Other than Christ himself, there is no other figure in the Bible who has caused more controversy than the Apostle Paul. It is evident in his letters that he often faced conflict and controversy, not only from those outside the church but from within and even among the brothers. False teachers also raised challenges against Paul, hoping to lead the flock astray after themselves; thus, he was compelled to speak out in defense of his calling and, out of necessity, even boast of his sufferings for the gospel to certify the ministry given to him by the Lord.

The same controversies as were present then continue to be disputed until now over Paul’s role as an apostle and over the validity of his writings. In some cases, the divisions over Paul have become so great that certain parties dismiss Paul as being a true apostle, while others, pointing to Paul’s teachings on grace, dismiss the Old Testament as having any relevancy today. Many “true believers” in opposing camps often twist scriptures or ignore them to support a narrative that fits the dogma of their particular creed.

Some opposing Paul who identify with the “Hebrew Roots” movement wrest Paul’s letters and other scriptures in order to place themselves back under the law, preaching that all others are also required to do the same. Some even go so far as to denounce Paul altogether, proclaiming him a rogue teacher and not a true apostle.

Although those who place themselves under the Mosaic law consist of different groups, they all begin with Sabbath observance and then splinter into various factions, adhering to different parts of the law to various degrees of observance—although complete compliance is impossible without the temple. For this reason, those who go to extremes are enthusiastic about the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and reinstating animal blood sacrifices. More than a few of those who put themselves back under the yoke of the law have gone on to leave Christianity, even denying Christ, and converting to Judaism.

On the other extreme of those opposing the gospel Paul preached, on the basis that his writings free people from the law, are those who purloin Paul’s writings by embracing his message of grace and taking it beyond the point that makes willful habitual sins of little or no consequence. This watered-down gospel has led many to weaken to temptations and eventually to be brought back under the bondage of old vices they were redeemed from, sometimes after devoting many years to the ministry. While some proclaim they will still enter heaven, others denounce them, saying they were never really saved to begin with.

Creating an adulterated gospel of unlimited unconditional grace, many denominations have slid into a process of normalizing sin. Preaching a gospel of hyper-grace, also called modern grace, they place emphasis on doctrines of eternal security and permit sin to the extent of ordaining LGBT+ pastors and blessing same-sex marriages.

Modern grace and the normalization of immorality are the long-maturing fruit of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine that had crept into the churches unawares for hundreds of years and proliferated. To the same extent that Orthodox Jews are absolutely convinced of Judaism or Muslims are convinced of Islam, many Christian churches embrace variations of eternal security and other false doctrines with the same certainty as the other Abrahamic religions are of their creeds and are completely closed to considering otherwise. “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23)

Thus, it has come to pass as prophesied by the prophet Joel:

“That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.” (Joel 1:4)

Pray for the Jewish and the Islamic people to come to salvation through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And pray for the complete restoration of the word of God among Christians that the true gospel Paul preached might prevail when God sends forth his army to revive the truth.

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army, which I sent among you.” (Joel 2:25)