Why is Paul my Apostle?

Wow, nothing like opening a can of worms to get a blog started on its way.

By following Paul's pattern, I am not lessening Jesus Christ's position as my Lord and Saviour.

Paul presents himself as a great sinner, the chief of sinners. God gave Paul the message of Grace and revealed The Mystery to him.

When Jesus was on the earth, he chose his twelve disciples and gave them the power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils.

Mark 3:14: And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
Mark 3:15: And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
Mark 3:16: And Simon he surnamed Peter;
Mark 3:17: And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
Mark 3:18: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
Mark 3:19: And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

He sent them to minister to the Jews, and he told them expressly to not go to the Gentiles or into Samaria. The Gentiles had little hope of being saved prior to the revelation of The Mystery.

Matthew 10:5: These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Matthew 10:6: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 10:7: And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What was Paul doing during this time? He was known as Saul of Tarsus and was busy killing the Jews that followed Jesus and believed in Him. The first mention of him in the Bible is Acts 7:58.

Act 7:57: Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
Act 7:58: And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
Act 7:59: And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Act 7:60: And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Act 8:1: And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2: And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3: As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

Saul becomes known as Paul in Act 13:9.

Act 13:9: Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

Paul had had his conversion on the road to Damascus. Just imagine the irony! You hate Jesus and anyone who follows him, but God from heaven above strikes you down, blinds you for three days and says, "Now you're going to work for ME, Paul."

Act 9:1: And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2: And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3: And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5: And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6: And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Act 9:7: And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8: And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9: And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

Jesus was perfect in every way, but Paul was a terrible sinner, by his own admission. It makes sense then, that Paul is our pattern.

1 Timothy 1:13: Who [Paul] was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1 Timothy 1:14: And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:15: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1 Timothy 1:16: Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Saved by grace. No works required. In fact, if you think you can get into heaven by doing works, you are showing disrespect to Jesus Christ for the work he did on the cross. By dying for our sins, he saved us. Right there. We only have to accept the free gift of salvation.

Are you saved? Would you like to know where you will spend eternity? I invite you to visit Do You Know Where You Will Spend Eternity? from Florida Grace Bible Berean Church. Please notify me if this link breaks!