blue-haired revival

It is interesting to think about Corinth as being a "retirement" community. Could this have been the first senior adult SS class. I know that these were people who had retired from military service after twenty some years, so their ages my not have been so far along. However, this group could have provided some unique obsticles for Paul and his team. It would be interesting to know how many of the Christians in Corinth were retired military and how many problems thatthis caused or resolved.
I'm working off of purely speculative curiousity. The thought of an older, stubborn congregation makes me wonder if this could have been the first "First" Baptist Church. Don't mess with their coffee pot. You may be walkin' over, but you'll be limpin' back.

regretfully submitted by: Mr Bill Lee Faber

The sons of Abraham

Stage 2:

Paul, being the missionary to the gentiles, faced opposition regarding how gentiles become Christians. Paul's opponents were teaching that obedience to the law was the way to righteousness. In chapter 3, Paul argues that righteousness comes through faith using Abraham as an example. The true sons of Abraham are not the legalists who insists that the law brings righteousness but those who are declares righteous because of their faith.

This paper will attempt to answer the following questions: (1) Who are the opponent in the Letter to the Galatians? (2) What were the opponents understanding of Abraham? (3) What was Paul's understanding of Abraham in salvation history? (4) What is the role of the law? (5) What was the theology of the opponents? (6) What does it mean to be a son of Abraham? (7) And ultimately, who are the true sons of Abraham?

This paper will provide background information about the book of Galatians in order to place the passage in context. Next, this paper will provide a detailed analysis of the passage and answer the above questions.

Boasting in the Lord

Boasting in the Lord

Paul reminds all believers that that it is foolish to boast in anything besides the Lord at the end of chapter one in 1 Cor. Paul continues to tell everyone that he did not present persuasive word while he was speaking but he present the simple message of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for the sins of all. It seems that he is defending himself against other preachers who claim that their speeches are better than Paul’s. The message that I receive form this is that I should preach the practical message of the bible without worrying about weather I sound eloquent and well educated. I have to preach with simplicity for all to understand the truth of the bible because that truth and the work of the Holy Spirit in one’s soul is the power of the message and not my persuasive speaking abilities.

I am seriously intrigued by the idea that Paul was warned by the people not to go to Jerusalem.. and he knew that he had to go. The more I learn about Paul's willingness to take the gospel wherever however... sadly I feel ashamed. He was even warned that he would be imprisoned and still went.That is tremendoous dedication. I wish I could say without being placed in that that I would. Now that I have learned this... if I could ask Paul a question it would be .. since it was a warning from the Holy Spirit for them to tell you not to go... was the Holy spirit giving him comfort. And was it like spiritual warfare.

Just as evil then as now

Dr. Foster mentioned today in class about the sins Corinthians were commiting. He said that people should look at Corinth and realize we make a lot of the same mistakes today and the world is just as evil then as it is now. Growing up, I have always been told how much worse the world is now compared to back then. (Which I was never told when then was...) I use to get the mind frame that the world will just keep getting worse and there is not much we can do but follow God. Now that I understand that the world has always been very evil to a degree lets me know that I can make a difference with God on myside. I was pretty selfish and did not witness like I should, because of my thought. I learned in class today about the change the Christians started to make socially in the world they were living in, because they stood strong for what they believed. Realizing the impact they made helps me understand that Christians today could make the same impact if we stood up for the cause of Christ as the early Christians did.

Brother in Christ,
Billy Hardesty

Ayúdeme!

I am struggling with understanding how Paul was obedient to God and proclaimed the Gospel everywhere he went, but was driven to Jerusalem even after he received a word from the spirit not to go there. Was his desire to fulfill "to the Jew first, then the Gentiles" so strong that that took precedent over what he was told by the Holy Spirit? I have a hard time believing that the Holy Spirit would give him such a strong desire to witness to the Jews in Jerusalem, but then be like "just kidding!" Was Paul disobedient? Was becoming a martyr honorable, or was it a way to deal with his actions in the death of Stephen? I am plagued by a plethora of questions and keep runnning into more the more I think about it.

Very Unlikely You Would Have Believed Either

Last Year in Life of Christ published a post on the challenges the Jews faced when it came to accepting Jesus as the messiah. If everyone in the society that you were raised in believed in a different kind of messiah, along with the fact that there were many others who claimed to be the messiah, you probably would not have believed either. As we have looked at the cities that Paul visited over the last couple of weeks and their responses to the Gospel, I cannot help but ask myself if I would have believed or went along with the rest of society.

