The Impact of Jesus and Paul
Jesus and Paul played a fundamental role in influencing the beliefs that Christians have about Christianity. Notably, Jesus shaped the Christian faith, introduced salvation while Paul introduced the church, and promoted Jesus’ salvation. Christians worldwide were affected by the doctrines that they choose to follow, whether they were the doctrines that Jesus taught or what Paul wrote about in his books. By analyzing the primary accomplishments of the two individuals, it becomes possible to develop an idea of the types of Christians that exist.
Throughout His life, Jesus used both teachings and miracles to preach God’s Word. Jesus used miracles to show the power that He had as the son of God while he used parables to portray teachings. However, the Sermon on the Mount forms the fundamental basis of the teachings that Jesus taught during His lifetime. The Beatitudes form an integral part of the blueprint of living in salvation like Jesus Christ (Becker, 2013). In the Beatitudes, Jesus taught various ways of living in salvation and assured Christians of the place that they held in the Kingdom of God. Additionally, Jesus also talked about being born again in His parables.
Jesus assured born again Christians that they had a chance to attain God’s Kingdom by allowing themselves to be born again. Jesus also stressed the crucial role of living everything behind when Christians decided to follow Him. He clearly showed that He did not value superficial things since He was merely interested in spiritual nourishment (Becker, 2013). However, through miracles such as the feeding of 5000 men, Jesus showed that he also cared for the human flesh and understood the necessity of feeding as fundamental human nature.
The teachings brought various accomplishments that shaped Christianity that preceded the death of Jesus. First, Jesus caused a divide among the Jews that believed in His word and those that did not. According to John 10:19, 9:16, Jesus created a colossal division between the two factions since He did not let go of His teachings. Jesus took every opportunity to remind believers of salvation. 1st Corinthians 11:19 also stresses the division that exists between individuals that accept and follow the commandments of God and those that do not (Becker, 2013). In His final act of dying and resurrecting, Jesus accomplished salvation for Humankind. Jesus took the fall for all the evil that man had caused or created since inception in the Garden of Eden. John 1:17, 10:10 says that Jesus brought grace to Christians so that they may have life in abundance. Through His teachings, Jesus established the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus promises to build the Kingdom of God, and he accomplished the task at the end of His life in the world.
A look at Christianity shows that Jesus formed a fundamental role in introducing salvation to everyone. Jesus preached to both Jews and Gentiles, showing that salvation did not discriminate. Therefore, Christianity learned a crucial aspect of salvation. Salvation was for everyone, and everyone’s sins were forgiven when Jesus died on the cross (Becker, 2013). Furthermore, Christianity and salvation were not only about following the laws of Moses or having money. Christianity was about showing love to everyone, caring for the less fortunate, and surrendering one’s spirit to God. All these teachings shaped Christianity that followed after Jesus ascended into heaven.
St. Paul taught about atonement and salvation according to what Jesus taught about. The former continued God’s word by explaining that real atonement came from the death of Jesus Christ, and one could quickly receive God’s salvation through believing. In Paul’s first mission, he faced a lot of criticism from Jews who thought that Christianity and salvation were for the chosen nation of Israel. However, St. Paul dispelled the idea and taught that Christianity was for both the Jews and Gentiles, thus creating enmity between the Jews that followed the laws of Moses and those that did not (Bruce, 2020). In 2nd Timothy 4:6-8, St. Paul tells Christians that he fought the fight, finished the race, kept the faith, and gained the crown of righteousness. The four statements represent the four main accomplishments that Paul achieved. St. Paul shaped Christianity after the death of Jesus Christ; He used evangelical missions and letters to teach Christians all over the world. His ability as a theologian made it possible for him to continue God’s teachings.
Modern people mostly embrace the commitment that the two individuals had in the face of adversity. The two individuals did not stop preaching God’s word despite facing heavy criticism from Jews that were against their teachings. The Jews conspired to kill both Jesus and St. Paul to prevent them from spreading God’s word. St. Paul was even stoned and left to die but still woke up and continued to preach God’s word. Lastly, the two individuals displayed the utmost faith in God and His word. The faith gave them the strength to go from town to town, preaching God’s word and performing miracles. Overall, Jesus and St. Paul played a crucial role in shaping Christianity.
References
Becker, J. (2013). Jesus of Nazareth. Walter de Gruyter.
Bruce, F. F. (2020). Paul and Jesus. Wipf and Stock Publishers.