. . .And the Apostles (Paul)

In the previous Cross Point, I looked at how we cannot separate the teaching of Jesus from the teaching of his apostles in the New Testament. Jesus authorized them as his spokesmen once he ascended to heaven, and they (with a few apprentices) provide all the New Testament writing, even what we know about Jesus himself. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to remember accurately and record Jesus’ life, teaching, his death, burial, and resurrection, and then to provide instruction to the church as Christian’s sought to live faithful lives. But why do we sometimes see the critics of the apostles trying to make this separation? Why do they want to say, “I love Jesus and his teaching, but not what the apostles teach?” One topic in particular drives this. The apostle Paul became a special spokesman, a missionary to Gentiles (non-Jews) in particular. He was one of the leading critics of Christianity himself, as “Saul” the student of Gamaliel. Jesus confronted him, he converted, and he became not only the chief evangelist to Gentiles, but he also started many of the early churches, and he provided a majority of the writings that make up the New Testament pages, through the letters he wrote. In his letter to the Roman church, he gets very specific about some sin topics in the early pages of the letter. He says this, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth….Claiming to be wise, they became fools…Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” In our modern American age of political-correctness, teaching against homosexuality is politically incorrect. Many have embraced this mindset and practice, in fact, persecuting those who don’t agree. It has become a badge of honor in our society to defend, or better yet to be, homosexual. It goes beyond that, of course, our culture has become confused about many gender-related things. But this is the mantra that causes people to want Jesus, while rejecting the apostles, or Paul, at the very least. Do Jesus and Paul disagree? Remember, Jesus authorized the apostles to be his spokesmen. Yet the critics will say that Jesus never condemned homosexuality, only Paul does. But is that true? Here is one thing that Jesus said, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?...What God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt. 19:4-6). That’s pretty clear. In the beginning, God created man, then created woman to be his helper (Genesis 2:18-25). And way before the apostle Paul, in the Old Covenant, homosexual practice was condemned (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). The biblical teaching is not inconsistent on this topic, yet the critics grasp at straws, trying to isolate what Paul says. But this article is not about homosexuality. If it was, I would need to include more. Such as the fact that, yes, it is a sin, but so are many other things, things all of us are guilty of. Paul says as much in those beginning pages of his letter to the Romans. We all have tendencies to sin, but we can resist. It’s the practice that puts us over the line. And we all must repent when we turn to Christ, who loves us all. His offer of forgiveness is for everyone, but we must yield to him and follow him. In this same letter to the Roman church, Paul says we are saved by grace, we do not earn it. Then he continues, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1, 2; please also read verses 3-14) Jesus and the apostles, including Paul, agree. God loves us all. But we are all sinners, separated from him by that sin. We can become reunited with God through the sacrifice of Jesus, but it requires humbly repenting, turning to Christ in faith, and then yielding to his teaching as we live and learn. His teaching includes what the apostles teach.

Cross Point: “The Lord said…he (Paul) is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles…I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15, 16).