What Paul Teaches That You Won't Find in the Gospels

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. And again, it's good to have everybody back. And for those of you on television, when I begin that way, I'm speaking of the fact that we come in once a month for these taping sessions, and we tape four programs in succession. And I always want folk to know that because you're going to see these same faces, these same colored clothes for a month, but it's about the only way we can cope with all the demands on our time is to do all of this one time a month. So anyway, for those of you on television, we welcome you, and how we do appreciate all your letters and your phone calls, as well as your financial help, because after all any time you go on the air it does take money. And we always like folk to know that no one, not even our good bookkeeper and her husband, and it's good to have Margaret and Harold with us again today, they don't take a dime for all of their work, and my little wife over here spends almost every forenoon just answering the phone and filling orders. She doesn't even take any compensation, and you all know I don't. I just wouldn't feel right by ever taking anything for what the Lord has given me. But anyway, all of these past programs, for those of you that are probably catching our program for the first time, all our programs are available on videotape wherein we have put 12 half hour programs on one 6 hour tape. We finally had to go up a little bit, and I hated to, but for those of you who are ordering them by mail in order to lessen the burden of postage we've raised our cost to $30 for a 6 hour tape. Now I guess that's still a pretty good bargain compared to costs of most other videos, but if you're interested in all the program material that you've missed, if you've just recently tuned in, you write us or call us on the 800 number, and Iris is our secretary. I'm surprised that people call and they're so shocked when either she or I answer the phone. Well who else will? I mean after all I told one lady the other day, I said, when that 800 number rings it's in our kitchen, and you'll be talking to either me or my wife, and no secretaries, and no banks or phones or anything like that. So anyway we love to hear from you, and we'll get these tapes as well as the books. Now book number 7, and we're going to pick it up from the printer this afternoon, so that means that books 1-7 are now available, and remember the books also are just a transcription from those 6 hour tapes. In other words book number 1 is a transcription of the number 1 6 hour tape, and so forth. So we'd love to hear from you, and we do appreciate the fact that they are being used in so many places, home Bible studies, Sunday schools, and what have you. Now I'm going to digress a little bit in this next half hour from our study in the Gospels. I'm probably going to go to the book of John next, and then go back and finish up what we have left off in Matthew, the post resurrection 40 days that's still left to be covered. But I wanted before we started the book of John to take you here in the studio as well as our television audience back to the letters of Paul, because I've probably shook a few people up. In fact I got a letter from one gentleman, and I appreciated that. He said, I love your program, and I agree with most of what you teach, but every once in a while I fly up to that television and start talking back to it. I couldn't help but remember a brother in law of mine up in Iowa who was an avid Green Bay Packer football fan. One time we were watching a ball game with him, and he sits in that recliner, and anything happens that was contrary to the Packers, and he flies out of that recliner, and he goes all the way to that television set, and he screams at the referee, or he screams at somebody who fumbled, and then his redness kind of goes down, and he goes back to his recliner until the next episode. So I can just picture a few people doing that, and they fly out of that recliner, and they go up to that television set, and say, Oh you're wrong! Well that's their privilege. But all I tell people is, don't just scream at me and say I'm wrong until you check out the book, because hopefully this is what we're totally, totally relying on. So now what I'm going to do is take some points that Paul brings out in his epistles, and I want you to keep them in your memory bank so that when we go back to the Gospels that you realize that none of this is back there. Now it all comes to a head. You don't throw the rest of the Bible away in order to study Paul, but you have to understand that so many of the things that Paul brings out in his letters are not back there in the Old Testament, or even in Christ's earthly ministry, or in the early book of Acts. Let's start with I Corinthians chapter 15, and we'll just look at the first four verses. Just constantly be reminding yourselves, and making the comparison. Now is anything like this back in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Is anything like this back in the Old Testament? I'll answer it for you, no. But I want you to be able to see it. I Corinthians 15. "...and moreover, brethren," now remember he's writing to Gentile believers. Now there were some Jews in all these congregations, but they're predominantly Gentile. "...and moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved." If you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain, you have to know what you believe. Now verse 3. Ephesians 1. For the apostle writes, I delivered unto you first of all, not following in the footsteps of someone else, but he came to these Gentiles at Corinth first, how that 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 arose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Now that�s the Gospel. That is the purest form that you can find anywhere in the Scriptures. The Gospel for us is that Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day. That�s the Gospel. All of Paul�s writings now will be pregnant with this theme. It just keeps coming up constantly, whether he speaks of all three, or whether he just says that Christ rose from the dead, then of course it�s implied that He died and was buried. Now let�s just stay in Corinthians for a little bit, and come all the way back to Corinthians chapter 1. All I want you to see is that these statements prompted by the moving of the Holy Spirit through this apostle of the Gentiles, you will not find even in Christ�s earthly ministry or any of His own words as He was dealing back there at that time. First Corinthians chapter 1, verse 17. Oh this shocks a lot of people. I didn�t put it in here, but the Holy Spirit did. And He says, verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize. Now stop a minute. Why was John the Baptist sent? To baptize. Absolutely, that was His ministry. He preached the baptism of repentance, no doubt about it. But Paul says, I�m not. Christ didn�t send me to baptize like He did John. But what is His mission? To preach the Gospel. What Gospel? That Christ died, was buried, and rose again. So to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. Then verse 18. