Yes — Paul's epistles are foundational for understanding Christian faith because they contain the essential truths of salvation, the Christian walk, and the church.
Les Feldick teaches that for the Church Age, Paul's letters are where believers must find the fundamental truths of the faith, while still honoring the rest of Scripture. He also says Paul's writings reveal the full flower of God's salvation program, centered on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 — Paul's own words affirm that all Scripture, including his epistles, is God-breathed and profitable for Christian doctrine and life.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 — Paul summarizes the gospel by which believers are saved, showing why his letters are essential for understanding the Christian faith.
In Paul's own words to Timothy, Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete. This includes Paul's own letters. In his first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul states plainly the gospel he preached and by which believers are saved: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day. Romans 8:9 also records Paul's teaching that those who belong to Christ have the Spirit of Christ; without Him, they are none of His.
Les Feldick teaches that Paul is the designated Apostle of the Gentiles and that the Pauline letters are where believers must find the fundamental truths for salvation, the Christian walk, and the operation of the local church. He makes no apology for making much of Paul, because Paul claims that role and because most of Christendom gets its basic doctrine from Paul's writings. He compares the Bible to a plant: the Old Testament and Gospels are the root, stem, and leaves, but the full flower of God's salvation program is in Paul's letters. At the same time, he insists that studying Paul does not mean rejecting the rest of Scripture; all Scripture is profitable. Paul brings out doctrines found nowhere else, so Les says believers should spend the best part of their time in Paul's epistles and then move through all the rest of Scripture. He also observes that many people neglect Paul's letters, and some even say Paul should not be in the Bible, but Paul's core message remains the work of the cross — Christ died, shed His blood, was buried, and rose from the dead.
Les is clear that studying Paul does not mean throwing away the rest of Scripture. He compares the Bible to the root, stem, and leaves that are necessary before the bloom of Paul's revelations can be enjoyed. Because Paul brings out doctrines that appear nowhere else, Les says believers should spend the best part of their time in Paul's epistles and then funnel back and forth into all the rest of the Scriptures.
Les directs attention to Paul's epistles as the place where the full picture of God's salvation appears. He specifically references 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 where Paul lays out the gospel — that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day. Les says truths like this are not back there in the Old Testament, in Christ's earthly ministry, or in the early chapters of Acts.
Les says the average churchgoer never gets a real sense of much of what Paul teaches. He also shares accounts of people who say Paul shouldn't even be in the Bible, and of preachers who detest Paul's writings. Yet he still makes no apology for emphasizing Paul, because Paul claims to be the Apostle of the Gentiles and his letters are where Christendom gets its basic doctrine.
Jacob Becomes Israel — What Romans 9 Says About True Faith
And 9 of course is Israel's past, and the Apostle Paul is going to be dipping back into the Old Testament back and forth in order to make his point. Then when we go into chapter 10 we'll deal with Israel as God is looking at Israel today in the age of grace, and then in chapter 11 we'll be looking at what is still ahead for the nation of Israel.
Paul as Apostle of the Gentiles
Les teaches that Paul's letters contain the fundamental truths for salvation, the Christian walk, and the local church during the Church Age.
Paul's Letters as the Full Flower
Les says the full bloom of God's salvation program is in Paul's letters, and cutting them off leaves the gospel incomplete.
The Core of Paul's Message
Les says Paul knows the work of the cross — Christ died, shed His blood, was buried, and rose again — and this is the core of everything he writes.
Paul's Authority as Apostle of the Gentiles
Les makes no apology for emphasizing Paul because Paul claims to be the Apostle of the Gentiles, and Christendom gets its basic doctrine from Paul's writings.
Paul Writes to Believers
Les stresses that Paul's letters are written to believers, which shapes how they should be read and applied.
Teachings Unique to Paul
Les points out truths in Paul's epistles that are absent from the Gospels, the Old Testament, and early Acts, such as the gospel definition in 1 Corinthians 15.
Giving Paul the Best of Our Time
Les says because Paul brings out doctrines found nowhere else, believers should spend the best part of their time in his epistles and then move through the rest of Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Paul's own statement confirms that all Scripture, including his letters, is inspired and profitable for the Christian life.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
Paul defines the gospel itself, demonstrating why his epistles are central to understanding the Christian faith.
Romans 8:9: But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Paul explains the believer's identity in the Spirit, a core doctrine for the Christian walk.
Les says Paul is the designated Apostle of the Gentiles and that the fundamental truths for salvation, the Christian walk, and the local church come from Paul's letters. He makes no apology for emphasizing Paul because Paul claims that role, and his epistles contain the full flower of God's salvation program.
No. He says you don't kick the rest of the Bible out or throw it away in order to study Paul. All Scripture is profitable, but Paul's letters reveal doctrines found nowhere else, so they deserve the best part of our study time.
Les recounts that he has met people who detest Paul's writings and even say Paul shouldn't be in the Bible. He says this shows how far some have moved from recognizing the value of Paul's teaching.
Watch the Teaching: Jacob Becomes Israel — What Romans 9 Says About True Faith