today. But Peter, he did not immediately jump to this conclusion. No, Peter, he remained confused about it, and he thought about it deeply. In verse 17, now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, so notice he didn’t immediately understand, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house and stood before the gate. So the men from Cornelius arrived, but quickly, I think we have to think about why was Peter, why was he dwelling on this vision? Why was he thinking about this? Wouldn’t Peter, wouldn’t he have immediately understood, oh, this means that I can eat food now. I can eat all these unclean meats. Wouldn’t he immediately jump to that conclusion if it were so simple? The vast majority of Christians who read this, they instantly assume that’s what it meant, that he could eat unclean foods, but they don’t consider why Peter, why he would not have immediately jumped to that same conclusion. So just keep that in mind as we continue reading in verse 18. And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there. While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise, therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said, Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come? And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you. Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day, Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And so God, he tells Peter, hey, go hang out with these Gentiles. God, he told Cornelius, hey, I need you to find Peter and to speak with him. And right around that same time, God gives Peter this vision about, hey, the things I have made clean, do not call them unclean. And then God, he confirms with Peter, go and speak to these Gentiles. We read, on the next day, Peter went away with them and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him. So Peter, he goes with them. He takes some of his Jewish buddies with him, six of them. And then we continue reading in verse 24. And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up saying, stand up, I myself am also a man. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. And so Peter at this point is kind of freaking out. He’s saying, it’s unlawful for me to be here. It’s unlawful for me to be with you. Peter, he was probably thinking about what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10. We read in verse 5 of Matthew 10, These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying, Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter the city of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise from the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give. We just saw Peter going through the towns of Israel, healing and raising the woman from the dead, healing the sick. Now he has to go to a Gentile? It’s like, what is going on? Of course, Peter, he would have been thinking about Jesus’ words there. So what in the world is going on? Well, in Acts 10, returning there, verse 28, then he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. So you remember the vision we saw earlier, the one that we read earlier, where God said, what God has cleansed, you must not call common? Well, Peter, he thought about this vision long and hard, and his conclusion was that it’s not about food, but his conclusion, right, it wasn’t, hey, oh, I can eat bacon now. Let’s celebrate. Everyone loves bacon. His conclusion was that this was about people. What God has made clean, I should not call common. This vision, it was about men, not about food. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore, I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I asked then, for what reason have you sent for me? The vision that Peter received, it was not about food. It was not telling him that he no longer needed to be under the law. The vision that Peter received, the purpose of that vision was to teach Peter that God is now turning to the Gentiles. That was the purpose of the vision which Peter received. Verse 30, so Cornelius said, four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you. So I sent to you immediately and you have done well to come. Now, therefore, we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. Notice here that Peter, he preaches works, whoever, and works righteousness is accepted by God. He’s preaching works, not faith alone. Peter, he did not receive this vision and start to immediately, uh, and exclusively preached the gospel of grace, that we’re saved by grace through faith alone. He was preaching works alongside faith and belief. And he continues preaching in works, but he oddly, here as he’s preaching works, he’s preaching to the Gentiles. How weird is that? Well, let’s continue reading in verse 36. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. That word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.” whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who is ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets witnessed that through his name whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. And this account, interestingly enough, this account is the only time in the Bible that we see an explicit example of Peter going and preaching to Gentiles. It’s the only time we see this in all of Scripture. There’s no other example of this. This is the only time in the Bible when this happens. And what was the response? Well, in verse 44, while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word and those of the circumcision who believed they were astonished as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. So Peter and the Jews with him, they were astonished and all those of the circumcision, all of Peter and his Jewish buddies, they were all blown away, they were astonished, but why were they blown away? Why would they be so surprised and so shocked by this? They had preached effectively to many before, so it’s not just, oh wow, this, you know, this worked, this message, and these people, they came to God. That’s not what they’re blown away by, right? In the previous chapter, we read those two stories about how Peter, how he healed a paralyzed man, and he raised a woman from the dead, and that resulted in many believing, but we don’t read of that same surprise in those examples. So why here? Why were these people surprised? Why were they blown away? Well, verse 45 tells us, “…because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.” They were astonished because for the first time in their lives, and to the best of their knowledge, the first time ever, the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon uncircumcised Gentiles. This was a brand new revelation to them.
Join us as we unravel the complexities of early Christian teachings, focusing on Apostle Paul’s distinct message to the Gentiles. Can we reconcile Paul’s teachings about grace with the historical covenant of circumcision? We journey through the New Testament to examine Peter’s revelatory vision, an essential turning point that paved the way for Christianity’s expansion beyond the Jewish community.