The Jews obviously were raising the same challenges that they did during the ministry of Jesus. Now they even had the issue of Paul challenging their Law even more than Christ. The Gentiles were raised in paganistic societies where several dieties were often worshipped and the knowledge of the God of Israel is very limited in comparison to the Jewish people. The Jews at least knew of God's attempts to redeem His people through the Old Testament and Paul is able to utilize that redemptive history to show how God has fulfilled the need for forgiveness through Christ. The Gentiles would not have been as familiar with such a history. The Gentiles also saw Christianity as a sect of Judaism and would have led to even less of a belief in the message of Paul if his own Jewish brothers and sisters were turning the Gospel away and attacking him. Keeping this in mind I am not sure if I put myself into the shoes of the Gentiles that I would have believed either and I can easily see how they reacted violently the way they did when provoked by the Jews to do so.

Think of it this way, If some guy came to us and claimed to be Christ and told us that he is returning, did not perform any miracle (even though Paul and Christ did, would we believe him. What if a guy claimed to be an apostle of God and began to proclaim as a prophet does, would we buy into it? Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? The fact is that similiar events have occurred during our time and we responded the exact same way that the Jews and Gentiles, by not believing and persecuting the individuals. We reacted in such a way, because we taught a different messaage just as the Jews and Gentiles were. Still think you would have believed then? I think we need to be thankful we have a cannonized bible and for being born into a society that already believes in the right message and is free to do so. We also need to be respectful of the individuals who were skeptical about Paul when they first heard the Gospel. I bet you didn't accept the first time you heard the Gospel either.

ghostbuster wannabees

The story of the seven sons of sceva that we talked about in class on Friday seems almost like a comical exorcist movie, but I feel that as Dr. Foster put it, the fact that the demons recognized the authority of Paul and of Jesus reinforced how valid Paul and his telling of the Gospel was. I have never really thought about it like that before because I have always just seen this story as a funny one of these guys trying to play ghostbusters/demon exorcisors and getting a beating and running with their tails tucked between their legs. After further study however you can plainly see that the demons admitted that Jesus had autority as well as Paul and that strengthened Paul's evangelistic effort in my view. This was just a much more serious view than I had ever taken on this story and it makes alot of sense.
Peace...Ira

A Little Lesson from Pagans

Often in our culture we look at other religions as “evil.” I, by no means, agree with this, however, I also think that (as we continually discuss in class) we should look into the cultural context of things. In Acts 19:23-41, the silversmith Demetrius incited a riot against Paul and his mission team. He was angry for the sake of Artemis; but is this any different from our fervent offense for the sake of Christ? When we watch movies or hear jokes of sacrilege, we become offended because it is an offense to us because of our Lord. But would we not also be offended if we were believers in Artemis, our Patron deity (who fell to us from the sky)? I believe that we would be offended. I believe that Demetrius is commendable for his anger for the sake of his god. As we also discussed in class, the citizens of Ephesus did not riot because Paul was preaching the Gospel and putting a damper on silver shrine business. They were truly angry for the sake of Artemis. I believe that though he was wrong in his fervor and the deity where he placed his faith, I do believe that we often fail to be THIS emotionally defensive for OUR God, the ONE TRUE GOD! I once again commend Demetrius, and I challenge us all (myself included) to be offended for the sake of Christ!

Zach Pyron

About Corinth...

Corinth was a key spot for God to lead Paul to. As we learned in class, it was a socio-economic center. it was the main sea passage for Rome to imort and export to all of Asia Minor Macedonia and the Mediterranean. Making Corinth a probable cultural melting pot. With this in mind, it is reasonable to think that Paul wanted to really lead Corinth out of thier culturally acceptable sins, beacuse the Church at Corinth was going to be the first view that many people would see of Christianity. Not downplaying the imortance of other epistles or their significance, but to me this seems like Corinth could have been the next Antioch of Seria and really had an impact on the world though missions. And being so closely connected to the Games... what a thought....

Another interesting thought that occured to me as we've been studing Corinth through class and in the Book review is how applicable the issues that Paul deals with are for American society. At first i thought that Corinth was a dispicable place with no morals, but there are even today places in America that promote such immoral behavior, and that Paul's message can still easily be used as a good example to fighta with a lead other Christians out of darkness.

