Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit (Great Lives Series) PDF
Preview Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit (Great Lives Series)
PAUL A Man of Grace and Grit Books in the Great Lives from God’s 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 GOD’S 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 means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Published in association with yates & Yates, www.yates.com Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail 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 Introduction 1 May I Introduce to You Saul of Tarsus 2 The Violent Capture of a Rebel Will 3 The Memorable Faith of a Forgotten Hero 4 The Necessity of Solitude, Quietness, and Obscurity 5 Mission Underway . . . Thanks to the Lesser-Known 6 Out of the Shadows 7 Finding Contentment in God’s Sufficient Grace 8 The Pleasure of Being in Ministry Together 9 Released in Order to Obey 10 The Jagged Edge of Authentic Ministry 11 A Game Plan for Facing Extreme Circumstances 12 The Day Two Missionaries Duked It Out 13 Traveling as Paul Traveled 14 Preaching as Paul Preached 15 Leading as Paul Led 16 Responding as Paul Responded 17 Thinking as Paul Thought 18 Dealing with Critics as Paul Did 19 Standing Tall as Paul Stood 20 How to Handle a Shipwreck 21 Arrested, Confined, but Still Effective 22 Shackled, Deserted, but Still Undaunted Conclusion Endnotes Maps INTRODUCTION Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit Several treasured biographies line the shelves of my personal library—some 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 moment’s 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 Holland’s biographical work, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, is a classic example. Dated 1866, the year after the assassination of America’s 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. Holland’s Opus. 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 God’s 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, Holland’s 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 Lincoln’s 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 Paul’s 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
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