Introducing Paul

Paul a native of Tarsus was born around the same time as Jesus Christ. Tarsus at the time was an extensive commercial center due to its accessibility. It was wealthy and very popular. It also housed a University during the same time that Universities in Alexandria and and Athens also existed. Paul was born into the family of the Benjamites and his father was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). Paul had a descent upbringing and his parents played a very big role in this. His father was also a Roman citizen, something that would be massively significant in his later life especially during his trials.

As a Jew from Tarsus he learned the trade of tent making and also trained as a rabbi. A rabbi was "a minister, a teacher and a lawyer all in one". He learned under Gamaliel a prominent rabbi of the time. During this time he spent a lot of time studying the Law(Torah) and this defined his "good" life which would later change. His life suddenly becomes the center of things when he begins the persecution of Christians. He sought and killed Christians wherever he could find them. Among the prominent Christians under this period in time whom Paul witnessed his killing was Stephen. Paul is said to have personally affirmed this. He became a Christian killer and did all he could to exterminate its upsurge in Jerusalem and the surrounding cities.

During one of his journeys to Damascus, a sudden appearance of a dazzling light blinded him and the Lord spoke to him, (Acts 2:5). He later testifies how Jesus spoke directly to him and how this changed his life forever (Acts 22:8; 26:15). He was later made to see by Ananias who commissioned him to do what the Lord had commanded him to and also warned him of the dangers ahead. He later faces persecutions, rejection and torture.

After this encounter with Jesus, Paul sets on a Journey of preaching the Gospel of Jesus. He defends it, preaches it, explains it, teaches it, embraces it, and lives it. He is threatened, imprisoned, beat up, involved in a ship wreck and even struggles with a prolonged ailment but never quits no matter what.

He writes unrelentingly and takes every opportunity to preach Christ to the Gentiles and Jews alike. He later declares that in Christ we are one, no Jew or Greek (Galatians 3:28). He explains love (1 Corinthians 13) and for the first time explains the teachings of Jesus on the most profound way in the Apostolic era.

He travels on a a number of missionary journeys crossing, rivers, valleys, seas, lakes and none of them stops him. He labors day and night despite the dangers that he faced. He is once bitten by a snake but shakes it off and continues to live on for Christ. He is imprisoned but acquitted due to lack of evidence but this does not stop him. His Roman citizenship plays a very important role.

Apostle Paul is later killed under the fierce persecution of Nero after he claims it is the Christians who burnt Rome. Paul's life is remarkable especially his perseverance and commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All that he did can be summarized in 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" and Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Links: