Reference: Paul
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The distinguished "apostle of the Gentiles;" also called SAUL, a Hebrew name. He is first called Paul in Ac 13:12; and as some think, assumed this Roman name according to a common custom of Jews in foreign lands, or in honor of Sergius Paulus, Ac 13:7, his friend and an early convert. Both names however may have belonged to him in childhood. He was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and inherited from his father the privileges of a Roman citizen. His parents belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and brought up their son as "a Hebrew of the Hebrews," Php 3:5. Tarsus was highly distinguished for learning and culture, and the opportunities for improvement it afforded were no doubt diligently improved by Paul. At a suitable age he was sent to Jerusalem to complete his education in the school of Gamaliel, the most distinguished and right-minded of the Rabbis of that age. It does not appear that he was in Jerusalem during the ministry of Christ; and it was perhaps after his return to Tarsus that he learned the art of tent-making, in accordance with a general practice among the Jews, and their maxim, "He that does not teach his son a useful handicraft, teaches him to steal," Ac 18:3; 20:34; 2Th 3:8.
We next find him at Jerusalem, apparently about thirty years of age, high in the confidence of the leading men of the nation. He had profited by the instructions of Gamaliel, and became learned in the law; yielding himself to the strictest discipline of the sect of the Pharisees, he had become a fierce defender of Judaism and a bitter enemy of Christianity, Ac 8:3; 26:9-11. After his miraculous conversion, of which we have three accounts, Ac 9:22,26, Christ was all in all to him. It was Christ who revealed himself to his soul at Damascus, Ac 26:15; 1Co 15:8; to Christ he gave his whole heart, and soul, mind, might, and strength; and thenceforth, living or dying, he was "the servant of Jesus Christ." He devoted all the powers of his ardent and energetic mind to the defense and propagation of the gospel of Christ, more particularly among the Gentiles. His views of the pure and lofty spirit of Christianity, in its worship and in its practical influence, appear to have been peculiarly clear and strong; and the opposition which he was thus led to make to the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish worship, exposed him everywhere to the hatred and malice of his countrymen. On their accusation, he was at length put in confinement by the Roman officers and after being detained for two years or more at Caesarea, he was sent to Rome for trial, having himself appealed to the emperor. There is less certainty in respect to the accounts, which are given of Paul afterwards by the early ecclesiastical writers. Still it was a very generally received opinion in the earlier centuries, that the apostle was acquitted and discharged from his imprisonment at the end of two years; and that he afterwards returned to Rome, where he was again imprisoned and put to death by Nero.
Paul appears to have possessed all the learning which was then current among the Jews, and also to have been acquainted with Greek literature; as appears from his mastery of the Greek language, his frequent discussions with their philosophers, and his quotations from their poets-Aratus, Ac 17:28; Meander, 1Co 15:33; and Epimenides, Tit 1:12. Probably, however a learned Greek education cannot with propriety be ascribed to him. But the most striking trait in his character is his enlarged view of the universal design and the spiritual nature of the religion of Christ, and of its purifying and ennobling influence upon the heart and character of those who sincerely profess it. From the Savior himself he had caught the flame of universal love, and the idea of salvation for all mankind, Ga 1:12. Most of the other apostles and teachers appear to have clung to Judaism, to the rites, ceremonies, and dogmas of the religion in which they had been educated, and to have regarded Christianity as intended to be engrafted upon the ancient stock, which was yet to remain as the trunk to support the new branches. Paul seems to have been among the first to rise above this narrow view, and to regard Christianity in its light, as a universal religion. While others were for Judaizing all those who embraced the new religion by imposing on them the yoke of Mosaic observances, it was Paul's endeavor to break down the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles, and show them that they were all "one in Christ." To this end all his labors tended; and, ardent in the pursuit of this great object, he did not hesitate to censure the time-serving Peter, and to expose his own life in resisting the prejudices of is countrymen. Indeed, his five years' imprisonment as Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome arose chiefly from this cause.
These various journeys of St. Paul, many of them made on foot, should be studied through on a map; in connection with the inspired narrative, in Acts, and with his own pathetic description of his labors, 2Co 11:23-29, wherein nevertheless the half is not told. When we review the many regions he traversed and evangelized, the converts he gathered, and the churches he founded, the toils, perils, and trials he endured, the miracles he wrought, and the revelations he received, the discourses, orations, and letters in which he so ably defends and unfolds Christianity, the immeasurable good which God by him accomplished, his heroic life, and his martyr death, he appears to us the most extraordinary of men.
The character of Paul is most fully portrayed in his epistles, by which, as Chrysostom says he, "still lives in the mouths of men throughout the whole world. By them, not only is own converts, but all the faithful even unto this day, yea, and all the saints who are yet to be born until Christ's coming again, both have been and shall be blessed." In them we observe the transforming and elevating power of grace in one originally turbulent and passionate-making him a model of many and Christian excellence; fearless and firm, yet considerate, courteous, and gentle; magnanimous, patriotic, and self-sacrificing; rich in all noble sentiments and affections.
EPISTLES OF PAUL. -There are fourteen epistles in the New Testament usually ascribed to Paul, beginning with that to the Romans, and ending with that to the Hebrews. Of these the first thirteen have never been contested; as to the latter, many good men have doubted whether Paul was the author, although the current of criticism is in favor of this opinion. These epistles, in which the principles of Christianity are developed for all periods, characters, and circumstances, are among the most important of the primitive documents of the Christian religion, even apart from their inspired character; and although they seem to have been written without special premeditation, and have reference mostly to transient circumstances and temporary relations, yet they everywhere bear the stamp of the great and original mind of the apostle, as purified, elevated, and sustained by the influences of the Holy Spirit.
It is worthy of mention here, that an expression of Peter respecting "our beloved brother Paul" is often a little misunderstood. The words "in which" in 2Pe 3:16, are erroneously applied to the "epistles" of Paul; and not to "these things" immediately preceding, that is, the subjects of which Peter was writing, as the Greek shows they should be. Peter finds no fault, either with Paul, or with the doctrines of revelation.
The arrangement of Hug is somewhat different; and some critics who find evidence that Paul was released from his first imprisonment and lived until the spring of A. D. 68, assign the epistles Hebrews, 1Timothy, Titus, and 2Timothy to the last year of his life. See TIMOTHY.
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But Saul harassed the church. He went into one house after another, and dragging out men and women, put them in prison.
But Saul grew more and more powerful, and bewildered the Jews who lived in Damascus by his proofs that Jesus was the Christ.
When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they could not believe that he was really a disciple.
He was attached to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. He sent for Barnabas and Saul and asked them to let him hear God's message.
Then the governor, seeing what had happened, believed, and was thunderstruck at the Lord's teaching.
For it is through union with him that we live and move and exist, as some of your poets have said, " 'For we are also his offspring.'
and as they practiced the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers.
You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions.
I once thought it my duty vigorously to oppose the cause of Jesus of Nazareth. That was what I did at Jerusalem when on the authority of the high priests I put many of God's people in prison. When they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, read more. and many a time in all the synagogues I had them punished, and tried to force them to say impious things. In my extreme rage against them I even pursued them to distant towns.
'Who are you, sir?' said I. The Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Do not be misled. Bad company ruins character.
If they are Christian workers?? am talking like a madman!?? am a better one! with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, vastly worse beatings, and in frequent danger of death. Five times I have been given one less than forty lashes, by the Jews. read more. I have been beaten three times by the Romans, I have been stoned once, I have been shipwrecked three times, a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; with my frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the heathen, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, through toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often without food, and exposed to cold. And besides everything else, the thing that burdens me every day is my anxiety about all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Whose conscience is hurt without my being fired with indignation?
I did not receive it from any man, and I was not taught it, but it came to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee;
It was a Cretan, a prophet of their own, who said, "Cretans are always liars, savage brutes, lazy gluttons,"
speaking of it as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which ignorant, unsteadfast people twist to their own ruin, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures.
Easton
Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He was a native of Tarsus, the capi
Tarsus was also the seat of a famous university, higher in reputation even than the universities of Athens and Alexandria, the only others that then existed. Here Saul was born, and here he spent his youth, doubtless enjoying the best education his native city could afford. His father was of the straitest sect of the Jews, a Pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin, of pure and unmixed Jewish blood (Ac 23:6; Php 3:5). We learn nothing regarding his mother; but there is reason to conclude that she was a pious woman, and that, like-minded with her husband, she exercised all a mother influence in moulding the character of her son, so that he could afterwards speak of himself as being, from his youth up, "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Php 3:6).
We read of his sister and his sister's son (Ac 23:16), and of other relatives (Ro 16:7,11-12). Though a Jew, his father was a Roman citizen. How he obtained this privilege we are not informed. "It might be bought, or won by distinguished service to the state, or acquired in several other ways; at all events, his son was freeborn. It was a valuable privilege, and one that was to prove of great use to Paul, although not in the way in which his father might have been expected to desire him to make use of it." Perhaps the most natural career for the youth to follow was that of a merchant. "But it was decided that...he should go to college and become a rabbi, that is, a minister, a teacher, and a lawyer all in one."
According to Jewish custom, however, he learned a trade before entering on the more direct preparation for the sacred profession. The trade he acquired was the making of tents from goats' hair cloth, a trade which was one of the commonest in Tarsus.
His preliminary education having been completed, Saul was sent, when about thirteen years of age probably, to the great Jewish school of sacred learning at Jerusalem as a student of the law. Here he became a pupil of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel, and here he spent many years in an elaborate study of the Scriptures and of the many questions concerning them with which the rabbis exercised themselves. During these years of diligent study he lived "in all good conscience," unstained by the vices of that great city.
After the period of his student-life expired, he probably left Jerusalem for Tarsus, where he may have been engaged in connection with some synagogue for some years. But we find him back again at Jerusalem very soon after the death of our Lord. Here he now learned the particulars regarding the crucifixion, and the rise of the new sect of the "Nazarenes."
For some two years after Pentecost, Christianity was quietly spreading its influence in Jerusalem. At length Stephen, one of the seven deacons, gave forth more public and aggressive testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, and this led to much excitement among the Jews and much disputation in their synagogues. Persecution arose against Stephen and the followers of Christ generally, in which Saul of Tarsus took a prominent part. He was at this time probably a member of the great Sanhedrin, and became the active leader in the furious persecution by which the rulers then sought to exterminate Christianity.
But the object of this persecution also failed. "They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." The anger of the persecutor was thereby kindled into a fiercer flame. Hearing that fugitives had taken refuge in Damascus, he obtained from the chief priest letters authorizing him to proceed thither on his persecuting career. This was a long journey of about 130 miles, which would occupy perhaps six days, during which, with his few attendants, he steadily went onward, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter." But the crisis of his life was at hand. He had reached the last stage of his journey, and was within sight of Damascus. As he and his companions rode on, suddenly at mid-day a brilliant light shone round them, and Saul was laid prostrate in terror on the ground, a voice sounding in his ears, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" The risen Saviour was there, clothed in the vesture of his glorified humanity. In answer to the anxious inquiry of the stricken persecutor, "Who art thou, Lord?" he said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (Ac 9:5; 22:8; 26:15).
