Introduction

God makes people a certain way, places them in circumstances He controls, and then judges them for what they do. How could a loving and just God do this? Because judgment is something very different from what religion has taught us. It is not God reacting in anger to creatures who acted independently of Him; judgment is part of the very process by which God forms, corrects, teaches, and ultimately perfects His creation.

Christians claim to know God, yet often fail to recognize Him as God. Religion teaches that man acts independently, makes the decisive choice, and then God reacts by rewarding or punishing him. Scripture presents the opposite: God is the Potter; we are the clay. He forms the vessel, directs its path, works through its experiences, and even uses judgment as part of creating that person into exactly what He intends them to become.

God Judges the Very People He Makes: Judgment as Part of the Creation Process

One of A. E. Knoch’s most penetrating observations in The Problem of Evil, in his discussion of responsibility, exposes a problem at the heart of traditional Christianity. Christians often insist that human beings must possess ultimate responsibility for their condition because, without that responsibility, their doctrines of judgment become morally indefensible.

If God determines the circumstances, limitations, desires, experiences, and ultimately the course of His creatures, how can He then judge those same creatures?

Knoch writes:

“The reason is that they are still self-centered, and imagine that they should be given a chance to display themselves, rather than be helpless vessels for the revelation of God.”

This completely changes the question. Scripture is not primarily the story of humanity proving what humanity can do. It is the story of God revealing Who He is through humanity.

And remarkably, Romans itself raises the objection that immediately follows from this truth.

If God Uses Our Unrighteousness, How Can He Judge Us?

Paul asks:

“But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance?”

Romans 3:5

That is an extraordinary question.

If human unrighteousness actually serves as the backdrop against which God’s righteousness is revealed, how can God judge the person whose unrighteousness contributed to that revelation?

Paul answers:

“God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?”

Romans 3:6

Notice what Paul does not do.

He does not solve the objection by saying, “God didn’t cause anything. Man possesses an independent free will and therefore everything is ultimately man’s responsibility.”

Instead, Paul continues throughout Romans to progressively remove human boasting and independence.

By Romans 9, God is presented as the Potter and humanity as the clay.

“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”

Romans 9:21

The vessel does not make itself.

The Potter makes the vessel.

That means God can form one person for one purpose and another person for another purpose. Their differences ultimately originate in the Potter rather than the clay.

Yet God still judges.

Why?

Because judgment itself is part of what the Potter is doing with the clay.

God Doesn’t Judge Because He Has Lost Control

Traditional theology frequently views judgment as God’s reaction to something that went wrong.

God supposedly wanted one outcome.

The creature independently chose another.

God therefore punishes the creature for frustrating His intention.

But Paul’s conclusion in Romans is almost the exact opposite.

“For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.”

Romans 11:32

Who shuts them up together in unbelief?

God does.

Why?

That He might have mercy upon all.

The unbelief and the mercy are not two unrelated events. They are parts of the same divine process.

God brings humanity into an experience of failure so humanity can eventually experience something it otherwise could never comprehend to the same depth:

mercy.

And only four verses later Paul tells us why this is possible:

“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.”

Romans 11:36

Of Him.

God is the Source.

Through Him.

God is the Operator.

To Him.

God is the Goal.

That leaves no room for an independent creature operating outside God’s ultimate purpose.

Even humanity’s failure exists within the great movement of creation:

OF God → THROUGH God → TO God.

God Makes the Vessel—and Then Judges the Vessel

This is where the doctrine becomes uncomfortable if judgment is misunderstood.

God forms the individual.

God determines when and where that individual is born.

God determines the person’s limitations.

God surrounds that person with circumstances he did not choose.

God gives faith to some while others remain in unbelief.

God makes vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor.

And then God judges His creatures.

If judgment were endless torture, this would make God monstrous.

If judgment ended in permanent annihilation, the problem would remain. God would create a vessel according to His purpose, place it into circumstances He controls, use its failure within His plan, judge it for that failure, and finally destroy it forever.

The Calvinist system comes particularly close to acknowledging God’s sovereignty, but when combined with eternal conscious torment it produces a horrifying conclusion: God sovereignly creates and governs creatures whose final destiny is endless misery.

This is precisely why human religion desperately needs “free will.”

Free will becomes the theological escape hatch.

God didn’t really determine it.

God didn’t want this.

God tried to save them.

They did it to themselves.

Responsibility must therefore be pushed entirely onto the creature because otherwise eternal hell makes the character of God almost impossible to defend.

But there is another solution.

Perhaps Christianity has misunderstood judgment.

Judgment Is Part of Making the Creature What God Intends It to Become

If God is truly sovereign and God is truly love, judgment cannot exist merely to satisfy vengeance against creatures God Himself formed.

Judgment must accomplish something.

It must be corrective, revelatory and ultimately beneficial to the person experiencing it.

God does not merely make a person and then judge him.

God uses both the person’s experience and the judgment of that experience to complete His work in that individual.

Failure teaches something.

Consequences teach something.

Judgment teaches something.

Mercy teaches something.

Reconciliation teaches something.

And eventually the person understands God in a depth that innocence alone could never have produced.

This is why Romans 11:32 is so profound:

God shuts all up in unbelief so that He may have mercy upon all.

Unbelief isn’t the destination.

Mercy is.

Judgment isn’t the destination.

Restoration is.

Death isn’t the destination.

Life is.

Judgment Is for the Good of the Judged

Knoch takes the argument even further:

“Even the Deity cannot display Himself at the expense of His creatures and at their loss, for He is love, and such a revelation would be an exhibition of hate.”

That principle is enormously important.

Suppose God creates billions of people to demonstrate His holiness, justice, wrath, sovereignty, or power—but those creatures suffer eternal loss in the process.

God receives His demonstration.

The creatures receive endless misery.

What has actually been revealed?

According to Knoch, such an outcome could hardly be called a revelation of love.

He continues:

“It is only as we see that all the suffering which comes to the creature will be fully compensated by God, nay, will become a vital factor in his future bliss, that we are able to see why responsibility is practically absent from the Scriptures, yet so important a part of human religion.”

This is the missing piece.

The suffering isn’t merely compensated.

It ultimately contributes to the creature’s future joy.

The person who has known darkness understands light differently.

The person who has experienced guilt understands forgiveness differently.

The person who has experienced judgment understands mercy differently.

The mortal understands immortality.

The sinner understands grace.

The failure receives justification.

The estranged creature understands reconciliation.

God is not merely repairing damage.

He is creating understanding.

The Cross Is the Supreme Example

Nothing demonstrates this principle more powerfully than the crucifixion.

Human beings committed the greatest sin imaginable: they murdered the Son of God.

Yet Acts says Christ was delivered:

“by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.”

Acts 2:23

Their actions were evil.

Yet their evil did not escape God’s purpose.

God used humanity’s greatest crime to produce humanity’s greatest blessing.

Through the cross humanity learns things about God that an untouched creation could never have known in the same way:

His grace.

His mercy.

His patience.

His forgiveness.

His love toward enemies.

His ability to bring life out of death.

And His power to overcome evil with good.

The very people whose sins reveal the need for grace will eventually become recipients of that grace.

That is not God displaying Himself at their expense.

It is God revealing Himself for their eventual benefit.

Human Religion Makes Man the Operator

Knoch summarizes the contrast beautifully:

“In holy writ, God operates the universe. Outside, man is the master of his fate.”

That may be one of the clearest summaries of the entire free-will problem.

Religion says:

Man determines his destiny.

