"It is of great importance to straighten out this inverting of the relationship, criticizing Christ by Paul, the Master by the disiple." Kierkegaard, My Task (1855)

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Reviving Focus on Jesus' Words Alone.  [Audio Version]

Our mission is to proclaim our Lord Jesus' lesson that He was the "sole teacher." (Matthew 23:8-11). He sternly told the apostles they were not to call themselves or anyone else a "teacher"! In John, Jesus explained why when He insisted that the "apostolos is not more important than the one who sent him." (John 13:16.) The Greek word apostolos means either the title of Apostle or messenger or one that is sent. Here Jesus meant He was more important than any Apostle or messenger.

Even John the Baptist realized that despite knowing he himself was the greatest prophet who ever lived prior to Jesus (Matthew 11:11), yet he "must decrease" so that unfettered acceptance of Jesus' message would "increase." (John 3:30-31.)

And to treat anyone else's words, particularly from mere correspondence whose author does not claim to quote Jesus, as an authority on the same level with Jesus is to rob Jesus of the authority God gave Him: "All authority has been given me in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18.)

Competing Love For Paul / Pauline Doctrine.

The Modern Church has instead fallen in love with Paul, or, more correctly, the points in Paul's writings that soften the requirements of costly grace which Jesus taught. This causes a vying for control over the church. Either Paul and his Dispensation of Grace applies, or Jesus and His costly grace gospel applies, as Bonhoeffer highlighted. We have developed two masters. Mainstream Christian theologians largely defend dismissing Jesus' words as applicable only to a prior dispensation of Law. Sometimes this is called Dispensationalism or Covenant Theology, but it all ends up the same: marginalizing Jesus' words. The famous theologian Rudolf Bultmann even claimed Paul teaches us in Second Corinthians 5:16 that it is necessary to treat Jesus's teachings pre-resurrection as irrelevant. (Bultman on Paul.) Based upon this, Bultmann has influenced evangelical seminaries ever since to teach young pastors to emphasize the message of Paul, dismissing as largely irrelevant the words of Jesus.

This proves the danger of two masters as Jesus said: you will love the one and hate the other. (Matthew 6:24.) This is where the church is today--having been wooed from its first love for Christ. To avoid making any apostle a competing master, we must remember the apostles only had one inspired function -- that is when they served to carry Jesus' words (John 14:26), that is, when they serve the role of a "messenger" -- the meaning of the Greek word apostolos. Otherwise, they are at best edifying.

Growing Realization Of This Truth In The Church.

This message of focusing only on the words of Jesus as the New Testament inspired scripture appears overdue. The hunger for this information is reflected  by the number of visitors. Since January 2008, there have been over 1.7 million hits. In March 2013, there were over 42,000 page views alone.  Over 270 true followers of Jesus have written positive emails and book reviews on Jesus' Words Only and Jesus' Words On Salvation. (See "Reviews" Tab above.) These two books are available here free for download in PDF. (The chapters also have been converted to webpages with free links in the list below.) These books can also be purchased from Amazon and major online retailers.

Works by other authors are highlighted here because they too draw us to trust only Jesus as our true sole teacher and our divinely-indwelled Lord. For more information on general church topics, including articles and books critical of Paulinism, see the popular "Further Reading" tab.

The links below lead you to this book series free for download or viewing:

NEW ADDITIONS

1. Marcionism - Paulinism of 144 AD was then heresy (html)

4. The Problem of Paul to All Faiths From Following Jesus (html intro w link to PDF)

5. Luther Killed Jesus' Words Only Movement in Reformation (PDF) or (html)
6. Early Negative Church Views of Paul (html)(June 27, 2010)
7. Paulinist Tares: How To Treat Them? (html)(May 28, 2010)
9. Jesus's Commands on Church Structure (contradicted by Paul)(html)(June 5, 2010)
10. Paul's Flawed Christology (html) (June 6, 2010).
11. More on Benjamite Wolf Prophecy & Paul (html)(June 15, 2010)
15. Paul's Contradictions of Jesus (html)(July 14, 2010)
16. Tolstoy Criticizes Paulinism (html)(July 16, 2010)
17. Paul's Trial Before Caesar - A Drama (html and audio)(July 17, 2010)
18. Paul's Words Support Unwitting Blasphemies (html)(July 25, 2010)
20. Jesus's Words on Baptism (versus Paulinist dismissal of its importance)(html)(Aug. 13, 2010)
22. Paul or James' Church: Which Was The Greatest Evangelist? (Aug. 28, 2010)(links to html/pdf)
23. Gates of Heaven: A Modern Pastor Seeks Entry (Drama Indicting Paulinism)(Sept 10, 2010)(html)
31. Pagan Influences on Paul (July 17, 2011)
32. Paul Abolished Sabbath (July 23, 2011)
36. 3-Fold 1 Page Pamphlet to Hand Out on Jesus' Prophecies to not listen to Paul (Dec. 3, 2011) (PDF). For audio version, listen at Podomatic at this link.
44. Revisiting the Marcan Priority Claim (from Rives, OGM II at 97 which impacts Paul.) (4/7/2012).