Jesus vs Paul: Different Views of Salvation?
I recently saw a few short YouTube Clips in which Bart Ehrman repeatedly raised the issue of Biblical contradiction by trying to pit the teachings of Jesus against those of Paul. According to Ehrman, Jesus neither taught atonement nor belief in it for salvation, whereas Paul taught the exact opposite, namely, that belief in Jesus’ death (as an atonement) was a necessary part of redemption.
Ehrman also asserts that Jesus’ teaching on salvation requires keeping the commandments, whereas Paul’s teaching is just the opposite, namely, the abrogation of the commandments of the Law. Since I agree with his view of Paul, I will not focus on Paul’s but rather on Jesus’ teaching.
Just to quickly recap, the abrogation of the Law is not just in Paul. It was also prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-32 in which God intended to make a new covenant that would be based on grace, unlike the one that the Hebrews broke when he took them out of Egypt. In fact, in Jeremiah 3:8, God gave them an official certificate of divorce! It’s all over the New Testament as well. Read the anonymous letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9. It’s all about how Christ’s sacrifice is greater than the Temple sacrifices or the Law of Moses. Hebrews 8:13 reads thusly: “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one [the Law] obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
Hebrews 9:15 puts Christ’s atonement in perspective:
“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
Paul also states that Christians don’t need to observe the Jewish dietary guidelines, festivals, Law, or Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16). Paul says categorically and unequivocally that we are saved by Grace, not by the Law. In Galatians 2:16, Paul writes: “know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” In Galatians 2:21, Paul vehemently asserts: “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Paul thinks that you will not be saved if you hold on to the Law as your ultimate authority (see e.g. Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:11; Ephesians 2:8). Ehrman seems to agree that this was Paul’s teaching on salvation. So let’s now look at Jesus’ teaching to see if it differs from Paul’s.
Many interpreters, particularly those steeped in the Old Testament, often misunderstand, misinterpret, and misrepresent what Jesus says concerning his relation to the Law of Moses. For example, in Matthew 5:17, Jesus says the following: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Here, Jesus means that he himself fulfills the Law through his sacrifice and death, which according to Hebrews 9:11-15 is the ultimate atonement for sin. Jesus’ sacrifice was foreshadowed by the Temple sacrifices of animals. Jesus, however, does not mean that his followers must follow the Old Testament Law and commandments in order to be saved. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 16:6, as well as in verse 12, Jesus explicitly teaches His disciples not to follow the Law or “the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
“John makes sure that we know that Nicodemus is a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. The Pharisees were the most rigorously religious of all the Jewish groups. To this one, Jesus says (in verse 3), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And even more personally in verse 7: “You must be born again.” So one of John’s points is: All of Nicodemus’s religion, all of his amazing Pharisaic study and discipline and law-keeping, cannot replace the need for the new birth. In fact, they may well make more obvious the need for the new birth.”
John Piper
Did Jesus keep the Law? Not at all. He actually broke all the Laws and the Sabbaths (eating with unwashed hands, eating with sinners, cleansing the temple, working on the Sabbath, etc.), and that’s why the Jews wanted to kill him (Matthew 9:10-11; 15:1-2, 12; see also John 5:18)! He often argued with Pharisees, telling them that law-keeping doesn’t amount to anything. Read Matthew 23, especially verse 13, which demonstrates that you cannot be saved by keeping the Law:
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”
Similarly, Matthew 23:25-28 demonstrates that the carnal nature is not eliminated or cleansed by the Law:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. … So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Incidentally, when Jesus speaks of keeping his commandments, he’s not referring to the dietary guidelines or the ceremonial or civil laws and sabbaths. He’s talking about his commands to love. And in order to distinguish them from law-keeping, he makes a distinct reference to the Holy Spirit that will enter inside every believer. In John 14:15-17, he states:
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
This is echoed in Revelation 3:20. This verse is not talking about having dinner at someone’s house. It’s referring to regeneration, rebirth, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” In Luke 24:46-49, Jesus demonstrates that salvation can only occur with the arrival of the Holy Spirit:
“So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. … And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The commandment of Christ can be summed up in the word Love. 1 John 4:7-8 reads:
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
This passage tells us that we can only receive this love if we have “been born of God.” This is a direct reference to rebirth! That’s the only way to “know God.” And God is love. You can’t know this or understand this by simply relying on your own behavior or performance. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being hypocrites because although they followed the Law externally, yet internally they were wicked devils (see Matthew 15:7-14). Following the Law neither changes your carnal nature, nor requires a Messiah! A Christian is saved by being born-again in Christ (John 3:3; 3:5; Acts 2:1-4), not by dietary laws, commandments, or Sabbaths, which have all been abrogated (see Colossians 2:16)! These are useless in cleansing your heart. Only rebirth makes you a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)! What is more, Romans 8:9 makes it abundantly clear that without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we are not saved: “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” Obeying the Law has absolutely nothing to do with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also makes it very clear in John 3:3 that you can not be saved unless you are born again: “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again’ “. Bottom line, we are saved by faith, not by works of the law!
Did Jesus ever speak about his death as an atonement? Yes, of course: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Elsewhere he says: “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27). This demonstrates that the purpose of Jesus’ life was to die as a ransom for sin: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Peter follows suit and explains the significance of Jesus’ atoning death in 1 Peter 2:24: “He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” 1 Peter 3:18 similarly says: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” In Matthew 26:27-28, Jesus himself acknowledges and affirms that his death is the atonement for the forgiveness of sins:
“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.’ “
If that’s not atonement language, I don’t know what is. Thus, contrary to the assertions made by Bart Ehrman, both Jesus and Paul hold the same views on salvation, namely, that Jesus’ death is an atonement for sins and that salvation can only happen when we are born again through the Holy Spirit.