Scripture says:

God works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Religion says:

Man creates himself through his choices.

Scripture says:

God is the Potter; man is the clay.

Religion says:

Human unbelief can eternally defeat God’s desire to save.

Scripture says:

God shuts all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all.

Religion says:

Everything ultimately depends upon man.

Paul concludes:

“Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.”

God Is Creating Something Through the Entire Process

This gives judgment an entirely different meaning.

Imagine a person standing before God in judgment.

For the first time, every illusion disappears.

He sees himself accurately.

He understands the consequences of what he has done.

He understands the pain his actions caused others.

He experiences God’s righteous judgment.

But then he also learns something infinitely greater.

He discovers the God Who knew all of this before He ever created him.

The God Who formed him knew his failures.

The God Who placed him into mortality knew his weakness.

The God Who subjected creation to vanity already knew the destination.

And the God Who judges him is the same God Who intends ultimately to reconcile him through Christ.

The judgment therefore becomes part of his creation, not his destruction.

God is making something out of him.

His ignorance, failure, suffering, judgment, correction, mercy and eventual reconciliation all contribute to the person he will ultimately become.

And imagine the joy when such a person finally understands.

The sinner discovers grace.

The enemy discovers reconciliation.

The unbeliever discovers faith.

The dying creature receives immortality.

The person who once misunderstood God finally understands His heart.

What seemed like disconnected experiences are finally seen as parts of one enormous purpose.

This Is Why God Can Be Absolutely Sovereign and Absolutely Good

Remove universal reconciliation and God’s sovereignty becomes terrifying.

If eternal torment is true, sovereignty makes God responsible for creating an endless chamber of suffering.

If annihilation is true, sovereignty means God knowingly creates countless people whose existence ultimately ends in permanent destruction.

The usual theological solution is therefore to diminish God’s sovereignty and magnify human responsibility.

But Scripture offers a far greater resolution:

God is sovereign.

God judges.

God corrects.

God saves.

And every stage ultimately contributes to the creature’s good.

Romans 11 does not end with humanity escaping God’s control.

It ends with humanity completely enclosed within God’s purpose:

“For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.”

And then:

“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.”

That is the answer to the apparent contradiction.

God can form the vessel and then judge the vessel because judgment is one of the instruments by which the Potter finishes His work.

He does not create imperfect creatures, judge them, and discard them.

He creates them through the entire experience.

He uses weakness.

He uses failure.

He uses consequences.

He uses judgment.

He uses mercy.

And ultimately He uses Christ to bring the entire process to its intended conclusion.

The creature does not emerge eternally ruined by God’s sovereignty.

The creature emerges perfected through it.

And when the purpose of the ages is finally complete, no creature will look backward and discover that God gained glory at his expense.

Every tear, every failure, every correction and every judgment will finally be understood within the immeasurable good God was accomplishing through it all.

Then God’s sovereignty will no longer appear frightening.

It will become the greatest reason creation can have for confidence.

Because the One operating the universe is not merely sovereign.

He is love.

The Greatest Sin Became the Basis for the Justification of All Sin

A.E. Knoch made a powerful argument concerning sin and the sovereignty of God:

“We are sure, then, that sin, or failure, never had any place in God Himself. But we can only maintain this position so long as we acknowledge that it has a place in His purpose… If God wills the salvation of all, and, because of forces outside Himself, is unable to accomplish the desire of His heart… it would demonstrate to the whole universe that He had come short of the goal He had set for Himself.”

End comment.

Knoch’s point is simple but profound:

Sin is failure. God cannot ultimately fail.

Therefore, sin cannot be an accident that entered God’s creation and permanently destroyed what He intended to accomplish. Sin is evil, but God is powerful enough to use even evil within His purpose and ultimately eliminate it.

The greatest demonstration of this is the cross.

Humanity’s Greatest Sin Accomplished God’s Greatest Purpose

What greater sin could humanity commit than murdering the Son of God?

Christ was betrayed, falsely accused, tortured and crucified.

Yet Scripture says:

“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”

Acts 2:23

Notice both truths.

Wicked hands crucified Christ.

Yet it occurred according to God’s “determinate counsel.”

Acts 4:27–28 goes even further. Herod, Pilate, Israel and the nations gathered against Christ:

“For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.”

The cross was evil from humanity’s perspective, but it was never outside God’s purpose.

And here is the astonishing result:

Humanity’s greatest sin became the means through which God deals with all sin.

The murder of Christ became the sacrifice of Christ.

Human rejection became the occasion for reconciliation.

Death became the pathway to resurrection.

God took the darkest act humanity ever committed and turned it toward the greatest good creation will ever experience.

Joseph Shows the Same Principle

Joseph’s story gives a smaller picture of the same truth.

His brothers hated him, threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery.

Years later Joseph told them:

“Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good… to save much people alive.”

Genesis 50:20

This doesn’t say God merely repaired what Joseph’s brothers ruined.

The brothers meant evil.

God meant good.

Even more remarkable, their evil became part of the process through which they themselves were eventually saved from famine.

Joseph told them:

“Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.”

Genesis 45:5

They sold Joseph.

God sent Joseph.

Their sin eventually contributed to their own deliverance.

That points directly toward Christ.

What About Judas?

Judas’s betrayal was unquestionably evil.

Yet his betrayal was also part of the events leading to Christ’s crucifixion.

Judas intended betrayal.

God was accomplishing salvation.

And if Christ’s sacrifice ultimately reconciles all things, then even Judas’s terrible act cannot permanently defeat God’s purpose for Judas.

That doesn’t justify Judas’s motives or call his betrayal good.

It demonstrates something far greater:

Christ’s accomplishment is greater than Judas’s failure.

One day Judas will have nothing in which to boast. If he is ultimately reconciled to the Christ he betrayed, his salvation will become an extraordinary demonstration that grace truly is greater than sin.

The Cross Transforms the Meaning of the Problem of Evil

This is where Knoch’s argument becomes so important.

God doesn’t need evil to become good before He can use it.

He can take something genuinely evil and bring from it an outcome completely contrary to what the evil intended.

The cross proves it.

Humanity produces hatred.

God reveals love.

Humanity produces condemnation.

God produces justification.

Humanity produces death.

God produces resurrection.

Paul writes:

“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.”

2 Corinthians 5:19

At the very moment humanity demonstrated its hostility toward God, God was accomplishing reconciliation through Christ.

Adam Cannot Ultimately Be Greater Than Christ

Paul makes the contrast explicit:

“As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

Romans 5:18

If Adam’s failure successfully reaches all humanity but Christ’s righteousness does not, Adam’s act ultimately has the greater effect.

But Paul’s argument is the opposite.

“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

Romans 5:20

Sin abounds.

Grace superabounds.

Adam brings death.

Christ brings life.

This reaches its conclusion in 1 Corinthians 15:

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

1 Corinthians 15:22

And finally:

“That God may be all in all.”

1 Corinthians 15:28

God doesn’t merely contain the damage caused by sin.

He completely overcomes it.

Judgment Still Has a Purpose

None of this makes sin insignificant or eliminates judgment.

Joseph’s brothers eventually had to confront what they had done.

Likewise, God’s judgments expose, correct and set right what sin has produced.

But judgment cannot become an eternal monument to God’s inability to accomplish His purpose.

If God’s purpose is reconciliation, judgment must ultimately serve that purpose.

Paul says that through Christ God will:

“reconcile all things unto himself… whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

Colossians 1:20

And what accomplishes this?

“The blood of his cross.”