This was the moment of his conversion, the most solemn in all his life. Blinded by the dazzling light (Ac 9:8), his companions led him into the city, where, absorbed in deep thought for three days, he neither ate nor drank (Ac 9:11). Ananias, a disciple living in Damascus, was informed by a vision of the change that had happened to Saul, and was sent to him to open his eyes and admit him by baptism into the Christian church (Ac 9:11-16). The whole purpose of his life was now permanently changed.
Illustration: Scene of Paul's Journeys and of the Early Churches
Immediately after his conversion he retired into the solitudes of Arabia (Ga 1:17), perhaps of "Sinai in Arabia," for the purpose, probably, of devout study and meditation on the marvellous revelation that had been made to him. "A veil of thick darkness hangs over this visit to Arabia. Of the scenes among which he moved, of the thoughts and occupations which engaged him while there, of all the circumstances of a crisis which must have shaped the whole tenor of his after-life, absolutely nothing is known. 'Immediately,' says St. Paul, 'I went away into Arabia.' The historian passes over the incident (comp. Ac 9:23; 1Ki 11:38-39). It is a mysterious pause, a moment of suspense, in the apostle's history, a breathless calm, which ushers in the tumultuous storm of his active missionary life." Coming back, after three years, to Damascus, he began to preach the gospel "boldly in the name of Jesus" (Ac 9:27), but was soon obliged to flee (Ac 9:25; 2Co 11:33) from the Jews and betake himself to Jerusalem. Here he tarried for three weeks, but was again forced to flee (Ac 9:28-29) from persecution. He now returned to his native Tarsus (Ga 1:21), where, for probably about three years, we lose sight of him. The time had not yet come for his entering on his great life-work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
At length the city of Antioch, the capital of Syria, became the scene of great Christian activity. There the gospel gained a firm footing, and the cause of Christ prospered. Barnabas (q.v.), who had been sent from Jerusalem to superintend the work at Antioch, found it too much for him, and remembering Saul, he set out to Tarsus to seek for him. He readily responded to the call thus addressed to him, and came down to Antioch, which for "a whole year" became the scene of his labours, which were crowned with great success. The disciples now, for the first time, were called "Christians" (Ac 11:26).
The church at Antioch now proposed to send out missionaries to the Gentiles, and Saul and Barnabas, with John Mark as their attendant, were chosen for this work. This was a great epoch in the history of the church. Now the disciples began to give effect to the Master's command: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
The three missionaries went forth on the first missionary tour. They sailed from Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch, across to Cyprus, some 80 miles to the south-west. Here at Paphos, Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, was converted, and now Saul took the lead, and was ever afterwards called Paul. The missionaries now crossed to the mainland, and then proceeded 6 or 7 miles up the river Cestrus to Perga (Ac 13:13), where John Mark deserted the work and returned to Jerusalem. The two then proceeded about 100 miles inland, passing through Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The towns mentioned in this tour are the Pisidian Antioch, where Paul delivered his first address of which we have any record (Ac 13:16-51; comp. Ac 10:30-43), Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. They returned by the same r
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"Who are you, sir?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," said the voice.
When he got up from the ground and opened his eyes he could see nothing. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus,
The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called the Straight Street, and ask at the house of Judas for a man named Saul, from Tarsus, for he is there praying.
The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called the Straight Street, and ask at the house of Judas for a man named Saul, from Tarsus, for he is there praying. He has had a vision and seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, to restore his sight." read more. But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard many people tell of this man, and the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem. He is here with authority to arrest everyone who calls upon your name." The Lord said to him, "Go! This man is the means I have chosen for carrying my name among the heathen and their kings, and among the descendants of Israel. For I am going to show him what he will have to endure for my sake."
After some time had passed, the Jews made a plot to kill him,
but his disciples took him one night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.
But Barnabas got hold of him and introduced him to the apostles, and he told them how on his journey he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had spoken for the cause of Jesus at Damascus. After that, he associated with them freely in Jerusalem, read more. and spoke boldly for the Lord's cause, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they tried to kill him.
Cornelius answered, "Three days ago, just at this time of day, I was praying in my house about three o'clock, when a man in dazzling clothing stood before me, and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charities have been recalled to mind by God. read more. So send to Joppa and invite Simon who is called Peter to come here. He is staying at the house of a tanner named Simon, close to the sea.' So I sent for you immediately, and you have very kindly come. Now we are all here in God's presence, to hear everything that the Lord has instructed you to say." Then Peter began and said, "Now I really understand that God shows no partiality, but welcomes the man of any nation who reveres him and does what is right. He has sent his message to Israel's descendants, and made the good news of peace known to them through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of us all. You know the story that has gone all over Judea, starting from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed, about Jesus of Nazareth, and how God endowed him with the power of the holy Spirit, and he went about doing good and curing all who were in the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything that he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Yet they put him upon a cross and killed him. But God raised him to life on the third day and caused him to be plainly seen, not by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had designated beforehand, that is, by us, who ate and drank with him after he had risen from the dead. He also directed us to announce to the people and bear solemn testimony that he is the one whom God has appointed to be the judge of the living and the dead. It is of him that all the prophets bear witness that everyone that believes in him will have his sins forgiven in his name."
and found him and brought him to Antioch. The result was that for a whole year they met with the church, and taught large numbers of people, and it was at Antioch that the disciples first came to be known as Christians.
Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and went to Perga in Pamphylia. There John left them and returned to Jerusalem,
Then Paul got up, and motioning with his hand, said, "Men of Israel, and you who reverence God, listen! The God of this people of Israel chose our forefathers, and made the people great during their stay in Egypt, and then with uplifted hand led them out of Egypt. read more. Then after he had taken care of them for forty years in the desert, he destroyed seven nations in Canaan, and settled them upon their land for about four hundred and fifty years. After that he gave them judges, down to the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they demanded a king and for forty years God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin. Then he removed him and raised David up to be their king, bearing this testimony to him: 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all that I desire.' It is from his descendants that God has brought to Israel as he promised to do, a savior in Jesus, in preparation for whose coming John had preached to all the people of Israel baptism in token of repentance. Toward the end of his career, John said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he! No! Someone is coming after me, the shoes on whose feet I am not fit to untie!' Brothers! Descendants of the house of Abraham, and those others among you who reverence God! It is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. For the people of Jerusalem and their leaders refused to recognize him, and condemned him, thus fulfilling the very utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, and though they could find no ground for putting him to death, they demanded of Pilate that he be executed. When they had carried out everything that had been said about him in the Scriptures, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up to Jerusalem with him from Galilee, and they are now witnesses for him to the people. So we now bring you the good news that God has fulfilled to us, their children, the promise that he made to our forefathers, by raising Jesus to life, just as the Scripture says in the second psalm, You are my Son! Today I have become your Father!' Now as evidence that he has raised him from the dead, never again to return to decay, he said this: 'I will fulfil to you my sacred promises to David.' For in another psalm he says, 'You will not let your Holy One undergo decay.' Now David, after serving God's purposes in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his forefathers and did undergo decay, but he whom God raised to life did not undergo it. You must understand therefore, my brothers, that through him the forgiveness of your sins is announced to you, and that through union with him everyone who believes is cleared of every charge of which the Law of Moses could not clear you. Take care, therefore, that what is said in the prophets does not prove true of you: " 'Look, you scoffers! Then wonder and begone! For I am doing something in your times Which you will never believe even when it is related to you!' " As they were going out, the people begged to have all this said to them again on the following Sabbath, and after the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and the devout converts to Judaism went away with Paul and Barnabas, and they talked with them, and urged them to rely on the favor of God. The next Sabbath almost all the town gathered to hear God's message. But when the Jews saw the crowd, they were very jealous, and they contradicted what Paul said and abused him. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly, and said, "God's message had to be told to you first, but since you thrust it off and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the heathen. For these are the orders the Lord has given us: " 'I have made you a light for the heathen, To be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth!' " When the heathen heard this they were delighted, and praised God's message, and all who were destined for eternal life believed, and the Lord's message spread all over the country. But the Jews stirred up the well-to-do religious women and the leading men of the town, and they started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. They shook off the dust from their feet in protest, and went to Iconium.
Thus they crossed Phrygia and Galatia. The holy Spirit prevented them from delivering the message in Asia,
and they passed Mysia and came down to Troas. There Paul had a vision one night; a Macedonian was standing appealing to him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
He had discussions at the synagogue with the Jews and those who worshiped with them, and every day in the public square with any whom he happened to find. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some of them said, "What is this rag-picker trying to make out?" Others said, "He seems to be preaching some foreign deities." This was because he was telling the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. read more. So they took him and brought him to the council of the Areopagus and said, "May we know just what this new teaching of yours is? Some of the things you tell us sound strange to us, and we want to know just what they mean." For all Athenians and all visitors there from abroad used to spend all their time telling or listening to something new. Then Paul stood up in the middle of the council and said, "Men of Athens, from every point of view I see that you are extremely religious. For as I was going about and looking at the things you worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an Unknown God.' So it is what you already worship in ignorance that I am now telling you of. God who created the world and all that is in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples built by human hands, nor is he waited on by human hands as though he were in need of anything, for he himself gives all men life and breath and everything. From one forefather he has created every nation of mankind, and made them live all over the face of the earth, fixing their appointed times and the limits of their lands, so that they might search for God, and perhaps grope for him and find him, though he is never far from any of us. For it is through union with him that we live and move and exist, as some of your poets have said, " 'For we are also his offspring.' So if we are God's children we ought not to imagine that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, wrought by human art and thought. While God overlooked those times of ignorance, he now calls upon all men everywhere to repent, since he has fixed a day on which he will justly judge the world through a man whom he has appointed, and whom he has guaranteed to all men by raising him from the dead."
They asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent. He bade them goodbye, saying, "I will come back to you again if it is God's will." Then he sailed from Ephesus. read more. When he reached Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and paid his respects to the church, and then went on to Antioch. After spending some time there, he started out again, and traveled systematically through Galatia and Phrygia, reassuring all the disciples.
After traveling through those districts and giving the people a great deal of encouragement, he went on to Greece
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
I answered, 'Who are you, sir?' 'I am Jesus of Nazareth,' he said, 'whom you are persecuting.'
Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"
But Paul's nephew heard of the plot, and he came and got into the barracks, and told Paul.
he said, "I will hear your case as soon as your accusers arrive." And he gave orders that he should be kept in Herod's palace.
If I am guilty and have done anything that deserves death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is no truth in the charges that these men make against me, no one can give me up to them; I appeal to the emperor."
