Learning From Paul

Today I wrapped up a two month course on the life and teachings of the Apostle Paul and if I learned anything it’s this: the dude had a knack for teaching.

Paul taught the gospel to thousands – if not millions – of new believers in the Mediterranean world, then he taught others how to ensure that gospel grew and became stronger than the false gospels of false teachers. He taught many people many things, and because many of his letters are still with us, he’s continuing to teach today. That, my friends, is called success.

I personally learned a number of things over the last two months. There are so many theological themes in Paul’s letters; you can easily get lost trying to sort them all out and understand them. I did…get lost. There are also many simple themes that we too often forget, three of which that are perhaps more important than the rest: we are only justified by faith, false teachers are everywhere, and we are going to be persecuted so we better just learn to deal with it (or rejoice!).

1. We Are Only Justified by Faith
In my opinion, the most important theme in the Pauline epistles is that we are only justified by faith. Paul wrote often that we have no hope if we rely on our own power and that is oh so true. We are “under the power of sin”¹ and because so we stand alone, separated from God. We can be made right with God of course, but there is only one way, “by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.” ² Worrying about what clothes you wear, how you do your hair, how many times you pray a day, or how many hours you volunteer at church a week, none of it makes us right with God, only faith in Jesus Christ. Paul knew that. I hope you do.

I know that I don’t know everything (some would say I know nothing). I know that much of my understanding is faulty. But. I have faith. So I no longer have to worry about knowing everything, I just have to worry about my faith and then walk in that faith and grow in the Holy Spirit.

2. False Teachers Are Everywhere
There were many false teachers in Paul’s world, those who taught contrary to justification by faith, and those who taught contrary to any faith at all. In almost every letter, Paul spoke of the need to be weary of false teachers and to not let “a little yeast…spread through the whole batch of dough!”³

Today the false teachers are still abound. They are on MySpace. They are on Twitter. They are on Facebook. They have their own blogs. (Hi!) They talk about the need to do this and the need to do that. They talk about not needing to do this and not needing to do that. They are everywhere, unknowingly spreading a false message. And I’ll even admit it. I could be one. I don’t think anybody knowingly spreads false teachings. That is why it is so important for me – everyone – to continue to spend time with Christ and pray for wisdom and strength so that I will not become swayed by their teachings and miss out on “God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” ⁴

3. We are Going to be Persecuted So We Better Just Learn to Deal With It (or rejoice!).
In his letter to Philippians, which is one of my favorites, Paul encourages the believers there to stay encouraged and not to “be intimidated in any way by your enemies.” ⁵ In Paul’s world, there was a lot of persecution, especially against new believers who claimed the Messiah had come. The same persecution exists today in that part of the world and believers there deal with the threat of losing their life every day, just because they believe.

Thankfully in the Western world you can’t get hung or burned or stoned for believing in Christ. But what you can get is even worse! You could get…made fun of. What’s worse than getting laughed at or joked about behind your back because you talk about Jesus every once in a while?

In my younger years I had trouble with this. When you are young you desire to be cool, hip, popular. Maybe it was because I failed at all three, but now I solely desire to be with God. I know that the ridicule means nothing in the grand scheme of things. “Things of the world that once seemed important have lost their attraction; nothing compares to the infinite value of knowing Christ.” I read that in my study bible. So, as Paul wrote, we must stay encouraged and “always be full of joy in the Lord.” ⁶

So there you have it. Three simple themes from Paul’s letters that allow me to stand confident and joyful in my faith. I hope they stick with me forever. I know that I am justified, not by my works or words, but by the faith that lies in my heart. I know that I must stand encouraged and must shake any persecution or ridicule off my back; it means nothing compared to the joy of Christ. And I know that there are false teachers everywhere, hoping to rob me and you of our salvation. I pray every day they don’t succeed.

1. Rom 3:9 NLT [↩]
2. Rom 3:22 [↩]
3. Gal 5:9 [↩]
4. Phil 4:7 [↩]
5. Phil 1:28 [↩]
6. Phil 4:4 [↩]