Once again, the greatest human crime becomes the instrument of reconciliation.

The Greatest Sin Shows Why God Cannot Be Defeated by Sin

This may be the deepest lesson of the cross.

If God can take the murder of His Son and turn it into the means of reconciliation, what sin could possibly be greater than His ability to overcome?

Joseph’s brothers meant evil.

God meant good.

Judas betrayed Christ.

God accomplished salvation.

Humanity murdered Christ.

God reconciled the world through His death.

Death swallowed Christ.

Christ emerged victorious.

And ultimately:

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

1 Corinthians 15:26

Sin is real.

Evil is real.

Judgment is real.

But none of them are eternal.

God does not fail because His creatures fail.

The greatest sin humanity ever committed became the very means through which God will ultimately deal with all sin.

That is the triumph of the cross.

Sin does not get the final word.

God does.

Why Must Humanity Experience Life Without God?

The Problem of Evil May Be Part of the Answer

A.E. Knoch made a profound statement in the preface to The Problem of Evil:

“All of mankind must learn to realize what God is to them by an actual experience of what it means to be without Him. Then they will be able to give Him the unforced outflow of their hearts. Then they will appreciate it when His judgments permanently right all wrongs and eliminate all evil, through the suffering sacrifice He has provided.”

End comment.

Think deeply about what Knoch is saying.

What if humanity’s experience of evil is not evidence that God’s plan has failed?

What if it is part of the very process through which creation will eventually understand God?

What if God allows humanity to experience darkness so that humanity can finally comprehend light?

What if death teaches the value of life?

What if hatred teaches the value of love?

What if loneliness teaches the value of fellowship?

What if suffering teaches the value of peace?

And what if God’s apparent absence teaches creation what it actually means to have God become all in all?

That completely changes the problem of evil.

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How Can Humanity Appreciate God Without Knowing His Opposite?

People frequently ask:

Why would a loving God allow suffering?

It is one of the greatest questions humanity has ever asked.

Why cancer?

Why war?

Why betrayal?

Why poverty?

Why depression?

Why children suffering?

Why broken families?

Why natural disasters?

Why death?

Religion frequently responds by blaming humanity.

God wanted everything perfect, the argument goes, but humanity’s free will ruined God’s plan.

Now God is desperately trying to rescue whoever will allow Him.

But that explanation creates an even larger problem.

If God knew everything before creation, then He knew exactly what would happen.

If God created humanity knowing billions would suffer, then suffering cannot simply be an unexpected accident that entered His universe.

Scripture presents God as far greater than that.

Paul says God:

“worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”

Ephesians 1:11

Not some things.

All things.

That means history is going somewhere.

Even the darkness has a destination.

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Humanity Is Learning Something It Could Never Learn From a Definition

Imagine trying to explain warmth to someone who had never experienced cold.

You could define warmth.

You could write books about warmth.

You could explain the molecular movement involved.

But put that person outside during a freezing winter night and then bring him into a warm house.

Suddenly warmth means something.

It has been experienced through contrast.

The same principle appears throughout human life.

A person often appreciates health differently after being sick.

Food means something different after hunger.

Rest means something different after exhaustion.

Peace means something different after conflict.

Reconciliation means something different after estrangement.

Home means something different after being lost.

Life means something different after confronting death.

Perhaps humanity could never fully understand what God is without experiencing what existence appears to be like without Him.

That is the power of Knoch’s statement.

Humanity is not merely being told what God is.

Humanity is experiencing the contrast.

We Experience the Depths So We Can Understand the Heights

Perhaps this is ultimately why humanity must experience evil so deeply.

Scripture speaks of “the depths of Satan” in Revelation 2:24. Human history has certainly revealed just how deep darkness can go. War, murder, hatred, disease, betrayal, cruelty, suffering, corruption, and death show humanity what existence becomes when evil is allowed to run its course.

We look at some of the horrors of this world and ask, “How could God possibly allow this?”

But perhaps the answer cannot be completely understood until the story is finished.

Humanity is experiencing the depths before experiencing the heights.

We learn what hatred is so that we can understand love.

We experience injustice so that we can appreciate perfect righteousness.

We experience weakness so that we can understand power.

We experience loneliness so that we can appreciate perfect fellowship.

We experience corruption so that we can understand incorruption.

We experience death so that we can understand immortality.

And we experience what appears to be God’s absence so that one day we can understand the unimaginable fullness of God being all in all.

The depths are terrible precisely because they reveal what God ultimately intends to remove.

This does not make evil good. Satan is not good. Suffering is not good. Death is not good. Scripture calls death an enemy. But an all-powerful God can use an enemy temporarily and then destroy it permanently when its purpose has been fulfilled.

Humanity could be told that God is good, but experiencing evil teaches what goodness means by contrast.

Humanity could be told that God is love, but experiencing hatred teaches the value of love.

Humanity could be told that God is life, but experiencing death reveals how utterly dependent creation is upon Him for existence itself.

This may help explain why the horrors of this world are sometimes almost beyond comprehension. Humanity is not receiving a shallow education in evil. Creation is learning just how far existence can descend when confronted with everything that is contrary to God’s ultimate purpose.

But the depths of Satan are not the destination.

The height of God is.

Imagine resurrection after having known death.

Imagine perfect love after having known hatred.

Imagine incorruption after watching bodies decay.

Imagine perfect justice after witnessing centuries of injustice.

Imagine peace after humanity has exhausted itself through war.

Imagine God filling every creature after humanity has spent its entire history wondering why He seemed so far away.

Only then will the contrast be complete.

And perhaps only then will humanity understand why God permitted creation to travel through such darkness before bringing it permanently into light.

Paul tells us where everything is heading:

“That God may be all in all.”
—1 Corinthians 15:28

That is the destination.

Not Satan all in some.

Not evil existing alongside God forever.

Not death preserved somewhere eternally.

Not billions of God’s creatures permanently separated from Him.

God all in all.

The depths of evil will have been experienced.

Judgment will have corrected what was wrong.

Christ will have reconciled what was estranged.

Death will have been abolished.

And evil will have exhausted its purpose and disappeared.

Then humanity will possess something it could never have possessed at the beginning: the knowledge of God through contrast and experience.

Creation will know what darkness was because it lived through it.

Creation will know what death was because it experienced mortality.

Creation will know what God’s apparent absence felt like because it endured it.

And when God finally becomes all in all, humanity will understand the difference.

The creature will not merely know that God is good.

It will know how good.

It will not merely know that God is life.

It will understand what life means because it knew death.

It will not merely know that God is everything.

It will understand what having everything means because it experienced what seemed like having Him absent.

Perhaps that is when the suffering sacrifice of Christ, the judgments of God, the temporary reign of evil, and the long painful history of humanity will finally be understood from the perspective of the finished story.

We have experienced the depths.

So that one day, when God is all in all, creation can finally comprehend the heights.

Why Didn’t Paul Heal Timothy?

One of the Strongest Evidences That Paul’s Letters Are Authentic

One of the most overlooked arguments for the authenticity of Paul’s letters is not found in archaeology or church tradition. It is found in something far simpler:

Paul heals people throughout Acts… then later he doesn’t.

If someone were inventing a religious hero, this is not how they would write the story.

Instead, it is exactly what real history looks like.

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During Acts, Paul Performed Extraordinary Miracles

The book of Acts records miracle after miracle through Paul’s ministry.

He struck Elymas blind.

“Immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness…”
Acts 13:11

He healed a man crippled from birth.

“Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.”
Acts 14:10

He cast out evil spirits.