'Who are you, sir?' said I. The Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
So they fixed a day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying, and from morning till night he explained to them the Kingdom of God and gave his testimony, trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
So he stayed for two full years in rented lodgings of his own, and welcomed everybody who came to see him, preaching the Kingdom of God to them and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ openly and unhindered.
by the force of signs and marvels, and by the power of the holy Spirit, with the result that I have completed the preaching of the good news of Christ all the way from Jerusalem around to Illyricum.
Remember me to Andronicus and Junias, my fellow-countrymen, who went to prison with me. They are noted men among the missionaries, and they became Christians before I did.
Remember me to my fellow-countryman, Herodion. Remember me to the Christians in the household of Narcissus. Remember me to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, those hard workers in the Lord's cause. Remember me to my dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord,
When I went to Troas to preach the good news of the Christ there, I found a good opening for the Lord's work,
or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus.
After that, I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia.
though you know that it was because of an illness that I preached the good news to you that first time;
though you know that it was because of an illness that I preached the good news to you that first time; and yet what must have tried you in my physical condition, you did not scorn and despise, but you welcomed me like an angel of God, like Christ Jesus himself.
Thus it is generally known throughout the Imperial Guard and elsewhere that it is for the sake of Christ that I am in prison,
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee; as to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church; and by the Law's standard of uprightness, no fault could be found with me.
Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, wishes to be remembered to you, and so does Barnabas' cousin Mark. (About him you have had instructions; if he comes to see you, make him welcome.)
Fausets
(See ACTS.) The leading facts of his life which appear in that history, subsidiary to its design of sketching the great epochs in the commencement and development of Christ's kingdom, are: his conversion (Acts 9), his labours at Antioch (Acts 11), his first missionary journey (Acts 13; 14), the visit to Jerusalem at the council on circumcision (Acts 15), introduction of the gospel to Europe at Philippi (Acts 16),: visit to Athens (Acts 17), to Corinth (Acts 18), stay at Ephesus (Acts 19), parting address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts 20), apprehension at Jerusalem, imprisonment at Casesarea, and voyage to Rome (Acts 21-27). Though of purest Hebrew blood (Php 3:5), "circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, (bearing the name of the eminent man of that tribe, king Saul), an Hebrew of the Hebrew," yet his birthplace was the Gentile Tarsus. (Ac 21:39, "I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.") His father, as himself, was a Pharisee (Ac 23:6). Tarsus was celebrated as a school of Greek literature (Strabo, Geogr. 1:14).
Here he acquired that knowledge of Greek authors and philosophy which qualified him for dealing with learned Gentiles and appealing to their own writers (Ac 17:18-28. Aratus; 1Co 15:33, Menander; Tit 1:12, Epimenides). Here too he learned the Cilician trade of making tents of the goats' hair cloth called "cilicium" (Ac 18:3); not that his father was in straitened circumstances, but Jewish custom required each child, however wealthy the parents might be, to learn a trade. He possessed the Roman citizenship from birth (Ac 22:28), and hence, when he commenced ministering among Gentiles, he preferred to be known by his Roman name Paul rather than by his Hebrew name Saul. His main education (probably after passing his first 12 years at Tarsus, Ac 26:4-5, "among his own nation." Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Sinaiticus manuscripts read "and" before "at Jerusalem") was at Jerusalem "at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers" (Ac 22:3). (See GAMALIEL.)
Thus the three elements of the world's culture met in him: Roman citizenship, Grecian culture, Hebrew religion. Gamaliel had counseled toleration (Ac 5:34-39); but his teaching of strict pharisaic legalism produced in Saul's ardent spirit persecuting zeal against opponents, "concerning zeal persecuting the church" (Php 3:6). Among the synagogue disputants with Stephen were men "of Cilcia" (Ac 6:9), probably including Saul; at all events it was at his feet, while be was yet "a young man," that the witnesses, stoning the martyr, laid down their clothes (Ac 6:9; 7:58; De 17:7). "Saul was consenting unto his death" (Acts 6; 7); but we can hardly doubt that his better feelings must have had some misgiving in witnessing Stephen's countenance beaming as an angel's, and in hearing his loving prayer for his murderers. But stern bigotry stifled all such doubts by increased zeal; "he made havock of (elumaineto, 'ravaged as a wild beast') the church, entering into the houses (severally, or worship rooms), and haling men and women committed them to prison" (Ac 8:3).
But God's grace arrested Paul in his career of blind fanaticism; "I obtained mercy upon, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1Ti 1:12-16). His ignorance was culpable, for he might have known if he had sought aright; but it was less guilty than sinning against light and knowledge. There is a wide difference between mistaken zeal for the law and willful striving against God's Spirit. His ignorance gave him no claim on, but put him within the range of, God's mercy (Lu 23:34; Ac 3:17; Ro 10:2). The positive ground of mercy is solely God's compassion (Tit 3:5). We have three accounts of his conversion, one by Luke (Acts 9), the others by himself (Acts 22; 26), mutually supplementing one another. Following the adherents of "the (Christian) way ... unto strange cities," and "breathing out threatenings and slaughter," he was on his journey to Damascus with authoritative letters from the high priest empowering him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem all such, trusting doubtless that the pagan governor would not interpose in their behalf.
At midday a light shone upon him and his company, exceeding the brightness of the sun; he and all with him fell to the earth (Ac 26:14; in Ac 9:7 "stood speechless," namely, they soon rose, and when he at length rose they were standing speechless with wonder), "hearing" the sound of a "voice," but not understanding (compare 1Co 14:2 margin) the articulate speech which Paul heard (Ac 22:9, "they heard not the voice of Him that spoke") in Hebrew (Ac 26:14), "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" (in the person of My brethren, Mt 25:40). "It is hard for thee to kick against the goads" (not in Ac 9:5 the Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus manuscripts, but only in Ac 26:14), which, as in the case of oxen being driven, only makes the goad pierce the deeper (Mt 21:44; Pr 8:36). Saul trembling (as the jailer afterward before him, Ac 16:30-31) said, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" the usual question at first awakening (Lu 3:10), but here with the additional sense of unreserved surrender of himself to the Lord's guidance (Isa 6:1-8).
The Lord might act directly, but He chooses to employ ministerial instruments; such was Ananias whom He sent to Saul, after he had been three days without sight and neither eating nor drinking, in the house of Judas (probably a Christian to whose house he had himself led, rather than to his former co-religionists). Ananias, whom he would have seized for prison and death, is the instrument of giving him light and life. God had prepared Ananias for his visitor by announcing the one sure mark of his conversion, "behold he prayeth" (Ro 8:15). Ananias had heard of him as a notorious persecutor, but obeyed the Lord's direction. In Ac 26:16-18 Paul condenses in one account, and connects with Christ's first appearing, subsequent revelations of Jesus to him as to the purpose of his call;" to make thee a minister and witness of these things ... delivering thee from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee." Like Jonah, the outcast runaway, when penitent, was made the messenger of repentance to guilty Nineveh.
The time of his call was just when the gospel was being opened to the Gentiles by Peter (Acts 10). An apostle, severed from legalism, and determined unbelief by an extraordinary revulsion, was better fitted for carrying forward the work among unbelieving Gentiles, which had been begun by the apostle of the circumcision. He who was the most learned and at the same time humblest (Eph 3:8; 1Co 15:9) of the apostles was the one whose pen was most used in the New Testament Scriptures. He"saw" the Lord in actual person (Ac 9:17; 22:14; 23:11; 26:16; 1Co 15:8; 9:1), which was a necessary qualification for apostleship, so as to be witness of the resurrection. The light that flashed on his eyes was the sign of the spiritual light that broke in upon his soul; and Jesus' words to him (Ac 26:18), "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light" (which commission was symbolized in the opening of his own eyes through Ananias, Ac 9:17-18), are by undesigned coincidence reproduced naturally in his epistles (Col 1:12-14; 2Co 4:4; Eph 1:18, contrast Eph 4:18; 6:12).
He calls himself "the one untimely born" in the family of the apostles (1Co 15:8). Such a child, though born alive, is yet not of proper size and scarcely worthy of the name of man; so Paul calls himself" least of the apostles, not meet to be called an apostle" (compare 1Pe 1:3). He says, God's "choice" (Ac 9:15; 22:14), "separating me (in contrast to his having been once a "Pharisee", from pharash, i.e. a separatist, but now 'separated' unto something infinitely higher) from my mother's womb (therefore without any merit of mine), and calling me by His grace (which carried into effect His 'good pleasure,' eudokia), revealed His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the pagan," independent of Mosaic ceremonialism (Ga 1:11-20). Ananias, being "a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews there," was the suitable instrum
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But if your right eye makes you fall, tear it out and throw it away, for you might better lose one part of your body than have it all thrown into the pit!
But when he felt the wind he was frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Master, save me!"
and hand him over to the heathen to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised to life."
Whoever falls on that stone will be shattered, but whoever it falls upon will be pulverized."
Then he said to his slaves, 'The banquet is ready, but those who were invited have proved unworthy of it.
when I had no clothes, you gave me clothes, when I was sick, you looked after me, when I was in prison, you came to see me.'
The king will answer, 'I tell you, in so far as you did it to one of the humblest of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.'
The crowds would ask him, "Then what ought we to do?"
And they divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots for them,
So the Word became flesh and blood and lived for a while among us, abounding in blessing and truth, and we saw the honor God had given him, such honor as an only son receives from his father.
You worship something you know nothing about; we know what we worship, for salvation comes from the Jews.
If I then, your Master and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet too.
So Pilate went back into the governor's house and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Did you think of that yourself, or has someone else said it to you about me?" read more. Pilate answered, "Do you take me for a Jew? Your own people and the high priests handed you over to me. What offense have you committed?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not a kingdom of this world. If my kingdom were a kingdom of this world, my men would have fought to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom has no such origin." Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "As you say, I am a king. It was for this that I was born and for this that I came to the world, to give testimony for truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to my voice."
This made Pilate try to find a way to let him go, but the Jews shouted, "If you let him go, you are no friend of the emperor's! Anyone who calls himself a king utters treason against the emperor!"
and he sprang to his feet and began to walk, and he went into the Temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God.
Yet I know, brothers, that you did not know what you were doing, any more than your leaders did;
But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them,
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while, and then said, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. read more. For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After him, at the time of the census, Judas of Galilee appeared, and raised a great following, but he too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!"
But members of the synagogue known as that of the Libyans, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia undertook to debate with Stephen,
But members of the synagogue known as that of the Libyans, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia undertook to debate with Stephen,
It was at this time that Moses was born. He was a wonderfully beautiful child, and for three months he was taken care of in his father's house.
So Moses was educated in all the Egyptian culture; he was strong in speech and action.
and dragged him out of the city and stoned him, the witnesses throwing down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
But Saul harassed the church. He went into one house after another, and dragging out men and women, put them in prison.
