The Imitation of Saint Paul

Examining Our Lives in Light of His Example

Reapsome

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781621897866
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Religión

The Imitation of Saint Paul takes us behind the headlines of his career and offers a fresh, compelling, contemporary look at the man who changed the world. When the exemplary apostle got into the face of his converts, he bluntly held up his own life as the pattern for theirs. How risky is that? The purpose of this readable work with a modern twist is to discover how Paul viewed his divine commission and how he managed to survive incredible obstacles and hardships that threatened to undo him. What elements in the apostle's life made him the man he was? How does his life become the format of ours? What changes can we make to follow in his footsteps? This work serves as both an introduction to the apostle for those new to the Christian faith and as a healthy reminder for those who want to go deeper in their obedience to and service for Christ.

chapter 1

Bystander to Martyrdom

Luke begins his story about Saul (renamed Paul) not with accolades but with shameful behavior. When we talk about imitating Paul, this obviously is not the place to begin. But we must begin here, not only for the sake of historical accuracy, but also for the sake of understanding and appreciating all that Paul became in Christ.

The way to follow him is not by doing what he did before he became a Christian, but by imitating him after his conversion. Paul never forgot what he had done, so much so that he regarded himself as the worst of sinners. Therefore, we properly conclude that if God could turn around a person like Saul, then there is hope for us, no matter how dark our pasts. We take up our story where Saul is first mentioned in Acts 7.

Holding Coats

Acts 7:54—8:3

“Another suicide car bombing shattered a Baghdad neighborhood today, killing at least 27 people.” That television news headline plays in our minds like a broken record so that we pay it scant attention.

Likewise, in first-century Jerusalem the news commentator might have said, “Another stoning was carried out today by religious zealots, who claimed the victim—known only as Stephen—had blasphemed their God. One of the eyewitnesses, who actually assisted in the execution, was a Roman citizen named Saul, who said he was a patriotic Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia.”

How unlike a modern biographer was Luke the historian, who wrote the Book of Acts. He introduced the star of his book, the apostle Paul, with something like a footnote to the major event, the stoning and martyrdom of Stephen. “By the way, there was this man Saul (later to be called Paul), who held the coats of Stephen’s executioners.” Doubtless Paul played this seemingly minor role because he relished the demise of one of his most fearless, outspoken enemies. Although he did not actually throw a single stone at Stephen, he might as well have done so.

While Paul’s job was to wipe out this new sect that posed a serious threat to the prevailing Jewish religious faith, Stephen had the audacity to accuse its leaders of major crimes against their people. For this he fully deserved to be stoned. At that terrible bloodletting Luke chose to bring on the stage the man who would soon take over the rest of his drama.

Why should we spend time with Paul at this gruesome scene? For a couple of reasons, at least. First, because we must discover what kind of a person Paul had been. Unless we take time to do that, we will miss the full impact of his career later on. When we read what he said and did, we will do so against the backdrop of his participation in this horrible death by stoning.

Paul himself constantly said, in effect, “Look, this is the kind of person I was, but see who I am now in Jesus Christ.” Therefore, there is hope for us, too, no matter how checkered our lives have been.

Second, because we need to recall our own records, however inconspicuous they may appear. How often have we, as it were, stood by and held the coats of others engaged in some offense against God? Perhaps not murder, to be sure, but we need not delve far into our pasts to recognize things we have assented to that now embarrass us. Yes, there have been times when we deserve the label, “Guilty by association.”

Or, as the ancient confessions expressed it, we have left undone the things we ought to have done. We have not loved God with all of our being. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. To be honest, we have fallen miserably short of God’s glorious perfection and his holy demands.

Because Luke’s ten-second spot of Paul in his Acts video packs therapeutic punch, we place ourselves in front of the camera. We take a good hard look at the results and we confess, “God be merciful to me, sinner that I am.”

To get close to Paul, we can pretend that we were a TV cameraman on the scene of Stephen’s death. We can film what we saw and catch the prevailing emotions of the key players in this drama. To imitate Paul, we recall our sordid pasts, but like him, we keep our pasts from dragging us down. We confess not only the miserable stuff we have done, but also the incidents when we should have acted righteously, but we retreated like cowards and failed to do so. We confess our need for strength and wisdom to be instruments of peace and righteousness, like Paul was.

Forgiven Persecutor

Acts 7:58–60; 8:1–3; 9:1–2

History’s introduction to Paul is not a pretty picture. Rather, it’s a picture of brutal, vicious persecution of believers in Christ, beginning with Stephen, the first martyr. The King James Version gives a stark summary of Paul’s activities: “he made havoc of the church. . . . breathing out threatenings and slaughter.”

These images riveted themselves in Paul’s mind like bolts in steel girders. Although totally forgiven by Jesus and commissioned to be his ambassador, Paul frequently cited his past as the supreme example of God’s boundless grace. If someone who had committed such horrendous crimes could be accepted by God and given a clean slate and a fresh start, so could anyone.

Paul’s theology of salvation by faith through grace exploded from his sordid past. He knew by experience, not by a textbook, that it was by grace he had been saved, by trusting Jesus. It was not of his own doing, not a reward for anything he had done, but a gift of God.