Acts 16:18

God performed extraordinary miracles through Paul.

“God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them.”
Acts 19:11–12

He restored Eutychus after his fatal fall.

Acts 20:9–12

He healed Publius’ father and many others on Malta.

Acts 28:8–9

No honest reader can deny that Paul possessed remarkable miraculous gifts during this period.

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Then Something Changes

If these stories were invented to glorify Paul, what would you expect to happen next?

Probably even bigger miracles.

More healings.

Greater victories.

Instead, the exact opposite happens.

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Timothy Was Sick

Paul writes:

“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”

1 Timothy 5:23

Why tell Timothy to use wine?

Why not simply heal him?

If Paul still possessed and exercised the same healing ministry described in Acts, this verse becomes very difficult to explain.

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Trophimus Was Left Sick

Paul says:

“Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.”

2 Timothy 4:20

Read that again.

He didn’t heal him.

He left him sick.

A fictional writer trying to convince readers of Paul’s greatness would never include a statement like this.

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Epaphroditus Nearly Died

Paul writes:

“Indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him.”

Philippians 2:27

Again, Paul does not describe himself healing Epaphroditus.

He simply thanks God for His mercy.

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Paul Himself Was Not Healed

Paul prayed repeatedly concerning his own affliction.

“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice…”

2 Corinthians 12:8–9

God did not remove it.

Instead, He answered:

“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

That is not the ending a fictional religious hero receives.

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This Is Exactly What Real History Looks Like

One of the strongest marks of truthful writing is that it includes details that seem awkward.

Invented stories smooth out the rough edges.

Real history leaves them in.

Paul’s letters do exactly that.

They do not attempt to make Paul appear unstoppable.

They record weakness.

Illness.

Disappointments.

Friends who leave.

Churches with problems.

Shipwrecks.

Imprisonments.

Physical suffering.

And eventually…

his own execution.

Nothing about this resembles religious propaganda.

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Paul Never Tried to Protect His Image

Throughout his letters Paul repeatedly admits things that make him appear weak.

“We were pressed out of measure, above strength…”
2 Corinthians 1:8

“We are fools for Christ’s sake…”
1 Corinthians 4:10

“I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.”
1 Corinthians 2:3

False teachers build themselves up.

Paul continually points away from himself.

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His Message Is Even More Remarkable

The miracles are impressive.

The message is astonishing.

Paul teaches things that run completely against human nature.

Every religion eventually says:

You must become worthy.

You must earn God’s favor.

You must improve yourself.

You must perform.

Paul says the opposite.

“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:8–9

He removes every reason for human pride.

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He Says Humanity Is Helpless

Paul doesn’t flatter mankind.

He says:

“There is none righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:10

“There is none that seeketh after God.”

Romans 3:11

That is not a popular message.

It never has been.

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He Gives God All the Credit

Paul teaches that salvation belongs to God from beginning to end.

God chooses.

God calls.

God gives faith.

God justifies.

God reconciles.

God completes salvation.

Humanity contributes nothing except its need.

That message attacks the very thing every religion appeals to:

human pride.

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His Gospel Solves Humanity’s Greatest Problem

Every human being shares one problem.

Death.

Everyone dies.

Every family experiences it.

Every civilization has searched for an answer.

Paul doesn’t merely promise a better life or improved behavior.

He promises the destruction of death itself.

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

1 Corinthians 15:26

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

1 Corinthians 15:22

Notice the comparison.

Adam’s act brought death to everyone.

Christ’s act brings life to everyone.

That is the center of Paul’s gospel.

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The Evidence Is Found Inside the Letters

People often ask for proof.

Sometimes the greatest evidence isn’t outside the Bible.

It is inside it.

The consistency.

The honesty.

The awkward details.

The admissions of weakness.

The unresolved suffering.

The shift from miraculous healings during Acts to practical medical advice later.

No propagandist writes that way.

No inventor of religious legends creates a hero who cannot heal his closest coworkers, tells one of them to take medicine for chronic illness, leaves another sick in another city, and continues preaching God’s faithfulness anyway.

That is exactly how real people write about real events.

And through it all, Paul’s message never changes.

Christ accomplished what humanity never could.

Death will not have the final word.

The cross is sufficient.

God will finish what He began.

That is not merely good advice.

It is the announcement of a completed accomplishment.

Faith That Doesn’t Need the Outcome

Trusting God, Not Results

Many people think faith means believing God will give them what they want.

“God will heal me.”

“God will save my marriage.”

“God will give me the job.”

But what happens when those things don’t happen?

Did God fail?

Or have we misunderstood biblical faith?

True faith is not trusting an outcome. It is trusting God, even when we don’t understand the outcome.

Faith Trusts God

Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health. Yet he said,

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)

Job didn’t know how his story would end. He simply trusted God.

Abraham also obeyed God “not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). If he had known every detail, faith wouldn’t have been necessary.

Faith exists because we don’t know the future—but God does.

Faith Doesn’t Rest in Ourselves

Many people quietly place their confidence in their own faith.

“If I believe enough…”

“If I obey enough…”

“If I don’t doubt…”

But Scripture says,

“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Even faith is God’s gift.

Paul also writes,

“It is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Our confidence rests in God’s work, not ours.

Faith Rests in Christ’s Finished Work

The gospel is wonderfully simple.

“Christ died for our sins… He was buried… He was raised the third day.” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)

Our standing before God is based on what Christ accomplished, not on our ability to perform.

God Is Working Even When We Can’t See It

Joseph spent years as a slave and in prison before he could say,

“You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

Paul says,

“All things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

Not because all things are good, but because God is able to use even suffering to accomplish His purpose.

We see one page of the story.

God sees the entire book.

Faith Clings to God

Real faith says,

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know why.”

“But I trust God.”

Whether life brings success or failure, health or sickness, answered prayer or silence, God’s character never changes.

One day His purpose will be complete, and what cannot be understood now will become clear.

Until then, faith does not cling to outcomes.

Faith clings to God.

Is It Unloving to Call Out the Doctrine of Eternal Hell?

One of the most common criticisms I receive is this:

“Even if you believe eternal hell is false, shouldn’t you stop criticizing Christians who believe it? Shouldn’t you just love them, pray for them, and remember we’re all one body in Christ?”

At first, that sounds compassionate.

But it assumes something that simply isn’t true.

It assumes that criticizing a doctrine is the same thing as hating the people who believe it.

Those are two entirely different things.

I Don’t Hate Christians Who Believe in Eternal Hell

I have family members.

I have close friends.

Many of them believe in eternal conscious torment.

I love them deeply.

We’ve had passionate discussions about this doctrine.

We’ve challenged one another.

We’ve disagreed strongly.

Then we’ve gone out to dinner, shared a beer, laughed together, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Disagreeing about doctrine isn’t hatred.

It’s what people who care about truth do.

The question isn’t whether I love them.

The question is whether I love God enough to defend His character when I believe it is being misrepresented.

If Someone Lied About Your Father…

Imagine someone told your neighbors that your father kidnapped children and tortured them for pleasure.

Would remaining silent be loving?

Would saying,

“Well… let’s just agree to disagree,”

be the loving response?

Of course not.

You would immediately defend your father.

Not because you hate the person making the accusation.

Because you love your father.

Now consider what many Christians sincerely believe about God.

They believe God will keep billions of people alive forever for one purpose:

To consciously torture them without end.

No hope.

No restoration.

No reconciliation.

No victory over death.

No end.

Forever.