"Who are you, sir?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," said the voice.
Saul's fellow-travelers stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could not see anyone.
The Lord said to him, "Go! This man is the means I have chosen for carrying my name among the heathen and their kings, and among the descendants of Israel.
Ananias set out and went to the house, and there he laid his hands upon Saul, and said to him, "Saul, my brother, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your journey, so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit."
Ananias set out and went to the house, and there he laid his hands upon Saul, and said to him, "Saul, my brother, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your journey, so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit." Something like scales immediately dropped from his eyes, and his sight was restored, and he got up and was baptized,
and began at once to declare in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. Everyone was astonished, and said, "Is not he the man who made such havoc of the people in Jerusalem who call upon that name, and who came here especially for the purpose of arresting such persons and taking them before the high priests?" read more. But Saul grew more and more powerful, and bewildered the Jews who lived in Damascus by his proofs that Jesus was the Christ. After some time had passed, the Jews made a plot to kill him,
When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they could not believe that he was really a disciple.
When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they could not believe that he was really a disciple. But Barnabas got hold of him and introduced him to the apostles, and he told them how on his journey he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had spoken for the cause of Jesus at Damascus. read more. After that, he associated with them freely in Jerusalem, and spoke boldly for the Lord's cause, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they tried to kill him.
and spoke boldly for the Lord's cause, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they tried to kill him. When the brothers found this out, they took him down to Caesarea, and sent him away to Tarsus.
and when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the advocates of circumcision took him to task, charging him with having visited and eaten with men who were not Jews. read more. Then Peter explained the matter to them from beginning to end. He said, "I was praying in the town of Joppa, and while in a trance I had a vision. Something like a great sheet came down out of the sky, lowered by its four corners. It came right down to me, and when I looked at it, I saw in it quadrupeds, wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. And I heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it!' But I said, 'Never, sir! For nothing that was not ceremonially cleansed has ever passed my lips.' Then the voice from heaven answered again, 'Do not call what God has cleansed unclean!' This happened three times; then it was all drawn back again into the sky. Just at that moment three men, who had been sent from Caesarea to find me, reached the house where we were staying, and the Spirit told me not to hesitate to go with them. These six brothers here also went with me, and we went to the man's house. Then he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for a man named Simon who is also called Peter, and he will tell you things that will save you and your whole household.' When I began to speak to them, the holy Spirit fell upon them just as it did upon us at the beginning, and I remembered the saying of the Lord, 'John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the holy Spirit.' So if God had given them the same gift that we received when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, to be able to interfere with God?"
There were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them, however, who when they reached Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, and told them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
The news about them came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas all the way to Antioch. When he reached there and saw the favor God had shown them, he was delighted, and encouraged them all to be resolute and steadfast in their devotion to the Lord, read more. for he was an excellent man, full of the holy Spirit and faith. So a considerable number of people came over to the Lord. Then Barnabas went over to Tarsus to seek out Saul, and found him and brought him to Antioch. The result was that for a whole year they met with the church, and taught large numbers of people, and it was at Antioch that the disciples first came to be known as Christians. About that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch, and one of them named Agabus got up and under the influence of the Spirit revealed the fact that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. This was the famine that occurred in the reign of Claudius. The disciples determined to make up a contribution, each according to his ability, and send it to the brothers who lived in Judea, and this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
and this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
The night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, and fastened with two chains, and watchmen were at the door, guarding the jail, when an angel of the Lord stood at his side, and a light shone in the room, and striking Peter on the side, he woke him, and said to him, "Get up quickly!" The chains dropped from his hands, read more. and the angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals!" And he did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your coat and follow me!" So he followed him out without knowing that what the angel was doing was real, for he thought he was having a vision. They passed the first guard and then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened to them of itself, and they passed out and went along one street, when suddenly the angel left him.
When Barnabas and Saul had performed their mission to Jerusalem, they went back, taking John who was called Mark with them.
When Barnabas and Saul had performed their mission to Jerusalem, they went back, taking John who was called Mark with them.
They spent some time there, speaking fearlessly and relying upon the Lord, who bore witness to his gracious message by letting signs and wonders be done by them.
said to him loudly, "Stand on your feet!" And he sprang up and began to walk.
After a long discussion, Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose that of you all I should be the one from whose lips the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testified for them by giving them the holy Spirit just as he had done to us, read more. making no difference between us and them, but cleansing their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Why, we believe that it is by the mercy of the Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are."
He went to Derbe and Lystra also. At Lystra there was a disciple named Timothy whose mother was a Jewish Christian while his father was a Greek, and who was highly thought of by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. read more. Paul wished to take this man on with him, and so on account of the Jews in that district he had him circumcised, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Thus they crossed Phrygia and Galatia. The holy Spirit prevented them from delivering the message in Asia, and when they reached Mysia they tried to get into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit it,
As soon as he had this vision, we made efforts to get on to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to tell them the good news.
He led them out of the jail and said to them, "Gentlemen, what must I do to be saved?" "Believe in the Lord Jesus," they said, "and you and your household will be saved!"
This offended the Jews and they gathered some unprincipled loafers, formed a mob and started a riot in the town. They attacked Jason's house, to find them and bring them out among the people.
Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some of them said, "What is this rag-picker trying to make out?" Others said, "He seems to be preaching some foreign deities." This was because he was telling the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. So they took him and brought him to the council of the Areopagus and said, "May we know just what this new teaching of yours is? read more. Some of the things you tell us sound strange to us, and we want to know just what they mean." For all Athenians and all visitors there from abroad used to spend all their time telling or listening to something new. Then Paul stood up in the middle of the council and said, "Men of Athens, from every point of view I see that you are extremely religious. For as I was going about and looking at the things you worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an Unknown God.' So it is what you already worship in ignorance that I am now telling you of. God who created the world and all that is in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples built by human hands,
God who created the world and all that is in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples built by human hands,
God who created the world and all that is in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples built by human hands, nor is he waited on by human hands as though he were in need of anything, for he himself gives all men life and breath and everything.
nor is he waited on by human hands as though he were in need of anything, for he himself gives all men life and breath and everything. From one forefather he has created every nation of mankind, and made them live all over the face of the earth, fixing their appointed times and the limits of their lands,
From one forefather he has created every nation of mankind, and made them live all over the face of the earth, fixing their appointed times and the limits of their lands, so that they might search for God, and perhaps grope for him and find him, though he is never far from any of us.
so that they might search for God, and perhaps grope for him and find him, though he is never far from any of us. For it is through union with him that we live and move and exist, as some of your poets have said, " 'For we are also his offspring.'
For it is through union with him that we live and move and exist, as some of your poets have said, " 'For we are also his offspring.' So if we are God's children we ought not to imagine that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, wrought by human art and thought.
since he has fixed a day on which he will justly judge the world through a man whom he has appointed, and whom he has guaranteed to all men by raising him from the dead."
and as they practiced the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers.
"I am a Jew," Paul answered, "from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you to let me speak to the people."
"I am a Jew, and I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but was brought up here in this city, and thoroughly educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.
The men who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
As I could not see, because of the dazzling light, my companions had to lead me by the hand, and so I reached Damascus.
and he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to learn his will and to see his Righteous One and hear him speak,
and he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to learn his will and to see his Righteous One and hear him speak,
After I had returned to Jerusalem, one day when I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance,
After I had returned to Jerusalem, one day when I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance, and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, for they will not accept your evidence about me.'
and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, for they will not accept your evidence about me.'
and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, for they will not accept your evidence about me.' And I said, 'Lord, they know that I used to go through one synagogue after another, and to imprison and flog those who believed in you,
"I had to pay a large sum for my citizenship," said the colonel. "But I am a citizen by birth," said Paul.
Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"
On the following night the Lord stood beside him and said, "Courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, you must testify in Rome also."
The way I lived from my youth up, spending my early life among my own nation and at Jerusalem, is well known to all Jews, for they have known from the first, if they are willing to give evidence, that I was a Pharisee and my life was that of the strictest sect of our religion.
We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? You cannot kick against the goad!'
We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? You cannot kick against the goad!'
We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? You cannot kick against the goad!'
But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for the express purpose of appointing you to serve me and to testify to what you have seen and to the visions you will have of me.
But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for the express purpose of appointing you to serve me and to testify to what you have seen and to the visions you will have of me. I will save you from your people and from the heathen, to whom I will send you read more. to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God, so that they may have their sins forgiven and have a place among those who are consecrated through faith in me.'
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God, so that they may have their sins forgiven and have a place among those who are consecrated through faith in me.'
For God showed him publicly dying as a sacrifice of reconciliation to be taken advantage of through faith. This was to vindicate his own justice (for in his forbearance, God passed over men's former sins)??26 to vindicate his justice at the present time, and show that he is upright himself, and that he makes those who have faith in Jesus upright also.
For God showed him publicly dying as a sacrifice of reconciliation to be taken advantage of through faith. This was to vindicate his own justice (for in his forbearance, God passed over men's former sins)??26 to vindicate his justice at the present time, and show that he is upright himself, and that he makes those who have faith in Jesus upright also.
It is not a consciousness of servitude that has been imparted to you, to fill you with fear again, but the consciousness of adoption as sons, which makes us cry, "Abba!" that is, Father.
I can testify to their sincere devotion to God, but it is not an intelligent devotion.
No! This is what it says: "God's message is close to you, on your lips and in your mind"??hat is, the message about faith that we preach. For if with your lips you acknowledge the message that Jesus is Lord, and with your mind you believe that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Treat people who are overscrupulous in their faith like brothers; do not criticize their views. One man's faith allows him to eat anything, while the overscrupulous man eats nothing but vegetables. read more. The man who will eat anything must not look down on the man who abstains from some things, and the man who abstains from them must not criticize the one who does not, for God has accepted him. Who are you to criticize someone else's servant? It is for his own master to say whether he succeeds or fails; and he will succeed, for the Master can make him do so. One man thinks one day better than another, while another thinks them all alike. Everybody must be fully convinced in his own mind. The man who observes the day does it in the Lord's honor. The man who eats does it in the Lord's honor, for he gives God thanks, and the man who abstains does it in the Lord's honor, and gives him thanks. None of us lives only to himself, and none of us dies only to himself;
Therefore let us not criticize one another any more. You must resolve instead never to put any hindrance or obstacle in your brother's way. I know and as a follower of the Lord Jesus I am convinced that nothing is unclean in itself; a thing is unclean only to the man who regards it as unclean. read more. For if your brother's feelings are hurt by what you eat, your life is not governed by love. You must not, by what you eat, ruin a man for whom Christ died. The thing you have a right to do must not become a cause of reproach. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of uprightness, peace, and happiness through the possession of the holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in that way pleases God and gains the approval of men. Let us, therefore, keep before us whatever will contribute to peace and the development of one another. You must not, just for the sake of food, undo the work of God. It is true, everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to hurt the consciences of others by what he eats. The right thing to do is to eat no meat at all and to drink no wine or do anything else if it hurts your brother's conscience. For your part, you must keep the faith you have to yourself, as between God and you. He is a happy man who has no fault to find with himself in following the course that he approves, but the man who has misgivings about eating, and then eats, is thereby condemned, for he is not following his convictions, and anything that does not rest on conviction is wrong.