I have heard of a youth pastor who had an affair and at first was not remorseful or repentant about it, but i can imagine that the words like those in First Corinthians really helped bring him back to fellowship with God.

Just Say No!...to the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 21 Paul is warned by the Holy Spirit not to go to Jerusalem. He is also warned by his disciples, who were warned by the Holy Spirit as well, not to go . Refusing to heed the warnings, Paul travels to Jerusalem. Why is he so adamant about going? Has his personal goal overshadowed the overall purpose of the Holy Spirit? Is Paul wrong for proceeding? These are only some of the many questions I have found myself asking after studying this text. Perhaps Paul knew he would be killed in Jerusalem, therefore he possed a drive and a will that refused to not go. Maybe he was so zealous about this trip because he wanted to get it over with. The disciples resolution to the situation is interesting. They seem to toss the issue into the air and say, "God, you deal with it!" And maybe, here lies the answer. Perhaps God did deal with it. Perhaps God presided over the whole event, recognizing the heart and will of Paul and considering them to be precious. Since the details of the outcome are not fully know, I do not want to speculate too much. But I think Paul was aware of what he was doing. His joy to preach the gospel despite persecution drove him to a state where he remained faithful, immovable, and eager to carry out the will of the Lord.

I am ready to die

The discussion in class on Paul’s journey to Jerusalem, though he was warned by disciples in Tyre against going on to Jerusalem, brings several things to mind. There are several possible reasons that Paul would go on to Jerusalem despite the warnings. One is that he just simply wanted to go back to Jerusalem and he was hard set on doing that regardless of what someone else said. Perhaps he thought that he would be able to go through persecution once again like he had in the past. But what I think is the reason kind of goes along with Dr. Foster’s ideas of the fish going back up stream theory. I think he knew that this would be his end but that he fought a good fight and as he said "I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
Matt Justice

A Pursuit of Martyrdom...or Obedience

There is no doubt about it. At the end of his third missionary journey, Paul was indeed driven to Jerusalem. He was compelled to go there and to preach even after being warned by his brothers and sisters through the spirit not to go. Why? Was it this mission brought about by some intense desire to be martyred for the faith? We see the glorification of martrydom and the pursuit of it develop later in church history with characters such as Origen, so perhaps in Paul's day it was a very admirable thing. However, Paul makes perfectly clear in Romans 15 that he desire to continue the ministry in places such as spain, so why would he seek to die in Jerusalem before ever having the oppurtunity to go to Spain? Was this strictly obedience to God's will and Spirit, and, if so, why was he told in the Spirit not to go? Ultimately I believe that Paul was obedient to God over any desire of his own. Was Paul's undying affection and burden for his people (the Jews) so great that he felt irrisistably drawn to Jerusalem?

I believe the answer to these questions in "yes", especially to the latter two pruposed. I cannot illustrate Paul's exact mentallity as he ventured to Jerusalem and certain doom, but his own litterature makes evident his desire to follow Christ at all cost as well as the compassion and burden he had to see his people accept the Messiah. Paul clearly measures his desire to stay at or go to places by the oppurtunity that is there as well as the adversaries that are there (1 Cor 15:9).

Whatever the reason, we must be encouraged and inspired by Paul to march square into danger and peril if it means obeying Christ and preaching the gospel.

finishing the race...

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24

I have heard this verse a lot in the last few years. I remember in high school a lot of people said it was their favorite verse. Sure, it sounds good enough. I might seem really humble if it was my favorite verse. I see now, however, after learning so much about Paul and what he did during the three missionary journeys what exactly this verse means. Paul was going to preach the Gospel, especially if it killed him. His whole farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus in Miletus is a great testimony to what all God had done in Paul's ministry since he started.
Hopefully, when we've reached the end of our lives, we will all be able to make the same claim Paul did in verse 27, "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God."