If I truly believe Scripture teaches something radically different, why would I remain silent?

The Character of God Matters

Every doctrine teaches us something about God.

The doctrine of eternal torment teaches that God’s final victory is an eternal universe divided between endless bliss and endless suffering.

It teaches that Christ never actually succeeds in reconciling all things.

It teaches that death never truly loses.

It teaches that sin produces an everlasting kingdom of misery existing alongside God’s kingdom forever.

That isn’t a minor disagreement.

That changes the entire story of Scripture.

Paul says Christ came to reconcile all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20).

He says the last enemy to be abolished is death (1 Corinthians 15:26).

He says God becomes all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).

If those passages are true, then the picture of God presented by eternal torment cannot also be true.

Jesus Didn’t Remain Silent

Some people act as though confronting false teaching is somehow unloving.

The New Testament says the opposite.

Jesus openly confronted the religious leaders.

He warned about false teachers.

He called out hypocrisy.

Not because He hated people.

Because truth mattered.

Paul did the same.

He publicly corrected Peter when the truth of the gospel was at stake (Galatians 2:11–14).

He warned believers about those teaching “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6–9).

He instructed Timothy to correct those in error with patience so that God might grant them repentance (2 Timothy 2:24–26).

Notice the balance.

Firm toward false teaching.

Patient toward people.

The apostles never treated those as opposites.

Love Doesn’t Ignore Serious Error

Imagine a doctor discovering that another physician is prescribing poison instead of medicine.

Would love remain silent?

Would kindness require pretending everything is fine?

Of course not.

The more dangerous the error, the more necessary the correction.

The doctrine of eternal torment isn’t just another opinion about prophecy or church government.

It concerns the very character of God.

It shapes how millions of people view the Father.

If I truly believe that doctrine presents God as something He is not, then remaining silent isn’t love.

It’s surrender.

Speaking the Truth Is Part of Loving

Paul writes,

“Speaking the truth in love…” (Ephesians 4:15)

Notice he doesn’t say,

“Choose between truth and love.”

He joins them together.

Truth without love becomes harsh.

Love without truth becomes sentimental.

Biblical love speaks the truth because it seeks another person’s good.

If I believe someone has misunderstood who God is, then love compels me to speak.

Not to win an argument.

Not to embarrass them.

But because I want them to know the Father as He truly is.

I Pray—and I Speak

Some have suggested that instead of criticizing the doctrine, I should simply pray that God opens people’s eyes.

I agree.

I do pray.

I pray for my family.

I pray for my friends.

I pray for those who disagree with me.

But prayer and speaking the truth are not enemies.

The apostles prayed.

Then they preached.

Jesus prayed.

Then He taught.

Paul prayed constantly for believers.

Then he wrote letters correcting serious theological error.

Prayer never replaced truth.

It accompanied it.

Loving People Doesn’t Mean Loving Every Doctrine

I refuse to confuse the two.

I will continue loving people who believe in eternal torment.

I will continue treating them with kindness and respect.

I will continue enjoying fellowship with them whenever possible.

But I will also continue opposing the doctrine itself.

Because I believe it misrepresents the Father revealed in Jesus Christ.

Those commitments don’t contradict each other.

They belong together.

In fact, I would argue they require one another.

If I truly love people, I want them to know the truth.

If I truly love God, I want His character defended.

And if I sincerely believe that eternal torment presents a picture of God fundamentally different from the One revealed in Christ, then remaining silent would not be an act of love.

It would be an act of indifference.

Love doesn’t require us to stop speaking.

Love requires us to speak the truth—with conviction, with humility, and with genuine care for the people listening.

The Transition They Keep Missing

The common thread running through both the Acts 28 position and the “Jews Only” position is that they see where God’s plan began, but they fail to see the point at which God intentionally opened that plan to all who believe.

They recognize that God chose Israel.

They recognize that God gave Israel the Law.

They recognize that the prophets were sent to Israel.

They recognize that the Messiah came through Israel.

All of that is true.

But then they stop the story there.

They assume that because Israel was the starting point, everything that follows must continue to belong exclusively to Israel.

Paul teaches exactly the opposite.

Israel Was the Beginning, Not the End

God’s purpose was never simply to bless one nation.

From the very beginning, Israel was chosen so that God could ultimately bless the entire world.

God told Abraham:

“In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

(Genesis 12:3)

Later Paul explains that this promise anticipated something far greater than Israel alone.

“The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham…”

(Galatians 3:8)

Even Abraham’s calling pointed beyond Israel.

It pointed toward faith.

It pointed toward Christ.

It pointed toward the nations.

Israel Prepared the Way

Everything God did with Israel was preparing for Christ.

The Law exposed sin.

The sacrifices pictured atonement.

The priesthood pointed to a greater High Priest.

The Passover pointed to the Lamb of God.

David pointed to the coming King.

The prophets announced the coming Messiah.

None of those things were ends in themselves.

They were preparation.

Paul says:

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ…”

(Galatians 3:24)

The Law was never the destination.

Christ was.

The Great Transition

This is the transition the Acts 28 and “Jews Only” position consistently misses.

They focus on everything God was doing before Christ accomplished redemption, but they fail to recognize the point at which Paul says God’s blessings are now received.

That point is not nationality.

It is not circumcision.

It is not becoming Israel.

It is faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul repeatedly shifts the focus from Israel’s unique role in history to the universal invitation that now comes through Christ.

Notice how often Paul’s language changes.

He begins saying things like:

“To everyone that believeth…”

“Being justified by faith…”

“The righteousness of God…unto all…that believe.”

“There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.”

“For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

This is not accidental.

Paul is marking the transition.

Everything that prepared for Christ now gives way to Christ Himself.

Everything that prepared for faith now gives way to faith.

Everything that prepared through Israel now opens to all who believe.

That is precisely where believers today enter God’s story.

They Stay Before the Doorway

Imagine visiting a beautiful cathedral.

For years architects planned it.

Workers poured foundations.

Stone masons built walls.

Carpenters installed doors.

Electricians wired the building.

Finally the front doors were opened to the public.

Now imagine someone standing outside saying,

“This building belongs only to the construction workers because they were here first.”

That completely misses the purpose of everything that came before.

The workers were preparing the building for those who would eventually enter.

Israel’s history functions the same way.

God called Abraham.

He formed Israel.

He gave the Law.

He sent the prophets.

He brought forth the Messiah.

All of those events were preparing for the moment when salvation would be proclaimed through faith in Jesus Christ.

The preparation belonged uniquely to Israel.

The invitation belongs to all who believe.

Paul Shows Exactly Where the Transition Happens

Romans is filled with this transition.

Paul begins by proving that both Jews and Gentiles stand guilty before God.

Then comes the turning point.

“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested…”

(Romans 3:21)

Notice those words.

But now.

History has reached its climax.

Then Paul continues:

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.”

(Romans 3:22)

That is the transition.

Paul does not say,

“Unto all Jews.”

He says,

“…unto all…that believe.”

Then he explains why:

“For there is no difference.”

The dividing line has changed.

The issue is no longer ethnic identity.

The issue is faith.

Ephesians Explains the Result

Ephesians does not return believers to Israel.

It explains what Christ accomplished through His cross.

Paul reminds his readers:

“Ye were Gentiles…”

“Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel…”

“Strangers from the covenants…”

Then he announces the transition:

“But now in Christ Jesus…”

(Ephesians 2:13)

Again…

But now.

Everything changes because of Christ.

Those who were once far away are brought near—not by becoming Jews—but:

“…by the blood of Christ.”

