The Life of Paul by Mike Sullivan (2025)

Acts 9 shows us Paul's transformation from a persecutor and murderer of Christians into one of the greatest church planters and evangelists in the world. Just as God used Paul's skills for His own divine purposes, God wants to use our own pasts and unique skills to make an impact on eternity. 

On his first missionary journey, Paul delivers a speech on why Jesus is the Messiah. His argument includes the following: John the Baptist declared that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus fulfilled numerous Old Testament prophecies, and Jesus was raised from the dead with many eyewitnesses. These facts demand a response from us on if we will accept Jesus' offer of forgiveness. 

In the early church, Peter faced a difficult decision that nearly resulted in a works-based religion. At Paul's challenge, Peter maintains the grace-based gospel. Even today, many churches have lost sight of grace. As Christians, we must take a stand for God's truth, even if it leads to unpopularity or persecution. 

While all Christians share the same mission, ministry can get messy. Despite the suffering and opposition that will likely come, ministry is a greatly rewarding venture made possible through the Holy Spirit's guidance.

The gospel message is powerful and needed. If conveyed correctly, this message will resonate with others. Paul immersed himself in different cultures to contextualize and better communicate the gospel message. 

Paul hit a low point in Corinth, yet he kept serving. Through his story, we can see that God wants to encourage us through our low points by providing us with fellowship, practical resources, and by speaking into our lives. 

From Paul's farewell speech to the Ephesian leaders, we can gather numerous traits of biblical leadership that we should strive for: humbling serving others, becoming emotionally invested in those we lead, committing ourselves to teaching God's word, the willingness to risk our very lives, giving out to others, and guarding the flock from false teachers and Satan. 

As Paul says an emotional goodbye to the Ephesian church and leaves them with his closing statements, we can garner several things from Paul's leadership. He was involved in their lives, emotionally invested in them, humble, giving, and committed to teaching. Paul asks that they would follow his example of leadership as he leaves to continue spreading the gospel in new places. 

As Paul stands trial, he gives a reasonable argument for the Christian faith and the resurrection of Jesus. 

As Paul stands on trial before King Agrippa, he provides various lines of evidence for Jesus as the resurrected Messiah. While this evidence is ultimately rejected, we can learn from Paul's example of using truth, reason, and persuasion to make a case for the resurrection, being bold with our faith, exhibiting genuine care and love for people, and praying that others will put their faith in Jesus.