Jennifer Young

Guiding of the Holy Spirit

Throughout Acts 20-21, we see that Paul is continually warned by the Holy Spirit, through others, not to continue to Jerusalem. Paul seems to dismiss these cautions, but why? If the Holy Spirit was truely using other people to speak to Paul, wouldn't that be the work of the Lord. In other words, believing in the trinity, wouldn't the Holy Spirit's warning be from God. If that's the case then why would Paul continue his journey towards Jerusalem. Or if it was God's will for Paul to suffer in Jerusalem, then why would the Holy Spirit try to convince him not to go. The best I can understand is that maybe the Holy Spirit was giving these revelations to others so that Paul might be remembered as someone willing to follow Christ no matter the cost. Maybe the Holy Spirit wanted him to go, but wanted others to see his sacrafice in going.

Seven Sons of Sceva, Vanity, and the Sovereignty of God Over His Own Name

Reflecting on Friday’s discussion about the seven sons of Sceva and a discussion on the third commandment in Basic Christian Ethics, I see how the issue of using or taking the Lord’s name in vain could become a problematic issue in a polytheistic society. The seven sons of Sceva were Jewish, but the text indicates that both Greeks and Jews practiced sorcery. The superstitious beliefs of the first century complicated a convert’s understanding of Christianity. As Winter noted in After Paul Left Corinth, superstition spilled over into Christianity in the form of curses in the name of Jesus. Such practices recognized the power and authority of the name of Jesus, but they failed to recognize the sovereignty of God over the use of his own name. The beating of the seven sons served as a wake up call for superstitious pagans and church members. For many pagans, demonic recognition of Christ evidenced the power of the one true God. In the same way, Jews, who were supposed to practice a monotheistic worship of the one true God, recognized the error of their ways. "The name of the Lord was held in high honor." Verse eighteen indicates that fear gave way to belief, and belief resulted in action. The people burned sorcery scrolls that were valued in excess of an average man’s wages for 136 years. I find it interesting that the people torched their scrolls rather than sell them. As a modern Christian, I recognize that vanity is one of the most common sins. When we recognize that something has displaced God in our lives, we prefer to put that thing in a box and save it for later. Christian Ephesians had a zeal for putting their faith into action. They destroyed the things that hindered them. Despite the failure of the seven sons of Sceva to recognize the true authority of Christ’s name, God used the incident to increase the power and authority of his word.
In Christ,
the other Paul

Online Poll: Paul's teaching of resurrection

Hey guys and gals. I'm doing my paper on the 1 Corinthian 15 passage which contains some of Paul's theology of resurrection. My basic thesis is that the resurrection for believers in the future will be of the same nature as the resurrection of Jesus. Based on the text found within this passage, what is your opinion of future resurrection of believers? Please keep in mind how Paul ties the future resurrection to that of the resurrection of Christ. Will it be physical in that graves with open up releasing the dead, or is it somehow just a spiritual resurrection? Please condsider this question based on Pauline theology and leave me some comments. I'm interested in what you think.! Peace!

Wade

Paul's Parallel to Christ

I never thought of Paul's mad dash to Jerusalem after leaving Ephesus to be of any significance until today. I always thought that he was in such a hurry to get there only because he desperately wanted to go. I never thought of the parallels to Christ's passion that are so numerous in this passage. Paul was warned by several different people at several different places to not go to Jerusalem. Agabus even ties himself up with Paul's belt and warned him to not go to Jerusalem. If this had been me, I think I would have gotten the message at this point and gotten the heck out of dodge! It is almost that Paul saw that it was his duty to go to Jerusalem to die, just as Christ had to die in Jerusalem. Paul was very tenacious in his determination to go to Jerusalem- at all costs. The parallels to Christ's final days are amazing to me, and I believe we all can learn from Paul's determination.

Steven Price

The will of the Lord be done!!

In Acts 21:11-14 we can see the situation Paul has. I think we can grasp the reality of the situation in Jerusalem in this section. Paul is not stupid, he is not away fromt the spirit's focus. God I believe has revealed to Paul that these things were not going to be easy when he got to Jerusalem. We see Paul in verse 13 in a new light almost in an outroar for his situation. He understood the persecuation that awaited him in Jerusalem, and he was willing. The question I wonder is, is that what he wanted. He goes on the basically put himself out in front of the Jews to be persecuted inadvertly. To me this is a wonderful demonstration of God's will being done. Verse 14 is the approval of that. That stoic philosophy is seen here, God's will is God's will and there is nothing we should do to try to persuade other wise.

Jacob

Man...That Guy was BORING!

