THE APOSTLE PAUL – PREACH CHRIST TO THE GENTILES

Acts 22:19,20 – “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”

I don’t think many of us can really grasp the significance of Paul’s calling to preach the gospel to the gentiles. First of all Jews had a very low opinion of all gentiles and would never include them in anything they did, especially religious gatherings. Secondly, Paul was totally against anything that had to do with the gospel message. To put it bluntly, Paul despised Christians. For Paul to embrace Christ Himself and then begin to bring that message to the gentiles’ world was not in the realm of possibility. The only explanation for Paul to live his life winning gentiles to Christ was that Paul had a personal encounter with Christ that included a personal word from the Lord telling Paul that he was to be a light to the gentiles. Paul embraced that word and lived his life on the power of those words for the rest of his life. Here is how one of the church fathers, Ammonius, described Paul’s response to God’s calling.

“After Paul announced the faith of those by whom he is judged, near the end of his speech he speaks to the people and to the Gentiles, so that he may convert Agrippa and the Gentiles, who were with him, and all the Jews, who were present. And then he says, “King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision: just as I believed, so must he, who listens to me, believe me. I do not proclaim what I have heard from others but what I heard and saw from heaven. Through the vision comes the pure view, which is beyond humankind: one, who is in the flesh, is unable to see what is not revealed to bodily eyes.”

Paul did the unthinkable, he converted to Christianity, spread the word to the gentile world, and lived his life obedient to that prophetic word all the way until the day of his death. This displays to all of us the power of a promise or a word from the Lord, the word itself carries the power and the promise of fulfillment. Make your calling and election sure and it will keep you the rest of your life.