Paul continues:

“For He is our peace, who hath made both one…”

(Ephesians 2:14)

Both who?

Jews and Gentiles.

Then he explains why:

“…to make in Himself of twain one new man…”

(Ephesians 2:15)

This is not Israel replacing the nations.

Nor is it Gentiles becoming Israel.

It is believing Jews and believing Gentiles united in Christ through faith.

They Mistake the Foundation for the Whole Building

The Acts 28 position looks at the foundation and assumes the entire building belongs only to those laying the foundation.

But foundations exist to support the building that follows.

Israel was chosen.

Israel received the Law.

Israel received the promises.

Israel brought forth the Messiah.

But all of that was moving history toward Christ.

Once Christ accomplished redemption, Paul announces the great transition.

The blessings prepared through Israel are now proclaimed to all who believe.

The common mistake made by the Acts 28 and “Jews Only” position is that they never fully cross that bridge. They remain focused on the preparation and fail to follow Paul’s own transition into the fulfillment. They rightly see that Israel was central to God’s historical work, but they wrongly conclude that the blessings revealed through Christ remain confined to Israel.

Paul refuses to make that conclusion. Instead, he repeatedly moves from Israel’s unique calling to God’s universal invitation. The story begins with Israel because that is how God chose to bring the Savior into the world. It reaches its turning point at the cross and resurrection. From there, Paul’s gospel announces that the defining characteristic is no longer nationality but faith in Jesus Christ.

That is where believers today enter the story. We do not step into God’s plan at Sinai. We do not enter through circumcision or the Law. We enter at the very point Paul emphasizes over and over again: through faith in the risen Christ. Everything before that point prepared the way. Everything after that point explains the blessings that belong to those who believe. Israel was the instrument God used to bring salvation into history, but Paul declares that the blessings of that salvation now belong to all who believe, because “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Romans 10:12). That transition—from preparation in Israel to fulfillment through faith—is the thread that ties the entire Bible together, and it is the thread these systems consistently overlook.

You Cannot Have the Icing Without the Cake

One of the greatest inconsistencies in the Acts 28 position is that it teaches believers today should read and apply Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, while claiming that Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Thessalonians do not directly apply to the Body of Christ today.

But this creates an impossible problem.

The later epistles are not disconnected from the earlier ones. They are built upon them.

Romans lays the foundation. Galatians defends that foundation. Corinthians explains the practical life built upon that foundation. Thessalonians reveals the expectation of Christ’s return. Then Ephesians takes all of those truths and reveals the fuller purpose of God concerning the Body of Christ.

In other words, Ephesians is the icing—but Romans is the cake.

You cannot have the icing without first having the cake.

You cannot understand the mystery revealed in Ephesians if you reject the gospel that brings people into that mystery.

Paul never begins Ephesians by explaining justification by faith because he had already spent sixteen chapters in Romans doing exactly that. He does not redefine grace because Galatians already defended grace against legalism. He does not reestablish the believer’s relationship to Christ because Corinthians already explained believers as members of Christ’s Body.

The later letters assume the reader already understands the earlier revelation.

Imagine reading the final chapters of a book while throwing away the opening chapters that explain everything. The conclusion would make little sense because the foundation had been removed.

That is exactly what the Acts 28 position attempts to do.

It accepts the climax of Paul’s revelation while discarding the foundation upon which that revelation stands.

The Mystery Is Entered Through Faith

Even more importantly, Ephesians itself completely undermines the “Jews only” position.

The entire purpose of Ephesians is to show that God has created one new humanity in Christ.

Paul writes:

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh… at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise… But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

(Ephesians 2:11–13)

Notice Paul’s language.

These believers were Gentiles.

They were outside Israel.

They were strangers to the covenants.

Yet now they have been brought near—not by becoming Jews—but through Christ.

Paul continues:

“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”

(Ephesians 2:14)

Who are the “both”?

Jews and Gentiles.

The wall separating them has been broken down.

Then Paul says:

“…for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”

(Ephesians 2:15)

Not two peoples with different access to God.

Not Jews first and Gentiles receiving leftovers.

One new man.

One Body.

One people in Christ.

Then Paul explains how this happens:

“For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

(Ephesians 2:18)

Both Jews and Gentiles have the same access to God.

Neither group possesses a higher standing before Him.

The dividing wall has been removed.

The same truth appears throughout Paul’s earlier letters.

“There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”

(Romans 10:12)

“There is neither Jew nor Greek… for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

(Galatians 3:28)

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles.”

(1 Corinthians 12:13)

Paul never presents Jewish ethnicity as the doorway into God’s promises.

The doorway is always faith in Christ.

In fact, Ephesians explicitly says salvation comes:

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

(Ephesians 2:8–9)

Not through nationality.

Not through circumcision.

Not through becoming part of Israel.

Through faith.

The irony is striking. Those who appeal to Ephesians while teaching that God’s promises still depend upon Jewish identity are contradicting one of the central themes of the very book they claim is written to believers today.

Paul’s mystery is not that Gentiles receive a few blessings from Israel. It is that believing Jews and believing Gentiles have become one Body, with the dividing wall removed, sharing the same standing before God through Jesus Christ.

You cannot preach Ephesians while denying the Romans and Galatians foundation upon which it stands. Nor can you preach Ephesians honestly while rebuilding the very wall of separation that Paul says Christ tore down.

Paul’s Letters

You said that just because we’re still dealing with sin and death today isn’t enough to conclude Paul’s letters are addressed to us. You suggested there must be some other reason besides the fact that Paul’s message fits our situation.

I don’t see how that follows.

Paul’s letters explain humanity’s greatest problem—sin and death—and reveal how Christ completely solved that problem through His death, entombment, and resurrection. We are still the very people living under that same problem today.

So how can those letters not be for us?

Here’s a simple example.

Suppose I write a letter to my son that says,

“Whoever takes out the trash gets $20.”

My daughter reads the letter, takes out the trash, and I give her $20.

Would I then tell her,

“Sorry, that promise wasn’t for you because I addressed the letter to your brother.”

Of course not.

The promise belongs to whoever meets the condition described in the letter.

Here’s another example.

Imagine a cruise ship is stranded on a deserted island.

A rescue crew manages to contact one man by radio and tells him,

“Go to the north side of the island. A rescue boat will meet you there. It will take you safely home.”

Everyone else on the island overhears the message, or the man who received it tells the others.

When the rescue boat arrives, does the captain say,

“Sorry everyone else, this message wasn’t addressed to you. Only the man holding the radio can get on the boat.”

Of course not.

The message was delivered through one man, but it was intended to rescue everyone who believed it and acted upon it.

And suppose some people never heard the radio transmission directly, but others told them what the rescuer had said. When they arrive at the north side of the island and board the rescue boat, do they suddenly discover that the instructions didn’t apply to them because they weren’t the original recipient?

No.

They board the same boat.

They are rescued by the same rescue crew.

They arrive at the same destination.

The message reached them through someone else, but it still applied to them.

Paul’s letters work the same way.

If you believe the gospel Paul preached—Christ’s death, entombment, and resurrection—and you claim the blessings Paul describes, such as justification, reconciliation, grace, peace with God, and resurrection, then how can you also say his letters don’t apply to you?

Are you saying you possess the very faith Paul describes, but because the letters supposedly weren’t written to you, that faith somehow exists outside the very letters that define it?

That position collapses under its own weight.

Paul wasn’t simply answering first-century questions.