To the overscrupulous I have become overscrupulous, so as to win the overscrupulous; I have become everything to everybody, so as by all means to save some of them.
No, but that what the heathen sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
For I myself received from the Lord the account that I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus the night he was betrayed took some bread
For anyone who speaks ecstatically is speaking not to men but to God, for no one can understand him, though he is uttering secret truths.
For I passed on to you, as of first importance, the account I had received, that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures foretold,
and finally he was seen by me also, as though I were born at the wrong time.
Do not be misled. Bad company ruins character.
For they say, "His letters are impressive and telling, but his personal appearance is insignificant and as a speaker he amounts to nothing."
If they are Christian workers?? am talking like a madman!?? am a better one! with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, vastly worse beatings, and in frequent danger of death. Five times I have been given one less than forty lashes, by the Jews. read more. I have been beaten three times by the Romans, I have been stoned once, I have been shipwrecked three times, a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; with my frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the heathen, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, through toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often without food, and exposed to cold. And besides everything else, the thing that burdens me every day is my anxiety about all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Whose conscience is hurt without my being fired with indignation? If there must be boasting, I will boast of the things that show my weakness! The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is forever blessed, knows that I am telling the truth. When I was at Damascus, the governor under King Aretas had the city gates watched in order to catch me,
When I was at Damascus, the governor under King Aretas had the city gates watched in order to catch me, but I was lowered in a basket from an opening in the wall, and got out of his clutches.
I have to boast. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations given me by the Lord.
So to keep me from being too much elated a bitter physical affliction was sent to me, a very messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too much elated. Three times I have prayed to the Lord about this, begging that it might leave me, read more. and he said to me, "My favor is enough for you, for only where there is weakness is perfect strength developed." So I am perfectly willing to boast of all my weakness, so that the strength of Christ may shelter me. That is why I am pleased with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, when they are endured for Christ's sake, for it is when I am weak that I am strong.
The signs that mark a true apostle were most patiently shown when I was among you, in signs, wonders, and marvels. For what is there in which the other churches had the better of you, except in the fact that I would not permit myself to be a burden to you? You must forgive me that wrong! read more. Here it is the third time that I have been ready to come to see you, and I do not intend to be a burden to you now; for it is not your money but yourselves that I want; for children are not expected to lay up money for their parents, but parents for their children. And I will be glad to spend all I have and all I am for your sake. Are you going to love me the less for loving you so intensely? But granting that I did not burden you myself, I was clever about it, you say, and took you in by a trick. Yet did I make anything out of you by anybody that I sent to you? I asked Titus to go and I sent his brother with him. Did Titus make anything out of you? Did not he and I act in the same spirit, and take the very same steps? Have you been supposing all along that it is before you I have been defending myself? It is in the sight of God and as a follower of Christ that I have been speaking. But it is all to do you good, dear friends, for I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I want to find you, and that you may find me not as you want to find me. I am afraid that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, bad feeling, rivalry, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder, and that when I come back my God may humiliate me before you, and I may have to mourn over many who have kept on in their old sins and have never repented of the impurity, immorality, and sensuality in which they have indulged.
For I tell you plainly, brothers, that the good news that I preached is not a human affair. I did not receive it from any man, and I was not taught it, but it came to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ. read more. You have heard of my former conduct when I was attached to the Jewish religion??ow furiously I used to persecute the church of God and ravage it, and how I surpassed many of my own age among my people in my devotion to Judaism, I was so fanatically devoted to what my forefathers had handed down.
and how I surpassed many of my own age among my people in my devotion to Judaism, I was so fanatically devoted to what my forefathers had handed down. And when God, who had set me apart from my birth and had called me in his mercy, saw fit
And when God, who had set me apart from my birth and had called me in his mercy, saw fit to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being,
to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being, or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus.
or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him; but I did not see any other apostle, except James, the Lord's brother.
but I did not see any other apostle, except James, the Lord's brother. (In writing you this, I call God to witness that I am telling the truth!) read more. After that, I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia. I was still personally unknown to the Christian churches of Judea;
It was in obedience to a revelation that I went. I laid before them the good news that I preach to the heathen, presenting it privately to the leaders, for fear my efforts might be or might have been futile.
It was in obedience to a revelation that I went. I laid before them the good news that I preach to the heathen, presenting it privately to the leaders, for fear my efforts might be or might have been futile. But they did not insist that even my companion Titus, although he was a Greek, should be circumcised,
But they did not insist that even my companion Titus, although he was a Greek, should be circumcised, to gratify the false brothers who had been smuggled in, who sneaked in to spy upon the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus, so as to reduce us to slavery again.
to gratify the false brothers who had been smuggled in, who sneaked in to spy upon the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus, so as to reduce us to slavery again. But we did not submit to them for a moment, in order that the truth of the good news might remain yours. read more. Those who were regarded as the leaders??hat they once were makes no difference to me; God takes no account of external differences??he leaders contributed nothing new to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the good news for the heathen, just as Peter had been intrusted with it for the Jews??8 for he who actuated Peter to be an apostle to the Jews also actuated me to be one to the heathen??9 and when they recognized the favor God had shown me, James, Cephas, and John, who were regarded as pillars of the church, pledged Barnabas and me their co-operation, with the understanding that we should work among the heathen and they among the Jews.
Are you so senseless? Did you begin with the Spirit only to end now with the flesh?
though you know that it was because of an illness that I preached the good news to you that first time;
Tell me this, you who want to be subject to law: Will you not listen to the Law?
This is an allegorical utterance. For the women are two agreements, one coming from Mount Sinai, bearing children that are to be slaves; that is, Hagar (and Hagar means Mount Sinai, in Arabia), and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is in slavery with her children.
(and Hagar means Mount Sinai, in Arabia), and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is in slavery with her children.
You people who propose to be made upright by law have finished with Christ; you have lost your hold upon God's favor.
And I, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? If that is the case, the cross has ceased to be an obstacle, I suppose!
See what large letters I make, when I write to you with my own hand!
Why, even those who let themselves be circumcised do not observe the Law themselves! But they want you to let yourselves be circumcised so that they can boast of that physical fact about you!
enlightening the eyes of your mind so that you may know what the hope is to which he calls you, and how gloriously rich his inheritance is among God's people,
To me, the very least of all his people, this favor has been given, of preaching to the heathen the inexhaustible wealth of the Christ,
They are estranged from the life of God because of the ignorance that exists among them and their obstinacy of heart,
always give thanks for everything to God our Father, as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ,
For we have to struggle, not with enemies of flesh and blood, but with the hierarchies, the authorities, the master-spirits of this dark world, the spirit-forces of evil on high.
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee; as to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church; and by the Law's standard of uprightness, no fault could be found with me.
I was very glad, as a Christian, to have your interest in me revive again after so long; for you have always been interested, but you have had no opportunity to show it.
And you at Philippi know as well as I do, that in the early days of the good news, after I left Macedonia, no church but yours went into partnership and opened an account with me. Even when I was at Thessalonica you sent money more than once for my needs.
You have paid me in full, and more too. I am fully supplied with what I have received from you through Epaphroditus. It is like fragrant incense, just such a sacrifice as God welcomes and approves.
and you will thank the Father who has entitled you to share the lot of God's people in the realm of light. He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the realm of his dear Son, read more. by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.
until I can make clear to the authorities why I cannot help telling it.
For when people speak of us, they tell what a welcome you gave us, and how you turned from idols to God, to serve a true and living God,
For when people speak of us, they tell what a welcome you gave us, and how you turned from idols to God, to serve a true and living God, and to wait for the coming from heaven of his Son, whom he raised from the dead??esus, our deliverer from God's coming wrath.
and to wait for the coming from heaven of his Son, whom he raised from the dead??esus, our deliverer from God's coming wrath.
We had just been through ill-treatment and insults at Philippi, as you remember, but, in the face of great opposition, we took courage by the help of our God, and told you God's good news.
We had just been through ill-treatment and insults at Philippi, as you remember, but, in the face of great opposition, we took courage by the help of our God, and told you God's good news.
You remember, brothers, how we toiled and labored. We worked night and day, when we preached the good news to you, in order not to be a burden to any of you. You will testify, and God will, how pure and upright and irreproachable our relations were with you who believed.
to make your lives worthy of God who invites you into his kingdom and his glory.
For you, brothers, followed the example of God's churches in Judea that are in union with Christ Jesus, for you in your turn had to bear the same ill-treatment from your neighbors as they did from the Jews,
in striving to live quietly and mind your own affairs, and work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may have the respect of the outsiders, and not be dependent upon anybody.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me the strength for it, for thinking me trustworthy and putting me into his service, though I once used to abuse, persecute, and insult him. But he had mercy on me, because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, read more. and the blessing of our Lord has been given me in the greatest abundance, together with faith and love that union with Christ Jesus brings. It is a trustworthy saying, entitled to the fullest acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of them, but God had mercy on me in order that in my case as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display his perfect patience, as an example to those who would later believe in him and find eternal life.
Those who are found guilty you must reprove publicly, as a warning to others.
I thank God, whom I, like my forefathers, worship with a clear conscience, when I remember you, as I constantly do, in my prayers.
It was a Cretan, a prophet of their own, who said, "Cretans are always liars, savage brutes, lazy gluttons,"
he saved us, not for any upright actions we had performed, but from his own mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the holy Spirit,
For it is no tangible blazing fire that you have come up to, no blackness and darkness and storm,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born anew to a life of hope through Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead,
Look upon our Lord's patience as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul, with the wisdom that God gave him, wrote you to do,
It is what existed from the beginning, that we announce; what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have beheld, and touched with our hands; it is the very message of life??2 for life has been revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it and announce to you that eternal life that was with the Father and has been revealed to us??3 it is what we have seen and heard that we announce to you also, so that you may share our fellowship, for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ,
Morish
This apostle was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of pure descent, born at Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a fact which gave to him the privilege of Roman citizenship. He was a disciple of Gamaliel and a strict Pharisee. He is first introduced to us as a young man, by name SAUL, at whose feet the witnesses who stoned Stephen laid their clothes. He became afterwards a violent persecutor of the saints, both of men and women, acting with great zeal, thinking he was doing God's service. His conversion as the effect of the Lord appearing to him was unique, and he was so completely changed that he became at once as bold for Christ as before he had been a persecutor of Christ in the persons of His saints. He immediately preached in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. This was the distinctive point of his testimony. As the Jews sought his life at Damascus, he departed into Arabia, where doubtless he had deep exercise of heart and learnt more of the Lord.
