Paul had consented to murder, and then began a virulent persecution of Jesus and His people, but Christ pulled him up short, and Paul was converted to the Gospel!
Perhaps Paul started down that road that began with assent to falsehood and wickedness, because he wanted to be accepted by his religious teachers, who had also hated Jesus and conspired to murder Him on the cross.
But Paul's mind and heart were radically changed into that of a fearless preacher of Christ who faced down the hatred of the rulers and feared not his own death.
Paul would not make any attempt to please others if it meant consenting to falsehood and wickedness.
He describes his attitude in Galatians 2, where certain Judaizers and legalists insisted that the Gentile believer Titus be circumcised.
They wanted to add works righteousness, and law-keeping for righteousness, onto Christ's finished work. Paul wrote the book of Galatians to combat that false gospel, for our salvation is by Christ's obedience and blood in our place at Calvary, and we are justified through faith in Christ's sacrifice and His righteousness, and none of our own works at all!
To add works to Christ's finished work is to poison the very death of Jesus for us, and Paul would have none of it.
No doubt it caused a ruckus when Paul shut down efforts to circumcise Titus, but Paul's point was, that to give assent to, or appear to go along with, works-righteousness, is to betray Jesus and advance a false gospel that cannot save.
Paul had learnt the bitter lesson of former times: you cannot appear to agree with falsehood and evil, even to make peace.
Truth matters, especially Gospel truth! |
