Swindoll - Paul

PAUL

A Man of Grace and Grit

Books in the Great Lives from Gods Word series

DAVID
A Man of Passion and Destiny

ESTHER
A Woman of Strength and Dignity

JOSEPH
A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness

MOSES
A Man of Selfless Dedication

ELIJAH
A Man of Heroism and Humility

JOB
A Man of Heroic Endurance

FASCINATING STORIES OF FORGOTTEN LIVES
Rediscovering Some Old Testament Characters

JESUS
The Greatest Life of All

GREAT DAYS WITH THE GREAT LIVES
Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible

GREAT LIVES FROM GODS WORD

A Man of Grace and Grit
PAUL

Profiles in Character from

CHARLES R.
SWINDOLL

2002 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc..

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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All Scripture quotations in this book, except those noted otherwise, are from the New American Standard Bible(NASB)1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1977 by the Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission.

Other Scripture quotations are from the following sources:

The New International Version of the Bible (NIV), 1983 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

The Living Bible (LB), 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. Used by permission.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996).
Used by permission.

The Message (MSG), by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

The King James Version of the Bible (KJV).

Maps from The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands by Barry J. Beitzel. Courtesy of Moody Press. 1985 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-4002-0259-1 (trade paper)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Swindoll, Charles R.

Paul: a man of grace and grit : profiles in character from Charles R. Swindoll.

p. cm.(Great Lives from Gods Word)

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN: 978-0-8499-1749-3

ISBN: 978-0-8499-9057-1 (special edition)

1. Paul, the Apostle, Saint. 2. Christian saintsTurkeyTarsusBiography 3. Christian lifeEvangelical Free Church of America authors. I. Title.

BS2506.3.S95 2002

225.92dc21

[B]

2002016734

Printed and bound in the United States of America

09 10 11 12 13RRD5 4 3 2 1

DEDICATION

With enduring gratitude for the many who have mentored me during my formative years, I wish to dedicate this book to four of them who made significant contributions in areas of my greatest need.

RICHARD NIEME, now deceased, who taught me how to overcome stuttering, so that I might speak in public without fear.

HOWIE HENDRICKS, who taught me how to study the Bible and communicate its message, so that I might accurately handle the Word of truth.

J. DWIGHT PENTECOST, who taught me how to stand firm in hard times and trust God, regardless, so that I might be a minister who finishes strong.

RAY STEDMAN, now deceased, who taught me how to be real and enjoy the ministry, so that I might be a shepherd who encourages the sheep.

As I look back and remember the things these mentors taught me, it occurs to me that it was more who they were than what they said that won my heart.

Each one stands out in my mind as a man of grace and grit.

CONTENTS

Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit

S everal treasured biographies line the shelves of my personal librarysome written a century or more ago. Though their pages have yellowed through time, their print painfully small, their paragraphs long, and their prose often flowing tediously across each page, like a band of faithful friends, these volumes stand ready to spring to my aid at a moments notice. Each one offers a depth of insight into the lives of the great individuals about whom they report that inevitably rekindles my own passion for such straight-thinking courage and clarity of expression so rare in much of modern writing. To me, these books are of priceless value.

Josiah Gilbert Hollands biographical work, The Life of AbrahamLincoln, is a classic example. Dated 1866, the year after the assassination of Americas sixteenth president, this leather-bound jewel has been a source of much pleasure and inspiration for me through the years. In my opinion, the 544-page masterpiece would qualify as the original Mr. HollandsOpus.

It was in the preface of his work on Lincoln, however, where I found words that helped sustain me in my effort to complete this sixth book in the series, Great Lives from Gods Word.

While struggling with the colossal assignment of treating in a few chapters a subject as magnificent and impressive as the life and ministry of the apostle Paul, Hollands words describing what he aimed to do and what he did not aim to do steeled me for the task. Acknowledging the impossibility of composing an exhaustive treatise covering every detail of the events surrounding Abraham Lincolns monumental and enduring life, he wrote, I have tried to paint the character of Mr. Lincoln, and to sketch his life, clinging closely to his side.

That is precisely what I aim to do in the pages that follow.

It is mainly Pauls character I wish to paint in this mere sketch of his life, clinging closely to his side through the dramatic events that unfold in the pages of Scripture. As in each preceding book in this series, well allow the Word of God to guide us in our quest to grasp the enormity and significance of this remarkable man and his story. And what a fascinating story it is! I know of no other person in the Bible, aside from Christ Himself, who had a more profound influence on his world and ours than Paulan individual whose life seems best summarized in the title I have chosen for this book, Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit.

My well-worn dictionary defines grit as firmness of mind or spirit... unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. I love that! Theres no better description of this man from Tarsus, whom God used to play such a major role in turning the world upside-down for Christ in his generation. Tough, tenacious, and fiercely relentless in his determination, Paul pursued his divine mission with unflinching resolve. The man modeled grit like no other soul mentioned in the sacred Scriptures.