Acts 20:7-12

I find this passage hilarious! According to Luke, Paul was talking "on and on" (vs 9 NIV). It says that this young man Eutychus was falling asleep, but in the NIV it is called a "deep" sleep...but unfortunately, this lad didnt seem to bright, because he seated himself in a window, and fell out...oooppss, so much for not getting caught napping during bible study...

So this raises the question, was Paul boring?? Doubtful, but it is somewhat a comical approach to this passage.

Abbi

Paul's procession

Even though I we thoroughly covered Paul’s decision to go to Jerusalem in spite of being warned not to proceed, the ordeal keeps running through my mind. Maybe I am beating a dead horse by bringing it up again, but questions keep coming up. My mind would delight in the satisfaction of understanding the events surrounding Paul’s choice to go and the Spirit’s warning for him not to continue there. Would he have been obedient to the Lord if he had stayed longer in any of the towns or cities on his rush to get back to the J’ville? Was Paul sinning in his decision to proceed? I am not sure if Dr. Foster was implying this thought or not, but I wonder if the apostle felt the urgency to get back in order that he might be able to preach boldly to his own people. Maybe he the closure he needed involved washing his hands of their blood by telling them the gospel. The passage is unsettled in my soul.

kevin

Well...if that's what the Spirit says....

What if Paul had paid attention to the words of trouble in Jerusalem in Acts 21? What if he acknowledged the Spirit speaking through these disciples and prophets and decided not to go? We could see that maybe many other churches would have been started by Paul and many other prominent leaders would have come to know Christ through the words which Paul would have spoken to them. Paul's followers would have grown more in knowledge and action, as well as learned more from their great teacher.

Or, what if Paul had taken their word and not gone, would he be deny what the Spirit might be saying to him? That statement is a stretch beyond means, but Paul obviously knew that going to Jerusalem was not the wisest choice ever. He knew from the Spirit that if he went he would face trouble and maybe even death. Would Paul be escaping from what the Spirit was wanting him to do? The entire idea of why Paul went rest on his words that he was ready for what was about to come to him. He knew that the time was at hand for him to face death and Jerusalem was the way to get there. This is the never ending battle of "what if?" that stems from making one decision over another.

Living and Leaving a Spiritual Legacy?

Paul seemed to be able to make disciples in all the churches he established and could leave in confidenced the leadership that had been created. In Acts 20:1-6 we find an account of some of the disciples that were part of a larger missionary team. These were not just people from Antioch of Syria, but members of the local congregations that had been established along the missionary journeys. This helps to reconcile Paul's determination to return to Jerusalem. Not only had a firm foundation been laid in the churches, but also strong leadership so that Paul became able to go to Jerusalem and face what he knew would happen to him there, his arrest and subsequent imprisionment in Rome and eventual death. It also seems from the text that the Holy Spirit had been telling these disciples of Paul's fate in Jerusalem (of which Paul was also aware) and they desired him not to go. This I beleive is not disobeince on Paul's part but rather a kind of obedience that is rarely seen. The kind of obedience that he could carry out with confidence because of the spiritual legacy that he would be leaving behind. The question that comes to mind is what kind of disciples are we creating? Are they just passive listners of active learners? Where is the standard of discipleship in our own ministry work? Can we say as Paul , "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ"? Are we living and leaving a spiritual legacy?

Paul & The Godhead

Obvious parallels between the Lukan accounts of Paul and Christ bring up serious questions about Luke's conception of Paul. As Christ continually honored the Father in Luke's Gospel, so Paul continually honors Christ. Both figures are suffering heroes; both are presented without flaw (that is, post-Damascus Paul is presented without flaw).

This brings to the surface some disturbing questions: Did Luke see Paul as part of the Godhead? Did he believe in a Quaternity, instead of a Trinity? Or perhaps did Luke see Paul's life as a model by which all Christians can attain godhood?

These questions may rock the foundations of traditional Christian interpretation, but textual considerations demand they be considered.

The Church a greek fraternity?

Discussion in class on Friday about a Greek association got my wheels to spinning. I have spent many years attempting to reconcile the church's practices with the practices of the early synagogue and was always coming up short. I often wondered where different forms of government and a constant need to eat that seems to crop up in Corinthians was all about. The light has been turned on. It was the Greek association that led to the modern church and a good deal of current societies. I think that the theological implications of this are numerous. It allows us to take a step back and realize that while our leadership in churches do need to be Godly people, we may not need to try to fit ourselves into mold of deacon/elder that we so tenaciously cling to. I think that much of the conflict that we face as a result of our strict adherence to this archaic system could be stemmed off if we would just look at more efficient and modern ways to run our church. Obviously Paul had no problems taking ideas from his culture in order to find molds for church. Why should we?

