Thursday, February 23, 2012

Paul the Apostle and Saul of Tarsus


Article #6: The BRIEF Story of Paul the Apostle and His Importance to the Church
Saul of Tarsus, one of the most feared men among the early church. Then Paul the Apostle, the Apostle to the gentiles, and the author of some the greatest books of the Bible. Including the book of Romans, which put all the churches beliefs in one little book with a nice bow around it. But as you probably know, Paul and Saul are the same person; it was only through God’s divine hand that he was able to become the Amazing Apostle that we know today.
The Story of Saul
The beginnings of Saul are an interesting jumble, and they highlight the cosmopolitan world that was the Roman Empire. He was born in an Asian city now in located on the southern coast of Turkey called Tarsus in about the year 10. His parents were Jewish, presumably strict Pharisees. They were also Roman citizens. It is important to note that even though Judea was within the Roman Empire most Jews were not Roman citizens. Citizenship outside of Italy was an honor reserved for people who made great contributions to the Empire. Thus, we may presume that Saul’s parents were people of influence and perhaps even moderate wealth. At the age of fourteen Saul was sent to Jerusalem to train to be a Rabbi. His teacher was a prominent man named Gamaliel. Rabbis, at the time, were also taught another trade. The idea was to keep teachers from becoming a burden on society. They also wanted to have something to fall back on during hard times. Saul was trained to be a tent-maker. Saul grew to be a man of firm convictions and fiery temperament. He always acted on his beliefs. Thus, when he was confronted with what he took to be a heresy to Judaism, he worked with all his might to quell it. This heresy would one day come to be known as Christianity and Saul was among the foremost of its persecutors. Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen, and though he did not participate, he encouraged the violent act that destroyed the first of the martyrs. He then participated in a general persecution including, “going from house to house, he dragged out the believers, both men and women and threw them into jail.”He then undertook a mission to Damascus to continue his purge of this new “Christian heresy”, and that’s when things got really interesting.
Paul literally sees the light!
“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,” Acts 9:3-6. Jesus was done playing games! This isn’t the same soft spoken Jesus who had walked the earth 20 or so years earlier. No this is God-the-Son, the one who will return at the end of the age. But I have to relish in this moment, do you realize this is the first time that Jesus truly shows his glory as God. Yes he returned from death, which was amazing, but a lot of people like to say that he was just a man, and him rising was ONLY the glory of God. But right here, right now we have Jesus shinning from the heavens, a light so bright that has blinded Paul! THIS IS AMAZING! Paul was surrounded by the light, oh how much I would give just to be one of his companions on his trip to see it from the side or ANYTHING! Ok sorry back on topic! After getting the scales that had blinded him removed from his eyes and preaching in Damascus (which you can read about all this of Chapter 9 of Acts) he returned to Jerusalem in hopes of joining the Apostles. As you can imagine, that didn’t go over to well with them! They were afraid of Paul, and why shouldn’t they be! He just tried to arrest and kill them and destroy their belief system, I wouldn’t be trust him so much either! But a man named Barnabas would bring him to the Apostles and tell them his story
Paul’s Role in the Church
Paul’s heart was for those who had not come to the “way” (the way is what it was called during the early church) he wished more than anything to take Jesus’s words “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” as literally as he could. Led by Barnabas, his first missionary project was based on getting fellow Jews (or the circumcised) to join, but he quickly realized it was not the Jews but the gentiles that accepted the saving grace of God. In Cyprus a proconsul, Sergius Paulus, accepted salvation after Paul blinded Elymas the sorcerer for his wicked ways. Paul returned to Jerusalem to meet with the elder council to discuss how through his mission he had converted many gentiles to the “way.” This caused uproar throughout the church, long debates on whether only the circumcised should be allowed to join the church continued for almost a whole year. After a while, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are” Acts 15:7-11. This statement was able to lie on the heats of the council, and through the Holy Spirit was able to determine that even the uncircumcised should be allowed to join the church. The decision of the council would change the world forever, but it was Paul’s heart to save the gentiles that would bring the western world to its knees, at the feet of Christ.
Without Paul
Paul would have two more major missionary trips across the “Greek” Mediterranean, the last one ending in Rome. Each journey was no easy task, taking between 3 to 7 years for each trip. Him and his companion stopped at dozens of cities and helped establish many churches throughout the western world. God does everything for a reason, he took a man that had been trying to destroy the “way” and pushed him (more like shoved but still) to become a believer, but not just a believer, an Apostle. He hated Jesus and the Church yet God was still able to mold and shape him to his will. But even though God is Alfa Omega, he can do anything, he still lets us have our own will. Paul could have rejected Christ so he could have had a NORMAL life as a Jew in Roman times. But it’s the fact that Paul was willing to submit to God’s Authority, and therefore willing to be shaped. If Paul had not been willing to be submissive to God, then the Church as we know it would not exist. Paul had too much of an impact on the Bible for us to say that we would be the same. Now sure, God could have spoken through another Apostle to say what needed to be said, but it’s also the fact that of all the Apostles Paul’s heart was lead to missionary work more than any other. There is no doubt in my mind that the Church would have taken many more years to spread without Paul.
 Paul’s conversion dramatically changed the course of his life. Through his missionary activity and God-Spoken-Writings he eventually transformed Christian beliefs and philosophy around the Mediterranean Basin and eventually Christianity as a whole.

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