Did Peter and Paul Preach Different Gospels?
by David K. Bernard
Podcast recording (no venue stated in the delivered transcript)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Matthew 18, Matthew 16, Matthew 28, Luke 24:47-49, Acts 1:4, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:47, Galatians 2, Acts 15, Galatians 2:7, 1 Corinthians 15:9-11, Acts 9, Acts 22, Acts 19, Acts 2, Acts 2:38

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/david-k-bernard--did-peter-and-paul-preach-different-gospels
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
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There is no basis for this in the Bible as I will show. But there's one positive point here.

They they seem to think that they can't follow what Peter said because it it would it wouldn't match what Paul said. So in kind of a backhand way, they're saying if you Pentecostals are right, then we would have to obey Peter. So Peter's wrong. so or not apply to us so we don't have to obey it. But of course I think so they just focus on Paul. Uh so they're not trying to explain Peter in terms of Paul. They're saying no we couldn't explain it if if Peter's message is for us. We'd have to do something different. And Peter's message does require them to do something different.

But it harmonizes Paul's message. So let's talk about that for a little bit. First of all, Jesus established the church on all the apostles. In Mark, in Matthew uh 18, he gave the power to bind and loose to all the apostles. Uh Mark Matthew 16, he said he would build his church and he gave this power in Matthew 16 and Matthew 18. Matthew 28, he gave the great commission. uh the apostle Paul wasn't even uh in the church yet and he gave the commission to the apostles to go to all the world not just to Jews and depending on which version you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts one all have different versions of the great commission but in in them he says go to every nation to every human to preach the gospel to baptize the people to teach them everything I've commanded you.

So this doesn't sound like, oh, your message is only for the Jews and Paul will later come and he'll bring my message to the Gentiles and to all the world today. No, he was telling them and you can see this. Let's look more closely for example in Luke 24 47-49. These are the words of Jesus that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. So the New Testament church did not begin with the preaching of Paul at some later date. It began at Jerusalem. And as Acts one will directly show, the fulfillment is is is right there um in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

And you are witnesses these things. Behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but tear you in the city of Jerusalem until you are dued with power from on high. And so according to the to Jesus in the great commission in Luke 24, the church would start at Jerusalem and from there the gospel would be preached. Uh and it would start with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And then as we see just a few chapters later in Acts chapter 1 uh verse four, wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the father. And then verse eight, from there when the spirit has come, you'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth.

So the par the the the paradigm for world evangelism from Jerusalem all the way to the earth did not wait till Paul that was given to the original apostles. So it's abundantly clear that the New Testament church was started with all the apostles and at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit not at sub some subsequent time it uh with Paul in some different experience. In facts 247 summarizing the other church it says and the Lord added daily to the church those who are being saved. So that's the church. Um now the interesting role of the apostle Paul he did if you look in Galatians 2 there was a conflict over do Gentiles need to be circumcised and in order to be saved and of course the answer that the whole church gave in Acts 15 was no but Paul had some skirmishes in Galatians uh in in Galatia with these and so he does establish that he had his own independent calling and apostilhip and message but he was also careful ful to say it was in harmony with the apostles not in conflict not in contrast.

So if you look through Galatians 2 he says after 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas took Titus I went up by revelation and communicated to them that's the people in Jerusalem which would be the apostles that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles. Okay so this is Paul's gospel that he's preaching to Gentiles. This would be exactly what the hyperdispensationalists say. Okay. Now he describes it. So I went to the apostles and explained to them what I'm preaching to the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation. That's the apostles. Lest by any means I might run or had run in vain.

So in some sense he was saying I wanted to make sure that my message was the same as their message because I didn't want to run in vain. So, so even and he goes on to say later uh how that he disagreed with Paul and e and I mean Peter and even Barnabas because they compromised these things but he didn't say their authority was illegitimate and he didn't say all the apostles authority was illegitimate but to the contrary in verse seven his words um so what he was saying is you know I I'm my gospel is from God not from any man I I want to make that clear.

I'm not saying that my authority came from them. It came from God. But verse seven, but on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the circum uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter, for he who worked effectively in Peter, for the apostilhip to the circumcised, also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles. And when James, Cphus, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had be given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I was I also was eager to do.

Now, in the service, you might say, "Oh, there were two different gospels, one for Peter, one for Paul." But the context makes clear. He's saying, "No, it's the same gospel. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement." And when they saw that we were preaching the same gospel and they saw I had this ministry, they said, "Well, we're commissioning you to preach to the Gentiles and Peter is going to be the leader to preach to the Jews." But it wasn't as if two different gospels. It was they were dividing up the work based on the same gospel. And the only only difference, it's not even a difference.

He said the only thing they were, you know, when he gave his whole gospel to them, said, "This is what I'm preaching to the Gentiles." They didn't say, "Oh, that's different." They basically said, "Oh, the only thing we want to add to what you're saying is make sure you take care of the poor." And he says, "Well, I was already planning to do that." So, even that one difference turned out not to be a difference. One, you know, their one word of admonition turned out not to be uh any kind of a conflict at all, but a harmony. Another example is in 1 Corinthians uh chapter 15.

Uh so verse 9-11 Paul writing for I am the least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God but by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace toward me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me and notice verse 11 first Corinthians 15:11 therefore whether it was I or they so we preach and so you believe so he's very clear you know I'm I'm not even worthy to be called apostle, but God chose me and and I I've actually accomplished more than all the others because of the grace of God.

But it doesn't matter whether it's I'm preaching it or they're preaching it. It's the same and it's what you believe. So I think he's about as clear as he could be that it's not a different gospel. And even in the key passage in Galatians where he said there's no other gospel. If any other preach people preach another gospel even angel from heaven he's accured. Well is that applying to Peter? So if they have different gospels Paul's saying Peter's cursed. Well I think even the hyperdispensationalists don't want to put all the other apostles in hell for preaching a false gospel. So so they're stuck. Which is it?

If it's two different gospels and Paul has the right one, then by Paul's own statement, all the other apostles are cursed and damned, going to hell. But otherwise, they have to admit it's the same gospel. Just Peter was preaching it to the Jews and Paul's preaching it to the Gentiles. And I think it's pretty clear there's one gospel throughout the New Testament. It was given by Jesus to the apostles. It was in fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem and it was carried out. And so we have to harmonize what Peter preached and what Paul preached. And thankfully that's easy to do. And the reason why in Acts nine, Paul's conversion, it's recorded Acts 9, Acts 22, Paul was baptized in the name of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Exactly what Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. And then in Acts 19, when Paul was preaching, he told the disciples at Ephesus, you need to believe on Jesus. He baptized them in Jesus' name. He laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. So when you look at what actually Paul received, it was what Peter preached. When you look at actually what Paul preached, it was what Peter preached. When when you actually see what Paul implemented to Gentiles in Ephesus, it was the same message that Peter preached in Acts two. So you can't make two different gospels out of it.

The book of Acts clearly shows that Peter and Paul agreed on the one gospel and how to fulfill it. No matter who you are, you got to take Acts 238 seriously.