Originally posted by OldRegular:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Original question by OldRegular:
What about Cornelius [Acts 10:1ff]? Was he a "full" bloded Jew? No!
Originally posted by ituttut:
But Cornelius did not happen until sometime after Damascus Road. Christ started the ball rolling in telling Paul the Gentile would now be saved, and Paul was commissioned by Christ from heaven to be our (my) heavenly Apostle. Can you deny that? That is what His Word says, and I do believe His Word.
First, God revealed in Genesis 3:15 that salvation would be provided for mankind in general.
KJV, unless noted otherwise.
Did anyone have any idea of what God was talking about then? Evidently not. Did God reveal His “secret” here? We cannot understand the Old Testament until the coming of Jesus, after His crucifixion, and then from what He revealed to Paul from heaven. Aren’t we “Monday night quarterbacking” when we say we knew what God knew before Damascus Road? Are we saying God chose Paul to reveal His love for the whole world for nothing, for we all knew before reading Paul what Jesus was talking about? This is exactly what we do when we ignore the gospel of Paul.
Nobody knew, not even the chosen people of God. It was not for them to know then, and it was not for them to know until after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And even after that, after Pentecost, no one knew the whole purpose of God.
We must believe Christ actually did chose Paul as His only heavenly Apostle to the Gentle, and the Jew, or we must remove Paul’s epistles, and then we can believe as what most of Christendom want to believe, and that is the Pentecostal gospel of and for the Jew first, and then to the Gentile the “great commission” to enter into the kingdom that is promised to His people, that the Gentile will be in servitude forever. Read the Word of God to His people and this is what you will find, i.e. until His people refused their King, and the kingdom that was offered, after His crucifixion.
But is this what Baptist and some other religions believe? No! They believe Paul (they say) for we are saved by grace
through faith, but then turn around and say we believe the gospel of Peter also for we believe in the “great commission”, for that is in the gospel most Baptist churches preach. We are not to believe two different gospels. His gift is no longer a gift when we believe we are to include the gospel to the Jew to enter the “kingdom” John the Baptist preached to those of Judah, and Benjamin, and that kingdom that was at hand. What happened to it? The kingdom was there for the taking, but His people refused it. They turned it down.
God knew what would happen, so the kingdom gospel was slowly withdrawn, with its program, of which a Gentile would never be required to “repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins”. This is what God is showing us in Peter being sent to Cornelius, of which Peter later says they can also be saved as we Gentiles.
Second, if some new Gospel had been revealed to Paul and in turn communicated to Peter why did Peter baptize the Gentile Cornelius?
God allowed “water baptism” to continue as He did both the Pentecostal church, and the other Jews, as long as the Temple stood. These of both Pentecostal church, and the Temple worshippers, were also allowed to continue other rites and ordinances of the covenant for they continued to keep the Sabbath day holy, the Passover, the sacrifices and all the others. God would take these from them, but to we Gentiles, none of this was ever meant for God did not ask we heathen to make a two-way covenant with Him. Even though Gentiles were baptized for some time after Damascus Road, Christ evidently informed Paul water baptism was not necessary for He chose Paul to preach saving grace as pointed out in I Corinthians 1:17-18,
”For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
We see that God took away the “great commission” gospel of the “kingdom” when He sent Peter to that first Gentile that Peter or any of the Apostles had ever preached to. Those years between Pentecost and Damascus Road, no Gentile was ever preached to or at with the “great commission” gospel of the “kingdom of God”. God would not allow Peter to require the Gentile to “repent and be water baptized for the remission of sins”, as that is reserved only for God’s own nation to enter into the “kingdom” that He promised them under covenant. Of course any Gentile wishing to come as a proselyte could still do so.
Notice God would not let Peter evoke the command of the “great commission” in connection with the Gentile. The message Peter was allowed to preach would become the gospel of Paul, whom Christ had already given to Paul. That message is what God put into Peter’s mouth in verse 43,
”that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins”. Then skipping to chapter 11, verses 15 through 18 it is now the Holy Spirit that does the baptizing and no longer done by the hands of man as in the “great commission”. You will find nowhere forward in scripture the command of “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins”.
Of course we Baptist don’t believe this is necessary, so why in the world do we continue to say we do believe in the “great commission”. You will find talking with many in any Baptist church, they have no idea that Mark 16 includes information on the “great commission”. I can understand these “babes” not knowing but how can the preachers, whether formally schooled or not, continue without understanding what they are preaching?
Third, you are assuming that Acts is presented in strict chronological order.
No assuming. The facts are there. Opens shortly before Pentecost, then Pentecost, then rejection of the Holy Ghost by Gods nation, on to Damascus Road and a heavenly Apostle commissioned to go to the Gentile, as well as the Jew; then the birth of the Christian church, the fading of the dieing “great commission” church of the circumcised, ending with spreading of the “grace commission” now sent and carried throughout the world by Gentiles’ for we must understand Paul’s message of salvation was sent to we heathen, and we will listen to it.
Fourth, reading your posts one would think that Paul made atonement for your sins rather than Jesus Christ! Please take note of the following words of Paul.
