This morning I was ready for work early so I was watching videos on my phone and ended up watching one of a friend who was talking about “sharing God like sharing your favorite Pizza place to eat”. In Biblical times Christians were persecuted (literally) for talking about Jesus, talking about faith. These days we might get questioned, made fun of but not killed or harmed for our faith choices, not where I live anyways. I’m saying I’ve never been injured for being a Christian, I do realize its not always the case. The movie – The Apostle Paul was not nearly as graphic as The Passion but it certainly did include some truth about Christians of the time, they hung them on a post, doused them with flammable liquid and set them on fire, they called them “Roman candles” – this is how you could see in the streets of Rome in that day, this image is branded in my brain and not in a good way. I have such a hard time with this, yes I am passionate about what I believe, that I believe in Jesus, but if someone didn’t believe the same as me I would not kill them or harm them. Thankful I did not live in this time. This has me thinking about faith, speaking about it or I should say, (for me) writing about it more. Being on fire for what I believe, and being willing to subject myself to those who disagree. The God I serve is a good God, I believe He loves us all, even those who do not believe in Him, even those who do not believe in His Son who died for our sins. Still there are those back in the day who were very passionate and paid the price. Hmm This begs the question, would you speak out in faith if there was a possibility you would be hurt or worse – be killed for what you believe?
24 I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
He also said, in Romans 1:11-12 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters
So, the statements above are pretty passionate. You might think them spoken by one of the original twelve disciples because of the strong stance on faith. Not so, this is Paul speaking. Who was Paul? There are many things we can say about Paul, here is a bit of background on Paul prior to Jesus being crucified. "For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers." (Galatians 1:13–14), NIV. Basically, this means Paul (he went by Saul of Tarsus at this time) found and killed Christians. What changed? Jesus changed it all. So Paul, now having had an awakening of faith goes out and talks about Jesus and forming the church, he is now an Apostle (someone who spreads the word of Jesus). Again, Jesus has been crucified so we know what they think of Christians in Jerusalem. Did that stop him – no.
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
He has been told by the Holy Spirit that he is in trouble no matter where he goes, prison and hardships are eminent. What is to come is that he dies a martyr’s death. He knew in advance that bad things would be the case and he still kept the faith, talked to everyone he could even in prison. He had a passion about Jesus that fueled all he did and said. This was not a man who was a scholar, he didn’t go to finishing school for law. As a matter of fact his profession was that of a tent maker (Leather worker). He kept up his trade to make money to be able to travel around and speak. It’s also written he was not an eloquent speaker, but likely while was working and started talking, after a while he had an audience. His passion had to show in his speaking, I doubt folks would have stopped to listen otherwise. Don’t we all enjoy listening to someone who is passionate about the topic? I know I am.
I’ve watched some of the early crusades where Billy Graham spoke and boy was he passionate. I expect Paul was pretty close in passion. If you are interested in seeing Billy Graham speak about “how to live the Christian life” click on this link to watch - Hang in there for some great old gospel music first, like a full on worship service. Oh this makes me think of my Grandma and how she LOVED the great hymns. Even his opening prayer is passion filled.
Profound passion and total dedication constitute part of the enduring legacy of Paul’s life and letters. So passionate about Jesus that he wrote letters, he spoke and those resulted in these books of the Bible which Paul is given credit for either writing or dictating…Galatians (AD 47), 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans, Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians, 1 Timothy and Titus, 2 Timothy.Although Paul penned or dictated these letters, he makes it clear that he is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The other apostles, as well as the early church, accepted these letters as words from God (2 Peter 1:20–21; 3:15–16). Jesus Himself told Paul that he was sending him as a witness of all God would teach him (Acts 26:16–18). Therefore, we can rest assured that Paul’s words to the churches are inspired by the Holy Spirit and relevant for us today.
Circling back around to the topic at hand, more importantly – the question. Would you speak out in faith if there was a possibility you would be hurt or worse – be killed for what you believe? Would you be a modern day Paul?
Dear Heavenly Father, today I just want to give thanks, Thank You for passion, thank You for early apostles who took the risks and spoke the truth in love. Thank You for Jesus sacrifice, Thank You for loving us that much. In Jesus Name - Amen