The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-12
PAUL AS A MISSIONARY
DIR. ABBOTT REVIEWS SOME EPI-
sODEs IN THE APOSTLES LIFE.
His Escape from Damascus, His Turn
ing from the Work in Jerusalem,
and the Sermon on Mars Hill.


Rev DR.. Lyman Abbott delivered the third
in his series of lectures on st Pauls Life
and Character" DR.. Abbott said:
After course of about three years Saul
OF Tarsus comes out from his Christian
theological seminary, his period of retreat
in Arabia, part OF this time we may well
believe he spent under the shadow of Mount
Sinai, with Christ as his only instructor and
the Hebrew scriptures as his only textbook.
What had he learned there? Not everything.
He came out. bringing with him some of his
old Jewish prejudices and some of his old
Jewish errors. He never wholly cast them
off. He came bringing also the Levitical
forms of speech in which he had been edu-
Gated Often 1t happens that a man retains
the form of his utterance when the spirit
within him has been entirely revolutionized.
My own predecessor in this pulpit affords a
distinguished illustration of that fact. Long
after he had thrown off the Puritan the
ology he retained in his sermons the Puri-
tan phraseology, and even cast his sermons,
many of them. perhaps 1T would be safe 70
say most of them, much in the form Oh the
old Puritan divines
Saul, whom rather we will call by his
new name Paul, came out OF the wiiosIrness.
oogy. still to cast much of his thought IN
Rabbinical forms, and still to some extent
entangled with the old Rabbinical concep-
tions of the Messianic kingdom. 1t would
anticipate this whole course of lectures 10
undertake TO Indicate at all what ne hau
learned in these three years. In order 70
ascertain that we are going to take his let
tiers presently, one by one, and see what ne
however, that Jesus of Nazareth was the
Messiah, and that his coming, his death ana
his resurrection were true fulhllments OF the
Old Testament scriptures, and this also GER
tainly that the kingdom which Christ mad
come to establish was to be, not a JEWISH
kingdom, but world kingdom: lnas Hes
deed the inspiration of his whole me- Anu
one other thing, that through and by TINS
Sogd NOT he at1aned Under the old Jewish
law How that was to be attained, what IL
was, these are questions for future consioeT-
alton. He did not at first understand ms
mission as the apostle to the Gentiies, or IL
he did, he did not enter upon II. DIX OF
seven years appear TO have passed away Pc
tween the time of his return from Arabia
and his first true missionary journey, OF
which we have any record In the BOOK Ok
"He began preaching in Damascus. But .
very soon persecution arose against MN
there He came near paying the penaleS "
his fidelity with his life. Damascus was q
CITY surrounded by walls. On these walls
were houses with windows looking OUT upon
the country beyond In one>oL tnese ~ Ho isSa9
a Christian and Paul was let down OUT u
the window of one of these houses, beyonu
the wall, and SO escaped rom u 'n o,,sSehand
who were watching the gates TO apprenenu
him He went up to Jerusalem lie ala nos
understand the spirit of Pharisalsm'
Pharisse of the PhariSeeS though ne was.
He understood it's doctrine, but thorougn-
ly candid and genuine man never can
understand an insincere ana nypocl.eiSta a.
go to Jerusalem and speak as FnaIlsS9
to the Pharisees and open to them the S lu
Testament and tell them what ne haq IL as
covered of this kingdom they would pc as
glad to accept the glad tidings as ne was.
He argued this matter. as he tells US, Win
the Lord. He said to Him, why. L perse-
cllted the Christians; am Pharisee; they
will all understand me; let me begin nay
work at Jerusalem and the LORD answered.
him by letting him try the experiments
wav the Lord has of answering US. Wnen
we want to have our way instead OF dong
His Very soon he found he did not UNDER
stand the Pharisees and he was driven out
of Jerusalem also; II he had stayed tneIo
he would have followed Stephen TO mar
tyrdom sooner than he did.
PAUL IN THE CITY OF ANTIOCH.
"He gees up to Tarsus, his native city.
Some time elapses and what occurs during
this time we do not know. He next appears
in a Christian church at Antioch; Antioch
a pagan city; Antioch city given over
to philosophy, art and pleasure; Antioch,
city given over to sensuality, where the vice
of Rome and Greece had festered and
wrought great corruption. Here was lit
tie church where the followers of Jesus had
been gathered, some of them pagens and
some of them Jews. Satire and cynicism ran
riot in those days. and this little body or
people who thought they were going TO rev.
olutionize the world and bring on the Mes
sianic kingdom were satirlcally calleu
Observation-Disclosures. Thus frst the name
the name Methodsm was given to the 1ol-
lowers of Wesley because they were meth
odical in their studies term Oh conr rend
to-day. This little church said to Paul or
Paul said to the little church, or God sala
to both and they both heard and listened,
send Paul and Barnabas on a mission TO
the heather. 1t was the first foreign mis-
sionary effort. All the arguments that ever
have been made against missionary effort
since were tenfod stronger them But Paui
received his ordination to missionary serv-
ice at a prayer meeting of this little church
without a single apostle there TO give MN
the benediction. and probably not a single
apostle in the Christian Church that woul d
have given him a benediction II ne nad
been there. And so he started out upon MS
work to convert the world before the Mes
siah should come again. 1t ls not WITHIN
the province of this course of lectures to
trace chronOlogically the history OF ms
missionary travels. This would ltsell re-
otire a course of lectures. Only in BRIEF
outline can l indicate some of the general
features and characteristics OF the nrteen
wears of life of which we have any record.
THE story of his life. so far as scripture
records it, ends with PauPs imprisonment
at Rome. Tradition reports further MISSION
airy journeys and his death as a martyr Dy
the headsman's ak, under Nero, in the SIX
tieth year of his age. In these missionary
Journeys he preached wherever he could
Generally, whenever he went into a town or
city. he first looked up his Jewish brethren.
In some of the larger cities there was 4
synagogues. He was a Jewish rabbi, recog-
nized as such. probably wore the sacred
wear or some insignia that marked him.
And so when men saw him there they in
vited him TO the pulpit or platform, and he
spoke from there. Sometimes he would
preach in the market place. For every Greek
and Roman city had a great market place.
which was not mere trading shop, but
place where ideas were interchanged with
very great freedom. Not so much unlike
some market places since Those of YOU who
are familiar with the New England world
remember I am sure, that not only dry
goods and groceries were exchanged there.
but politics and theology as well. And the
Greek and the Roman market places were
like the New England market place. where
ideas as well as all sorts OF articles were
freely exchanged.
I'm this Greek or Roman market place
Paul often talked with people in groups of
half dozen or more, as he could find them.
Sometimes he took a house of his own. but
oftener found his way into the house OF
some one who was already of his way OF
belief and there talked to the people. On
one occasion he hired Greek schoolhouse
that had probably been abandoned by its
teacher and used that as a little church. he
did not confne himself TO preaching. indeed.
the preaching was the lesser part of his
work. He did a great deal of what we call
personal work. He went, he tells us, from
house to house. He talked with people by
twoS and threes. His passionate excitement
showed itself. He had not an Angio-S Saxon
dread of enthusiasm. He was not afraid OF
emotion. He talked to men, he said. often
times with tears in his eyes. He was full OF
a grant ma gcfnnatp fervOr When no prqaphAd