How did Paul universalize Christ - Essay Example

Saint Paul is a well-renowned and noble who undertook the holy work of proclaiming the Gospel of the Christ in several regions around the world. Paulbelonged to the Israel race and to the Benjamin tribe which was held in great respect as they were direct descendants of Jacob who is considered to have been born in the Promised Land. Paul was a Pharisee who fervently followed the Law of Moses. During his 30s Paul sees a vision of the Christ which transforms him into a new individual blessed with a spirit of wisdom and revelation that finally lead to a complete personal transformation.

Though this was the life-changing and decisive moment in his life that made him commit himself to preach the message of the Christ, Paul believed that the calling to serve God came much earlier while he was in his mother’s womb. He believed that this revelation was given to him to continue to work of the prophets who spread the message of the lord in nations across the world. He believed that he was also an apostle who was directly chosen by Christ to preach the message of the lord. Thus following his divine encounter with Christ Paul set out on this missionary task.

He was chosen to be a missionary for all people including non-Jews and others living in nations around the world (Edart). Paul began his missionary work by addressing the Jews and later decided to spread the Gospel to non-Jews living around the world and where it had never been heard. He believed that God would guide him along his journey as he had chosen him in the first place to be his messenger. In his travel Paul preached Jews and the non-Jew population in several nations around the world moving from one town to another and having planned his journeys in order to accomplish his mission.

In all the places that he visited Paul chose urban cities and towns, areas under Roman administration and with a predominant Greek culture and higher number of Jews as it was easier to relate to these sects of people. He believed that they in turn could carry forward his message to people from other communities. In every city Paul spread the message of the Gospel by participating in the service of the local synagogue where he would address the crowd and announce about the Risen Christ. Apart from places of worship Paul generally chose public places and private homes to give his sermon.

Paul addressed members from every sector of the society and his contacts with those belonging to the elite classes helped him conduct discourses to a larger audience and also provided the much needed political support that enabled him to preach the Gospel without any problems. His preaching’s mainly centered on the life and death of Jesus Christ, the Messiah with the focal point being the death and resurrection of Christ. He made sure that his sermons were not aimed at persuading people about Christianity instead it laid emphasis on faith as Paul believed that true faith will ultimately lead to obedience to the Lord.

He urged people to place Jesus Christ at the center of their lives and cherish the communion with the lord and become his loyal follower. During his stay in the city Paul founded communities and taught at the local Synagogue and at schools all of which helped him convey his message to a larger section of the population. While Paul continued his preaching there was a section of people who disliked his proclamation that the salvation of the Christ was different from the Mosaic Law. Paul was also imprisoned owing to these differences and even during his stay in the prison Paul spent most of his time spreading the message of the Gospel to the prison inmates.

He also proclaimed the Gospel during his trial in Rome and until his death. Though Paul acknowledged the fact that he had the right to enjoy any monetary gains that he received from his preaching, he however, refused to take any kind of advantage or use the preaching’s to support his life (Edart; Robertson). Thus Apostle Paul firmly believed that spreading the message of the Gospel was a task that was entrusted to him by God and that all his needs would be taken care. He considered teaching the Gospel to his fellow citizens and spreading the message of the Christ in several nations across the world to be a higher rewarding task above anything else.

References1. Edart, Jean-Baptiste. Fr. “Saint Paul: “The Greatest Missionary of All Times.” FIDES News Service. June 2008. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8330#Introduction2. Robertson, A. T. “The Apostle Paul” Religiousfacts.com. n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/people/paul_of_tarsus.htm