John Piper preached at Together for the Gospel 2010 conference on the question did Jesus preach Paul’s gospel or did Paul stray from what Jesus taught?
His goal for this sermon:
And my goal is to argue that Jesus preached the gospel of justification by faith alone apart from works of the law, understood as the imputation of his righteousness through faith alone.
He focused on Luke 18:9-14, and notes that we should read Jesus’ teaching in light of the cross.
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted, (ESV).
You can watch his sermon below or read the manuscript:
He ended with seven implications:
-
Jesus’ Gospel is also Paul’s.
-
Nothing we do is basis for God’s acceptance.
-
Our standing with God is based on Jesus, not us.
-
Transformation is the fruit, not root, of justification.
-
All our goodness is evidence and confirmation, not grounds.
-
The gospel is for every person and every people.
-
Jesus gets the full glory.
Amen and amen!
