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 consistent with 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.

To believe the Gospel by faith is the only requisite for salvation—"believing" is the central theme that energises Paul's teaching on salvation and distinguishes it from the idea of obedience, which was practised and subsumed by the Apostles. The Laws and traditions of the Apostles are theologically problematic and thus impossible to merge with Paul's Gospel, 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", but, in reality, they are little more than markers the Church uses to identify who might be saved—preconditions that will not be ignored or bypassed. Paul states that compliance with conditions such as these corrupts the gospel of grace and summons a curse on those who do so. This is the seriousness of the issue highlighted in Paul's letter to the Galatians. If regarded as obligations, then compliance is not a response of faith, but one of obedience to authorities created by Man.

Demanding compliance or obedience is the 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, and submitting to its requirements could never achieve salvation. It wasn’t grace because grace hadn't arrived. John's message was prophetic, and he went to great lengths 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, many view salvation through the same 4-step tradition outlined by John—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—and continued to observe many aspects of the Law, including circumcision, dietary laws, the Sabbath, and no contact with Gentiles. Salvation remained closely connected to the covenant and obedience. Therefore, even though the Apostles were saved, they did not renounce or change these practices 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 2:37-38). “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "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 of 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 is identical to John's teaching on repentance—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 dispensations. The most important consideration at this juncture is to remember that the Jews had rejected Christ, and God had turned towards the Gentiles through Paul. Therefore, to answer the question of which Gospel is the Gospel, well, Paul’s Gospel is the dispensation offered to the Gentiles. There is no other way by which Gentiles and Jews alike are saved in this period of grace.

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 of salvation 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 from sin as a condition for salvation because the issue of sin has already been settled by Christ through the cross (Gal 1:4), and “being filled with the Spirit” refers to baptism. 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 Christians 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".