After three years he went up to see Peter at Jerusalem, where he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Jews again seeking his life, he was conducted to Caesarea, and sent to Tarsus, his native place. From thence he was fetched by Barnabas to go to Antioch, where the gospel had been effectual, and there they both laboured. After having, in company with Barnabas, taken supplies to Jerusalem (his second visit), on occasion of a dearth, he commenced his first missionary journey to Cyprus and Asia Minor. He and Barnabas returned to Antioch, where he remained 'a long time.' On a dispute arising as to Gentile converts being circumcised, he went with Barnabas to Jerusalem concerning that question, and returned to Antioch. This city had become a sort of centre of the activity of the Spirit. Being far from Jerusalem it was less influenced by Judaising tendencies, though communion with the saints there was maintained.
Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece were the sphere of Paul's second missionary journey. Having differed from Barnabas, because the latter wished to take John with them (who had left them on the first journey), Paul selected Silas for his companion, and departed with the full fellowship of the brethren. During part of this journey Timothy was one of the company. He abode a year and a half at Corinth, where he wrote the two EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS. He now visited Jerusalem at the feast, and returned to Antioch. He took his third missionary journey through Galatia and Phrygia. When he visited Ephesus he separated the disciples from the synagogue, and they met in the school of Tyrannus. At Ephesus he wrote the FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, and probably the EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. After the tumult raised by Demetrius he went to Macedonia, and there wrote the SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. He again visited Corinth and wrote the EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
The Jews seeking his life, Paul went through Macedonia, sailed from Philippi, and preached at Troas. At Miletus he gave a solemn parting address to the elders of Ephesus, and took his leave of the disciples at Tyre, where he was cautioned not to go to Jerusalem. At Caesarea also he was warned of what awaited him at Jerusalem, but he avowed that he was ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Paul arrived at Jerusalem just before Pentecost. In order to prove himself a good Jew he was advised by the brethren to associate himself with four men who had a vow on them, and to be at charges with them. But while carrying this out he was seized by some Asiatic Jews, and beaten, but was rescued by Lysias, the Roman chief captain. After appearing before the council, and again being rescued by him, he was for safety sent off by night to Caesarea. There his cause was heard by Felix, who kept him prisoner, hoping to be bribed to release him. Two years later, when superseded by Festus, Felix, to please the Jews, left Paul in bonds. On appearing before Festus, to save himself from being sent to Jerusalem, there being a plot to waylay and murder him, Paul appealed to the emperor. His case having been heard by Agrippa and Festus, he was finally remitted to Rome. The ship, however, was wrecked at Malta, where they wintered, all on board having been saved.
On his arrival at Rome, Paul sent for the chief men of the Jews and preached to them: some of them believed, though the majority rejected God's grace (thus fulfilling Isa 6:9-10), which should henceforth go to the Gentiles. He, though still a prisoner, abode two years in his own hired house. There he wrote the EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, the EPHESIANS, the PHILIPPIANS, and also to PHILEMON.
The history of Paul is thus far given in the Acts of the Apostles, but there are intimations in the later epistles that after the two years at Rome he was liberated. His movements from that time are not definitely recorded; apparently he visited Ephesus and Macedonia, 1Ti 1:3; wrote the FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY; visited Crete, Tit 1:5; and Nicopolis, Tit 3:12; wrote the EPISTLE TO TITUS (the early writers say that he went to Spain, which we know he desired to do, Ro 15:24,28); visited Troas and Miletus, 2Ti 4:13,20; wrote the EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS; and when a prisoner at Rome the second time, wrote the SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY, when expecting his death. Early writers say that he was beheaded with the sword, which is probable, as he was a Roman citizen.
Paul received his commission directly from Christ who appeared to him in glory, and this source of his apostleship he carefully insists on in the Epistle to the Galatians. New light as to the church in its heavenly character came out by Paul, who was God's special apostle for that purpose. To him was revealed the truth that the assembly was the body of Christ, and the doctrine of new creation in Christ Jesus, in which evidently there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. This caused great persecution from the Jews and from Judaising teachers, who could not readily give up the law, nor endure the thought of Gentiles having an equal place with themselves. This Paul insisted on: it was his mission as apostle to the Gentiles. To Paul also was committed what he calls "my gospel:" this was 'the gospel of the glory' (Christ in glory who put away the Christian's sins being presented in it as the last Adam, the Son of God). 2Co 4:4. It not only brings salvation, great as that is, but it separates the believer from earth, and conforms him to Christ as He is in glory.
Paul was an eminent and faithful servant of Christ. As such he was content to be nothing, that Christ might be glorified. To the Thessalonians he was gentle 'as a nurse cherisheth her children.' 1Th 2:7. He was severe however to the Corinthians when they were allowing sin in their midst, and to them he had to assert his apostolic authority when traducers were seeking to nullify his influence among them. To the Galatians he was still more severe: they were in danger of being shipwrecked as to faith by false Judaising teachers, who were undermining the truth of the gospel.
In the epistles we get a few glimpses of the inner life of Paul. After having been caught up into the third heavens, he prayed for the removal of the thorn in the flesh which had been given him lest he should be puffed up, and was told that Christ's grace was sufficient for him, he could say, "most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.'' 2Co 12:9-10. He also could say, "To me to live is Christ;" and "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus." Php 3:13-14. As a martyr he reached that goal. The catalogue he gives of his privations and sufferings in 2Co 11:23-28 discloses the fact that but a small part of his gigantic labours is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles.
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when I go to Spain I hope to see you on my way there, and to have you see me off on my journey, after I have enjoyed being with you for a while.
So when I have finished this matter, and seen this contribution safely into their possession, I will start for Spain, and come to you on the way,
In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.
If they are Christian workers?? am talking like a madman!?? am a better one! with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, vastly worse beatings, and in frequent danger of death. Five times I have been given one less than forty lashes, by the Jews. read more. I have been beaten three times by the Romans, I have been stoned once, I have been shipwrecked three times, a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; with my frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the heathen, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, through toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often without food, and exposed to cold. And besides everything else, the thing that burdens me every day is my anxiety about all the churches.
and he said to me, "My favor is enough for you, for only where there is weakness is perfect strength developed." So I am perfectly willing to boast of all my weakness, so that the strength of Christ may shelter me. That is why I am pleased with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, when they are endured for Christ's sake, for it is when I am weak that I am strong.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have captured it yet, only, forgetting what is behind me, and straining toward what lies ahead, I am pressing toward the goal, for the prize to which God through Christ Jesus calls us upward.
We were children when we were with you; we were like a mother nursing her children.
As I asked you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus in order to warn certain people there not to teach strange views
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and the books, especially the parchments.
Erastus stayed in Corinth. I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.
I left you behind in Crete expressly to correct what defects there were, and to appoint elders in each town, as I directed you??6 men of irreproachable character, who have been married only once, whose children are Christians, free from any suspicion of profligacy or disobedience.
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to settle there for the winter.
Smith
(small, little). Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was born between A.D. 0 and A.D. 5.) Up to the time of his going forth as an avowed preacher of Christ to the Gentiles, the apostle was known by the name of Saul. This was the Jewish name which he received from his Jewish parents. But though a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was born in a Gentile city. Of his parents we know nothing, except that his father was of the tribe of Benjamin,
and a Pharisee,
that Paul had acquired by some means the Roman franchise ("I was free born,")
and that he was settled in Tarsus. At Tarsus he must have learned to use the Greek language with freedom and mastery in both speaking and writing. At Tarsus also he learned that trade of "tent-maker,"
at which he afterward occasionally wrought with his own hands. There was a goat's-hair cloth called cilicium manufactured in Cilicia, and largely used for tents, Saul's trade was probably that of making tents of this hair cloth. When St. Paul makes his defence before his countrymen at Jerusalem,
... he tells them that, though born in Tarsus he had been "brought up" in Jerusalem. He must therefore, have been yet a boy when was removed, in all probability for the sake of his education, to the holy city of his fathers. He learned, he says, at the feet of Gamaliel." He who was to resist so stoutly the usurpations of the law had for his teacher one of the most eminent of all the doctors of the law. Saul was yet "a young man,"
when the Church experienced that sudden expansion which was connected with the ordaining of the seven appointed to serve tables, and with the special power and inspiration of Stephen. Among those who disputed with Stephen were some "of them of Cilicia." We naturally think of Saul as having been one of these, when we find him afterward keeping the clothes of those suborned witnesses who, according to the law,
De 17:7
were the first to cast stones at Stephen. "Saul," says the sacred writer significantly "was consenting unto his death." Saul's conversion. A.D. 37.--The persecutor was to be converted. Having undertaken to follow up the believers "unto strange cities." Saul naturally turned his thoughts to Damascus. What befell him as he journeyed thither is related in detail three times in the Acts, first by the historian in his own person, then in the two addresses made by St. Paul at Jerusalem and before Agrippa. St. Luke's statement is to be read in
where, however, the words "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks," included in the English version, ought to be omitted (as is done in the Revised Version). The sudden light from heaven; the voice of Jesus speaking with authority to his persecutor; Saul struck to the ground, blinded, overcome; the three-days suspense; the coming of Ananias as a messenger of the Lord and Saul's baptism, --these were the leading features at the great event, and in these we must look for the chief significance of the conversion. It was in Damascus that he was received into the church by Ananias, and here to the astonishment of all his hearers, he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, declaring him to be the Son of God. The narrative in the Acts tells us simply that he was occupied in this work, with increasing vigor, for "many days," up to the time when imminent danger drove him from Damascus. From the Epistle to the Galatians,
we learn that the many days were at least a good part of "three years," A.D. 37-40, and that Saul, not thinking it necessary to procure authority to teach from the apostles that were before him, went after his conversion to Arabia, and returned from thence to us. We know nothing whatever of this visit to Arabia; but upon his departure from Damascus we are again on a historical ground, and have the double evidence of St. Luke in the Acts of the apostle in his Second Epistle the Corinthians. According to the former, the Jews lay in wait for Saul, intending to kill him, and watched the gates of the city that he might not escape from them. Knowing this, the disciples took him by night and let him down in a basket from the wall. Having escaped from Damascus, Saul betook himself to Jerusalem (A.D. 40), and there "assayed to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and believed not he was a disciple." Barnabas' introduction removed the fears of the apostles, and Saul "was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem." But it is not strange that the former persecutor was soon singled out from the other believers as the object of a murderous hostility. He was,therefore, again urged to flee; and by way of Caesarea betook himself to his native city, Tarsus. Barnabas was sent on a special mission to Antioch. As the work grew under his hands, he felt the need of help, went himself to Tarsus to seek Saul, and succeeded in bringing him to Antioch. There they labored together unremittingly for a whole year." All this time Saul was subordinate to Barnabas. Antioch was in constant communication with Cilicia, with Cyprus, with all the neighboring countries. The Church was pregnant with a great movement, and time of her delivery was at hand. Something of direct expectation seems to be implied in what is said of the leaders of the Church at Antioch, that they were "ministering to the Lord and fasting," when the Holy Ghost spoke to them: "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." Everything was done with orderly gravity in the sending forth of the two missionaries. Their brethren after fasting and prayer, laid their hands on them, and so they departed. The first missionary journey. A.D. 45-49. --As soon as Barnabas and Saul reached Cyprus they began to "announce the word of God," but at first they delivered their message in the synagogues of the Jews only. When they had gone through the island, from Salamis to Paphos, they were called upon to explain their doctrine to an eminent Gentile, Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, who was converted. Saul's name was now changed to Paul, and he began to take precedence of Barnabas. From Paphos "Paul and his company" set sail for the mainland, and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. Here the heart of their companion John failed him, and he returned to Jerusalem. From Perga they travelled on to a place obscure in secular history, but most memorable in the history of the Kingdom of Christ --Antioch in Pisidia. Rejected by the Jews, they became bold and outspoken, and turned from them to the Gentiles. At Antioch now, as in every city afterward, the unbelieving Jews used their influence with their own adherents among the Gentiles to persuade the authorities or the populace to persecute the apostles and to drive them from the place. Paul and Barnabas now travelled on to Iconium where the occurrences at Antioch were repeated, and from thence to the Lycaonian country which contained the cities Lystra and Derbe. Here they had to deal with uncivilized heathen. At Lystra the healing of a cripple took place. Thereupon these pagans took the apostles for gods, calling Barnabas, who was of the more imposing presence, Jupiter, and Paul, who was the chief speaker, Mercurius. Although the people of Lystra had been so ready to worship Paul and Barnabas, the repulse of their idolatrous instincts appears to have provoked them, and they allowed themselves to be persuaded into hostility be Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium, so that they attacked Paul with stones, and thought they had killed him. He recovered, however as the disciples were standing around him, and went again into the city. The next day he left it with Barnabas, and went to Derbe, and thence they returned once more to Lystra, and so to Iconium and Antioch. In order to establish the churches after their departure they solemnly appointed "elders" in every city. Then they came down to the coast, and from Attalia, they sailed; home to Antioch in Syria, where they related the successes which had been granted to them, and
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He said, 'Eight hundred gallons of oil.' And he said to him, 'Here is your agreement; sit right down and write four hundred!'
