Is St. Paul greater than Jesus?

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Strider:
I have noticed that, when discussing Scripture with fundamentalists and Evangelicals that they quote the epistles of St.Paul much more often than Jesus himself from the Gospels. They also seem to take great delight in quoting articles from the Council of Trent.
God bless
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Most of the epistles and much of the New Testament was written by or is credited to St. Paul. The book of Acts, in fact much of it, describes Paul’s evangelistic journeys. Therefore, it is statistically more likely for people to quote Paul’s letters more than that of any other apostle. Yet Paul himself, in all his letters always mentions and glorifies the name of our Lord, not once but many times. Thus by quoting Paul even once, a Christian is in fact quoting Christ himself ten times over.

Gerry 🙂
 
There’s an evangelical tool used in some churches known as “The Roman Road”. Basically by going through some verses in Romans someone is introduced to the basics of the Gospel as understood in these churches.

Starting with Romans 3:23 (all have sinned…) moving to Romans 5:8 ( … while we were yet sinners Christ died for us … ) to Romans 6:23 ( the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord ) and then to Romans 10:13 ( all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved ). Optionally include Romans 5:1 in there somewhere ( Since we have been justified by faith … )*

There it is - the gospel as preached. Then according to the theory, if you get the person to call on Jesus, they’re saved. Strike one. Another one in the kingdom. Job done. I should know - I’ve been in groups who used this method and similar ones.

The verses fill the criteria for some protestant interpretations of salvation as a one off event after which nothing can snatch you from God’s hand (and you can’t jump out of his hand either!). Therefore it’s Paul who is quoted as an easy way to work from the fallen state of humanity to salvation through Christ.

Unfortunately the emphasis here, and especially the misuse of Romans 10:13 loses much of what we know to be true about salvation and ignores what Jesus had to say on the matter in all the verses people have quoted.** The problem isn’t the quoting of Paul but the failure to place the writings of Paul in the context of the teachings of Jesus. Paul never contradicts Jesus but he must be understood, just as everything must be, in the light of Jesus rather than just taking his words on their own. That’s something that in some Protestant churches isn’t done. And that’s when Paul seems to be some kind of second founder of Christianity. The other common problem is seizing upon a doctrine and understanding scripture in the light of the doctrine, rather than seizing upon scripture and then gleaning doctrinal light. That way scripture is used to prove all sorts of untruths and heresies.

Not sure what my point was. Oh well. And it’s gone on too long - the server just cut me off. :o

Blessings

Asteroid

*All paraphrases are my own but they’re closer to decent translations than many of the paraphrases out there.

**I quite like asking my protestant friends (as a protestant I have many!) whether we have to do the will of the Father to enter the kingdom. Some say yes. Others say no and are generally quite annoyed when referred to Matthew 7:22. 😃
 
Jesus says in Jn. 14:15: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

And the Apostle John says in 1Jn. 5:3" “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”

So the question that must be asked is what interpretation should be given to the word “commandments” as used by Christ, or as related to Christ in the above passages and in the following verses: Jn. 15:21; 15:10; 2 Jn. 2:3; 3:22, 24; 5:2; Mt. 28:20; Rev. 22:14. Is Christ here requiring the commandments as given by Moses? Even the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue)?

This is a crucial question. But it must be understood that when dealing with the Jews, prior to His crucifixion, Jesus gave no commandments of His own in respect to the rule of their lives. He recognized only the Law of Moses or the law of the future, anticipated Kingdom (i.e., Matt. chapters 5 - 7). Jesus Himself was born a Jew, born under the Law (Gal. 4:4). He asked them what was written in their Law, i.e., the Law of Moses. Prior to the cross He confronted them as under the covenant to which they were bound (the Mosaic Covenant).

Jesus did not use the term *“my commandments” *until the upper-room discourse (Jn. chapters 13-17), the night before His sacrificial death, when addressing those who were already cleansed by His word, and in anticipation of the cross. In these chapters the cross is treated as an accomplished fact, and this whole body of teaching, addressed to His disciples, is dated by Christ beyond the cross by His words, “And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it comes to pass, you may believe” (Jn. 14:29).

