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.