Possibly the most controversial figure in history, aside from Jesus Christ, is the Apostle Paul. Even in his time, it is evident by his letters to the churches that he often faced conflict and controversy—not only from those outside the church but from within and even among those in Jerusalem before whom he was called to give account.

False apostles also raised challenges against Paul, hoping to lead the flock astray. Therefore, he was compelled to speak out in defense of his calling, inasmuch as out of necessity he found it needful to “foolishly” boast of his sufferings for the gospel to certify the ministry given to him by the Lord.

The same controversies surrounding Paul then continue regarding his position as an apostle and interpretations of his writings. He is even dismissed by some who claim he was not a true apostle.

On the other hand, there are those who lean on Paul’s teachings so heavily that they dismiss almost everything else in the Bible. They effectively declare the “Old Testament” extinct, a relic of the past. They dismiss the writings of Moses and the prophets as irrelevant today. These are “true believers” who twist scriptures or ignore them altogether to support the narrative that fits the dogma of their particular creed.

Among those opposing Paul are some who identify with what is sometimes called the “Hebrew Roots” movement. Wrestling with Paul’s writings and other scriptures, they seek to place faith back under the law of Moses. Some go so far as to denounce Paul as a rogue grifter, a false teacher, and a self-made apostle.

They also include those who take extreme measures and express enthusiasm for the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem. They are supportive of reinstating the animal blood sacrifices that God rejected. Adhering to select parts of the Torah to various degrees of observance—complete compliance is impossible without the temple—they seek to rebuild what God destroyed. In an attempt to merge two religions, some eventually convert from Christianity to Judaism, rather than try to defend a quasi-religion.

To the other extreme are those who, unwittingly, oppose the gospel Paul preached, proclaiming Christians are so free from the law that salvation is irrevocable without any conditions, obligations, or responsibilities that could endanger the soul after being saved. This is a false concept of inextricable grace; freedom from sin is taken to the point it becomes freedom to sin. The essence of the message is “Ye shall not die”; even if a life of sin is chosen, it has no eternal consequence.

The message of “once saved, always saved” without any conditions after you are born again is the antithesis of the gospel Paul preached. It is an altered, watered-down gospel, the voice of a strange woman that has led many to fall into temptations; ”For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 26-27)

Even long-time pastors who devoted years of their lives to the ministry were lured away and eventually brought back under the bondage of old vices because they took salvation for granted. While some proclaim they will still enter heaven by God’s grace regardless of sin, others denounce them, saying they were never really saved to begin with.

One of Paul’s most often taught warnings was to beware of false doctrines: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8). Paul was not slack in his condemnation of corrupted teachings; still, he is often quoted out of context to support many of them.

The normalization of immorality is the long-maturing fruit of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine that incrementally crept into the churches over hundreds of years and slowly proliferated. To the same extent that Orthodox Jewry is convinced of Judaism being the true religion and to the extent that Muslims are convinced of Islam, many Christian churches embrace variations of eternal security and other false doctrines with the same absolutist certainty as the other religions are of their creeds. The majority are completely closed to considering otherwise.

Jesus said, “If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23) Those who claim to have “the truth” but do not will not seek the truth. They preach their darkness. Thus, the corruption of true teachings 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)

John reminds us that the whole world lies in wickedness. Pray for the Jewish people, the Islamic people, and all people of the world to come to salvation through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And pray for the complete restoration of the word of God. The Lord promised He would send forth His army to revive the truth.

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