Evening star., 1921-09-24
BY REV. HUGH t. STEVENSON.

BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.
During the past quarter We have
been studying some of the epoch
making events in the life of Paul, the
apostle to the GentileS. interviewer
with his career we have seen the de-
velopment of Christianity from being
a sect of Judaism into a world power
that carried the seeds of modern CIV
ilization into Europe. In studying the
evolution of the religious faith from
the synagogue of the Jew to the
church of the Christian we have
learned that we owe Paul, the great
est interpreter of Christianity, ou1
Principles Of individual freedom and
democracy. His missionary zeal car
ried the gospel to the Gentiies. He
planted the seeds of liberty and CIV
iiization in Europe that found fruit In
Americas Declaration of Independ-
ence. political principles and power.
We have traced the life of Paul
from the formative days of~his boy
hood in the great commercial and
educational center of Tarsus. where
he received his first instruction in the
precepts of religion and the sacred
scriptures from his Pharisee parents
He also learned from them the value
of his Roman citizenship. which he
inherited from his father. and some
thing of the political and social du-
ties that were enuailed by that rela-
tionship. He learned as a boy in
TarSus to appreciate the Roman army
and the popular Grecian sports. He
absorbed something of the Greek cul-
ture and civilization. just as he
learned the Greek language from his
contact with the life of his native
city.
Gods hand can be seen not only in
the Providence that made TarsuS the
home of Paurs boyhood. but also in
the selection of his teacher, Gamaliel,
when he commenced his rabbinnical
studies in Jerusalem. This learned
Jewish scholar recognized the value
of knowledge of the Greek litera-
ture so that his students were not
only encouraged TO master the pre-
cepts and principles of the Jewish
faith and the ritualiStic practices of
the Pharisees, but also to understand
something of the Greek thought and
literature. Under the influence and
instruction of this eminent scholar
Paul became an earnest and Jealous
champion of the faith of his fathers.
1t was due to his dispute with Ste
rhen and his antipathy to his claim
consented to the death of the first
martyr of the early church. and ener-
getically entered upon his campaign
OF persecution, determined to destroy
the Christian faith.
The sudden conversion of Saul and
lis guidance into the way of the Lord
Jesus by Ananias changed the bitter
and relentless opponent into an open
and fearless champion of the Lord
Jesus. Ananias lives in history be-
cause he responded to the command
of the Holy Spirit to give the praying
Saul light When the Pharsaic perse-
cutor. whose point of view in politics
and religion was puritanical. con-
fessed faith in the cruicified and risen
Christ. as the Messiah and his Lord
Paul required d season of quiet. which
he found in the desert of Sinai. to
think through his experience. After
a season of three years he returned
to Damascus, where he had planned
TO uproot the Christian faith. and pro-
claimed with such power the gospel
of Christ that he was compelled to
fee for his life. After meeting Bar
nabas and the apostles. who extended
the right hand of fellowship to him
1T Jerusalem. Paul found that he had
to retire to Tarsus until he was called
to Antioch to help build up the new
center of Christian influence and
power.
discovered Paul and invited him to
leave Tarsus and assist him in the
work of the Antioch Church. The in
fuencing of any man to enter the
ministry means the incaluably multi
plying of ones own influence. Bar
nabas rendered an Incompatible serv-
ice to Christianity and civilization,
when he brought Paul to Antioch
The world needs today, as never be-
fore men trained to preach the gospel.
There are men fitted and ready to
enter the ministry but they are wait
ing for the call of their brethren be-
fore assuming the most important
service open to any man. Paul had
an appreciation of all that the Lord
Jesus had done for him and was
moved not only by natural instinct
of imparting to others his experience.
but by his love for his fellow man to
tell them the way to salvation. His
experience at Antioch with the Greeks,
who accepted the Lord as their
Saviour, filled Paul with the longing
to preach to the Jews that Jesus was
indeed the Promised Messiah and also
to proclaim to them and men of every
race how Christ Jesus had emanci-
pated them from sin by His death and
through His resurrection desires to
inspire all men to reach out and share
the divine glory.
When a devout Roman Catholic
speaks of planting the cross" on
heather soil, he uses phrase of
tremendous spiritual significance. The
cross of Christ only comes to a land
as His followers carry the gospel
there. Paul recognized that if men
did not hear of the Masters atoning
work, that it was to those, who did
rot know it, as if Jesus had not died.
There is not a word said concerning
the marching orders of Christ Jesus,
given to His disciples in the Great
Commission, in the Acts. but we have
seen how the heart instinct of Bar
nabas and Paul, their sympathy with
humanity and Gods program for men,
caused them, under the leadership of
the Holy Spirit, with the approval
Antioch Church, to enter upon their
first missionary campaign.
We followed in our studies their
efforts in Cyprus, saw the way in
which the efforts of Elyras. who,
fearing that he might lose his posi-
tion and prestige, sought to check the
work of the Apostles in influencing
PaulIs, and were met by SauIs chal-
ienging the servant of darkness. Here
evidently Paul, who quit using his Jew
i:ih name of Saul for his Roman one,
became the leader of the expedition.
This caused the desertion of John
lark, at Pamphylia, when they decid-
I'd to strike into the highlands, face
the danger of bandits and murder in
IN effort to carry the gospel to An