It is kinda strange that one of the most popular devos I have ever posted on YouTube is almost one of my most unpopular. Let me explain. The devotional talk was titled: “Did Jesus and Paul preach two different gospels?” It has been viewed far more than most of my videos, and at the present time it has around 36 thousand views. So in that sense it is quite popular. But the ratio of likes to dislikes on this video is far worse than most of my videos. With most of my videos I often get either 100 percent likes, or perhaps likes in the upper ninety percent. But with this video I only received 89 percent likes, which means that over one in ten viewers are saying, “Dennis, I don’t agree with you at all on this topic.” And since my point was that Jesus did indeed preach the same gospel as Paul, these folks were saying that, no, Jesus and Paul preached two different gospels.
It’s a strange concept. One man even left a comment under this video saying something like: “Paul contradicted Jesus at every turn.” I find that insane. Jesus commissioned and anointed Paul, and sent him out to preach to the Gentiles. Would you commission someone to represent you, if you knew that he was going to contradict everything you say?
In most of the comments people make, criticizing this video, they simply regurgitate two of the talking points they have heard again and again from their favorite cheap grace television preachers. One of these talking points is that Jesus preached the kingdom of God, but Paul preached salvation by faith in Jesus. It is certainly true that Jesus began His ministry by declaring, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” But Paul told the elders at Ephesus: “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.” (Acts 20:25). Paul said that he went around preaching the kingdom of God. And listen to what the Bible says about Paul’s ministry at the end of the Book of Acts: “Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Acts 28:30-31).
Again, Paul was preaching the kingdom of God! Imagine that! But let’s now get to the main talking point that is rehearsed time and again, ad nauseum by the folks who believe that Paul and Jesus preached two different messages. They will tell you: “Jesus preached obedience but Paul preached faith. Jesus preached the law to His fellow Jews, but Paul enlightened the whole world about salvation by grace through faith.” They seem to feel that Jesus was somehow ignorant of what Paul would come to reveal to us, that we are saved by faith, and He never once preached anything about this. He just told people to obey God and live a holy life. He either did not know or else He knew but kept His lips tightly closed on the matter of salvation by faith.
The sheer Biblical ignorance of such a position is staggering. Jesus had all kinds of things to say about salvation through faith in Him and in His atoning death on the cross and resurrection. He declared: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). You can get any more grace-oriented or faith oriented than that. He stated: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). If all Jesus came to earth to do was to tell us to behave ourselves and live godly lives, there would have been no point to Him giving His life as a ransom for us. Jesus clearly believed and taught that He was going to the cross as our atoning sacrifice that we might believe in Him, be forgiven, and live forever.
Jesus publicly announced to Israel: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35). So what are Jesus’ two prerequisites for us to never hunger or thirst again, spiritually? It is that we come to Him and believe in Him. Does that sound like grace and faith to you? It sure does to me! He went on to say, a few verses later: “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40). Who will have everlasting life? Those who see the Son, that is they have Jesus revealed to them by the Father. And they believe in Him! Sounds a lot like grace and faith to me!
In the seventh chapter of John, Jesus stood up in the middle of a huge crowd during a Jewish feast day, and shouted: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38). Jesus did not say that those who keep all the laws of Moses will have these living waters flow from within them. He did not say that those who are very careful to tithe on every penny they make will get these living waters, or those who refrain from eating pork, or those who are very strict to keep the Sabbath. He said that these life-giving waters will flow in those who believe in Him.
And just before raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus told Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25). Again and again and again Jesus is telling us: “Believe on Me and live forever.” How absurd, how incredibly naïve and foolish it is for the cheap grace folks to insist that Jesus never preached the gospel of grace and faith. And where do you suppose Paul got the gospel of grace if not from meditating on the teachings of Jesus, and being enlightened by the Holy Spirit?
We must ask the question, why would so many professing Christians be deceived by a doctrine that suggests that Jesus preached an entirely different message than Paul? What’s the attraction? Why would anyone believe such a patently false and easily disproved doctrine? In my mind the simple answer has to be this: they really have no desire to actually obey Jesus and live a godly life. It becomes much easier to throw out the tough demands of Jesus and simply spout mindlessly and continually: “Paul says, ‘only believe, only believe,’ and I only believe.” I don’t intend to obey Jesus, I have no desire to be His disciple, and I surely do not plan on ever serving Him. I just want to believe by faith and go to heaven.
Their attitude seems to be: “Sure, Jesus said we are to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him, but Paul said only believe, so I think I’ll just choose Paul’s way. Take up the cross? Deny myself? Are you kidding me? I’m just going to only believe. I’ll still lie and fornicate and rob my company blind. But I’m a believing liar and fornicator, and thief. I’m a justified liar and fornicator, not an everyday, run of the mill, common liar and fornicator. I know Jesus told us to love God and love our neighbor, but now thanks to Paul we don’t have to love God or our neighbors. Love my neighbors? Are you crazy? I’ll take Paul’s way, thank you very much.”
The truth is, Paul had a lot to say about our lifestyle and behavior. He summed up his ministry by saying: “I… declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” (Acts 26:20). Let that sink in. New Christians are called to “DO WORKS BEFITTNG REPENTANCE.” It is true that we are saved by grace through faith. Jesus assures us that those who believe on Him will be filled with rivers of living water. But if our faith is genuine, our lives will change, and we will truly deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow the Savior. We will become Jesus’ disciples, which is exactly what He insisted on when He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Not go and get people to pray the sinner’s prayer but go and make disciples. And if we refuse to become a disciple, our faith is, to use the words of James, “dead faith,” which is no faith at all.