and dragged him out of the city and stoned him, the witnesses throwing down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
and one of them named Agabus got up and under the influence of the Spirit revealed the fact that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. This was the famine that occurred in the reign of Claudius.
Some people came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers that unless they were circumcised as Moses prescribed, they could not be saved. This created a disturbance and a serious discussion between Paul and Barnabas and them, and it was agreed that Paul and Barnabas and some others of their number should go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question. read more. The church saw them off upon their journey, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the heathen, and caused great rejoicing among all the brothers. When they reached Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported how God had worked with them. But some members of the Pharisees' party who had become believers got up and said that such converts ought to be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses. The apostles and elders had a meeting to look into this matter. After a long discussion, Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose that of you all I should be the one from whose lips the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testified for them by giving them the holy Spirit just as he had done to us, making no difference between us and them, but cleansing their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Why, we believe that it is by the mercy of the Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are." This quieted the whole meeting, and they listened while Barnabas and Paul told of the signs and wonders which God had done among the heathen through them. When they finished James made this response: "Brothers, listen to me. Symeon has told how God first showed an interest in taking from among the heathen a people to bear his name. And this agrees with the predictions of the prophets which say, " 'Afterward I will return, and rebuild David's fallen dwelling. I will rebuild its very ruins, and set it up again, So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, And all the heathen who are called by my name, Says the Lord, who has been making this known from of old.' In my opinion, therefore, we ought not to put obstacles in the way of those of the heathen who are turning to God, but we should write to them to avoid anything that has been contaminated by idols, immorality, the meat of strangled animals, and the tasting of blood. For Moses for generations past has had his preachers in every town, and has been read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath." Then the apostles and elders with the whole church resolved to select representatives and send them with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. They were Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers. They were the bearers of this letter: "The apostles and the brothers who are elders send greeting to the brothers of heathen birth in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. As we have heard that some of our number, without any instructions from us, have disturbed you by their teaching and unsettled your minds, we have unanimously resolved to select representatives and send them to you with our dear brothers Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we send Judas and Silas to you, to give you this same message by word of mouth. For the holy Spirit and we have decided not to lay upon you any burden but this indispensable one, that you avoid whatever has been sacrificed to idols, the tasting of blood and of the meat of animals that have been strangled, and immorality. Keep yourselves free from these things and you will get on well. Goodbye."
But Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch and taught, and with many others preached the good news of the Lord's message. Some time after, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us go back and revisit the brothers in each of the towns where we made the Lord's message known, to see how they are doing." read more. Now Barnabas wanted to take John who was called Mark with them. But Paul did not approve of taking with them a man who had deserted them in Pamphylia instead of going on with them to their work. They differed so sharply about it that they separated, and Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus. But Paul selected Silas and set out, the brothers commending him to the Lord's favor.
suddenly there was such an earthquake that the jail shook to its foundations; all the doors flew open, and everybody's chains were unfastened. It woke up the jailer, and when he saw that the doors of the jail were open, he drew his sword and was just going to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. read more. But Paul shouted out, "Do not do yourself any harm! We are all here!" Then he called for lights and rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and said to them, "Gentlemen, what must I do to be saved?" "Believe in the Lord Jesus," they said, "and you and your household will be saved!" Then they told God's message to him and to all the members of his household. And right then in the night, he took them and washed their wounds, and he and all his household were baptized immediately. Then he took them up to his house and offered them food, and he and all his household were very happy over their new faith in God.
After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.
and as they practiced the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers.
"This fellow," they said, "is trying to induce people to worship God in ways that are against the law." Before Paul could open his lips, Gallio said to the Jews, "If some misdemeanor or rascality were involved, Jews, you might reasonably expect me to listen to you.
Paul stayed some time longer, and then bade the brothers goodbye and sailed for Syria, with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, because of a vow he had been under.
After spending some time there, he started out again, and traveled systematically through Galatia and Phrygia, reassuring all the disciples.
After traveling through those districts and giving the people a great deal of encouragement, he went on to Greece where he stayed for three months. Just as he was going to sail for Syria, the Jews made a plot against him, and he made up his mind to return by way of Macedonia.
When they came, he said to them, "You know well enough how I lived among you all the time from the first day I set foot in Asia, and how I served the Lord most humbly and with tears, through all the trials that I encountered because of the plots of the Jews. read more. I never shrank from telling you anything that was for your good, nor from teaching you in public or at your houses, but earnestly urged Greeks as well as Jews to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus. I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, for the Spirit compels me to go there, though I do not know what will happen to me there, except that in every town I visit, the holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and persecution are awaiting me. But my life does not matter, if I can only finish my race and do the service intrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of declaring the good news of God's favor. Now I know perfectly well that none of you among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom of God will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you today that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve. Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the holy Spirit has made you guardians, and be shepherds of the church of God, which he got at the cost of his own life. I know that after I am gone savage wolves will get in among you and will not spare the flock, and from your own number men will appear and teach perversions of the truth in order to draw the disciples away after them. So you must be on your guard and remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning any of you, even with tears. Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated. I have never coveted anyone's gold or silver or clothes. You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions. I showed you in every way that by hard work like that we must help those who are weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, 'It makes one happier to give than to be given to.' "
When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers there gave us a hearty welcome.
Some of the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and as he could not find out the facts on account of the confusion, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks. When Paul got to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers, on account of the violence of the mob, read more. for the mass of people followed them shouting, "Kill him!" Just as they were going to take him into the barracks, Paul said to the colonel, "May I say something to you?" "Do you know Greek?" the colonel asked. "Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago raised the four thousand cut-throats and led them out into the desert?" "I am a Jew," Paul answered, "from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you to let me speak to the people." He gave him permission, and Paul standing on the steps made a gesture to the people, and when they had become quiet he spoke to them in Hebrew.
"Brothers and fathers," he said, "listen to what I have to say in my defense."
As they were shouting and throwing their clothes about and flinging dust into the air,
Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"
by the force of signs and marvels, and by the power of the holy Spirit, with the result that I have completed the preaching of the good news of Christ all the way from Jerusalem around to Illyricum.
My love be with you all through Christ Jesus.
or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
though you know that it was because of an illness that I preached the good news to you that first time; and yet what must have tried you in my physical condition, you did not scorn and despise, but you welcomed me like an angel of God, like Christ Jesus himself. read more. What has become of that satisfaction of yours? For I can bear witness that you would have torn out your very eyes, if you could, and given them to me!
for the sake of which I even suffer imprisonment as a criminal. But God's message is not imprisoned!
Watsons
PAUL was born at Tarsus, the principal city of Cilicia, and was by birth both a Jew and a citizen of Rome, Ac 21:39; 22:25. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, and of the sect of the Pharisees, Php 3:5. In his youth he appears to have been taught the art of tent making, Ac 18:3; but we must remember that among the Jews of those days a liberal education was often, accompanied by instruction in some mechanical trade. It is probable that St. Paul laid the foundation of those literary attainments, for which he was so eminent in the future part of his life, at his native city of Tarsus; and he afterward studied the law of Moses, and the traditions of the elders, at Jerusalem, under Gamaliel, a celebrated rabbi, Ac 22:4. St. Paul is not mentioned in the Gospels; nor is it known whether he ever heard our Saviour preach, or saw him perform any miracle. His name first occurs in the account given in the Acts of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, A.D. 34, to which he is said to have consented, Ac 8:1: he is upon that occasion called a young man; but we are no where informed what was then his precise age. The death of St. Stephen was followed by a severe persecution of the church at Jerusalem, and St. Paul became distinguished among its enemies by his activity and violence, Ac 8:3. Not contented with displaying his hatred to the Gospel in Judea, he obtained authority from the high priest to go to Damascus, and to bring back with him bound any Christians whom he might find in that city. As he was upon his journey thither, A.D. 35, his miraculous conversion took place, the circumstances of which are recorded in Acts ix, and are frequently alluded to in his epistles, 1Co 15:9; Ga 1:13; 1Ti 1:12-13.
