Evening star., 1921-07-02
THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL.
Acts, 21.39; 22.3.2s; Timothy,
3.14.l5: Deuteronomy. 6.4-9
Golden Text-Today, If ye shall
hear his voice, harden not your
hearts.-Hebrews, 3.7.S.
BY REV. HUGH It. STEVENSON.
Americas Declaration Of Independ-
nee was born not at PHILADELPHIA

ence was born not at Philadelphia
nor at Mecklcnburg. but at Retnie-
hem and Calvary. Christ, by His life
and death. demonstrated that each
soul had an intrinsic value of its own.
1t was He who established the prin-
ciple of individual freedom and de-
mocracy. The world owes to Jesus
spiritual and political liberty. He
gave US our charter of rights. His
Magma Charta was proclaimed long
before that of John at Runnymede.
The security. safety and stability of
civilization that American heroes
preserved by their valiant part in the
world war was the result of the
Masters message.
Guizot has pointed out how Paul.
whose life we will study during the
next six months. carried civilization
to Europe. 1t is an appropriate study
for Independence Sunday" to trace
the early days of this. the greatest
interpreter of Christianity. whose
missionary zeal carried the gospel to
the Gentiles and planted the seed of
modern civilization in Europe. Amer
ica owes much to the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, but
we must not forget our debt to Christ,
who died to make men free and equal.
and His great apostle Of liberty and
civilization.
Paul was proud of his ancestry. He
gloried in the fact that he was "a
member Of the race of Israel and of
the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew
sprung from Hebrews" He tells US
that on the eighth day he was circum-
cised according to the requirements
of the law. He was consecrated by
his mother for the service of God. SO
from his earliest days he looked for
ward to becoming a rabbi. He was
certain to receive in his home train
ing the fundamentals of the. Jewish
religion. for he was son Of Phari-
sees, who would educate their son to
live, as they did. according to the
strictest sect Of their faith. His home
training, no doubt, was supplemented
by instruction in ''the house of the
book" as the elementary school of
the synagogue was called. His edu-
cation was distinctively religious, al
though probably it included instruc-
tion in the Hebrew. the language of
the Old Testament. He learned the
law by heart and gave to it such a
passionate devotion that he claimed,
later in life. that he lived more zeal
ously than most persons Of his age
for the traditions of the fathers.
Paul was born and reared in a
Greek-speaking city of the Roman
empire. He was not ashamed of his
birthplace, for he tells that it was
no mean city. Tarsus by its position
had won a place in commerce, Greek
shipyards. to which galleys, men-of-
war and merchantment-a majority
of which had been built of the tim
ber from the forests-Sold1ers and
men from all nations. The influence
of this city helped to fit him to be
the champion of Christianity among
the Gentiles and the teacher of civ
ilization which has nodded modern
times. This has made US his debtors.
Dean Howson, without exhausting
the list. names thirty different ref
erences to athletics in Paurs
epistles. Jews hated these naked
obscene. ob Christians hated
them because they thought them
cruel" He caught as a boy in Tar
sus the love of the great games, as
every American lad has caught the
love of base ball.
Twenty miles north Of his native
city were mountains that were in
tested with robbers whose brigand-
age made them "a terror to the
whole Cilician plain" Possibly this
made the soldiers of Rome popular
in Tarsus and with Paul. whose ref
erences to the militia shows his high
many references to Grecian culture
reveal also the influence Of those early
days, when Paul learned the folly
of their "sophists," whom he de.
spised, although probably he picked
up in his native city some of the
which he used with telling effect in
his missionary work.
It was probably because Tarsus
was not only great educational
center, but also an important hide
market, that, following the Jewish
making. Probably it was there that
he first became aware Of the i'm
portance of being born a Roman citi-
zen, which was to play such an i'm
portant part in his future life. Paul
was silently being fitted by the in
fluences of the city's commerce.. Gull
ture and citizenship for his place
Ramsay has pointed out that Paul's
father belonged to the aristocracy of
Tarsus because of his wealth and
social position due to his Roman citi-
zenship. His financial condition en-
best educational preparation for
Gods service by sending him to
Jerusalem, which was the center of
the Jewish faith and love for all He
brews who were not residents of
Palestine. Possibly, the fact that his
in Jerusalem hastened the breaking
Of the family ties of Tarsus by his
becoming a student in the Rabbinical
College-"the House Of Interpreta-
ton" as it was caled-at Jerusalem.
W eknow nothing of the journey Of
the brilliant Jewish youth from his
native city to his new home. where
the leaders of the faith. He probably
was brought by his father leisurely
over the hills and entered Palestine
from sthe north. Very likely he