Tag: <span>Apostle Paul</span>

As we hunker down in our homes to curb the spread of COVID-19 and comply with government orders, it may begin to feel like we’re under house arrest.

Along these lines, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Apostle Paul when he literally was under house arrest and in prison. I think we can find hope and purpose from his responses to his confinement. This is especially true for several reasons.

First, Paul truly was under arrest. He spent two full years in prison in Caesarea (Acts 24:27), then it took him roughly four months on a ship full of prisoners and wintering in Malta to reach Rome. Then he spent another two years under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30 and Philippians 1:12-14).

Also, keep in mind the kind of drive Paul had. If he were alive today, we would call him a “Type A” individual. He was entrepreneurial and a go-getter in spreading the Gospel. He was extremely passionate about helping new believers grow in their faith. And by the list of trials he suffered (2 Corinthians 11:21-33) we could add “adventurer” to describe him.

All this would naturally make it even more difficult for a man like Paul to be confined against his will. But look at how Paul responded to his confinement and see what encouragement we can glean from that:

He stayed in contact with churches and individuals by writing to them. While incarcerated, Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and 2 Timothy. The positive, godly impact that these letters have had over the past two millennia are beyond reckoning.

Stay in contact with those you love by whatever means possible and encourage them.
Through His relationship with Christ, he maintained a joyful, positive outlook. We often refer to Philippians as “The Letter of Joy.” And yet, he wrote it from prison! (See Philippians 1:18-20; 4:4.)

Read Philippians and take its message to heart. Ask God for His supernatural joy and strength (Philippians 4:13). Avoid complaining, grumbling, negative talk or thinking. Instead, be thankful (Colossians 3:17).
He valued and spent time with those he loved. In each of his prison epistles, Paul talks about those who were visiting him and how much he valued their company (Colossians 4:10-15).

While we are sheltering in place with our loved ones, let’s enjoy each other and spend time together. Be creative in how you spend time together.
He read a lot. We know this from the fact that he quoted so much from the Old Testament in his letters. Also, he urgently requested that Timothy bring his scrolls, and especially the parchments when he came (2 Timothy 4:13).

Take time to read both for pleasure and edification. Read the Bible, Christian books, novels, etc. Reread these prison epistles to see what else you can apply to your current situation.
He kept growing in his relationship with Christ. Being in prison didn’t halt or retard Paul’s growth in Christ (see Philippians 3:7-17).

In fact, when we respond well to trials, they propel us forward in our walk with Christ. So, press into Christ as Paul did (Ephesians 3:20).
He continued sharing the Gospel with others. Paul saw his situation as a new and unique opportunity to share Christ with people he would not have otherwise met (Philippians 1:12-18).

With the “social-distancing” mandate, we have some unique challenges in this regard. So, how can you creatively share Christ with others at this time? (Philippians 1:12)
He prayed continually, trusting the Lord to meet ALL his needs. He talks about his prayers in all his prison letters, and in Ephesians, he even included two of his prayers for them (Ephesians 1:15-23 & 3:14-21).

Spend time in prayer daily with your loved ones. Pray what God lays on your heart. Pray for an end to the coronavirus. Pray for our government officials. Pray for those who are sick or have lost loved ones. Pray for the Lord to meet all your needs (Philippians 4:6-7, 19). Pray for spiritual awakening in our country and around the world! And pray for the Lord’s soon return!

Let me leave us with this verse from Philippians 1:27, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Amen!

The chaplain had just finished preaching a sermon about God’s great love and forgiveness to a group of elderly in a nursing home. But he noticed a woman in a wheelchair at the back of the room who was weeping.

He approached her and dropped to one knee beside her. “I see you’re troubled about something. May I help you?” he asked.

The woman looked up with tears in her eyes and said, “God could never forgive me for what I did.”

The chaplain responded, “Ma’am, whatever it is that you have done, God’s grace and mercy is big enough to cover it.”

Then she blurted out, “When I was 15, I got pregnant out of wedlock and had an abortion. I killed my baby! God could never forgive me for that!” And with that she broke into convulsive sobs of remorse.

The chaplain took her hand gently and asked, “May I tell you something?”

With difficulty, through her sorrow, she agreed.

This is what he shared with her that day…

The Apostle Paul was perhaps the most ardent evangelist and follower of Jesus Christ in the first century. Much of the book of Acts is devoted to telling how God used Paul hugely to spread the Gospel throughout the known world at that time. Paul and his companions launched countless churches and suffered extreme persecution in the process. In addition, Paul wrote 13 of the 27 New Testament books.

But before his conversion to Jesus Christ, Paul aggressively persecuted followers of Jesus. In fact, Paul’s mission in life was to snuff out Christianity and prevent its spread. He obtained official authorization and went from town to town and house to house arresting followers of Jesus, confiscating their property and throwing them in prison. He even cast his vote to put some of them to death.

In his own words, Paul says, “I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.” (Acts 26:11) And, “I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.” (1 Timothy 1:13) In that same letter to Timothy, Paul makes the bold claim that his sins made him the worst sinner in the world. He doesn’t make this claim out of a sense of false humility. He truly believed it as “a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.”

But Paul experienced what countless others have experienced. He found that God’s love and forgiveness are infinitely greater than any sin he had committed. In fact, here’s what Paul wrote after coming to Christ:

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. – 1 Timothy 1:15-16

In other words, Paul expressed that God used him as an example of His great mercy and forgiveness so no one else could say, “God could never forgive me for what I did.”

Many people look at sin and good works like a scale, hoping their good works will outweigh the bad. But it doesn’t work like that. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We all fall short. No matter who we are or what we’ve done, we all stand guilty before God.

Here is perhaps a more accurate analogy for sin. Imagine that I baked a fresh pan of brownies and I offer you one. They’re warm, right out of the oven. But just before you take a bite, I confess to you that I only put ¼ teaspoon of rat poison in the recipe. Would you still eat the brownie? Of course not!

Sin in our life is like that rat poison in the brownie recipe. It doesn’t matter whether there’s ¼ teaspoon or half-a-cup! It doesn’t matter that 99.9% of the recipe consisted of good, wholesome ingredients. Any amount of rat poison ruins the brownies! In the same way, sin has spoiled our life, no matter how great or small our sins.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

When we say that God could never forgive us for what we’ve done, it is simply because we don’t understand how infinite and gracious God’s love and forgiveness is. Could our sin be greater than God’s forgiveness? I.e., are we greater than God? I don’t think so!

The guilt and shame you feel over your sin is there to lead you to repentance, so you’ll trust the sacrificial death of Jesus as payment for your sin. Put your faith in Him now and receive His free gift of forgiveness. The Bible promises, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

And, “If we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9

Then, the chaplain asked the woman, “Would you like to trust Jesus today for the forgiveness of your sins and be free from the burden of this awful guilt?”

And now, with tears of joy streaming down her face, she responded, “Yes!” And that very day, after carrying the heavy weight of her guilt for 70 years, this woman experienced God’s rich love and forgiveness.

How about you?

Feeling Like You’re Under House Arrest?

“God Could Never Forgive Me for What I Did”

Apostle Paul

Get Skills for Following Jesus in your inbox!