Bible Discussion Thread

(Part 2)

Now, back to Paul's writings:

Paul's writings are at the beginning of the teaching section. And in Galatians 1:8-9, Paul makes a very bold statement. He says, "If anyone preaches any other Gospel than that which I have preached, let them be accursed." Even if an angel comes down, or if we change our teaching and give you a different gospel, it is only the gospel that Paul preached.

And that is what the early church went by, and that is why the New Testament is laid out the way it is. It is so that they would have history, and then they would have Paul's writings at the beginning of the teaching section. And everyone else's teachings had to line up with Paul's. If it was different than Paul's, it was not considered legitimate because the early church had already accepted the fact that Paul was chosen to be the instrument to reveal the mysteries of Christ. Nobody else!

This layout of the New Testament is "Foolproof!" If we are presented something from scripture that doesn't seem quite right, all we need to do is go to Paul's teachings. What did Paul teach about that? Well, we know that Paul was taught by Jesus Himself while he was out in the desert for three years. So, if we are presented something, we have the responsibility to search the scriptures. What did Paul teach? If it is different from what he taught, we are not to even entertain it!

We in the church today are under the same thing as far as what we preach and teach. If we preach any other gospel than what Paul preached, we are in trouble, and that's paraphrasing it lightly!

Even in the Jewish literature section (Hebrews through Revelation), in their writings, they would make reference back to Paul's teaching, and you'll never find anything in the Jewish literature section that contradicts anything that Paul said. They all blend together.