[I thank Christ Jesus our Lord,] … that he considered me trustworthy…
Summary: Wondering why God considered Paul trustworthy leads us down an interesting and fruitful rabbit-trail.
What if Paul had not been trustworthy? How would God know?
It is an interesting question because on the surface, Paul (also known as Saul) seemed like the last person on earth God would want to trust with the Gospel. After all, he was the one with the reputation for hunting down believers (Acts 8:3, 9:13-14, 26:9-11). Would you trust someone like that?
Obviously, God knew what he was doing (Acts 15:8).
We can only speculate about what God knew about Paul, but the Scriptures give us some clues. One of them is Paul’s zeal for serving God (Acts 22:3). Zeal is more than just a willingness to do something. Zeal is a word that describes real enthusiasm for the work at hand.
As a Pharisee, Paul was trained to believe in the laws of Moses. For Paul, the laws were more than just rules recorded on a dusty scroll. They were the key to understanding God’s will. The Pharisees were immersed in the law. They most likely saw the law as their salvation.
Then came Jesus.
From the Pharisees’ point of view, Jesus was teaching false doctrine. (Imagine that!) When Jesus was crucified, the intent was to stomp out his teaching and his movement (John 11:47-53). It seems likely that their motives were less than pure, but Paul was taken in. He truly believed stomping out the believers of Jesus was doing God’s will.
Then he met Jesus (Acts 9).
At this point in his life, Paul had to re-evaluate everything he thought he knew. In a flash of light, his entire world was tossed upside down — right was wrong, and wrong became right.
Some people might have just curled up in a ball and lay beside the road sobbing. Others might have gone insane at the sight of Christ Jesus. Paul was different.
God had sized him up well. He knew how Paul would react. He needed someone who would not waver. The Gospel demanded someone who could instantly tell truth from fiction. More than that, the Gospel demanded someone who was uncompromising (Philippians 3:7-9).
Perhaps that is why God knew Paul would be trustworthy.
Application: Learn to discern.
Food for Thought: What is the cost of being uncompromising and trustworthy of God’s Word in today’s world?
I think that is a great question. If that same question were asked in Nigeria, the Congo, Iran, China or North Korea, we would likely get a much different response than what we currently see in the US. For them, the cost of following Christ could be prison, loss of their job, loss of human rights or even death. But for all of us there will be a cost.
2 Timothy 3: 10 – 12: You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance, 11my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Matthew 5: 10 – 12: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In the US we may be made fun of on social media or endure the disapproval of others, but other parts of the world would certainly have a more robust opposition.
The flip side of that question is – what does it cost not to follow Christ?
Like 9: 23 – 26: Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Thank you, Rich!
Good “flip side” question! There is a cost either way, isn’t there?
Good devotion; I think Rich answered the question well, and I don’t have much more to add.
When someone is uncompromising and trustworthy of God’s Word, and speaks the truth of God’s Word, the light of it exposes the condition of people’s heart. People who will not come into the light will do whatever they think it takes to shut the light out, or off. So to be blunt, the cost is at whatever level of coercion it takes to get you to be silent.
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 3:20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
Thanks, Chris.
Yes. The “cost” will be different for each of us, but the principle is the same. There is still a cost.
What is the cost of being uncompromising and trustworthy of God’s Word in today’s world?
Matthew 6:24, No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
As Rich writes, the costs will vary depending upon the country and/or family. In China you face imprisonment, in the US, in a family of believers there is a celebration and joy as a member of the family becomes a new believer, while in a family of non believers their may be shame and separation.
As a 30 year old, highly commited, financially successful non-believer, my thoughts were focused on how I would respond to what I now understand was conviction of the Holy Spirit. For the first time in my life, I recognized I was being called to actually consider turning my back on all I had achieved, much of what I had come to consider of value and begin a new life as a believer/follower of a God I had openly rejected.
I did not face death or persecution, but I did experience the loss of family who rejected all I had become, as well as the associates I had come to consider friends. We simply did not any longer share the same goals in life.
Our Father moved me quickly into. the privacy of my own home, closed the door to past acquaintances, and provided a guide who got me into Bible Study Fellowship, and I spent the next 6 years.
Today I live for Christ, My family and friends are believers and I continue to associate with other men in Bible Study Fellowship, and have been used by God to help many, many strangers come to know our Lord Jesus Christ.
The cost of following Christ has been small, tiny!
While the rewards have been beyond anything I could imagine!
Thank you, Ron!
Yes — you point us to the other “flip side,” the benefits of following Jesus, and they are many. In fact, they are infinite.
Thank you for bringing that out! 🙂