How Did St. Paul Believe That The Gospel Was Given To The Jews

... culture of the Romans. The dominant Greco-Roman culture held the Jews in disapproval, they constantly pushed them to lose their Jewishness and assimilate to their culture, and now the new faith, would place the Christians in Rome in a sub minority group then the Jews. This was why it was important for Paul to affirm the honor of Christians through Jesus. By making a bold statement against shame, Paul “insulat[ed] them from the disapproval of Jews and Gentiles alike”.

In chapters three through five, Paul talks about being justified through faith. God reveals His righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, and explains that everyone has sinned had fallen short of His glory (3:16), but we can be redeemed by our faith in Jesus. Paul uses Abraham as a prime example of someone who had faith in God, and God used him before circumcision (example of Gentiles) and after circumcision (example of Jews). Paul explains that we are all sinners, and that Christ died for all of us (5:8). It started with Adam in the beginning and spread throughout time, and by our faith in Christ and the grace of God we are saved. In chapters six through eight, he talks about our new life in Christ, and how our old self dies, while we are made new in Christ with the Holy Spirit. He explains we are no longer slaves to sin, but we are enslaved to God’s righteousness and are to produce good fruits.

Paul also seemed to believe that since everything was according to God’s will that God created a state around and for the Israelites. A big portion of this gospel is also dedicated to the spreading of the gospel to everyone, even the gentiles. While there were some people that Paul considered ‘weak’ Christians, Paul still believe that the gospel was for them as well.

According to anthropologist Dr. Kraft, the early believers were Jewish, who believed that the cultural context in which they received the Gospel was to be normative for all others. Meaning that if one was to come to Jesus, he or she must also convert to Jewish culture and customs as reflected not only in the book of Galatians, with respect to circumcision, but also in Acts. An example in Acts 15.1 reads:

The Galatians were teaching the only way to be saved was by following the law of Judaism. In fact, Moses was given the law to be handed down, which he did but Jesus Christ fulfilled the law that was given to Moses. With that being said, Jesus Christ is the way to salvation. Thus, Jesus Christ was sent to us to save us and this is exactly what Paul was teaching the Galatians. “ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5,

Paul’s overall reason for writing the book was to tell the people in Rome that he was coming to share the gospel with them. He also began to share with them a review of what the gospel tells: how we are all condemned by God but because Jesus died for our sins we just have to believe and follow Him to be saved. Paul also addresses the Romans on their duties as believers in Christ. Paul also ends his book by telling the Romans that his job was to share the gospel, also indicating that it should be everyone’s

..., The apostle Paul would now help this growing group to spread the gospel with the to the gentile world

This distaste for the law could easily come from his past as a Pharisee. While not all of Paul’s teachings revolve around his aversion to tradition, most all of them make mention of Jesus as Christ. “I do not get rid of the grace of God. What if a person could become right with God by obeying the law? Then Christ died for nothing!” This theology has had massive repercussions as followers grew in number and power. Paul’s Christianity advanced the idea that Jesus was a fully human, fully divine being sent by God to right the wrongs of humankind. The whole concept of a Christian’s redemption comes from Paul’s fervent belief the law was not good enough. “… the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what, weakened by the flesh, could not do.” The modern worship of Jesus as the in-between for God and human comes from Paul’s epistles, not from Jesus’s teaching on the subject. Paul represents his feelings well in Galatians, “I never want to brag about anything except for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through that cross, the ways of the world have been crucified as far as I am concerned. And I have been crucified as far as the ways of the world are concerned.” The implications of Paul’s split from the law are many. One example of this is the persecution of off-shoot believers. Irritation towards those who did not follow Paul’s model of religion is evident in the epistles. In Corinthians, Paul no less than condemns anyone who proclaims a truth other than his own, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” The way this is injected with poisonous descriptive words like “deceitful” or “disguised,” has led to many conflicts over the course of

Jesus’ main ministry was to the Jewish people. Since Jewish law required the act of circumcision, it was not a pressing issue in Jesus ministry. However, Jesus came across the issue of circumcision in his ministry in John, chapter seven. Jesus says, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgement” (John 7:24). I think Jesus would have the early church to accept the Gentiles on who they were. Gentiles were not raised in the Jewish law and therefore, do not have to follow a nation’s law they do not belong

During Paul’s mission trip to Cyprus, Paul offered the Gospel of Christ to more than just Jews. Paul offered the Gospel of Christ to anyone who would listen. In Acts 13:4, the beginning of Paul’s first missionary journey is recorded with Paul and Barnabas going to Cyprus. While on the island of Cyprus they went to the town of Paphos where they were confronted by “a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet names Bar-Jesus.” (Acts 13:6 HCSB) Along with this sorcerer, that was a man named Sergius Paulus. Sergius Paulus, a Gentile, wanted to hear the Gospel of Christ. Therefore, Paul and Barnabas begin telling Sergius Paulus the great message of Christ. The sorcerer, named Elymas, attempted to distract Sergius Paulus and turn him “away from the faith.” (Acts 13:8 HCSB) The story of Sergius Paulus and the sorcerer may seem as if it is unimportant, however, one must note that Paul and Barnabas did not go to Cyprus to minister to the Gentiles. In Acts 13:5, Paul and Barnabas are seen ministering in ...