PAUL IN HIS EPISTLES

Ninth in a Series by the late Dr. Henry Grube

His Persecutions

In I Corinthians 9:27, Paul speaks of being afraid of being "castaway". This of course does not refer to his being set aside from Salvation. His concern was about his service and his being used for and by the Lord. We must distinguish between God's casting away and man's casting away.

Everywhere Paul went, his ministry resulted either in a Revival or a Revolt. His preaching continually brought forth persecution. Strange as it may seem, he was often persecuted in the same places where Peter had preached without persecution. Perhaps one reason for this difference, was due to the fact that Paul's message was quite different from that of Peter, in that Paul, little by little was revealing the truth that the Law had been set aside at the Cross. He was pointing people to Christ, rather than Moses.

Concerning his persecutions, note: He was a castaway…he was persecuted at Damascus
( Acts 9:23-25); at Jerusalem ( Acts 9:26-29 ); at Antioch ( acts 13:45-50 ); at Iconium
( Acts 14:5 ) ; at Philippi ( Acts 16:12-29 ) ; at Thessalonica ( Acts 17:5 ) at Berea ( Acts 17:13 ) ; at Athens ( Acts 17:18-32 ) at Ephesus ( Acts 19:9-23 ) ; at Asia ( II Timothy 1:15 ); in Rome ( Acts 28:24-29 ; II Tim. 4:10-16 ).

Paul never feared what men might do to him. He did fear being set aside by God. Today, however, we reverse the order.

Today, the Christian should distinguish between PROBLEMS and PERSECUTIONS.
Persecutions presents a problem of course….but all problems do not necessarily mean that we are being persecuted.

Then too, we should distinguish between the way we suffer "as a Christian", ( I Peter 4:12-19), and the way we suffer for our mistakes, blunders, and carelessness.

The truth of the matter is that most of us today take too much for granted and have life too easy, so that when anyone differs with us, we mistake a difference of opinion with persecution.

Twentieth century Christians know very little about trials, tribulations, and testings, which first century Christians experienced. True, some do, and we praise God for the dear saints who stand up under pressure, who are faithful in trying circumstances. We are not forgetful of the fact that there are many who have proven their faith and loyalty to Christ… but who can deny the charge that in a general way, we are not as courageous as we should be. For the most part, we are "sissies" rather than "soldiers".

At the end of his ministry, Paul could say, "I have finished the course, I have fought a good fight". He could with a clear conscience say he had not compromised.

May God give each of us the Grace to :"Endure hardness as a good soldier Jesus Christ"
( II Timothy 2:3), remembering the statement in II Timothy 3:12.


Tenth in a Series by the late Dr. Henry Grube

The Pre-Millennial Message

God told Paul to keep a "Secret" and God told Paul to Tell a "Secret" that had been kept. When the Apostle was caught up into the third Heaven, he saw things not lawful for a man to utter ( II Cor. 12) No one knows what it was that he saw. On the other hand, God revealed to Paul a secret that had been hidden from men in ages past ( Ephesians 3).

Among the other truths which we find revealed for the first time in Paul's writings, are such doctrines as the Rapture or the taking away of the Saints out of this world before the time of The Great Tribulation.

The Second Coming of Christ FOR THE CHURCH is to be distinguished from The Second Coming of Christ to earth WITH HIS SAINTS. The two events are separated by an interval of about seven years. From the writings of Paul we learn these truths :

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH is the next event on God's program, as far as this age is concerned, ( I Thessalonians 4:16-18 and II Thessalonians 2:3.

THE RESURRECTION of the bodies of the Saints immediately follow, ( then begins the REVOLT of the nations against God and the time of The Great Tribulation.).

The facts and details concerning The Tribulation period are to be found… not in the Pauline Epistles, but in the Epistles which deal directly with Israel. Hence, one of the many proofs that The Church will escape The Tribulation may be seen in the absence of this doctrine from The Church Epistles. The Tribulation does not concern The Church, The Body of Christ.

The Spirit of God directed Paul to write certain prophecies relating to the closing days of this age, but these events were to be in the spiritual realm, not directly with definite acts of men or nations, ( I Tim. 4 & II Tim. 3 ).

The hope of the Christian is the appearing of Christ in the air…. Compare I Thess. 1:10; 2:19; 3:13 ; 4:18 ; 5:23; - II Thess. 1:10; 2:1; etc.

The Christian of course will be in Heaven and will of course see and be with his loved ones, but the Hope, the incentive for Christian service etc., is to look forward to the coming of The Lord in the air.

The prophecies concerning the Second Coming of Christ to the earth, deal directly with the nation Israel. We may see "straws in the wind", we may see indications that these are about to come to pass, but the actual fulfillment of these prophecies in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Revelation, etc. are yet future.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter expected the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy… judgment – The Tribulation. But God acted in Grace and withheld judgment, and has done so for nearly 2000 years, and for this reason we refer to this age as the Age of Grace… for every day is Grace. The Day of Grace began with the beginning of The Church, The Body of Christ, and it will end when The Body of Christ, The Church, is called up to be with The Lord.


Eleventh in a Series by the late Dr. Henry Grube

Paul and His Manner of Living

We are vitally concerned with Paul and his preaching, his doctrine, his messages and yet there is a sense in which we should also be concerned with his manner of living and with his methods of telling the story of the Gospel. We cannot afford to "follow" any man, for Christ is the only One Who is worthy to follow, yet there is a sense in which there are some things we are told to "follow Paul". A note of warning must be made here, we are only to follow him as The Scriptures direct. There are some things which he did which were wrong, for after all we must remember Paul was human and fallible, and subject to mistakes as a man. It is only as he wrote by the guidance of The Lord and The Holy Spirit, that his writings are inspired and infallible.

He is a "pattern" for present day Salvation         I Tim. 1:13-16
He is a "pattern" for present day Service         Eph. 3:8-9
He is a "pattern" for Christian Conduct         Phil. 3:12-17

By comparing Scripture with scripture, and taking every revelation of The Word of God in context, we may follow Paul. I Cor. 4:16

IN HIS MISSION: Acts 9:15
He did preach to the Jews, but his primary mission was to the Gentiles….everybody. The world was his field of service.

IN HIS METHOD:
Nothing is said of "how" he accomplished his ministry. He worked while he preached,
( Acts 18:3 ) It would be safe to say that he used every available means and every method usable. He used the means of travel for his day, and the best means to get his message across. He took advantage of the arena to illustrate a truth. I Cor. 9

HIS MESSAGE :
Of course his message was the Gospel of the Grace of God. He preached "The Cross", and this was more than the death of Christ. He preached and explained what Christ did on Calvary, as the Gospel… but he preached judgment to those who were not ready ( Acts 17:30 ) and then pointed them to Christ, as the way of escape. He preached repentance to those who needed to repent to God ( Acts 20:21 ) and then pointed the to Christ. He preached that The Law was met, that sinners could find Salvation in Christ, that Israel's Messiah had come. Then too, he taught The Word of God to the saints.

So it is with us today… it is the believing of The Gospel Message that saves, but there are dozens of truths related to the Gospel. All of these need to be preached and proclaimed. Paul was a composite man, he was a preacher, a teacher, an ambassador, a missionary a prophet, and an evangelist, as well as pastor.

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