PAUL'S PERSONAL TESTIMONY Character assassination is all too common today, isn't it? It is nothing new. That is exactly what the Jews in Galatia were doing to the apostle Paul in order to justify their position and destroy his teaching of the gospel. They belittled his standing as an apostle. They perverted his gospel and spoke against his ministry to the Gentiles. Here is part of his answer - his own testimony of his changed life. Isn't it thrilling to hear a man tell his story of how Christ saved him from a life of sin? Paul told us first of all what he was like before Christ met him on the road to Damascus. "You know what I was like. I wasn't brought up in a 'Christian home'. I hated Christ. I hated the church. I tried to destroy it in every way possible. And as an orthodox Jew, I was ahead of even other young men of my own age group. I did everything the Law demanded and more besides! "Then one day I met Christ and I discovered that all my righteousness (so-called) was like filthy rags in God's sight. I accepted Christ and I became a new creation. If you want proof that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, just think of my life and the change Christ has made. Can any other 'gospel' do that? You know it can't. Are you concerned about my standing as an apostle? Do you know what I did next? God led me into the deserts of Arabia for three years and He taught me what the Scriptures (the Old Testament) are all about. I saw Christ in them everywhere. That is where I got my message and it was God himself who called me to be an apostle. When I finally went up to Jerusalem, the whole church praised God because of what He had done in my life. Do you want any more proof than that about the gospel?""" Can we ask ourselves today - what changes has God been allowed to make in our lives which are real proof of the power of the gospel? That is His desire. Is it ours? Can others see Jesus in us? |
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