1 Corinthians 3:4, 5
4. For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5. Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
Perhaps you have Epistles written by Apollos, or others. I do not. All I have is what Christ Jesus said He revealed to Paul. That is whom I believe, Christ Jesus from Heaven. The Jew believed Moses’ Law for God gave it to him. Jesus said He believed in Moses’ Law for He says so, and He gave it to Moses. I say no different for Christ Jesus gave Paul His gospel just as He gave Moses the Law. So the Jew believed Moses, and I believe Paul. How can you fault that, for I do not say I am of Billy Graham, Rick Warren, W. A. Criswell, Spurgeon, Clifford, Martin Luther King, Dobson, Falwell, or any other man.
What do you make of Romans 11:13(ISV),
“I am speaking to you Gentiles. Because I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I am glorifying my ministry.” I know that what Paul speaks is from Christ in heaven for in Galatians 1:11-12 Paul tells us his gospel is not from man but revealed to Him by Jesus Christ. I believe the gospel of Paul. Who’s gospel do you believe?
Acts 9:15(ISV),
”But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the descendants of Israel.” I choose to listen to whom Christ chose. To whom do you listen?
To get serious, perhaps we should bring in Peter for those that take the gospel of Paul lightly. II Peter 3:15-16(ISV),
”And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you; 16 He speaks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the Scriptures.” Doesn’t Peter understand Paul speaks to the Jew and also to the Gentile. Peter advised His Jewish readers they had better pay attention to Paul. Can we Gentiles do less when He speaks to us?
1 Corinthians 1:12, 13
12. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13.Is CHRIST DIVIDED? was Paul CRUCIFIED for you? or were ye BAPTIZED in the NAME of PAUL?
Again, the Holy Spirit saw not fit to leave us any Holy Words from Apollos, a follower of Paul’s gospel. We do have Peter’s, but they are addressed to those with the blood of Abraham. Peter, James, and the rest made pact (by hand)with Paul and Barnabas, they (the Pentecostal church) would only go to the circumcision, which they did, and Peter wrote his 2 Epistle’s to them. The Apostle John is the only one to also write and preach to a Gentile for all of His writings are written close to 30 years after the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Those of Israel, Judah and Benjamin were all cut-off.
1 Corinthians 1:21- 23
21. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
22. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
23. And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
Sure sounds like what Christ Jesus revealed to Paul for us to believe. If we don’t believe the Gospel of Paul, who are we Gentile’s to believe? Who made clear to you the Body of Christ? Who made clear to you, and first told you about the Rapture? Who made clear to you, and first told you of the One spiritual circumcision and baptism without hands? Who told you about God reconciling the world unto himself. Who made clear to you that today we come
through faith? The list goes on. I believe we Gentiles have heavenly appointed Apostle to we Gentile’s. If we believe any other thing other than what God’s gives us, can we say we believe Christ as He sits on the right hand of His Father?
Fifth, why in the world is Paul talking about baptism? Isn't that supposed to be heretical? What was Peter doing in Corinth, preaching to Gentiles or just to Jews?
Peter preached to One Gentile, and there were others with Cornelius, and that was the only Gentile’s Peter ever preached to. Peter tells Cornelius that and afterwards shakes hands with Paul and Barnabas agreeing to go only to the circumcised. God sent Peter on that one special mission to that first Gentile to be preached to in order to confirm to Peter and the Pentecostal church how the Gentile will be saved, and to accept Paul as the Apostle to the Gentile, and they of the Pentecostal church were not to preach to the heathen. I believe you will find this so as you search the scriptures.
Sixth, as for His Word you apparently pick and choose that which you want to believe.
Of course I do – Don’t you? For my salvation I believe Christ from heaven, so I chose Him. I believe the gospel of Paul for Christ chose Paul, therefore I believe the gospel of Paul for my salvation, as it came from Christ in heaven. I believe every part of the Bible, but I understand the dispensation’s of God, or at least what does, and does not apply to me. God didn’t save me as He did Abel, Abraham, Moses, David, the Prophets, Judges, or any of the others. Where do we know for sure about this. Hebrews 11 plainly tells us we are in a different dispensation of God.
Do you see any of those in Christ Jesus as we are. They can’t be for they are
by faith, and we are
throughfaith, so everything is not the same as from the beginning……..If we believe Christ Jesus and what He revealed to Paul.
Seventh, it appears that contrary to the Word of God, straight from Paul's mouth, you are glorying in Paul.
It just seems that way, for Paul gives me the information telling me
"But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile"in Romans 2:10. Of course Christ Jesus has the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever.
Jesus leaves no doubt that He did not come the first time for we heathen Gentiles. But Christ Jesus speaks differently from heaven, does He not? I find revelation of Christ in Paul’s words, which tells us (me) we didn’t have anybody to preach to us, until Paul, viz. Galatians 1:16-17,
”To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.” I don’t glory in Paul, I just happen to believe Christ Jesus told him, Paul, He was my Apostle. Apollos, left me nothing, nor did Barnabas, or any of the others that were given authority to preach to we Gentiles.
Eighth, we are not Paul's we are Jesus Christ's, that is if we have been saved through the ONE AND ONLY GOSPEL, which is THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION [Romans 1:16]. </font>[/QUOTE]Preach it Brother. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be saved, not believing any other gospel, and that includes the “great commission”. Christian faith, ituttut Galatians 1:11-12.