Paul: His Life and His Teachings Series Intro
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No.1 Paul: His Life and Teachings – Series Intro (Part 1)
No.2 Paul: His Life and Teachings – Series Intro (Part 2)
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We will start today a new series that we will study for the next few years. It will be on the life and teachings of Paul the apostle. This is a story of someone who should have been dammed for eternity in hell for what he did to the Church. However, in a stroke of God’s mercy, Paul was saved. His life turned around and became one of the most influential figures for the last 2000 years. He is a great source of encouragement on how God can change a person into a new creation. Just as he wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Co 5:17).” Even Paul was amazed on how God changed him. It was beyond his own imagination. This is the kind of change that we need to be looking for on someone who claims new birth in Christ. Paul was a man of all ages. The deep impact and impression in our hearts is something we cannot just shake off. It seems that Paul understood the meaning of true greatness that lasts for eternity. This is within the grasp of all who are willing to follow the path.
We first see Paul, then Saul, in Acts 7 at the stoning of Stephen (v.58). The witnesses laid aside their robe at Saul’s feet seem to indicate that Paul then was consenting to the execution via stoning of the first Christian martyr. We cannot see greatness in him then. Instead, we see anger, hatred, religious zealotry and total commitment to a cause. He was very angry with the Church, not only of Christ. We can already tell that Paul was a man of focus, determination and undeterred execution of a determined end. Remember that these are innocent people that Paul was intent on harming. They never hurt him nor spoke ill of him. Yet, he was determined to destroy them all. Then, Paul went on to create havoc in the church, entering a house after house, and dragging off men and women, as he would put them in prison. As a result, believers had been scattered and went about preaching the word. (Acts 8:3,4). We do not know the full effect of Paul’s activities in Acts 7 and 8. However, we know that he was persecuting a very young church. In trying moments like this, some loses their faith because of the intense pressure being applied to them.
Jesus said that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church. In this instance, the gate is manifested through the counsel of the Sanhedrin Court as executed by Paul. Saul became a one-man army aimed at destroying the Church. When Paul met Jesus on the road the direction and purpose of his life changed. This is what Paul understood when he talked about “new creation.” Prior, Saul was a very devout religious man. In his veins flow religion – a Pharisee who is a son of a Pharisee. He is what we might call today, “born a Catholic, and is going to die a Catholic.” Or, we may even call him a “Baptist of Baptists.” The Pharisees were orthodox and they were conservatives. They observe the Law of Moses strictly. Just think how blessed Paul think he was. Compare him to someone born in a Christian home. The greatest heritage any person can have is a faith heritage. To receive instructions from your father and your mother from childhood about God, the Bible, eternity, is a treasure greater than gold, greater than silver, and greater than any earthly wealth. However, religion without Jesus can be a killer. Just think about the religious zealots today!
The words of Jesus will shed light on what happened to Paul. He said when men do this, they are even thinking that they are giving God a favor. Just look at the modern examples of Khomeini and Bin Laden. They are all doing harmful things this in the name of religion. The same is true about the crusaders of the past and the inquisition. Saul was also known as Saul of Tarsus. Either his family, his citizenship or the town that he came from is very important to the Emperor of Rome. He was born a free man. This gave him prestige. Tarsus was a thriving city of commerce. This gave Paul some understanding of business. Tarsus was a gateway between East and West. Soldiers marched there from all over the then known world. Paul interacted with them. This grew his interest in the nations of the world, as we can see in his life and ministry. Paul seems to have grown up a leader in the making. He thought of himself superior and he learned how to think big. Much like how American “were.” This is one of the reasons why Paul was not afraid to stand before kings and nobles. He grew up with a leadership spirit that desires conquest. He trained his mind to be sharp as a pin. He was a logical thinker. He was a philosopher.
Yet, Paul, with everything that we learned so far, at the end abandoned all of the above (cf. Phil. 3:7-10). Not only did he abandoned them, he considered them dung! For him, Jesus infinitely surpasses everything that he grew up in and for. The meaning of his life and the priority of his life changed because of Jesus. How do we talk today about our lives before we met Jesus? Are we still proud of them? Do they still give us pleasure? Is it something that we still want to go back to, if given a chance? We need to be like Paul such that the things of the world that he once thought were important are now considered rubbish in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ. Praise be to God!