“For I am least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
The two verses printed above are part of Paul’s great resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15. Before the text printed above, Paul was telling how many people had witnessed the resurrected Christ. Jesus had revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus Road, and possibly in Arabia during his sojourn there after his conversion, so he included himself as one of those who had witnessed Christ after His resurrection. What we see in these two verses is the miracle of God’s grace in the life of Paul. By grace, the Risen Christ had converted him. The story behind these two verses are that if the Risen Christ could forgive Paul, He can forgive you as well. No one is beyond the grace of God. Here is the story that the text tells: The text shows us that, by God’s grace, Paul was not what he had been. He wrote that he had persecuted the church of God before his conversion. He was revealed as the church’s greatest enemy in the latter part of chapter 7, and in the opening verses of chapter 9 of Acts. From the accounts that we have of Paul’s life, we can see what Jesus did in his life, and what He can do to any who come to Him in faith. Before God’s grace got ahold of him, Paul was mean-spirited. He had taken people from their homes and had them flogged. He had been legalistic in that he would not admit that Jesus was the Son of God. His heart had been filled with hatred toward those with whom he disagreed. Today, a lot of people are spewing hatred toward the Christian faith, and toward those of us who believe and take it seriously. When we read what they write, and hear what they say on television, what are we to think? I know that I sometimes get really angry when I hear it, but, then, again, I think about Paul. I would probably have felt that way about Paul, and might have been tempted to return his hatred. But I have to remember that Jesus saved Paul. He had even loved Paul in spite of his hatred. Am I supposed to love those people and pray for their conversion? Yes! I did not say that I agreed with them, and that I would not oppose them. But instead of returning hatred I need to pray that grace and the love of Christ will get ahold of their hearts. I remember Paul, and I know that this can happen. Let’s "bless those who curse us and do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who despitefully use us…." Where have I heard that? Oh! Jesus said it in Matthew 5:44. There are many people that I will refer to as “Pauls” and “Paulines” in our midst. We should pray that they will turn their animosity into love by the grace of Christ, and be witnesses for the cause of Christ. Remember! If it happened to Paul it can happen to them. We need to oppose their plans, but we cannot, must not return their hatred. Pray brothers and sisters! Pray! (Continued tomorrow) Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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