From Persecutor to Missionary

MEMORY VERSE: “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee.” —Acts 26:16

GALATIANS 1:11-17; ACTS 11:19-26

SAUL, the persecutor of the Early Church, became Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul explains that God had separated him “from his mother’s womb,” and called him by his grace. This does not imply that Saul was arbitrarily “separated” from the time of his birth to be an apostle, regardless of his qualifications of heart, and his ability effectively to present the Gospel.

Saul’s heart was dedicated to the Lord even while he was persecuting the church. His difficulty was a lack of understanding. He verily thought that Jesus was a false Messiah; that his followers were being mislead, and that the best thing one could do would be to destroy the sect before further damage was done. But God’s grace bridged this difficulty, and in due time the truth was revealed to Saul. Paul explains that God’s grace acted “to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen.”

In the case of essentially all who are drawn to Christ, and who accept him, one or more human servants are used to first present the Gospel message. But this was not true with Saul. He explains, “I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This is borne out by the record of Saul’s conversion on the Damascus road, as recorded in Acts 9:1-18.

This wonderful experience covers but a few days, and there is no record that any who spoke to Paul explained the Gospel message to him, yet we read that “straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20) Saul was well instructed in the Jewish religion. He would know of the Jewish hopes of a coming Messiah, and now it had been revealed to him directly by the Lord that Jesus was indeed that promised Messiah.

Paul explains in our lesson that he did not confer “with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me.” Truly Paul was highly favored by the Lord, and he appreciated it, and was faithful to his trust as the apostle to the Gentiles, and in discharging his responsibilities toward the brethren in all the churches.

While Paul was a special apostle to the Gentiles, he served also among the Jewish people, visiting and witnessing in their synagogues wherever he went. He was introduced into the co-operative ministry of that time by Barnabas, “a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” This was at Antioch, where a thriving new congregation was being built up through the drawing power of God.

After Barnabas brought Paul to Antioch from Tarsus, his home town, they labored together in the congregation for an entire year, “and taught much people.” Seemingly they filled a double role there, in that they ministered to the brethren in the church and also conducted a public ministry. This is the way it should be with all the ambassadors of Christ.

While some may be specially gifted as evangelists to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom publicly, these should not neglect their responsibility to supply the needs of the brethren with respect to that precious spiritual food which the Lord has put in his Word for his own people, those who are fully dedicated to him.

On the other hand, there are those who are specially qualified to minister to the brethren, but these are also to seek out opportunities for witnessing to the world at large, for the Lord will bless their efforts in this direction, and his name will be glorified.

Our lesson states that “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” There is no indication that the Lord gave them this name. The word “Christian” appears only in two other places in the Bible. One is where Peter speaks of those who suffer as Christians.—I Pet. 4:16

QUESTIONS

Was Saul’s heart condition right before his conversion?

How did Paul learn the Gospel?

Where did his first co-operative ministry begin?

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