Destroying the wisdom of the wise.

It’s amazing to me how similar the early philosophers, scientists, and debaters are with those of today. Trying to explain the ways of God through all kinds of efforts by of all kinds of people has been and still is the goal of many. Seeking everything from signs, wisdom, or physical proof to support an explanation of the ways of God has never been enough, because signs can be interpreted in different ways, wisdom isn’t always applicable in every situation, and sometimes there is not enough physical proof to support your belief. When it comes to the cross, something that scientific methods, forms of debate, branches philosophy, or mountains of physical evidence could never explain, methods of understanding have become useless in this area. Maybe explaining or understanding everything about God is not the issue. The issue is belief in Him and His word in spite of something that doesn’t make sense in the eyes of the “wise”.

Destroying the wisdom of the wise.

It’s amazing to me how similar the early philosophers, scientists, and debaters are with those of today. Trying to explain the ways of God through all kinds of efforts by of all kinds of people has been and still is the goal of many. Seeking everything from signs, wisdom, or physical proof to support an explanation of the ways of God has never been enough, because signs can be interpreted in different ways, wisdom isn’t always applicable in every situation, and sometimes there is not enough physical proof to support your belief. When it comes to the cross, something that scientific methods, forms of debate, branches philosophy, or mountains of physical evidence could never explain, methods of understanding have become useless in this area. Maybe explaining or understanding everything about God is not the issue. The issue is belief in Him and His word in spite of something that doesn’t make sense in the eyes of the “wise”.

Milk and Honey

After looking at 1 Corinthians 3: 1-2, I have come to the conclusion that most church members only want infant food. Think of your church; how many of the people in your church are actively seeking new understanding about God? How many of us ministry students are actively seeking new understanding about God? I know that there is an argument that most of the people in church are not ready for the real food of God’s Word, but there are some – and they are not being provided for. Christian books and studies are utter vanity. They are the same empty messages that we have read and heard for the last fifty years. No wonder the world looks down on Christian writers and scholars – their work sucks! How will we, the next generation – nay the current generation of Christian writers and scholars provide meaningful, scriptural food for our flock and disciples.

Danny the Argumentative

Exorists and Demons

Dr. Foster discussed the sons of Sceva in class Friday. He stated that in order for demons to be removed, the person had to bind the individual by calling on the name of the divinity. The divinity would be greater than the demon and would be able to force out the demon. Not only would you call on the divinity, but you must also have the authority to use the words. The sons of Sceva, much to their dismay, did not have that authority when they stated, "we adjure you by the name Paul preaches" to come out. The demons stated that they knew Jesus and that they knew Paul, but they did not know the sons of Sceva.

The exorcism failed because they did not have the authority to use "the Name".

I thought it was rather ironic that demons helped to spread the Word of God and Jesus. It reminded me of Marcion who was going to eliminate Paul from the New Testament. When Marcion organized his canon, he had no intention of Paul being remembered. However by establishing his canon, he inadvertantly established the New Testament canon and the validity of Paul's letters. The demons did not recognize the authority of the sons of Sceva and inadvertantly helped to spread the Word of God and Jesus.

Paul's hands were clean

Paul makes a reference to Ezekiel’s illustration of the watchman (Ezek. 33: 1-7) after being rejected by the Jews in Corinth (18: 5-8). Paul states that he is not liable for the Jews not accepting Christ because he has shared the gospel with them. When I think of this statement along with the assumption Paul had of Christ coming back in Paul’s lifetime, it becomes rather evident to me why Paul saw his mission as so urgent. Believing that he would be responsible for the ignorance of those around him and thinking that at any time Christ will return would force Paul to act quickly and share the message of Christ before time expired. I can’t help but ask, did Paul have some sort of personal fear of Christ condemning him for not telling everyone he could about the gospel. Another question that I would ask is why do we not feel such an urgency or responsibility to share the gospel with all those around us. Paul was definitely right in shaking off his garments to the Corinthian Jews and saying that he did his duty, but can we say the same about those that we encounter everyday?

Travis Adams