Paul The Persecuted

Paul’s distinctive contribution to Christianity is his heresy- the doctrine of salvation by faith. A salvation available not just to the descendants of Abraham, but to the pagan, non-Jewish world as well. When he was writing to those in the Roman capital, Paul makes the declaration that proved to be the cornerstone of all his writings Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live

Paul helped this group of Jews put many believers to death and we can see this in the book of Acts. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, as he was then identified, approved to put Stephen to death by stoning him. Nevertheless, on the way to Damascus Saul of Tarsus finds himself in a life transforming situation. Jesus of Nazareth appears to Saul of Tarsus and changed his life. Saul is no longer! In addition to his spiritual transformation, Saul becomes known as Paul.

Because of the persecuted Christian's ability to live out their faith, even the persecutors can end up being saved. Kaltenbach mentions how the Apostle Paul was invited in by the early church even though he was known to persecute Christians. They were cautious, but the Spirit of God commanded

Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, was raised in a Jewish household, but he also had exposure to Roman culture because his father was also a Roman citizen. After his family relocated to Jerusalem, he became the apprentice of Gamaliel, who was a Hillelites Pharisee member. Paul on the other hand, had become a member of the Shammaites Pharisee, who strictly followed the Jewish law, and believed that those who did not follow the Jewish law were preventing the coming of God’s kingdom. As a member of this Pharisee, Paul too part in the persecution of Christians who were accused of heresy, because he along with the other members believed that they were spreading and supporting a belief in a failed messiah, who we have come to know as Jesus Christ.

Paul was the most effective missionary of the early church. A missionary is a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country. The Damascus road experience was both a conversion and a call to advance the life of the new movement. Paul preached the gospel of Christ, beginning at Jerusalem and continuing his journey to Rome. He preached is local synagogues, city markets, outdoor arenas, private homes and public halls.

A Hellenistic Jew, St Paul is known worldwide as one of the earliest Christian missionaries, along with Saint Peter and James the Just. He was also known as Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul and the Paul of Tarsus. However, he preferred to call himself 'Apostle to the Gentiles'. Paul had a broad outlook and was perhaps endowed as the most brilliant person to carry Christianity to varied lands, such as Cyprus, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), mainland Greece, Crete and Rome. St Paul's efforts to accept gentile converts and make Torah unnecessary for salvation was a successful task.

Distinguished pastor and scholar John Piper wrote that there are two types of missionaries in the world today —Timothy-like and Paul-like missionaries. Timothy left his home in Lystra and joined the apostle Paul during his second missionary journey. He crossed different Mediterranean cultures and eventually became the overseer of the church in Ephesus. He served as a resident missionary in that renowned city away from home. On the other hand, the apostle Paul was an itinerant evangelist or a “frontier missionary,” who went about preaching the gospel and establishing churches in different places. His aim, as he categorically stated, was to “preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named” (Rom. 15:20).

Paul visited Ephesus on his first missionary journey, on the way from Greece to Syria. After his third missionary journey, he stayed there and pastored the Ephesian church for 3 years (Easton, np). “Though Paul was not the first to bring Christianity to Ephesus, for Jews had long lived there, he was the first to make progress against the worship of Diana” (Orr, np). Because of his strong ties to the church, Paul cared deeply about the faith of the believers there (Macarthur, np).

It is known that his main priority was to arrest and be violent toward Gentiles. But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.’ Although he was seen as a calm and caring person, Saul’s life revolved around arresting and decreasing the number of the young Christian church all over Jerusalem. nothing however is more certain about Paul (or Saul) the zealous Pharisee than his intense disdain for and persecution of the earliest church, or assembly of believers in Jesus as Israel’s messiah. both acts and Pauls own attest to this grim reality. His reputation was such as to make his supposed change of heart suspect.’ It was on his way to Damascus to arrest and prosecute these gentiles that the conversion of God occurred. This is the primary part of Saul’s life in which the change that god worked in his life occurred. There are many factors which attributed to god in changing

Paul’s advise to the slaves totally aligns with the way he lived out his life. He was a zealous man and who gave 100% of himself in all that he did, including the persecution of Christians prior to his conversion. Even during his ministry, he continued his profession as a tentmaker so he wouldn’t burden the church financially. In his own words, he described the effort he put into his ministry, “To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29 NIV) and “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV). Paul lived his life in total submission to Christ, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians

Christianity over the course of history has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way believers conduct themselves. It provides morals, practices and ethics that every Christian attempts to live by. Throughout the many denominations in the Christian church, Paul of Tarsus had a significant influence on the faith. His contribution to the development and expression of Christianity is immense and can be seen to stem from his writing and missionary journeys which have implemented his ideas and interpretations onto the development of Christianity. After Jesus, Paul was arguably the most significant figure in Christianity as his teachings form a significant part of the New Testament. Like may other Pharisees of that time in history, Paul sought to suppress the early Christian movement. He accused early Christians of blaspheming against God and breaking Mosaic Law. However, Paul had a life-changing experience when he had a vision of Jesus, and he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary for the early church. Centuries after his ministry, his teachings still influence Christian theology.

Whatever tales may have spun out of the antiquity of time, Jesus was not the initiator of Christianity as we know it. The division between Jews and Christians did not begin with the death of Christ. Indeed, many of his teachings have been lost forever for none of his disciples ever wrote a single word down. Although this religion, established solidly upon this man, does not even regard Jesus in most of the New Testament (Collier). The man behind the curtain, the usurper, and divider was an Apostle who never met Christ. In fact, he twisted and filled his letters to the Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians with thoughts and quotes from Jesus that filled his own idea of what form Christianity should take. The Apostle Paul was that man.

The Apostle Paul (formerly Saul) is responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the areas of Asia Minor and Greece. Through his 3 mission trips to the region Paul created a base of support for the Christian faith and implemented a support strategy for future growth. The time period for his journeys was 45 AD – 58 AD. The story of Paul is interesting from the perspective that the man best known as the author of most of the New Testament started out as a devout Jew and despised the Christian faith. After his conversion he made it his life’s work to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To this end, Paul made several mission trips to the area of Asia Minor and Greece.

God gave Paul a mission to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. They traveled from city to city spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the message was not always being received. It is really no confirmed certainty on why John Mark eventually left Paul and Barnabas to return to Jerusalem. The Jews went on record as being in opposition to the Gospel, but Paul kept preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul saw that the Gentiles were very receptive to the Gospel.

Paul writes in Acts 22:6 that he experienced a vision, ‘I fell to the ground and heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me... I am Jesus of Nazareth.”’ Paul was blinded but continued on to Damascus where he became certain that his vision of Jesus symbolised his calling to spread the Gospel. When he arrived his sight was restored by a disciple named Ananias and Paul was baptised as he became a Christian, a follower of Jesus. This conversion to Christianity enabled Paul to believe that he had been given a mission to go preach the word of God. Paul embarked on journeys to towns where he would seek employment and gradually get to know people. Paul wanted to influence these people by speaking of his experiences he had with God and what they had taught him about Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. In these towns, Paul also established local churches and invited elders to run them whilst he was out of town spreading the word of God, ‘Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust’ (Acts 14:23).