The upper-room discourse is the Genesis of the Epistles of the New Testament, for in it, in germ form, the great doctrines of GRACE are announced. Christ’s phrase “my commandments” is reserved until this grace revelation, because this term refers to the teachings of grace revealed throughout the N.T. Epistles (especially Pauline), and not at all to the Law of Moses. Grace teachings are rooted in love toward the brethren because of God’s love toward us through His Son (Jn. 13:34; 15:12; 1Jn. 3:23; 4:21; 5:3; 2Jn. 4:5; 1 Cor. 14:37; 1Thess. 4:2; Gal. 6:2). Jesus’ commandments have nothing to do with the Law or law principle. They constitute “the law of love” and “the perfect law of liberty” through faith in Him.

The believer, this side of the cross, is not under the Law (no Gentile ever was anyway), or even the principle of law. Remember what Peter said in Acts 15:10: “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” And Paul teaches that “now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested…even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Even the Ten Commandments, “letters engraved on stone,” are called a “ministry of condemnation and death” (2 Cor. 3:1-12). “Commandments” (Law) expose our transgressions, hence they only have the power to condemn us. Divine GRACE, on the other hand, imputes to us God’s righteousness, “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…” (Rom. 3:22). The Apostle Paul is the greatest revealer in Scripture of this truth of divine grace toward us through faith in Christ. And he got his “gospel” straight from Christ Himself, after His resurrection (Gal. 1:11-12).

True believers have nothing to do with the law, either for salvation, justification, sanctification or our future glorification. It is ALL of grace through faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
 
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asteroid:
There it is - the gospel as preached. Then according to the theory, if you get the person to call on Jesus, they’re saved. Strike one. Another one in the kingdom. Job done. I should know - I’ve been in groups who used this method and similar ones.
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You should read Acts 2:21, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And, this is the Holy Spirit speaking through St. Luke. It’s not just a theory.
The verses fill the criteria for some protestant interpretations of salvation as a one off event after which nothing can snatch you from God’s hand (and you can’t jump out of his hand either!). Therefore it’s Paul who is quoted as an easy way to work from the fallen state of humanity to salvation through Christ.

Unfortunately the emphasis here, and especially the misuse of Romans 10:13 loses much of what we know to be true about salvation and ignores what Jesus had to say on the matter in all the verses people have quoted.** The problem isn’t the quoting of Paul but the failure to place the writings of Paul in the context of the teachings of Jesus. Paul never contradicts Jesus but he must be understood, just as everything must be, in the light of Jesus rather than just taking his words on their own. That’s something that in some Protestant churches isn’t done. And that’s when Paul seems to be some kind of second founder of Christianity. The other common problem is seizing upon a doctrine and understanding scripture in the light of the doctrine, rather than seizing upon scripture and then gleaning doctrinal light. That way scripture is used to prove all sorts of untruths and heresies.
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And what do we know “to be true about salvation”? Are you speaking here of the belief that a person can lose their salvation, therefore salvation must be based on works?

Hate to tell you this, but Paul along with the other apostles were all founders of Christianity. Peter, Paul and Andrew all started churches. And they did so without convening a council to see which one was going to get the glory for it. They all did it for the glory of God. Show me anywhere, Scripture or otherwise that Peter alone founded the Christian churches. You’ve given all glory to Peter and none to the other 10 apostles that Jesus Christ commanded to take the gospel to all the world.
 
On Nov. 17-19 there will be the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Antonio, Texas. Thousands of evangelical scholars will be in attendance and 450 papers will be presented and discussed.

The complete program for the meeting can be downloaded here. Anyone seriously interested in knowing how our biblical scholarship measures up to what’s going on in the local diocese can take a look.
 
St. Paul, as well as all the saints are great, but I believe in The Father, God, The Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. :amen:
 
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