Our text for today is Acts 8:3.
“Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”
This man, Saul, is the one whom we know as Paul, the Apostle. We first meet Saul only two verses earlier when he consents to the death of the first Christian martyr. But verse three shows us the character of his life at that time. He persecuted and tried to destroy the church. He dragged Christian men and women off to prison. Little could we have guessed that the end of his anti-Christian journey was about to come. He left to go to nearby cities to persecute Christians. In Acts 9, Jesus meets him on the trip, and his life is changed. He goes from Saul, the persecutor, to Paul, the Apostle.
Here are five great truths about him:
1. Paul became the great missionary to the Gentile people, even though he was a Jew.
2. Paul was a Roman citizen. On one occasion, he allowed himself to be beaten so that the soldiers might leave Christians alone. (See Acts 16).
3. Paul was a great scholar who trained under Gamaliel, one of the Jews’ most respected teachers.
4. Paul was a tentmaker by trade. He supported his ministry by making tents as his day job.
5. Paul wrote more books of the New Testament than anyone else. He wrote at least 13 and maybe 14. Many of his books were written while he was in prison.
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.