THE TRUE GOSPEL is Salvation by FAITH in JESUS without works!
(False gospel is salvation by Faith AND works)
ROMANS 4 “4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. God credits righteousness apart from works:…. for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.“
Paul warned against the FALSE gospel of faith AND works
GALATIANS 1 “9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”
Who was preaching this false gospel of Faith AND works?
It was the people from James who deceived even Peter !!
GALATIANS 2 “11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.”
It’s because James was WRONGLY preaching FAITH AND WORKS for salvation to the Jews.
JAMES 2 “14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?….24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone..…”
What works was James requiring for salvation?
JAMES 2 “8 If you really KEEP the royal LAW found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the LAW as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”
JAMES 1 “21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the WORD planted in you, which can SAVE you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the WORD but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the PERFECT LAW that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
It was the LAW…James was requiring FAITH + LAW for salvation.
This was ANOTHER GOSPEL.
This was NOT the Gospel preached by Paul to the Gentiles.
Paul preached salvation by FAITH ALONE…..without works!
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.”
Paul said that if the works are required, then Christ died for nothing.
GALATIANS 2 “21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!””
Paul’s Gospel of Faith alone was NOT learnt from Peter or James, but from Christ alone!
GALATIANS 1 “11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
The LAW is WORKS but it is NOT of FAITH.
GALATIANS 3 “10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith”
Therefore FAITH is WITHOUT WORKS !!
Abraham was righteous without works BEFORE the Law came.
The LAW (Works) ENDED with Jesus so that we are saved by FAITH ALONE…
GALATIANS 3 “23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith”
James and the Jews DID NOT have the revelation of the Cross.
In the epistle of James, there is NOT A SINGLE REFERENCE to the CROSS of Jesus Christ……nothing at all !!
It is because the Jews were still blinded by the law, even people like James who was the head of the 12 Apostles to the Jews.
2 Corinthians 3 “14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant (LAW/ WORKS) is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. “
But Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles who preached salvation by faith without works because of Christ crucified !!
1 Corinthians 1 ” 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified”
Ephesians 2 “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. …… As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,…….4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,“
We are SAVED and RIGHTEOUS by FAITH in Jesus and not works because Jesus did all the work.
He died for our sins.
When we believe in Jesus, we are forgiven ALL sins and RAISED with Jesus and seated in heavenly places, as SINLESS, RIGHTEOUS sons of God, complete in Christ.
Faith in Jesus without works, SAVES us, makes us Righteous, gives us the FORGIVENESS of SINS…FREELY.
Romans 11 “6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
FURTHER NOTES BELOW:
In Acts 15, the Jewish believers were requiring the law for salvation and wanted Gentile believers to keep the law for salvation. Paul fought against this false gospel.
Acts 15 “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question”
Why were these Jewish believers needing the law for salvation? Its because under the law, righteousness was by circumcision and ALL the works of the Law of Moses (Genesis 17:9-14, Deuteronomy 6:24-25, Deuteronomy 27:26)
Genesis 17 “9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Deuteronomy 6 “24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.””
Deuteronomy 27 “26 “Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.””
Peter agreed with Paul saying that the law was a burden for the Jews and that both Gentile and Jewish believers are saved by grace not by works.
Acts 15 “5 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.” 6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Ideally what should have happened was that the Jewish believers should have stopped practicing the law because nobody can be saved by their works.
But this is where James comes in and changes the situation.
He agrees with Peter that Gentiles can be saved without keeping the entire law. But instead James puts 4 Noahide laws for the Gentile believers to be saved.
Acts 15 “19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.””
Even worse was that James wanted the Jewish believers to still keep the law!
Acts 21 “17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
James and the elders forced Paul to observe PURIFICATION RITES (rituals of the law to forgive sins)!
You see why Peter was afraid of James and his people. Its because they were zealous for the law.
Why were they so zealous for the law?
From the Old Testament we know that the reason the Jews kept the law was for salvation.
This is why James could not stop holding on to the law. He was a believer in Jesus but was mixing the old and new covenants! He was mixing law and grace!
They were trying to attain righteousness by the law.
Romans 9 “30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.”
The Jews like James were zealous for the law but failed to understand that Jesus ended the law to make us righteous by faith alone!
Romans 10 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes…..5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says:….. 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved”
The Jews were blinded and this allowed Paul to take His gospel to the Gentiles.
Romans 11 “because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. “
Paul was the only one who had the revelation of the Gospel of Grace (faith without works) and he was persecuted by the messengers of satan:
2 Corinthians 12 “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord…..because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me…..”
Who were these messengers of satan? They were preaching “Faith + Works”, or “Another Gospel” !!
2 Corinthians 11 ” 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 5 I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”….12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. …. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.”
Which “super-apostles” was he talking about? They were preaching another gospel. According to Paul in Galatians, this “other gospel” was Faith + law for salvation by the people from James!
1 Corinthians 15 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”
Paul said that James, Peter, and the 12 Apostles all agreed on the Death, Burial, and resurrection of Jesus. But Paul worked harder than them – being persecuted far more. It seems that James was preaching “another gospel” of “faith and works” and his followers were persecuting Paul.
But Paul preached the true gospel to us today: Believe in Jesus and you will receive the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of God without works!
Acts 13 “38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. “
Faith without works saves us!!
Romans 3 “21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. “
Mathew Simon 