Re: History of Christianity - Lesson 4

History of Christianity - Lesson 4

Don Noenoehitoe

1. How did the world in which the Apostle Paul lived contribute to his life and ministry?

The Apostle Paul, by his divine calling, spent most of his life preaching Christ and Salvation to the Gentiles and the the World.
Paul had a strong bond with his Jewish brethren. Everywhere he went Paul always preached in the local Jewish synagogue first, sharing the Gospel
with the Jews and Gentile proselytes who were willing to listen.

2. In what ways was the Apostle Paul a "man of two worlds"?

Paul was a man of two worlds. He came from both Judaism and the Romans background. He excelled in Jewish education (Philippians 3:4-6) 
as a disciple of the great Jewish rabbi Gamaliel. He was a native of Tarsus, the chief city of Cilicia (Acts 21:39).
He was also born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28), and he did not shirk from exercising his rights as a Roman citizen when they would help him in furthering the cause of Christ (Acts 16:37; 25:11). Before coming to Christ, Paul was an observant Jew. Because Tarsus was an intellectual center of its day, Paul was exposed to Greek philosophy. The Roman Empire was the world power of Paul's time. We can deduce that Paul lived and labored in a very urban culture for its time.

3. How did the Apostle Paul's work show a certain genius for missions and apologetics?

Paul always defended Christian truth against the attacks of heresy, and he always tried to win the heretic back to the true way. The issue of salvation's breadth and means was the first issue dealt by Paul at the Jerusalem Council after his first missionary journey.

Apostle Paul strongly asserted that faith in Christ is the only way to salvation (Collosians 1:13-20). Paul's determination and wise apologetic approach
proved crucial in avoiding schism between the Jewish Christians and the Gentiles at the Jerusalem Council - strict observation to Mosaic Laws vs. freedom of Mosaic Law and Christ as the only salvation.

Apostle Paul, leading by example with his own life, showed his abilities - bestowed by the Holy Spirit - to balance the issues on the early Christians moral philosophy, e.g.; happiness, God's grace, Mosaic Law, Christian love, etc.

He was a unique expositor of what salvation in Christ means to the individual. He protected the faith from the miasma of legalism and human reason.
He established order within the Christian churches he founded, and regularly visited and wrote to them in order to help them solve their particular problems as they arose, all done in a loving but firm Christian manner. Like no one else, the Apostle Paul understood the cosmic impact of Christ
for time and eternity. As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul explained Jesus Christ to the Gentile world.