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NASB | 1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, |
Bible Question:
Hi, This is my first time posting here, so let me introduce myself. I'm Julie, a 30 or so married mother and housewife. I claim no denomination. I call myself a Christian. I'm confused about Paul. For the last 20 years my dad has been telling me that Paul is the false teacher. I never paid much attention, until the other day I read Matthew and John, and then I read Acts...and all of a sudden I could see what my dad's been harping on all these years. There's something not right with Paul. Who is Paul, Saul, Apollos? He said he was a Pharisee, but then he said he's a Jew, but then he said he's a Roman...it seems like he said whatever was convenient for him. He didn't know Jesus on the human level, never met him. He watched Stephen be stoned, held the coats of the men who threw the stones. He killed and imprisoned the followers of The Way, which are Jesus original 12 disciples and the people who follow. And all of a sudden he's performing miracles or is it magic? He says he has all the powers of Jesus and all the knowledge of heaven. Where in the bible, save for the works of Paul, does it ever mention anything about a Paul? It does say to beware the false teachers and false prophets. It seems that he's tooting his own horn. And his teachings differ slightly from Jesus' teachings, but different enough to notice. Paul teaches faith without works. That as long as you have faith in Jesus you're saved and you don't have to do anything else because your sins are already taken care of so don't worry about it just party on dude, and believe. James taught that faith without works is dead. If we have faith in Jesus, and love Him, I believe we should show it with works. Like, obeying the 10 commandments, and the one Jesus gave us which was to love your brother more than yourself. The devil believes in Jesus, too. Does that mean he's saved? Nope. Because his works are evil. Jesus says that we can know them by their fruit. That must mean by their works. I don't mean to make anyone mad here. I don't know what to believe about Paul for sure. I am losing a lot of sleep trying to figure all this out. I don't want to follow the wrong path. Every church I've ever been to teaches right off of Paul's writings more than any other writings...and I'm wondering about the narrow gate and the wide gate, and us sheep being led to slaughter by a false teacher and I don't want to be one of those poor little unfortunate lambs. Thanks for taking to time to help. |
Bible Answer: Hello Julie and welcome to the Forum. Your question is a good one, and one that time will only allow me to give a brief response:-) You said you call yourself a Christian? Does that mean that you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Along with that, I'd ask if you trust the Bible as the Word of God? ( John 17:17) Paul was "called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God" (1 Cor. 1:1) He was the apostle to the gentiles, Romans 11:13. As I believe in the unity of scripture, I'd challenge the assertion that Paul "is a false teacher" based upon his inspired authorship of 13(14 if we include Hebrews) of the 26 NT books. To learn something of Paul from a biblical basis, I might encourage you to read Acts 9-28, and at least the opening chapter of each of his epistles (Romans through Philemon). As to him having never met the Lord Jesus, Paul claims he "received it (the gospel) through a revelation of Jesus Christ" ( cf Gal. 1:11-18) Other helpful references could include Eastons' Bible Dictionary. Pauls' own testimony regarding Christ speaks volumes! "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake."(2 Cor. 4:5) "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." ( 1 Cor.2:2) I hope this helps, Speaking The Truth In Love, BradK |