He was revealing God’s purpose for humanity through Christ. He explains how death entered through Adam, how Christ defeated death, and how God is bringing His plan to completion.

If we are still living under the very condition Paul is explaining, and if we have the very faith Paul describes, then his letters are plainly for us.

You can’t have it both ways.

Either Paul’s gospel applies to those who believe it, or it doesn’t.

If it doesn’t, then you have no basis for claiming any of the blessings Paul teaches.

If it does, then his letters are indeed written for those who believe the gospel he preached.

Here’s another example.

Imagine a father tells his neighbor,

“If you are kind to my four-year-old daughter, help her when she needs it, and watch over her while I’m away, I’ll give you a new truck.”

Years pass.

The little girl is now eight years old.

She still needs kindness.

She still needs help.

She still needs someone to watch over her.

A man does exactly what the father asked. He is kind to the daughter, helps her, and cares for her just as the father described.

When he goes to receive what was promised, the father says,

“Sorry. That promise was only for people who helped my daughter when she was four. She’s eight now, so it no longer applies to you.”

No one would think that makes any sense.

The promise wasn’t tied to the calendar.

It wasn’t tied to the year.

It was tied to the condition the father described.

The daughter still had the same need.

The man still did exactly what the father said.

Therefore, the promise still applied.

Paul’s letters are no different.

The promises Paul gives are not attached to the first century. They are attached to faith. If today you believe the gospel Paul preached—Christ’s death for our sins, His entombment, and His resurrection—and you possess the very faith Paul describes, then the promises attached to that faith belong to you.

To say, “You have the faith Paul is talking about, but his promises no longer apply because they were written long ago,” makes no more sense than telling the man who cared for the eight-year-old daughter that the father’s promise expired simply because time had passed, even though the exact same need and the exact same condition still existed.

If Paul’s Letters Aren’t Written to Believers Today, Then Why Does Paul Say They Are?

One objection sometimes raised is that Paul’s letters were written only to first-century believers or to specific groups of people, and therefore should not be read as directly addressing believers today.

At first this may sound reasonable.

After all, Paul addressed churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica.

But when you actually read what Paul writes, a completely different picture emerges.

Paul repeatedly bases every promise—not on geography, race, or century—but on faith in Christ.

The question Paul continually asks is never,

“Do you live in the first century?”

The question is,

“Do you believe the gospel?”

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Paul Defines Who Receives His Message

Paul constantly identifies the recipients of God’s blessings.

Notice what qualifies someone.

Not being Jewish.

Not living in the first century.

Not belonging to Rome or Corinth.

Faith.

---

Romans 3:22

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.”

Who receives God’s righteousness?

Those who believe.

Paul doesn’t say,

“Upon all first-century believers.”

He says,

upon all who believe.

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Romans 3:26

“…that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

Who is justified?

The one believing.

Not the one living in AD 60.

---

Romans 4:24

Speaking of Abraham, Paul says,

“It shall be imputed to us also, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”

Notice Paul’s wording.

Us also.

Who is “us”?

Those who believe.

If you believe God raised Jesus from the dead,

Paul says Abraham’s example applies to you.

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Romans 5:1

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God.”

Who has peace with God?

Those justified by faith.

Paul doesn’t insert a date.

He doesn’t insert an ethnicity.

He simply identifies the believer.

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Paul Says There Is No Difference

Perhaps someone says,

“Yes, but Paul was still talking only to Jews.”

Then why does Paul repeatedly deny that?

---

Romans 10:12–13

“For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Notice Paul’s language.

No difference.

The same Lord.

Rich unto all.

Whosoever.

Paul intentionally removes the ethnic boundary.

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Galatians 3:26–29

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

How?

By faith.

Then Paul continues,

“There is neither Jew nor Greek…”

Why?

Because faith—not ethnicity—is the defining characteristic.

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Paul Was Sent to the Nations

Paul repeatedly explains why Christ appeared to him.

---

Acts 9:15

The Lord said,

“He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles…”

Paul’s commission immediately includes the nations.

---

Acts 13:46–48

Paul tells the Jews,

“Seeing ye put it from you… lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”

Then Luke writes,

“The Gentiles… glorified the word of the Lord.”

Paul didn’t suddenly become the apostle to the nations in Acts 28.

His ministry to them begins much earlier.

---

Romans 11:13

Paul writes plainly,

“I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles.”

If you are a Gentile,

Paul specifically says,

“I speak to you.”

How much clearer could he be?

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Paul’s Gospel Is For Every Believer

Paul never says,

“My gospel only applies to people living before AD 70.”

Instead he says,

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Romans 1:16

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”

Who?

Every one believing.

Jew first.

Also Greek.

Not first century.

Not twentieth century.

Believers.

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1 Corinthians 15:1–4

Paul reminds them,

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel…”

Then he defines it.

Christ died for our sins.

He was buried.

He rose again.

If someone believes that gospel today,

why would Paul’s explanation of that gospel suddenly not apply to them?

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Paul’s Letters Were Meant To Be Shared

Paul’s letters weren’t intended to remain locked inside one local congregation.

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Colossians 4:16

Paul writes,

“When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans.”

Notice what Paul expected.

One church reads it.

Another church reads it.

The letters circulate.

Why?

Because their message extends beyond one local audience.

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Timothy Was Told To Pass It On

Paul didn’t tell Timothy,

“Keep this message within your generation.”

He told him the opposite.

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2 Timothy 2:2

“The things that thou hast heard of me… commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

Notice the chain.

Paul.

Timothy.

Faithful men.

Others.

Generation after generation.

The message keeps moving.

Why?

Because its truth isn’t confined to the first century.

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Paul Speaks To Anyone Who Believes

Again and again Paul uses universal language.

Whoever believes.

All who believe.

Whosoever.

No difference between Jew and Greek.

The same Lord over all.

His blessings are consistently tied to faith in Christ—not to a mailing address or a date on the calendar.

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Don’t Let Anyone Complicate the Simplicity That Is in Christ

One of the saddest consequences of teaching that large portions of Paul’s letters are not written to believers today is the confusion it creates.

Instead of simply reading Paul’s words and believing them, believers are taught to stop and ask,

“Does this verse really apply to me?”

Imagine reading Romans 5:1:

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God…”

A believer’s first response should be simple:

“I have believed the gospel. This is speaking about me.”

Instead, many have been taught to think,

“Wait…Romans was written only to first-century believers.”

Or,

“Romans was written only to Jews.”

Or,

“Paul wasn’t speaking to us yet.”

Now the very passages God gave to strengthen faith become passages people are taught to question.

Is that really what Paul intended?

Do believers not face enough attacks on their faith already? Must they also wonder whether the promises that encourage them even belong to them?

The same uncertainty is introduced every time they read Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Thessalonians, Philippians, Colossians, or Ephesians.

Instead of resting in Christ, they are taught to rest in a theological system that tells them which chapters they are permitted to believe.

Paul warned against exactly this kind of thinking.

“But I fear…lest…your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

The simplicity is not difficult.

Christ died for our sins.

He was entombed.

He was raised the third day.

God grants faith.

Those who believe are justified, reconciled, and have peace with God.

If God has given you that faith, why would the very letters explaining those blessings suddenly not apply to you?

The Real Question

The question is not,

“Was Romans first sent to believers living in Rome?”

Of course it was.

The real question is this:

Who does Paul say receives the blessings he describes?

His answer is remarkably consistent.

Those who believe.

Again and again Paul says:

• justified by faith
• peace with God through faith
• righteousness through faith
• reconciliation through Christ
• no difference between Jew and Greek
• to everyone who believes

Paul never defines the recipients by geography.