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, that is the lost, what? Foolishness. I�ve even had people ask me here in the Bible Belt, what does something that took place 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem have to do with me? Everything! It has everything to do with us, because here is where God has His controversy with man. He has paid the sin debt, He has suffered our punishment, and He has opened the windows of heaven if we�ll just believe it, even though it happened 2,000 years ago. So the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness, but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God. Now you see salvation has to be an exercise of the sovereign power of an Almighty God. That�s why man can�t work for his salvation. All man has is physical strength, but only God can bring about the salvation of the spiritual. It has to be the power of God. Then come on down to verse 22. I want you to remember this as we go back to the Gospels. The Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, but Paul says, we�re not going to bother ourselves with either one. We�re not going to be looking for signs, nor are we going to be looking for a new philosophy. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them who are called, Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Let�s go on up to I Corinthians 12, and drop in at verse 12. Again Paul is just simply using a simple analogy, an illustration of the human body, and all you have to do is think about yourself, or look at your neighbor. How do we operate? Well we have that central nervous system, we have the mind which is the very core of all our being, and everything we say, think or do originates up here in the head, in the mind. Then as a result the nerve endings will respond, the whole body will function, but it all has its headquarters up here. Now Paul is using that as an illustration of the Body of Christ, which is a new term. Again you won�t find that back in the Gospels. You never have Jesus referred to the Body of Christ, it�s a Pauline revelation. Now what does it say? Verse 12. I Corinthians 12. Now what�s he saying? You have 10 fingers, you have 10 toes, you have eyes, ears, arms, legs, those are all members of the Body. But do we have 20 bodies? No, we have one, and they�re all part and parcel of Him. Now then he goes into the next verse and sets the Body of Christ. Every believer around the world, regardless of their color, regardless of their denominational handle, if they�re a believer, then verse 13. 1. Are we all, not just the super spiritual, not just those who have seemingly experienced some sort of a high, but all are baptized, not with water, but by the power of the Holy Spirit into one body. I read the other day that there are thousands of denominations and cults in America alone, but the Scripture only knows of one, and that is that composite of true, born again believers. They are members of the Body, and how do we get there? By the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And here it is, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, we have been all made to drink into that one Spirit. Are you going to see language like that in the Gospels? No way! Let�s come on over to Romans, and let�s start in chapter 3. Romans 3. Romans 3. Let�s start in the language that is just not in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. verse 20, "...therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified." Now you remember when the rich young ruler came to Jesus, and he said, Master what must I do to inherit eternal life? What was Jesus' answer? Keep the commandments, keep the law, and indeed within that was salvation for that time, and that's what you're seeing in the gospel accounts, that they were to keep the law. Now of course, with the appearance of the Messiah, an added responsibility was to believe that he was the Christ, he was the fulfillment of all those Old Testament covenants, but it was still based on the Judaic system of law. But now look what Paul says, by that there is no justification, for the law is the knowledge of sin. I'm always pointing that out in our evening classes. The law does nothing, absolutely nothing but condemn us. There is no power in the law to save anybody. There is no power in the law to do anything but condemn. And oh how many people, again even here in the Bible Belt in Oklahoma, I run across them constantly. Well I'm doing the best I can. I'm keeping the commandments. I think I'll make it. No you won't. If you think it, you've already said you're not. Because as soon as you enter into the Biblical salvation, you don't just think or hope, you know. Now verse 21 in Romans chapter 3. Romans 3. Now what does that little three letter word, but, indicate? That there's been a change. See there's a flip side here. We are no longer under that Judaic system of the Law. Now we're under something totally different. But now the righteousness of God without the Law. You see how plain that is? That isn't gobbledygook. My sixth grader can read that. If you'll read it, you can understand it. That without the Law, yes witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that repent and are baptized. No, it doesn't say that. But upon all them that believe, and believing is faith. Faith is trust. And then verse 23 of course is that all inclusive statement, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But even though we've come short of God's glory, He is able to justify us freely. Why? Because of what He has accomplished on the cross. Now let's go on over to chapter 5 in Romans. Now I even have to back up chapter 4. I throw my little wife a curve when I keep changing these references, but anyway she knows how I operate, and that's part of