Paul's Gospel and The Preaching of Jesus Christ

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began ....

This verse is loaded with questions for discerning seekers of Truth. In order to understand the Word we must be guided by the Holy Spirit. The Greek document the New Testament is mostly Paul's letters to various churches in Ephesus, Rome, the Galatians, Athens, and other places. 13 letters I believe to be exact. This is Paul's formula for establishing his Roman Church, his "gospel" combined with "the preaching of Jesus Christ". Stop...

The coming of Jesus dispelled all darkness and any and all mysteries. Jesus said... "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life". What revelation of what mystery is Paul talking about? John the Baptiser preached, repentance, baptism, and the "Kingdom of heaven" Matthew 3:2 - The Mission of John the Baptist
1Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'"… Likewise after Jesus was baptized He preached the Kingdom of Heaven ... "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, Matthew 4:17". There is no dissension in the Word of God. Jesus coming after John preached the same gospel (good news) that John preached. Everybody coming after Jesus must preach the same gospel or disunity enters, for Jesus said any kingdom divided against itself cannot stand... Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:24.

Jesus said "this Gospel" would be preached in all the world and then the end would come, Matthew 24:14. What Gospel was Jesus talking about? Was it Paul's gospel? I think not because according to Paul's own words his gospel is first "and" then "the preaching of Jesus Christ". Jesus is clear what should be preached in all the world. If you are reading this it means you are alive, the world is still here and the end has not arrived. This means that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has not been preached in all the world.

I challenge any pastor, Bishop, or other religious leader to show where in the Bible Jesus came to establish a religion. Christianity is a religion. Religions, whether they be Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, or Hinduism are all clothed in spiritual darkness, they all hold mysteries that only the initiate (pastor, other leader) are privy to. All demand that you become a "member", that you submit to a man or woman because you are "released". Notice the word "released". If you are free no one can release you. We have the power to choose life or death. You are either bound or free. You can't be both. If you are a profess a religion you are unfree. The Kingdom of God is true freedom. This freedom begins in the mind. Once your mind is free your body will follow.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Gill on March 25, 2015 at 11:22am

Focusing on a single phrase in the concluding benediction of such a long epistle as Romans seems unfair if you don't at least take into consideration the rest of the document. For example, how does Paul open the epistle?

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God...

In fact, he uses the Greek word euaggelion in several different constructions throughout the letter:

the gospel of God [v. 1:1, 15:16]

the gospel of his Son [v. 1:9]

the gospel of Christ [v. 1:16, 15:19, 15:29]

my gospel [v. 2:16, 16:25]

the gospel [v. 10:16, 11:28]

It appears he is using the phrases interchangeably, so when he writes "my gospel" he doesn't mean anything different from "the gospel of Christ" (his most frequent euaggelion phrase).

Neither Jesus nor Paul set out for found a "religion"; Jesus came to die a substitutional death for believers [eg., Mat 20:28], and Paul came to preach about what Jesus did [eg. Rom 5:10].