Apologetic
Paul, as the apostle to the Gentiles, evangelized and discipled much of Asia Minor and Europe. He is the human author of the majority of the New Testament. The Protestant Reformation was born out of Pauline theology. The gospel that the apostle Paul preached is central to modern Christianity. In fact, Paul has said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
Skeptics see an opportunity in this statement of Paul to rattle the foundations of Christianity. For they assert contradictions between Paul and Jesus that are irreconcilable. For example, Jesus taught primarily about life in the kingdom of God, while the center of Paul’s teaching is justification by faith. Paul writes of the end of the law for righteousness. Jesus says that “it is easier for the heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void” (Luke 16:17).
The first of these differences is due to cultural context rather than doctrinal differences. Jesus’ life and ministry took place within the context of Judaism. God still related to and governed his people on the basis of the Old Covenant. There was great messianic expectation among the Jews at this time. They had high hopes for the return of a geo-political nation of Israel to a state of prominence, peace, and prosperity. When the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6), they were asking a question that was prevalent in the minds of the Jews. It must also be noted that Jesus ministered among a people, the Jews, who were already part of the kingdom theme. Therefore, Jesus’ emphasis upon the kingdom of God is necessary to correct wrong thinking and misguided expectations. Jesus taught the spiritual nature of the kingdom, which was expressed in the material world.
Jesus demonstrated this to Pilate saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews” (John 18:36). Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. This truth influences the behavior of the kingdom’s citizens in this temporal world. Because Jesus’ kingdom is eternal, the disciples did not fight for temporal power. Their focus was turned toward ultimate things.
Paul’s ministry was among people who had no Davidic heritage and, thus, no messianic expectations. The kingdom teaching that connected with the Jews would not have been nearly as effective with the Gentiles. Paul had to teach the Gentiles about the nature of God and how mankind relates to him. His emphasis upon justification by faith is quite fitting for people outside the realm of Jewish religious thought.
What about the law? The statements of Jesus and Paul appear to be contradictory. This, however, is not the case. Skeptics often point to Jesus’ interaction with the rich, young ruler as evidence that Jesus’ teaching was primarily ethical in nature, as opposed to Paul’s faith-based teaching. When the young man asked Jesus how one may gain eternal life, Jesus pointed him to the law. Therefore, the skeptics conclude, Jesus taught an ethical, behavior-oriented religion. The skeptics need to keep reading. The young man claims to have kept the law from his childhood, yet he still recognized that he fell short of the requirement for eternal life. Jesus then adds, “You lack one thing: go sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21).
Does this one thing provide further evidence for the skeptic? Only if one concludes that the act of giving to the poor is a saving act. I would assert that it is the looking forward to the treasure in heaven, by faith, that frees an individual to give away his/her wealth. What would motivate a wealthy man to give away his treasure? The sure promise of greater treasure. A positive response of faith in the promise of Jesus would have resulted in the salvation of this young man, and the opening of his fist to release his temporal wealth. Faith results in works.
Paul did not claim that the law was totally useless. he claimed that law-keeping contributes nothing to the justification of the sinner, save awakening him/her to the utter sinfulness of every human being. In fact, Paul says that the only way one can truly keep the law of God is by faith. Romans 3:30-31 says, “(God) will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” Faith results in works. There is no contradiction. There is contextualization.
The Power of God
Romans 1:13 – In Defense of the Faith
by gtoddwallace
Apologetic
Paul, as the apostle to the Gentiles, evangelized and discipled much of Asia Minor and Europe. He is the human author of the majority of the New Testament. The Protestant Reformation was born out of Pauline theology. The gospel that the apostle Paul preached is central to modern Christianity. In fact, Paul has said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
Skeptics see an opportunity in this statement of Paul to rattle the foundations of Christianity. For they assert contradictions between Paul and Jesus that are irreconcilable. For example, Jesus taught primarily about life in the kingdom of God, while the center of Paul’s teaching is justification by faith. Paul writes of the end of the law for righteousness. Jesus says that “it is easier for the heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void” (Luke 16:17).
The first of these differences is due to cultural context rather than doctrinal differences. Jesus’ life and ministry took place within the context of Judaism. God still related to and governed his people on the basis of the Old Covenant. There was great messianic expectation among the Jews at this time. They had high hopes for the return of a geo-political nation of Israel to a state of prominence, peace, and prosperity. When the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6), they were asking a question that was prevalent in the minds of the Jews. It must also be noted that Jesus ministered among a people, the Jews, who were already part of the kingdom theme. Therefore, Jesus’ emphasis upon the kingdom of God is necessary to correct wrong thinking and misguided expectations. Jesus taught the spiritual nature of the kingdom, which was expressed in the material world.
Jesus demonstrated this to Pilate saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews” (John 18:36). Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. This truth influences the behavior of the kingdom’s citizens in this temporal world. Because Jesus’ kingdom is eternal, the disciples did not fight for temporal power. Their focus was turned toward ultimate things.
Paul’s ministry was among people who had no Davidic heritage and, thus, no messianic expectations. The kingdom teaching that connected with the Jews would not have been nearly as effective with the Gentiles. Paul had to teach the Gentiles about the nature of God and how mankind relates to him. His emphasis upon justification by faith is quite fitting for people outside the realm of Jewish religious thought.
What about the law? The statements of Jesus and Paul appear to be contradictory. This, however, is not the case. Skeptics often point to Jesus’ interaction with the rich, young ruler as evidence that Jesus’ teaching was primarily ethical in nature, as opposed to Paul’s faith-based teaching. When the young man asked Jesus how one may gain eternal life, Jesus pointed him to the law. Therefore, the skeptics conclude, Jesus taught an ethical, behavior-oriented religion. The skeptics need to keep reading. The young man claims to have kept the law from his childhood, yet he still recognized that he fell short of the requirement for eternal life. Jesus then adds, “You lack one thing: go sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21).
Does this one thing provide further evidence for the skeptic? Only if one concludes that the act of giving to the poor is a saving act. I would assert that it is the looking forward to the treasure in heaven, by faith, that frees an individual to give away his/her wealth. What would motivate a wealthy man to give away his treasure? The sure promise of greater treasure. A positive response of faith in the promise of Jesus would have resulted in the salvation of this young man, and the opening of his fist to release his temporal wealth. Faith results in works.
Paul did not claim that the law was totally useless. he claimed that law-keeping contributes nothing to the justification of the sinner, save awakening him/her to the utter sinfulness of every human being. In fact, Paul says that the only way one can truly keep the law of God is by faith. Romans 3:30-31 says, “(God) will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” Faith results in works. There is no contradiction. There is contextualization.
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