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Old 06-30-2009, 02:21 PM
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greenbear greenbear is offline
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Ohio
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JOHN G View Post
Hello GB,

Jesus' Gospel to Nicodemus
John 3:16 ... whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Peter's Gospel to Cornelius
Acts 10:43 .... whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Paul and Silas' Gospel to the Philippian Jailer
Acts 16:31 ...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved

Paul's Gospel to the Romans
Rom. 10:11 ... Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

GB said,
"Paul obviously preached the gospel of Christ crucified. Nobody denies this fact. This is the same gospel the twelve Apostles to the circumcision preached."
And then said,

"Paul and the apostleship to the circumcism clearly recognized the difference"

This seems contradictory.
Hi John,

Quote:
GB said,
"Paul obviously preached the gospel of Christ crucified. Nobody denies this fact. This is the same gospel the twelve Apostles to the circumcision preached."
And then said,

"Paul and the apostleship to the circumcism clearly recognized the difference"

This seems contradictory.
It seems contradictory to you because you are not rightly dividing the scriptures. Paul refers to "his gospel" as being distinctive, a secret, a mystery, revealed directly from Christ only through him. If we don't recognize that Paul preaches BOTH the gospel of the cross of Christ and his distinctive gospel (which has been defined using Paul's own words so many times on this thread) you are left with contradictions.

Remember, "gospel" is a message of good news. Paul's gospel of the mystery that he got directly from Jesus is grace by faith alone apart from the law. It is the indwelling of the believer by the Holy Spirit. This dispensation is the believer apprehending salvation by doing nothing but believing on Christ's finished work on the cross. It's completely separate from the system that Israel had been under. See, it's not another gospel in the sense of the object of our faith which is Christ paying the price for our sins, it's the new way God is dispensing His salvation. Salvation has always been of grace, but now it is by grace through faith alone, not by works. Faith is not shown by our works in this dispensation that Paul's gospel describes. You could say grace=faith alone in Paul's gospel which is the dispensation of grace. And grace=faith + works in other dispensations. Of course, the works are not keeping the Law perfectly (which is impossible for any man but Christ) or it would not be grace. It is simply performing what God requires in that dispensation. This dispensation the only requirement is faith.

Paul's distinctive gospel is one of how God administers His grace rather than the source of His grace (Christ's finished work on the cross) which has always been the same. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

Last edited by greenbear; 06-30-2009 at 02:40 PM.