Paul – Apostle of Grace
Pastor Tan Thai · Jun 5, 2016
This sermon introduces the apostle Paul before beginning a sermon series on 1 Corinthians. The pastor presents three key aspects of Paul's life: his role as a persecutor of the church, his impressive background and education, and the life-transforming encounter in which he was saved, called, and sent as an apostle to the Gentiles.
The sermon opens by introducing a new series on the epistles of the apostle Paul, beginning with 1 Corinthians. The pastor emphasizes that Paul, second only to Jesus Christ, is the most influential figure in Christian history. He authored 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament and was chosen by God to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles in fulfillment of the Great Commission as stated in Acts 1:8.
The first section focuses on Paul as a persecutor of the church. His first appearance in Scripture is as a bystander holding the coats of those who stoned the disciple Stephen to death (Acts 7:58). He then went house to house arresting believers and throwing them into prison (Acts 8:3). It is precisely because of this heavy past that Paul deeply treasured the grace of salvation, calling himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and unworthy to be called an apostle (1 Corinthians 15:9). This is why the pastor refers to him as the 'apostle of grace.'
The second section presents Paul's background and education. He was born in the city of Tarsus, a Roman citizen from birth, from the tribe of Benjamin, and a Pharisee trained under the renowned teacher Gamaliel in Jerusalem. His Hebrew name Saul reflected his Jewish heritage, while his Latin name Paullus reflected his Roman citizenship. Every element of his upbringing uniquely prepared him to serve as an apostle to both Jews and Gentiles.
The third section describes Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), when Jesus appeared to him in blinding light and called him by name. This event, recorded three times in Acts, led to Paul being chosen as God's instrument to carry the Gospel to the nations. Over 35 years of ministry, Paul completed three missionary journeys, visited approximately 70 cities, traveled roughly 8,500 miles, and planted churches in major cities such as Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, and Athens.
The sermon concludes with the application that salvation is entirely by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that Paul's example reminds every believer not to boast in personal merit or achievement. His life also confirms that God has a plan and purpose for each person's life to accomplish His work.