As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?”  Saul asked.  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.  “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” - Acts 9:3-6

We know Paul better than any character in the New Testament besides Jesus.  The book of Acts chronicles his conversion and missionary journeys.  We have more letters from him than any other Apostle, giving us a complete picture of his message, his struggles and victories, and his inner motivations.  God’s Word gives us Paul as an example to follow (Philippians 3:17).  No other man was as influential in shaping the doctrine of Christianity and establishing churches all around the civilized world of his day.  Paul was without question the most productive pastor in his generation, even if other were more famous as preachers or miracle-workers.   continue

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”  - Colossians 3:1-4

One of the distinctive elements of Paul’s writings was his focus on eternity.  People today often think of the Apostle Paul as a great teacher or theologian, or as a successful church planter, or even as a person who performed impressive miracles.  All these things are true, but when we look at what Paul himself considered the most important, the defining element is that he kept his eyes fixed on eternity, not on material things. 

continue

“If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.  What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.”   - 1 Corinthians 9:17-18 continue

Titus 1:3 – “and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior…”  

In this passage, Paul first mentions that his preaching “brought the Word to light.”  It was the revealed Word.  Paul’s preaching was all from the Old Testament, of course, and his preaching opened up the Word and showed the Light, which is Jesus, in every story.  The New Testament did not yet exist (in written form) when Paul started preaching, so he was limited to the 39 books of the Old Testament – but this tells us something about the usefulness of these Scriptures in bringing people to Christ.  They were sufficient for Paul to preach and present Christ everywhere he went in a way that touched hearts and produced conversions.  Some denominations today preach exclusively from the New Testament, not understanding that the Old Testament also presents Jesus, when we have revelation.   continue

2 Corinthians 10:10 - For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”   continue

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”   - 1 Corinthians 2:4-5   continue

Galatians 2:20 - “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 

Church historians usually date the death of Paul at the year 68 or 69, during Nero’s main phase of persecution against the Christians. This assumes that Paul obtained an acquittal from the charges pending against him at the end of the book of Acts, and that he made one or two subsequent missionary journeys.  Early historical writings suggest that Paul died (beheaded by the Romans) in the city of Rome, and today there is a large Catholic church supposedly built on top of Paul’s tomb.  The earliest historical writings about the death of the Apostle Paul, however, are from hundreds of years later.  No one from his generation wrote a biography of the Apostle Paul describing his death.   continue

Acts 26:19 - “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”

What set Paul apart from many other Christian ministers was this: when the Lord corrected him, he immediately repented and became obedient to God’s revelation.  We see this at his conversion (Acts 9), when he changed in a single moment from a man who persecuted the Lord Jesus to one who obeyed Him as God.  This willingness to obey the revelation of the Lord was a crucial factor in his conversion, and was a trait throughout his apostolic ministry.  The Lord made him one of the most fruitful preachers in the history of the church.  The amazing fruit of his ministry came because of Paul’s zeal to obey the Lord’s revelation.   continue

1 Thessalonians 2:9 - “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”  

Acts 20:33-35 - “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.  In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak.”  

Paul knew that many religious leaders in his day saw their ministry as a way to get financial gain.  (1 Timothy 6:5).  This is often a bad testimony for the gospel.  Paul wanted to reach the lost, and unbelievers are naturally suspicious that preachers just want their money.  He made a decision that many of his peers rejected – as do most preachers today.  Paul did not depend on tithes or offerings for his income.  He worked hard at manual labor – so that he would not have to get money from the people whom he converted.  He left behind his emerging career as a Jewish Rabbi, which would have given him social prestige, pride, influence in the community, and good income.   continue