He never defines them by century.

He defines them by faith.

If you possess the faith Paul describes, then Paul is describing you.

The Accomplishment Applies—but the Explanation Doesn’t?

Consider what the Acts 28 and “Jews Only” position is actually saying.

They agree Christ died for our sins.

They agree His death, entombment, and resurrection save believers today.

But where does Paul explain what Christ’s death actually accomplished?

Romans.

Galatians.

Corinthians.

Thessalonians.

Those very books they say are not addressed to believers today.

Romans explains justification.

Romans explains reconciliation.

Romans explains how Adam brought death to all humanity and Christ brings life.

First Corinthians explains resurrection.

Galatians explains grace apart from law.

Thessalonians explains our future expectation.

Then Ephesians builds upon everything already revealed.

So the accomplishment supposedly applies today…

but Paul’s explanation of that accomplishment does not?

That is like claiming a cure still saves lives while insisting the doctor’s explanation of the cure no longer applies.

It is like saying the engine still works, but the owner’s manual is only for the first person who bought the car.

Or like saying long division is still true, but the math textbook explaining it expired because another classroom used it first.

Truth does not stop being true because the calendar changes.

Neither does Paul’s explanation of the gospel.

Don’t Trade Christ for a System

The result of these teachings is that believers slowly stop looking to Christ and begin looking to a system.

Every promise must first pass through someone’s theological filter.

Every chapter must be examined before it can be believed.

Instead of asking,

“What does Paul say?”

people ask,

“Which dispensation was this?”

“Who was the original audience?”

“Am I allowed to claim this promise?”

That is exactly the kind of complexity Paul warned against.

The simplicity is this:

Christ accomplished it.

God gives faith.

Believe Him.

Rest in what He has done.

Fellowship Can Never Replace the Gospel

There is another danger that often accompanies these systems.

Many believers become so dependent upon acceptance within a particular theological group that their fellowship becomes more important than the gospel itself.

When fellowship becomes your foundation, rejection becomes devastating.

Some people become so hurt by being rejected that they swing to entirely new theological extremes simply to find another community that will accept them.

It happens in romantic relationships.

The more desperately someone needs the relationship, the easier they become to control.

The same principle applies spiritually.

The gospel must always come before the group.

Your confidence should rest in Christ—not in whether a particular circle approves of you.

History is filled with people who eventually concluded, “I hate reject Christ,” not because they hated Christ, but because they had placed their hope in people rather than in the finished work of Christ.

Believers will disappoint you.

Churches will disappoint you.

Theological movements will disappoint you.

Christ never will.

Fellowship is a wonderful gift from God, but it was never intended to become the foundation of your faith.

That foundation is Christ alone.

Believe His gospel.

Rest in His finished work.

Then enjoy fellowship—not because your identity depends upon it, but because your identity has already been secured by the One who loved you and gave Himself for you.

Is Faith Enough? Or Must You First Become a Jew?

One of the most serious errors being promoted today is the claim that the promises Paul describes are not actually given to everyone who possesses the faith God gives, but only to those who are Jewish. Whether stated directly or indirectly, this teaching overturns the very foundation of Paul’s gospel.

Scripture repeatedly declares that God grants salvation, justification, reconciliation, and future glory through faith in Jesus Christ. If God gives a person that faith, yet someone says those promises still do not belong to him because he is not Jewish, then they are denying what God Himself has spoken. To claim that what God says He has given through faith has not truly been given through faith is to speak against God’s own testimony. Likewise, to say that what Christ accomplished for all mankind was not actually accomplished for all mankind is to contradict the scope of His work as Paul explains it.

Recently, a person named Rodney asked a question before later removing it: “Do you believe the Old Testament was written to Israel?” Of course it was. No one disputes that much of the Old Testament concerns God’s covenant relationship with Israel. But that observation does not answer the question of what Christ revealed through Paul after His resurrection. Looking only at isolated passages while ignoring the larger progression of Scripture misses the point entirely. God’s revelation begins with Israel, but it does not end there.

Paul repeatedly shows God’s purpose expanding beyond Israel to the nations. His letters distinguish Jews and Gentiles while proclaiming one Savior for both. The promises are not presented as crumbs that trickle down from Jews to everyone else. Paul calls God “the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). Believers experience that salvation first because of faith not nationality, but the saving purpose of God ultimately reaches all humanity according to His own order.

This is why isolated examples cannot overturn the whole body of Paul’s teaching. Critics often point to occasions where Paul preached in a synagogue or spoke with Jews, then conclude that everything Paul wrote must have been intended only for Jews. That is not sound interpretation. If someone says, “The United States played Australia in soccer,” no reasonable reader concludes they never played anyone else. One historical event does not redefine every other statement. Likewise, one instance of Paul speaking to Jews cannot erase the many passages where he explicitly distinguishes Jews from Gentiles while addressing both.

The consistent pattern of Paul’s ministry demonstrates this distinction. He repeatedly contrasts:

• Jew and Greek.
• Circumcision and uncircumcision.
• Israel and the nations.

Those distinctions make no sense if “the nations” simply means Jews living outside Israel. Paul’s own language continually separates the two groups while proclaiming one gospel.

The practical consequences of the “Jews only” position are even more troubling. If God’s promises belong only to Jews, then what hope remains for everyone else? Must a Gentile somehow become Jewish before approaching God? Must someone first find a Jew in order to pray? Can we not come boldly to the Father through Jesus Christ Himself?

The contradiction grows even larger among those who also deny Christ’s preexistence or reject worship directed toward Him. If Christ cannot be worshiped and God’s promises belong only to Jews, then access to God effectively belongs to one ethnic nation rather than to the world. That stands in direct opposition to Paul’s proclamation that there is one God and one Mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.

Some insist they are not minimizing faith, but their system does exactly that. Scripture says the blessings come through faith. Yet they argue that a person may possess that God-given faith and still remain outside those promises simply because he is not Jewish. In practice, ethnicity becomes the determining factor rather than faith. Jewish identity becomes everything.

This also creates another problem. Some argue that Paul’s letters no longer apply because the snatching away described in Thessalonians has already occurred. Yet Paul’s letters continually speak of realities that have plainly not yet happened. We have not put on immortality. Death has not been abolished. Creation has not been delivered from corruption. Christ has not yet subjected all things so that God may be all in all. As long as those promises remain future, Paul’s letters remain relevant to those who await their fulfillment.

Consider also the Philippian jailer. When he asked Paul and Silas,

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

they did not ask about his ancestry. They did not require him to become Jewish. They did not tell him to seek Israel first.

Their answer was simple:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Faith—not ethnicity—was Paul’s answer.

Finally, notice how Paul grounds his gospel. He does not end with Abraham or Israel. He repeatedly goes back to Adam. In Romans 5, he explains that just as condemnation came upon all through one man, justification comes through one man. In 1 Corinthians 15 he declares:

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Paul begins with the first man because Christ’s work addresses the problem introduced through Adam. Adam represents humanity. Therefore Christ’s victory is presented as God’s answer for humanity.

The gospel Paul received from the risen Christ does not diminish Israel’s role in God’s plan. Rather, it reveals the larger purpose that Israel’s calling always anticipated. God’s grace extends beyond one nation because Christ died and rose again for the world. The promises are received through faith, not through ethnicity, and Paul’s gospel consistently points from Adam to Christ—from the fall of all mankind to the reconciliation of all mankind according to God’s purpose and timing.