The God Culture: Did Paul Teach a Different Gospel?

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture has a new Foundations series article. This time it's a bit different as he is asking if Paul taught a different Gospel from Jesus. The obvious answer is he did not but Tim has a lot of assumptions hidden in this lesson that are not readily apparent unless one is familiar with the whole of his teaching. Let's take a look. 

Facebook

Did Paul Teach a Different Gospel?

FOUNDATIONS: Week 30

Key Texts: Acts 24:14; Acts 17; Romans 3; Galatians 1:6–9

Some claim Paul taught a gospel different from Yahusha.

But what does Paul's own life reveal?

Paul declared:

"I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets."

(Acts 24:14)

Throughout Acts, Paul preached in the synagogues, observed the Biblical Feasts, and proclaimed Yahusha as the promised Messiah.

He repeatedly taught that salvation is by the grace of Elohim through faith—not by human merit.

Yet he also affirmed that faith does not nullify obedience.

Rather, faith establishes a life devoted to Yahuah.

Paul did not preach another gospel. 

Yes, Paul even agreed with James' "faith without works is dead" explicitly as he wrote passages such as: "created in Christ Jesus to do good works"  (Ephesians 2:10).

He proclaimed the same Messiah foretold by the Law and the Prophets and fulfilled in Yahusha.

The issue is not whether Paul agreed with Yahusha.

The issue is whether we are reading Paul in harmony with the rest of Scripture.

Question for Discussion

Should Paul's letters be interpreted through the teachings of Yahusha and the whole of Scripture—or should isolated verses define Paul's message?

The core of this lesson is the following:

Throughout Acts, Paul preached in the synagogues, observed the Biblical Feasts, and proclaimed Yahusha as the promised Messiah.

He repeatedly taught that salvation is by the grace of Elohim through faith—not by human merit.

Yet he also affirmed that faith does not nullify obedience.

For Tim the Gospel means obedience which means keeping the law. No matter how much lip service Tim gives to saying "salvation is by the grace of Elohim through faith—not by human merit," his whole theological system is nothing but graceless law keeping. Tim has absolutely nothing to say about the finished work of Christ on the Cross and the victory we have through His blood. Go back and read every Foundations lesson critiqued on this blog where that is proven to be the case. 

But let's hear a word from noted theologian Father Ted Crilly who has been following along and can put it all together. 

Ah, Philippine Fails, me lad... puts the teacup down slowly and lets out a long breath
I’ve read Tim’s Week 30 Foundations lesson — “Did Paul Teach a Different Gospel?” — and you’re right. It’s craftier than some of the others.On the surfaceIt sounds reasonable. Tim says Paul didn’t preach a different gospel from Jesus. He quotes Paul saying he believes “all things which are written in the law and the prophets” (Acts 24:14), and notes that Paul kept feasts and preached in synagogues. He affirms that faith produces works and quotes Ephesians 2:10. 
Fair enough. Paul did not preach a different gospel. He preached the same good news about the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament.But here’s the crafty partTim is using a true statement (“Paul and Jesus taught the same gospel”) to smuggle in his own version of what that gospel is. In Tim’s system, the “same gospel” means:

• Keeping the Torah (Sabbath, feasts, dietary laws, etc.)
• Obedience to the law as the evidence and continuation of salvation
• The law still functioning as the main director of the Christian life

He’s not really defending Paul. He’s using Paul as a shield to protect his Torah-observant theology.The sleight of handNotice how Tim never lets the cross, the blood, justification by faith apart from works of the law, or the finished work take center stage. He keeps steering everything back to “faith establishes a life devoted to Yahuah” — which, in every previous lesson, means law-keeping.
This is the same pattern we’ve seen for 30 weeks now:

• He affirms something true (Paul and Jesus agree).
• Then quietly redefines what they agree on as continued Torah observance.
• He makes the law the hero again.

The Real IssuePaul and Jesus absolutely taught the same gospel. But that gospel is:

“Repent and believe the gospel” — the good news of the Kingdom, centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, received by faith, not by works of the law.

Paul spent his whole ministry fighting against the idea that Gentiles (or Jews) had to keep the Mosaic law to be saved or to stay saved. That’s why he wrote Galatians with such fire. Tim wants to bring that law back in through the side door and call it “the same gospel.”Father Ted’s Plain Verdict

This lesson is clever misdirection.

Tim is not defending the unity of Scripture. He’s defending his own law-centered system by borrowing Paul’s authority.

The apostles did not preach “Keep the Torah and you’ll be fine.”

They preached “Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

The gospel is the same from Genesis to Revelation — but its center is Christ, not the Mosaic law. The law served its purpose. Christ has come. We now live by the Spirit.

Down with this sort of thing, lad.

Very careful now.

Tim keeps trying to put the old yoke back on. The apostles spent their lives trying to lift it off.
...Right, I’m off to read Galatians again and thank the Lord for the freedom we have in Christ.
Go on, go on, go on — have a cuppa. You keep seeing through the craftiness. Tim is very good at sounding biblical while steering everything back to the law. The real gospel keeps Christ at the center. Keep holding fast to that. It’s so much better than what he’s building.