Gospel:  Which one is ours today?

Most churchgoers would reply saying, “What do you mean which one? I thought there was just one gospel in the Bible.”  Isn’t this what some people would say? But is it true? Look at this statement provided for us by the apostle Paul—

Galatians 2:7

⁷ But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; [Emphasis added]

I’ve found that most versions of the Bible have that verse mis-translated.  The word “of” is correctly translated here in the King James Version.  But in many translations, they translated that word “of” as “to,” apparently trying to make the verse coincide with their theology, their incorrect beliefs.  In the Greek text it is in the genitive case, not the dative as they wish to translate it.  But all that is a study for another day.

What did Paul say was required of a person for them to be saved?

Acts 16:25-31a

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

²⁷ And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

^31a And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, [Emphasis added]

But what did Peter say was required for a person to be saved?

Acts 2:37-38

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [Emphasis added]

So, did Peter and Paul say the same thing in answer to that question? Are things that are different the same? Of course not! Please note this fuller explanation of what the apostle Paul speaks of as our gospel today.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL WHICH I PREACHED  unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [Emphasis added]

Paul provides us with more on this in his other writings.  Here’s an example of that—

2 Corinthians 5:19-21

¹⁹ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]

Clearly Peter’s gospel demanded water baptism as an expression of one’s faith, but notice what Paul tells us about the place of water baptism in his gospel.

1 Corinthians 1:17

¹⁷ For Christ sent me NOT to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. [Emphasis added]

Were Peter and the other apostles in a position to make such a statement? Here’s what our Lord commanded them to do.  We then see them doing ALL these things of this commission in the time frame of the book of Acts.

Mark 16:15-18

¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils [DIAMON = demons]; they shall speak with new tongues;

¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. [Emphasis added]

Does that describe the gospel God has commissioned us with for today? It does not! OUR gospel message is the one we noted above in the 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 passages.  It does not include water baptism, and the miraculous things mentioned in the commission given to the Apostles.

Paul even tells us there’s just one baptism in place for us today—

Ephesians 4:5

⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, [Emphasis added]

Which baptism is he talking about? Doesn’t he tell us? Here are his words—

1 Corinthians 12:13

¹³ For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [Emphasis added]

The small amount of baptizing Paul did in the early days of his ministry was only for the transition period of the first years of his ministry. 

1 Corinthians 1:14

¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; [Emphasis added]

The same may be said of his healing and performance of other miraculous things.  Paul did those things but only in the early years of his ministry.

Is there any water at all involved in this baptism that is ours, this baptism of the Spirit? Not a drop! It is what we speak of as a “dry” baptism.  There are even other baptisms mentioned in the Bible that do not involve water.  I have several articles about all this on this website—

Baptism:  What was its purpose?

Baptism:  Why did Paul baptize so few?

Baptism:  What are we to believe about it?

I hope you’ll at some point study each of these. 

If you haven’t already, you’ll find that baptism is one of the most controversial subjects of the Bible among churchgoers.  There is actually no majority position on that subject.  The existence of denominationalism attests to that.

Isn’t Paul’s gospel our gospel today? Isn’t this message the good news we have to share today about what Jesus Christ accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection? Doesn’t everyone need to know about this?

Many people have run Peter’s gospel together with Paul’s to try and say they’re one and the same? But if they’re the same, why did Paul have to make a special trip to Jerusalem, as described in Acts 15, to share HIS gospel message with the twelve Apostles.  Christendom has made it seem that Paul went there to get the approval of the Twelve regarding his gospel message.  But is that true? Didn’t Paul go there to explain why circumcision and the other parts of the Mosaic Law had no part in his gospel as they had with Peter’s and that of the other apostles?

Acts 15:1-2

¹ And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

² When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them [meaning they had quite a debate about it], they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. [Emphasis added]

Did they go there for this? Yes! People often call it the Jerusalem Conference.  And what was it that was concluded there? Answer:  Paul had been given by our risen Lord a NEW and DIFFERENT gospel message to be presenting.  Until then the Twelve Apostles had no knowledge of what Christ had accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.  All they knew was that their Messiah, an innocent man they loved, had been crucified.  They knew nothing at all about what Christ was going to accomplish there to provide a way of salvation for all.  The apostles even tried to talk Him out of going to Jerusalem.

Matthew 16:21-23

²¹ From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

²² Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

²³ But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. [Emphasis added]

At that time the apostles had no idea concerning what was about to happen.  The crucifixion and even the resurrection came as a complete surprise to them all.  A complete record of this has been left for us.

Matthew 28:5-10

⁵ And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

⁶ He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

⁷ And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

⁸ And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

⁹ And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

¹⁰ Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. [Emphasis added]

Again, all this came as a complete surprise to everyone.  It would be later on that it would be revealed to the apostle Paul as to exactly what Jesus had accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.  It would then be the apostle Paul who would communicate this information to the Twelve Apostles and to all the others.  It is in this next passage we’ll note that we find the heart of our message today to communicate to others as Christ’s personal ambassadors. 

Again, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

¹⁸ And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Yes, as believers, we’re all “in the ministry.” We should all think of ourselves as being in “full time Christian service,” not just some of us.  The world doesn’t need “part time” Christians.

¹⁹ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Again, it is this that is the main message we all have as Christ’s ambassadors.

²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Then we have the explanation as to exactly what Christ accomplished on the cross and by His resurrection.

²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]

Are you familiar with this good news? If you are, have you shared it with anyone lately? Do you care enough about your family and friends to tell them about this? And please don’t assume they’re familiar with this because they go to a church somewhere.  There’s nothing you’ll ever talk with them about that is as important as this. Doesn’t everyone like to read or hear some good news? Is our gospel a list of imposing rules and regulations people need to follow? It is not! But that’s exactly what “religion” has made it out to be.  The one and only requirement for someone’s salvation is FAITH in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for them through His death, burial, and resurrection.  That is all! It is faith in this plus nothing!

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Emphasis added]

Religious works or any other kind have nothing to do with it.

Romans 4:4-5

⁴ Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

⁵ But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [Emphasis added]

If you’re somehow still thinking your works have something to do with the attainment of your salvation, please see my other articles about it on this website.  Here’s a good place to begin—

Works:  What about verses that seem to demand them for salvation?

I hope you’ve enjoyed the article you’ve just read about all this.  Every word of it is true.