it. Romans 4. Romans 4.5a "...but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him who justifies ungodly." Now how many times have I and perhaps you, and I know Iris has, said, "...if I could just clean up my act, if I could just quit my bad habit, then I�d get saved." They�re putting the cart before the horse. You can�t clean up your own act. We have to let God do it, and then we respond. And that�s exactly what Paul is writing, to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him who justifies the ungodly, and then his faith is counted for righteousness. Now let�s come over to Romans chapter 5. Verse 8. But God commendeth his love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now stop and think. Even Christ in His earthly ministry, could He say something like that? Now He knew He was going to die, and as we pointed out in the class last night, as He told the twelve up there in Luke chapter 18, we go to Jerusalem and everything that�s been written in the Prophets about the Son of Man is going to happen. He�s going to be scourged, He�s going to be beaten, and He�s going to be put to death. He�s going to be buried, and on the third day He�ll rise from the dead. He knew, but the next verse says what? And they the twelve understood none of these things, for it was hid from them. They didn�t know He was going to die, and I�d like to remind my classes, that even after He died, He was crucified. Did those followers just sort of pick up their feelings and say, �Well let�s just bide our time, He always said He�d be risen from the dead in three days.� No. What did they think? It was all done. Everything had gone down the tube. They didn�t understand that He was going to rise from the dead, but see now Paul can speak after the fact, and he says that�s what happened. He died for our sin. He was risen from the dead for our justification, and we receive all this by simply believing it. Let�s turn a few pages and come to Romans chapter 8, and I�m just going to drop all the way down to verse 11. This is what you�re not going to see back there in the Gospels, not even in John. Romans 8. Romans 8. Now you don�t get language like that back in the Gospels, but here Paul reveals that now in this age when we become a child of God, the very presence of the Godhead in the person of the Holy Spirit not only raises us up out of our deadness in sin, but He indwells us. And that of course is why we no longer need the Law. When I constantly say that we�re not under the Law, that doesn�t mean we have license. That doesn�t mean that we�re now free to steal. Not at all. Quite the opposite. We�re under the power now of a person of the Godhead who keeps us from all the things that the Law demanded not to do, which the Law couldn�t. But see now we have the power of the Holy Spirit that keeps us from wanting to steal. It keeps us from wanting to speak falsely. It keeps us from coveting. It keeps us from immoral doings. It keeps us from all these things. And now you see it up here in chapter 8, reading on in verse 14. And here�s the secret of the Christian life which the world can�t understand. The world just can�t comprehend it. They think that the reason we live the way we do is because we�re trying to make points with the Almighty. Oh they�re ignorant. That�s not it at all. We can�t make points with the Almighty. We can�t do anything to merit His favor. But you see we�re responding to what He has done for us and through us. Now here it is in verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Now drop on down to verse 16, "...the Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are already the children of God." And then the next verse, "...if we are children, then naturally we are heirs, just as sure as the son is the heir of the father and mother's estate, so we now are joint heirs with Christ." As it says then in the rest of the verse. Now let�s come on over to chapter 10. I�m going to run out of time, I�m not going to near half of the verses that I really intended to use, but we�ll go until the time is gone and then we�ll be ready to go back to the Gospels in our next program. Romans 10, verse 9, "...that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead." Now He doesn�t mention His crucifixion per se, but it�s certainly implied by His being raised from the dead. And when you believe that with all your heart, thou shalt be saved. That�s a promise, and God can�t lie. And then He dropped down to verse 13. Romans 10, verse 13, "...for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Let�s quickly go on to Galatians chapter 1, beginning with verse 3. Galatians 1, verse 3, "...who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world." In other words He died for our sin, and He rose again for our justification. Ephesians 1, verse 7, "...in whom we have redemption through His blood." What�s that a reference to? Well the crucifixion, His death. Ephesians 1, verse 7, "...the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." See verse 8. Ephesians 1, verse 8, "...wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself." And then come down to verse 12. Ephesians 1, verse 12, "...that we should be to the praise of His glory, we who first trusted in Christ." Now in verse 13 He says, Ephesians 1, verse 13, "...in whom ye also trusted after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, that Christ died, was buried, and rose again, in whom also after ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." You won�t see that in the Gospels. The Holy Spirit hadn�t come yet, Christ hadn�t died yet, and so all of those things had to be held in abeyance until it had happened, and now the Apostle can reveal it. Now verse 14, where he writes, Ephesians 1, verse 14, "...which is the earnest or the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." That�s Pauline. You won�t find that back in the Gospels, and oh we could just go on and on across the page into Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1. Ephesians 2, verse 1, "...and you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." And then you come down to verse 4, Ephesians 2, verse 4, "...but God, who is rich in mercy for His great love, wherewith He loved us." And then those last two verses that you all know so well, Ephesians 2, verse 8, verse 9, "...for by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves." That�s Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. 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