Soon after St. Paul was baptized at Damascus, he went into Arabia; but we are not informed how long he remained there. He returned to Damascus; and being supernaturally qualified to be a preacher of the Gospel, he immediately entered upon his ministry in that city. The boldness and success with which he enforced the truths of Christianity so irritated the unbelieving Jews, that they resolved to put him to death, Ac 9:23; but, this design being known, the disciples conveyed him privately out of Damascus, and he went to Jerusalem, A.D. 38. The Christians of Jerusalem, remembering St. Paul's former hostility to the Gospel, and having no authentic account of any change in his sentiments or conduct, at first refused to receive him; but being assured by Barnabas of St. Paul's real conversion, and of his exertions at Damascus, they acknowledged him as a disciple, Ac 9:27. He remained only fifteen days among them, Ga 1:18; and he saw none of the Apostles except St. Peter and St. James. It is probable that the other Apostles were at this time absent from Jerusalem, exercising their ministry at different places. The zeal with which St. Paul preached at Jerusalem had the same effect as at Damascus: he became so obnoxious to the Hellenistic Jews, that they began to consider how they might kill him, Ac 9:29; which when the brethren knew, they thought it right that he should leave the city. They accompanied him to Caesarea, and thence he went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, where he preached the faith which once he destroyed, Ga 1:21,23.
Hitherto the preaching of St. Paul, as well as of the other Apostles and teachers, had been confined to the Jews; but the conversion of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, A.D. 40, having convinced all the Apostles that "to the Gentiles, also, God had granted repentance unto life," St. Paul was soon after conducted by Barnabas from Tarsus, which had probably been the principal place of his residence since he left Jerusalem, and they both began to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles at Antioch, A.D. 42, Ac 11:25. Their preaching was attended with great success. The first Gentile church was now established at Antioch; and in that city, and at this time, the disciples were first called Christians, Ac 11:26. When these two Apostles had been thus employed about a year, a prophet called Agabus predicted an approaching famine, which would affect the whole land of Judea. Upon the prospect of this calamity, the Christians of Antioch made a contribution for their brethren in Judea, and sent the money to the elders at Jerusalem by St. Paul and Barnabas, A.D. 44, Ac 11:28, &c. This famine happened soon after in the fourth or fifth year of the Emperor Claudius. It is supposed that St. Paul had the vision, mentioned in Ac 22:17, while he was now at Jerusalem this second time after his conversion.
St. Paul and Barnabas, having executed their commission, returned to Antioch; and soon after their arrival in that city they were separated, by the express direction of the Holy Ghost, from the other Christian teachers and prophets, for the purpose of carrying the glad tidings of the Gospel to the Gentiles of various countries, Ac 13:1. Thus divinely appointed to this important office, they set out from Antioch, A.D. 45, and preached the Gospel successively at Salamis and Paphos, two cities of the isle of Cyprus, at Perga in Pamphylia, Antioch in Pisidia, and at Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, three cities of Lycaonia. They returned to Antioch in Syria, A.D. 47, nearly by the same route. This first apostolical journey of St. Paul, in which he was accompanied and assisted by Barnabas, is supposed to have occupied about two years; and in the course of it many, both Jews and Gentiles, were converted to the Gospel.
Paul and Barnabas continued at Antioch a considerable time; and while they were there, a dispute arose between them and some Jewish Christians of Judea. These men asserted, that the Gentile converts could not obtain salvation through the Gospel, unless they were circumcised; Paul and Barnabas maintained the contrary opinion, Ac 15:1-2. This dispute was carried on for some time with great earnestness; and it being a question in which not only the present but all future Gentile converts were concerned, it was thought right that St. Paul and Barnabas, with some others, should go up to Jerusalem to consult the Apostles and elders concerning it. They passed through Phenicia and Samaria, and upon their arrival at Jerusalem, A.D. 49, a council was assembled for the purpose of discussing this important point, Ga 2:1. St. Peter and St. James the less were present, and delivered their sentiments, which coincided with those of St. Paul and Barnabas; and after much deliberation it was agreed, that neither circumcision, nor conformity to any part of the ritual law of Moses, was necessary in Gentile converts; but that it should be recommended to them to abstain from certain specified things prohibited by that law, lest their indulgence in them should give offence to their brethren of the circumcision, who were still very zealous for the observance of the ceremonial part of their ancient religion. This decision, which was declared to have the sanction of the Holy Ghost, was communicated to the Gentile Christians of Syria and Cilicia, by a letter written in the name of the Apostles, elders, and whole church at Jerusalem, and conveyed by Judas and Silas, who accompanied St. Paul and Barnabas to Antioch for that purpose.
St. Paul, having preached a short time at Antioch, proposed to Barnabas that they should visit the churches which they had founded in different cities, Ac 15:36. Barnabas readily consented; but while they were preparing for the journey, there arose a disagreement between them, which ended in their separation. In consequence of this dispute with Barnabas, St. Paul chose Silas for his companion, and they set out together from Antioch, A.D. 50. They travelled through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches, and then came to Derbe and Lystra, Acts 16. Thence they went through Phrygia and Galatia; and, being desirous of going into Asia Propria, or the Proconsular Asia, they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost. They therefore went into Mysia; and, not being permitted by the Holy Ghost to go into Bithynia as they had intended, they went to Troas. While St. Paul was there, a vision appeared to him in the night: "There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Ma
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Saul entirely approved of his being put to death. A great persecution of the church in Jerusalem broke out that day, and they were all scattered over Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
But Saul harassed the church. He went into one house after another, and dragging out men and women, put them in prison.
Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, went to the high priest,
After some time had passed, the Jews made a plot to kill him,
But Barnabas got hold of him and introduced him to the apostles, and he told them how on his journey he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had spoken for the cause of Jesus at Damascus.
and spoke boldly for the Lord's cause, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they tried to kill him.
Then Barnabas went over to Tarsus to seek out Saul, and found him and brought him to Antioch. The result was that for a whole year they met with the church, and taught large numbers of people, and it was at Antioch that the disciples first came to be known as Christians.
and one of them named Agabus got up and under the influence of the Spirit revealed the fact that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. This was the famine that occurred in the reign of Claudius.
There were at Antioch in the church there a number of prophets and teachers??arnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the governor, and Saul.
Some people came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers that unless they were circumcised as Moses prescribed, they could not be saved. This created a disturbance and a serious discussion between Paul and Barnabas and them, and it was agreed that Paul and Barnabas and some others of their number should go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.
Some time after, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us go back and revisit the brothers in each of the towns where we made the Lord's message known, to see how they are doing."
and as they practiced the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers.
"I am a Jew," Paul answered, "from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you to let me speak to the people."
I persecuted this Way even to the death, and bound both men and women and put them in prison,
After I had returned to Jerusalem, one day when I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance,
But when they had strapped him up, Paul said to the officer who was standing near, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen, and without giving him a trial?"
That is why God has abandoned them to degrading passions. Their women have exchanged their natural function for one that is unnatural, and men too in the same way have disregarded the natural function of women and been consumed with passion for one another, men for men, acting indecently, and experiencing in their own persons the inevitable penalty of what they have done. read more. And just as they refused to recognize God any longer, God has abandoned them to unworthy impulses and indecent conduct. They revel in every kind of wrongdoing, wickedness, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and ill-nature. They are gossips, slanderers, abhorrent to God, insolent, overbearing, boastful, ingenious in evil, undutiful, conscienceless, treacherous, unloving, and unpitying. They know God's decree that those who act in this way deserve to die, yet they not only do it, but applaud any who do.
Will you warn men against adultery, and yet practice it yourself? Will you pretend to detest idols, and yet rob their temples? Will you boast of the Law and yet dishonor God by breaking it? read more. For, as the Scripture says, the very name of God is abused among the heathen, because of you!
For those whom he had marked out from the first he predestined to be made like his Son, so that he should be the eldest of many brothers; and those whom he has predestined he calls, and those whom he calls he makes upright, and those whom he makes upright he glorifies.
I will show you a far better way. If I can speak the languages of men and even of angels, but have no love, I am only a noisy gong or a clashing cymbal. If I am inspired to preach and know all the secret truths and possess all knowledge, and if I have such perfect faith that I can move mountains, but have no love, I am nothing. read more. Even if I give away everything I own, and give myself up, but do it in pride, not love, it does me no good. Love is patient and kind. Love is not envious or boastful. It does not put on airs. It is not rude. It does not insist on its rights. It does not become angry. It is not resentful. It is not happy over injustice, it is only happy with truth. It will bear anything, believe anything, hope for anything, endure anything. Love will never die out. If there is inspired preaching, it will pass away. If there is ecstatic speaking, it will cease. If there is knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our preaching is imperfect. But when perfection comes, what is imperfect will pass away.
For I am the least important of the apostles, and am not fit to be called an apostle, because I once persecuted God's church.
When I went to Troas to preach the good news of the Christ there, I found a good opening for the Lord's work, but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
I must tell you, brothers, how the favor of God has been shown in the churches of Macedonia,
I asked Titus to go and I sent his brother with him. Did Titus make anything out of you? Did not he and I act in the same spirit, and take the very same steps?
You have heard of my former conduct when I was attached to the Jewish religion??ow furiously I used to persecute the church of God and ravage it,
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
After that, I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia.
they only heard people say, "The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the good news of the faith he tried to destroy,"
Then, fourteen years later, I went up to Jerusalem again, with Barnabas, and took Titus also with me.
There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received. There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, read more. one God and Father of all, who is above us all, pervades us all, and is within us all. But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure.
But immorality or any form of vice or greed must not be so much as mentioned among you; that would not be becoming in God's people. There must be no indecency or foolish or scurrilous talk??ll that is unbecoming. There should be thanksgiving instead. read more. For you may be sure that no one who is immoral, or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have any share in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Whatever anyone may say in the way of worthless arguments to deceive you, these are the things that are bringing God's anger down upon the disobedient.
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee;
All God's people wish to be remembered to you, especially those who belong to the emperor's household.
I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know my circumstances, and of cheering your hearts. And with him I send my dear, faithful brother Onesimus, who is one of your own number. They will tell you all about matters here. read more. Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, wishes to be remembered to you, and so does Barnabas' cousin Mark. (About him you have had instructions; if he comes to see you, make him welcome.) So also does Jesus who is called Justus. They are the only ones among the converts from Judaism who have worked with me for the reign of God who have proved a comfort to me. Epaphras, one of your own number, a slave of Christ Jesus, wishes to be remembered to you. He is always standing up for you in his prayers that you may stand fast, like men of mature convictions, whatever God's will for you may be.
It was a Cretan, a prophet of their own, who said, "Cretans are always liars, savage brutes, lazy gluttons," and that statement is true. Therefore correct them rigorously, to make them have a healthy faith,
Remind men to accept and obey the constituted authorities, to be ready for any useful service, to abuse nobody, to be peaceable and reasonable, showing perfect gentleness to everyone. read more. For we ourselves were once without understanding, disobedient, deluded, enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures. Our minds were full of malice and envy. Men hated us and we hated one another.
For we ourselves were once without understanding, disobedient, deluded, enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures. Our minds were full of malice and envy. Men hated us and we hated one another. But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior were revealed,
But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior were revealed, he saved us, not for any upright actions we had performed, but from his own mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the holy Spirit,