Often, those who come to Christ from wretched pasts are the most sensitive and appreciative of God’s amazing grace. Not that Paul wallowed in his crimes. Nor did he attract crowds by sensationalizing his murders. Rather, he sensationalized what Jesus had done for him.

He never hid the fact that he was “the chief of sinners” (1 Tim 1:15). He reminded the Galatians that they knew how he had “wasted” the church (Gal 1:13). When he defended himself against the Jerusalem mob, and before King Agrippa, Paul openly confessed what he had done to wipe out the early Christians (Acts 22:4–5; 26:10–12).

After his life-changing encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, Paul seized the same passion and zeal he had applied against the church and turned it to evangelizing Jews and Gentiles wherever he went. The prime persecutor became the prime promoter of the Christian cause.

His story demonstrates most effectively the principle that anyone’s past, no matter how stained, can be forgiven. Past sins need not block our way to salvation and eternal life. Beyond what perhaps have been the worst of sins, God offers hope and a fresh start. Zeal for God and his kingdom replaces selfishness, indulgence in moral misbehavior, and guilt. Past failures need not bar anyone from becoming a new person in Christ, with new desires and goals.

Just as it was with Paul, the key to receiving God’s forgiveness and a new path in life is honest confession. However grim our pasts may be, whatever mistakes we may have made, all of us can follow Paul’s courage and openly acknowledge what we have done. Whether we feel like the chief of sinners, or not, we come to Jesus because he died to cleanse us from our sins so that we can receive God’s forgiveness and grace. Life and hope prevail over death and darkness.

Just as Paul told his story of God’s grace and forgiveness, we can and must tell our own stories to people oblivious to what the future holds for them in Jesus Christ. What God has done for us speaks forcefully to others who need to confess and trust in Jesus for their salvation.

Paul’s conversion was Act One, so to speak, of a most exciting journey that would in the end change the world. His story begins and ends with martyrdom. Our word “witness” comes from the original Greek word for martyr. Next, we look at Paul’s early witness, his flight, and his return to ministry.

chapter 2

Radical Transformation

A rash of contemporary television programs center on the theme of radical transformation. In some cases, we delight to see how someone’s home was gutted and restored like new. The harried housewife weeps when she opens the door to her sparkling living room and kitchen. In another case, someone’s body was made over and we hardly recognize the remade person compared to the old one.

Paul’s radical transformation began when he met and fell before Jesus on Damascus Road. It was completed when God gave him a total career makeover. The premier persecutor was called to take the gospel of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire. Actually, Paul would never say his transformation was completed. Rather, he would confess that he was a work in progress under the power of God’s grace and mercy.

Life-Changing Vision

Acts 9:1–9

Paul’s Damascus Road experience, recounted three times in the Book of Acts, has inspired volumes of literature and countless masterpieces of art. The story has intrigued historians, biblical scholars, and psychoanalysts. His conversion has captivated Christians and provides a wellspring of hope to despairing and depressed people.

As we stand with Paul on the way we witness his radical transformation. Blinded by the sun, we hear voices. Astoundingly, it seems to us that mighty Paul has more than met his match. He has collapsed in surrender to an invisible voice that claims to be Jesus. To get inside Paul’s skin, as it were, we cover our heads and listen.

Jesus confronted Paul with the dreadful fact that by attacking Christ’s people he was hurting Christ himself. Perhaps that was what Paul had intended all along. Had he seen and heard Jesus during his tumultuous last days? Did he lead the mob before Pilate,...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Bystander to Martyrdom
• Chapter 2: Radical Transformation
• Chapter 3: Enthusiasm Delayed and Restored
• Chapter 4: Spirit-Inspired Mission
• Chapter 5: World Changer
• Chapter 6: Teacher and Tentmaker
• Chapter 7: Farewell to Ephesus
• Chapter 8: Unswerving Commitment
• Chapter 9: Visions, Faith, and Courage
• Chapter 10: Commissioned Servant
• Chapter 11: Theological Groundwork
• Chapter 12: Path to Victory
• Chapter 13: The Summit of His Faith
• Chapter 14: Still Marching On
• Chapter 15: Preacher, Farmer, and Builder
• Chapter 16: Accountable Passion
• Chapter 17: In the Trenches
• Chapter 18: Grace, Hope, and Love
• Chapter 19: Stewardship of Money
• Chapter 20: Integrity as an Ambassador
• Chapter 21: Motives, Strength, and Weapons
• Chapter 22: Costly Obedience
• Chapter 23: Metaphors of Service
• Chapter 24: Bragging and Suffering
• Chapter 25: Jesus Is Everything
• Chapter 26: Living under the Spirit’s Control
• Chapter 27: The “Worst of Sinners”
• Chapter 28: The Supremacy of the Cross
• Chapter 29: His Pattern of Life
• Chapter 30: Sorrow, Anxiety, and Contentment
• Chapter 31: Imprisoned for the Gospel
• Chapter 32: Deposit of Faith
• Chapter 33: God’s Glory
• Chapter 34: Death and Other Endings