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The Bible

 By Chris Bell 

Was Jesus' Teaching only for the Jews, and Paul's for the Gentiles?

No! Both of their teachings were for the whole world.

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And whenever there is discrepancy between the two, Jesus who is God in the flesh, would be my reference point for correctness.

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Paul said exactly the same thing here:

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1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬-‭3

"These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing."

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Former Jews who became Christians and Gentiles who became Christians have the exact same salvation plan from God, not two new covenants, one, with the exact same commands from Jesus that apply to all. Keep reading below for biblical references on this.

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Ephesians 2:15-16

. . . by setting aside in His flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two [Jews & Gentiles], thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross...

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So Jesus is for the two, Jews & Gentiles. And His Prayer is for the two!!!

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The problem with the Protestant doctrine is they could not reconcile what Paul said with what Jesus said resulting in a domino effect of missing so many crucial truths.

 

Example of differences between Jesus' and Paul's teachings:

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- Jesus gave us many commands and parables, including praying the Lord's Prayer daily.

- Paul's main message was: "by faith alone". Which meant no added works of the law of Moses, but Protestants reject this explanation.

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1. Jesus' teaching was for the whole world

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Jesus said in Matthew 28:20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations... and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." This was Jesus after resurrection. There are several internet articles on this subject. This one explained it perfectly. I'll summarize the explanation here and add my thoughts.

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There were two distinct periods / roles in Jesus' ministry:

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   - Pre-Resurrection

   - Post-Resurrection

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1.1 Pre-Resurrection

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Before His death on the cross, Jesus was God's promised Messiah to the Jews. He had to limit His preaching and miracles to the Jews. But the Protestants ran with these misunderstood Bible references as final answer:

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Matthew 10:5-6

Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan town. Instead, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

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Matthew 15:24

He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

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1.2 Post-Resurrection

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Jesus was given "all authority in heaven and on earth..." Effectively, He was no longer only the Jew's Messiah! He became the Messiah for the whole world:

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Matthew 28:17-20

… Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

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Notes: This was Jesus after resurrection, telling His Jewish disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations" (not just the Jews), "and teach them to obey everything Jesus had commanded them". 

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This reference provides a strong undisputable answer to all those who misunderstood the Scriptures, thinking Jesus' teaching was for the Jews, and Paul taught the gentiles! With this clarification there is no excuse for protestants to continue in their ways anymore. 

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Everything God the Son, Jesus Christ, said as documented in the 4 Gospels, applies to the whole world. Everything! No exception! From the eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood, to the Lord's Prayer with the "bread" meaning His flesh, to the rest of the scripture in the 4 Gospels, all apply to the whole world, including Christians and non-Christians - "all nations"!

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His helper, the human Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, taught the same Jesus message, but making high-level statements because he did not have access to the details in the 4 Gospels, which were written and published after his death. Therefore Paul could not even reference verses from the New Testament. 

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Romans 10:12

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.

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Paul's message to the gentiles seemed different than Jesus' because it was mostly high-level. And was directed to people who were new to the whole idea of an invisible God. Example, when Paul said "by faith alone", he meant without additional flesh requirements. This is because the Jews in the area at the time kept poisoning the new Christians with their beliefs - " you still need to be circumcised, you still have to refrain from certain foods, etc.." And Paul found out about it, and strongly stressed the message "...no, it's by faith alone..."  But the Protestants took that as the message to the gentiles (most of us today) - "by faith alone, nothing else needed". Which people took as the magical faith; you declare it and move on in life. Ignoring all of Jesus's commands that require daily spiritual obligations, like the Lord's Prayer, the vine and the branches, the seeking of God always.

 

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2. Most of Paul's Writings were Follow-up Letters not his Complete Message

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Four of the disciples who followed Jesus wrote everything Jesus said and did. But Paul, no one did that! We don't have all the details of what Paul preached in those churches. All we have are his follow-up letters!

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No one documented what Paul taught in person at those churches!

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The letters to the churches were mostly limited to the controversial issues of that day and that culture, which Paul had to address in followup letters after he had spent long times preaching in person at those churches. These issues were mostly Jews wanting to continue mixing in works-of-the-law, and Gentiles confused by the two messages from Paul and from the Jews. The book of Hebrews, an exception, was completely directed to the Jews who did not believe Jesus was the awaited Messiah. He told them, "You missed it in the desert with Moses, then wandered for 40 years. And now you missed it again, not recognizing God's Messiah!"

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3. By Faith Alone?

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There is no question, Christians are saved "by faith alone". But let’s examine a couple of different interpretations of the term:

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  1. The Protestant church way.

  2. The true biblical way.

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#1. By Faith Alone - The Protestant churches’ way:

(Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Baptists, etc.)

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  • Do nothing

  • Read Bible passages not contradicting to the church's theology.

  • Be creative with your prayers. Which is rubbish to God! He can’t hear it unless you're filled with the Holy Spirit!

  • Tithe 10% based on the obsolete Leviticus law of Moses (Hebrews 7:5 Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people - that is, from their fellow Israelites), which now in the new covenant is considered "works".

  • And sing hymns & wave arms.

  • Basically similar to believing in Santa Clause!

 

#2. By Faith Alone - The biblical way:

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  • Learn Jesus’ commands and keep them, John 14:15, 1 John‬ 2:4‬. Examples:

- Pray the Lord’s Prayer once a day as Jesus instructed based on the new covenant of God. So you become filled with the Holy Spirit. 

- Forgive others so God forgives you your sins.

- Seek God and His kingdom by studying the whole Bible, including the parts contradicting to your church's agenda.

  • First become filled with the Holy Spirit, then He can hear your other prayers and requests.

  • No works of the flesh, and no salvation-by-good-deeds. See my James article.

  • Donation? "Any gift is good" per the apostle Paul, Philippians 4:16-18. No need for 10%, Hosea 6:6 I don’t want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don’t want your offerings - I want you to know me.

  • Singing hymns is good, after following the above points.

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Which “by faith alone” is the right one?

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#2 does not contradict the principle of "by faith alone" in any way! What’s wrong with worshipping God once a day as specified in Jesus' Prayer?!  Church members are good people. But church leaders, seminary college professors, and decision makers are to blame!

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If you’ve seen these Bible passages you’d agree with the #2 biblical meaning:

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John 14:15 Jesus said:

If you love me, keep my commands."

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1 John‬ ‭2:4‬

“The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and yet doesn’t keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

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Jesus has specific new-covenant commands throughout the New Testament.

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Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬-‭14‬

Paul: 13 “for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
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Protestant churches and their people MEMORIZED verse 13 but have no idea that verse 14 even existed!! 

👉 How can they call on His name without knowing Him??!! Do they know His commands? No. Do they understand His parables? No. Their church convinced them these were meant for the Jews!!!

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"By faith alone" meant no added works of the law of Moses. It is in the Bible, but your church missed it:

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Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭16

“know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

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Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬-‭7‬, 15:11‬

“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” … Peter got up and addressed them: ... No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are…

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So, learning Jesus' commands and keeping them is not "works of the law"! Spiritual maturity is not "works of the flesh", seeking God in the whole Bible is not "works of the flesh", and praying the Lord's Prayer daily as He commanded is not "works"!

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The Lord's Prayer prayed once a day, is not repetitive! Jesus said daily, not me! It is to receive the Bread of life for forgiveness of sins and receive the Holy Spirit. Where did I come up with this? Look here: The Lord's Prayer is Insanely Misunderstood

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God's personality is consistent throughout the Bible. Seeking God through reading the Bible clarifies many attributes about Him. We really did not need the explanation on this page to see this clearly. God comes to earth in the flesh, the grandest event in Christianity. And some people think all His parables, teachings, commandments, were only meant for the Jews? Or if not all, some churches pick and choose from His teachings whatever fits their agenda, and the rest "was meant for the Jews!"

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Related reading

Why didn't Paul Preach the Lord's Prayer?

The High-Level Verses & The Elaborating-Verses

Christianity & Judaism - A Parallel

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