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The following comment was posted to our YouTube channel InChristMinistries . It is our mission to help everyone draw closer to God in Christ Jesus through this Bible study. Comments like the following need not to be dismissed but clarified as we dig into God’s Word. I hope and pray that this Bible study will help us all gain a better understanding of God’s Word and lead us all to grow in our relationships with Christ Jesus.
bigpigslapper Oink too commented, “Yes,,, NOT JUST “Grace through Faith”,, Obedience PLUS,,,, now,, saul of Tarsus WAS A PHARISEE,, **TAKE NOTE,, Jesus was CONDEM’N the PHARISEES to their face,,, ***saul of Tarsus WAS THERE,,,, “Apostle” Paul was FALSE,, Jesus Condem’s him to hell.”
I originally removed the above comment because it does not tell the whole story but leaves us with the impression that Paul, who was inspired by God’s Holy Spirit to write the majority of the New Testament, was condemned to hell.
On the one hand, we have no proof, but can believe that Saul was present during the scolding from Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23). But I want to clarify a few things noted by “bigpigslapper Oink too” that were left undone and leads us in the wrong direction. First, Jesus does not condemn anyone to hell. We know from John 3:16-17 that Jesus was sent from God in heaven to “save the world from sin.” No where in Matthew 23 does Jesus “condemn the scribes and Pharisees to hell.” He simply brings to light their disobedience to God with intent to lead to repentance. The first words of Jesus’ ministry as recorded in Matthew 4:17 (NKJV) is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus explains in Matthew 12:37, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” At the time of Matthew 23 Saul was still yet a sinner in need of forgiveness — he had not yet been saved by the grace of God though the salvation provided to all people in Christ Jesus. We learn in Acts 8:1-3 about how Saul consented to the death of Stephen and of how he (Saul) persecuted the Church. But this is only half the story: in Acts 9 we learn of the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus as He was called to apostleship by Christ Jesus Himself, and of how he was left blind for three days in Damascus. I personally believe that for these three days he was blind so that he could not be distracted by anything but the evils that God played over and over in his mind so he could realize just how wrong he had been in persecuting the Church, and when God’s timing was right, he was called to ministry as an evangelist through God’s Holy Spirit working in his life to salvation in Christ Jesus. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:27-29 (NKJV) as he declares, “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”
It is not my intention to remove comments such as that from “bigpigslapper Oink too” but to help us all gain a proper and whole understanding of God’s Word. We have too many people preaching a part of the Bible without connecting the whole of the lesson. It is my intention to welcome these comments as to help us all draw closer to God in Christ Jesus as we share Jesus with the world.
Dear LORD,
It is the purpose of this Bible study to help lead us all closer to You through salvation in Christ Jesus. We do not want to discard comments that we may see as incomplete or leading us in the wrong direction, but that we would use these comments to help us learn the whole of the lesson. We all have questions and concerns about Your Word and we want to learn properly as we study the whole of the Bible and learn of Your great plan of salvation for all the world — in Christ! In Jesus name I pray, amen.