Opus 2025-442: The Pauline Fallacy

History has produced a long list of names that we remember.

History has also produced a long list of names that we never heard of.

Which list has made the biggest difference?

The one that I have thought about recently is the apostle Paul.  He is glorified as being the apostle to the Gentiles.  People think of him being a great teacher and evangelist.  He was.  He changed the world or at least pushed it in the right direction.  He was not the greatest influence, though, in the spread of Christianity through Europe.  Paul’s greatest contribution was not his evangelism, but his writing.  If we went through and added up all the people that Paul was responsible for witnessing to you would get a couple thousand.  If we went through and added up all the people who came to know the truth of God through his writings you would have multiplied millions, possibly billions.

Paul is remembered for his writings, but they don’t bring as much sparkle as the idea of going into a new town and spreading the gospel.  In the enthusiasm of the apostle Paul, what we often overlook is that he was just one voice and could only be in one place.  We often miss that the gospel went before him.  It amuses me reading the first chapter of the letter to the Romans.  Paul is excited about going to Rome because he wants to preach there.  What we often miss is that there was already a strong church in Rome and Paul had never even crossed the city limits.  The gospel went before him.  The gospel was spread by hundreds and thousands of little Paul’s who weren’t even thinking about being great evangelist.  They were just spreading the good news.  Paul with small potatoes compared to their combined effect.

A modern example might be Billy Graham.  I remember attending one of his crusades in Los Angeles.  The Colosseum had thousands of people listening to his preaching.  His sermons were broadcast on TV and radio.  Millions heard him.  People get impressed.  I think, though that he would say that the greatest force in evangelism with the people going to work every day and living out their Christian lives in front of others.  They did more by simply witnessing and talking about Jesus that he could ever do with all of his multimedia presentations.

Think of Jesus himself.  He never left the Jewish areas of the world.  He talked only to Jews for the most part.  He was murdered after three years of ministry.  Of course, He had advantages that none of us have.  He was the eternal, incarnate, son of God.  He has already been resurrected and had the contacts to send the Holy Spirit.  And yet, in spite of that He told His disciples that they would do bigger things that He had done.

We are still mourning the loss of Charlie Kirk.  He was one in a billion.  He was a unique servant of Almighty God.  He was taken from us too early.  But when he was speaking to those crowds of students and having such a great effect, don’t forget all the conversations that we’re going on in the dorm rooms and around the dinner tables, and in places that you would never think about it.  He was spreading salt.  Salt was doing his work under the power of the Holy Spirit and under the many individuals who are being faithful.

Think of yourself as being a Paul Junior, a Charlie Junior, a disciple of Jesus.  You will talk to people that none of them could ever come close to.  Don’t fall for the Pauline Fallacy.  We need our apostles.  Even more we need faithful salt.  That is where you and I come in.

Be salty.

homo unius libri