One thing I love about the life of Paul is how instrumental he was to the growth of Jesus’ kingdom. That’s somewhat of an obvious thing, what with all his preaching and teaching, as well as his writing half the New Testament, but there’s more to it than that.
…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.
(Acts 8:1)
After the murder of Stephen, when the church faced its first period of severe persecution, the brethren scattered, and took with them the zeal of the Gospel. They converted people in Judea and Samaria, and eventually brought the message of Jesus into the Decapolis, where the city of Damascus was located. That persecution was driven, primarily, by the efforts of Saul. He gets partial credit for the spread of the kingdom before he ever obeyed the Gospel! As the persecutor pursued brethren out of Judea, he made his way to Damascus, a city now home to several believers, all thanks to the persecution which he—Saul—fueled. Isn’t that ironic? The man is converted by Ananias, who very well might never have been in Damascus in the first place, if Saul himself hadn’t fanned the flames of hatred and persecution.
So Paul deserves credit for all the souls he personally preached to as an Apostle, as well as all the souls who heard the Gospel preached by those he persecuted, including the man who converted him. Seriously, is there anyone this guy couldn’t convert? Actually yes. For example, he never could get through to Felix…
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
(Acts 24:25)
He can’t convert a man who doesn’t want to obey the Gospel. And that remains true of people today. No matter how many you reach with the Gospel, at the end of the day, all you can do is plant the Seed and see what becomes of it. Paul, who converted countless, would be the first one to tell you “give God the glory, not me.” He would also be the first one to lament over all the souls he was never able to bring to Jesus.
That’s a true “soul winner’s” mentality.
~Matthew
PS: Don’t forget that, at the end of September, we will enjoy our Family Day weekend Gospel Meeting with Barry Grider. Be here on Friday evening, September 26th, at 7pm, as well as Saturday evening, September 27th, at 7pm to hear two excellent lessons from God’s Word, both in the lead-up to our big Family Day Sunday on September 28th.