Saul of Tarsus

So the Apostle we're going to be looking at this Sunday is the final Apostle that Jesus called, a man named

Saul of Tarsus, more commonly known as the Apostle Paul.

No man did more to further the spread of Christianity than him. If you count the book of Hebrews, Paul authored 14

New Testament epistles, far more than anyone else. So the primary source of information concerning Paul's life and ministry is the book of Acts.

Although he does talk about his former life as a leader in Judaism and his epistles as well, but the book of Acts, the book is known as the

Acts of the Apostles, right? And Peter is the main character from chapters 1 through 12, but starting in chapter 13, it has been said that the book, the

Acts of the Apostles, could be titled or should be titled the

Acts of the Apostle, singular, since it focuses solely on Paul.

The Jews as a group had rejected Christianity, so the Lord called Paul to this unique office as the

Apostle to the Gentiles. Acts chapter 9 records his conversion on the road to Damascus.

And at this moment, Saul, of course, originally was a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, and he had this authority from the

Jewish government to arrest Christians and take them back shackled to Jerusalem to stand trial.

Paul even seems to be the ringleader. When the first Christian was martyred for their faith, that's the story of Stephen in Acts chapters 6 through 8.

But in Acts chapter 9, the Lord turned the church's most fierce opponent into its greatest defender.

The Bible says in Acts 9, 3 through 6, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And he said, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

It is hard for you to kick against the goats. So he, trembling and astonished, said,

Lord, what do you want me to do? And from that moment forward, his life was never the same.

And not only that, the world was never the same as he and the others helped to spread the

Christian message, the Christian faith, to the uttermost parts of the earth, a mission that the church is still on to this day.