Jesus VS Paul

Sami Zaatari

 

If anyone has read the New Testament one would see a clear difference between the teachings of Jesus and the supposed apostle Paul. For instance when a man went up to Jesus asking how to be saved, Jesus gave the following response:

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good?except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother." "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."  (Mark 10:17-21)

 

So according to Jesus the way to be saved is by following the commandments, and to follow Jesus as well, obviously a true believer at the time had to follow Jesus, as he was a prophet, and God's representative, one couldn't just follow the commandments while rejecting the prophets, it would be like a Muslim who follows the sharia and rejects Muhammad (AS) as a prophet!

 

Jesus also taught his followers that he did not come break the law:

 

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17)

 

So Jesus taught his people to follow the law, and he also said that his mission wasn't to abolish the law, in other words the law was still applicable and to be followed.

 

Now what did Paul teach about this matter, did he teach that the law must be followed, and did he teach that he didn't come to abolish the law? Well, let us see what he says:

 

Know that a man is not justified by observing 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 observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

 

But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:5-6)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)

Paul even goes as far as saying that the law was weak and powerless:

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man (Romans 8:3)

So according to Paul salvation is not attained through following the law, or by doing righteous works, rather salvation is attained by faith.

So this is what we have, according to Jesus:

-Follow the Law

-The Law isn't abolished or destroyed

According to Paul:

-No need for the Law

-The Law is Weak

-The Law cannot save you

-Faith can only save you

Ask yourself this, if the very same man who went and asked Jesus about salvation and later went to Paul and asked the same question, would he get the same answer? The answer is quite obvious, Paul would give a completely different reply to that of Jesus, and the above verses prove it, Jesus said follow the Law, Paul said no need for the Law; it's all about the faith, a completely different response to that of Jesus, an innovation by the anti-christ Paul.

And Allah Knows Best!

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