From Paul’s Pen – Introduction

Today starts a new series on Paul’s letters. 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament are attributed to Paul. Outside of Luke (Luke-Acts) Paul has contributed more to the New Testament than any other single author.

Outside of Jesus, Paul is the most influential figure in what we believe as Christians and how wee practice our faith both individually and as a church.

Before we look at the letters, we need to know Paul’s background.

Before his conversion he was known by the name Saul.

He was a committed, educated, and devout Jew. You might call him a Torah nerd. And he readily admits it. There are several personal remarks he makes in his letters and one in Philippians speaks to his dedication to the Jewish Law:

Philippians 3:4–6 (NIV) — 4 If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

There are two more facts about Paul that are important to note that he references in this passage.

Saul was a persecutor of the church. When the Jesus movement began he was 100% against it and tried to exterminate the church and he was proud of it. He sincerely thought it was the right and godly thing to do. In fact, our first introduction to Saul comes in the context of the stoning of the disciple Stepehen.

Acts 7:57–58 (NIV) — 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Acts 8:1 (NIV) — 1 And Saul approved of their killing him.

Paul was a law-keeper. He loved the law and followed it flawlessly. Being a rule keeper is not a bad thing but what was bad is that Saul thought he could earn God’s acceptance on the basis of keeping the Law.

One day his life was turned upside down. He was on a mission to track down followers of Jesus in a town called Damascus and as he was travelling, he was struck blind by a great light and had an encounter with Jesus (Acts 9, retold by Paul in Acts 22 and 26) that would change his life. He makes a 180 degree turn and becomes not just a follower of Jesus but a zealous missionary of Christianity. At this point Saul becomes known as Paul. And God gives him a special mission – to be the apostle to the Gentiles. The second half of the book of Ats chronicles his three extensive missionary journeys. He, along with others, travel the Roman world establishing and strengthening churches. Acts ends with his imprisonment in Rome for preaching the gospel.

After the book of Acts, we have the 13 letters of Paul. Many of these letters are written during the time period covered in the book of Acts. Many follow a typical format – the author, thanksgiving, some instruction, and personal greetings.

9 Letters to Churches

Romans

1 & 2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 & 2 Thessalonians

4 Letters to Individuals

1 & 2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Sometimes these letters are called epistles. The difference is that an epistle has a tone of authority and instruction more than just passing along information and news. They are more than just news and advice. The letters also appear to have been circulated among churches and eventually bound together as a unit later to be included on the books of the New Testament. These letters carried the authority of inspired scripture. Peter puts them on par with the Old Testament!

2 Peter 3:16 (NIV) — 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

We will take a look at each one of these letters in the weeks to come. We will take a couple of excursions around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Before we do that, let’s look at some themes in these letters.

1. Christianity is based in a certain set of beliefs.

These letters point out the importance of knowing and adhering to correct teachings/doctrine of who God is; who we are; what sin is; what God has done for us; that there will be a judgement; and above all knowing that salvation is not by works but by grace through faith and this salvation is available for everyone!

Doctrine is important! The church is built on a set of teachings and it is critical that we get them right.

2. Correct spiritual teaching transforms our lives.

In many of his letters Paul follows a pattern. The first part of the letter will be heavy on doctrine and then there will be a transition to how this doctrine transforms us. The best example f this is Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 (NIV) — 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

The first 11 chapters have been largely doctrinal. The rest of the letter will be how doctrine changes us.

3. Healthy churches are essential to God’s work in this world.

Paul is so concerned that churches are built on sound doctrine. He is so concerned that Christians build their lives on the truths of Christianity. This is what drives Paul to write these passionate letters. He writes to healthy churches to encourage them to remain healthy. He writes to unhealthy churches to correct them. He writes to confused churches to clarify to them the truth of certain doctrines. In one of the personal messages in his letters he expresses this deep concern:

2 Corinthians 11:28 (NIV) — 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Paul wants churches to be healthy. He wants us all to experience the power of the gospel. To experience the joy and the hope that comes from knowing who God is. As we go through these letters I want us to have that passion as well. We want to be a healthy church. We want to continue to strengthen ourselves and as we do that we will become more and more effective on our mission to build one another up and to share this great news with the world. Churches are either growing or dying and don’t we want to grow? Individuals are either growing or declining and don’t you want to grow? These letters will help us do that.

Next week we will look at Romans – what many consider Paul’s greatest work. Read this letter and next week we will look at some of the themes of this great letter.

But before I let you go today, let me just share with you what I think is a concept that changes Paul’s life and one that can change ours as well.

Before his conversion Paul believed he had to chase God down and how you did that was being good. If you just kept the law eventually you could earn God’s approval. But as good as Paul was, he lived with feelings of failure – he knew he could never be good enough. Listen to his struggle as he shares with the Romans:

Romans 7:14–24 (ESV) — 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Don’t you feel like this at times? We all want to be good but we know we will never be good enough.

Here’s the truth Paul learned - We can’t chase God down! But here is the beautiful thing – it is God who is chasing us! And if we just let ourselves be caught it changes our lives.

After that confusing and anguishing testimonial Paul concludes with this beautiful truth:

Romans 7:25 (ESV) — 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

This is what Paul learned and this is what he teaches. This is the gospel. On the road to Damascus this is the light that shone on him and this is the light that shines on us. And may the light of God’s grace not just shine on us but shine through us.