Is the Church Teaching a Corrupt Gospel Part 2

Part 2: Which Gospel do we follow

God has not rejected his covenant with Abraham—Israel rejected Him—the salvation of the Jews has been interrupted, but not replaced, until the fullness of the Gentiles is complete (Rev 6:11). Paul's Gospel is not the same as what the Apostles' Gospel became—not because the Gospel changed, but how the Apostles practised it. Keep this in mind as we move forward—from a theological perspective, the Gospel of the Apostles is the Gospel practised in most Churches today.

Believing in faith is the only requisite for salvation—"believing" is the central theme that energises Paul's teaching and distinguishes it from the Jewish traditions of the Apostles. Therefore, it's theologically problematic to merge Paul's Gospel with the Gospel of the Apostles and dare call it one Gospel of grace. Requirements such as repentance of sin and water baptism for salvation have been enshrined as "significant practices" and, in reality, have become markers that the Church uses to identify who is saved—preconditions that cannot be ignored or bypassed. Paul states that compliance with conditions such as these corrupts the gospel of grace and invokes a curse. This is the issue highlighted in Paul's letter to the Galatians. If decrees, then compliance is not a response of faith, but one of obedience to authorities created by Man.

The demand for compliance or obedience is a catalyst for hermeneutical inconsistency—in effect, the Bible becomes subordinate to human reasoning. This raises the question: can the doctrine of salvation, by faith alone, be meaningful—if its function is discredited in practice?

Rom 3:28-30  "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision (Jews) by faith, and uncircumcision (Gentiles) through faith". 

John the Baptist was preaching a "baptism of repentance", but in practice, his baptism was Jewish—positioned in the period of the Old Testament and driven by Temple traditions.  John's baptism was a sacrament—it wasn't salvation, its message was prophetic. John went on to explain its meaning—pointing to the Messiah, who was to come. What does John's baptism have to do with the Apostle's Gospel? Well, today, we practice the same 4-step tradition, outlined by John, as the format for salvation—Repent of sin, be Baptised in water, be Forgiven, and finally, receive the Holy Spirit. This is the Gospel that Paul rejected as "no Gospel at all".

The early Church period in the Book of Acts was one of transition. Despite being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles' teaching remained Jewish in practice—the Apostles were still connected to their history and traditions—they continued to obey many aspects of the Law, including circumcision, dietary laws, the Sabbath, no contact with Gentiles, and so on. Salvation remained closely connected to the covenant and obedience to the Law; therefore, even though the Apostles were saved, they did not change and continued to interpret the Gospel through an Old Testament lens. Salvation was first and foremost repentance of sin—a corrupt version of grace—a works-based approach to salvation, which is echoed in Peter’s speech to the Jews after Pentecost (Acts 2:38).

The Apostles' Jewish tradition as exemplified in John the Baptist - "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Note the reverse order when compared with Paul's Gospel below;

Paul's dispensation of grace - Be filled with the Spirit - forgiveness imputed automatically - Baptised (past tense - upon being filled) -  Sin forgiven granted retrospectively through the Cross (past tense)

Peter was predominantly speaking to Jews, and his message blends aspects of John's teaching on repentance and Jesus teaching on grace—but he doesn't teach "salvation by faith", which was hammered by the Apostle Paul. The Apostles never considered or altered this practice of first repenting of sin—then being baptised—then being forgiven—and finally being filled—in that order. How the Apostles practised salvation is the inflexion point between the two Gospels. The most important consideration at this juncture is to remember that the Jews had rejected Christ, and God had moved to the Gentiles through Paul. Therefore, to answer the question of who we follow,  the Gospel given to Paul was for us, the Gentiles.

This commentary should not be interpreted as encouraging replacement theology, which perverts the Covenant of Abraham, and in practice, a bastion of anti-semitism that ferments arrogance and pride. God has not replaced Israel with the Gentiles—He's interrupted His plan because of Israel's unbelief. The Gentiles have been grafted into a Hebrew vine—but the vine continues to be Jewish because God's Covenant does not disappear, and Jesus will sit on David's throne.

At first glance, many will see the order of repenting of sin—then being baptised—then being forgiven, and finally being filled—as normal salvation doctrine. This is because time has normalised a corrupt version into Church practice, but it's not the dispensation given to the Gentiles—it’s not grace—and it's not salvation by faith. It’s also not consistent with what John the Baptist foreshadowed. The letters of the Apostles and the early chapters of the Book of Acts reveal that the Apostles were unaware of the details in Paul's dispensation to the Gentiles for at least the first six years of his ministry.

Paul's justification by faith does not begin with repentance of sin; it begins with a decision "to believe the Gospel and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Paul never mentions repentance of sin for salvation because forgiveness is imputed, baptism completed, and repentance granted by God (through the cross), all past tense. All this for those who believe and act upon their belief. Thus, Paul’s dispensation is by grace through faith alone. On this basis, many today are worshipping at the altar of a corrupted Old Testament Temple construct. When a Gospel ceases to serve the purposes of God, it becomes a religious institution, and corrupts everything it feeds into—it becomes the Gospel Paul describes as "no Gospel at all".