we are not informed how long he remained there. He returned to Damascus;
and being supernaturally qualified to be a preacher of the Gospel, he
immediately entered upon his ministry in that city. The boldness and
success with which he enforced the truths of Christianity so irritated
the unbelieving Jews, that they resolved to put him to death, Acts ix,
23; but, this design being known, the disciples conveyed him privately
out of Damascus, and he went to Jerusalem, A. D. 38. The Christians of
Jerusalem, remembering St. Paul’s former hostility to the Gospel, and
having no authentic account of any change in his sentiments or conduct,
at first refused to receive him; but being assured by Barnabas of St.
Paul’s real conversion, and of his exertions at Damascus, they
acknowledged him as a disciple, Acts ix, 27. He remained only fifteen
days among them, Gal. i, 18; and he saw none of the Apostles except St.
Peter and St. James. It is probable that the other Apostles were at this
time absent from Jerusalem, exercising their ministry at different
places. The zeal with which St. Paul preached at Jerusalem had the same
effect as at Damascus: he became so obnoxious to the Hellenistic Jews,
that they began to consider how they might kill him, Acts ix, 29; which
when the brethren knew, they thought it right that he should leave the
city. They accompanied him to Cæsarea, and thence he went into the
regions of Syria and Cilicia, where he preached the faith which once he
destroyed, Gal. i, 21, 23.
Hitherto the preaching of St. Paul, as well as of the other Apostles and
teachers, had been confined to the Jews; but the conversion of
Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, A. D. 40, having convinced all the
Apostles that to the Gentiles, also, God had granted repentance unto
life,” St. Paul was soon after conducted by Barnabas from Tarsus, which
had probably been the principal place of his residence since he left
Jerusalem, and they both began to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles at
Antioch, A. D. 42, Acts xi, 25. Their preaching was attended with great
success. The first Gentile church was now established at Antioch; and in
that city, and at this time, the disciples were first called Christians,
Acts xi, 26. When these two Apostles had been thus employed about a
year, a prophet called Agabus predicted an approaching famine, which
would affect the whole land of Judea. Upon the prospect of this
calamity, the Christians of Antioch made a contribution for their
brethren in Judea, and sent the money to the elders at Jerusalem by St.
Paul and Barnabas, A. D. 44, Acts xi, 28, &c. This famine happened soon
after, in the fourth or fifth year of the Emperor Claudius. It is
supposed that St. Paul had the vision, mentioned in Acts xxii, 17, while
he was now at Jerusalem this second time after his conversion.
St. Paul and Barnabas, having executed their commission, returned to
Antioch; and soon after their arrival in that city they were separated,
by the express direction of the Holy Ghost, from the other Christian
teachers and prophets, for the purpose of carrying the glad tidings of
the Gospel to the Gentiles of various countries, Acts xiii, 1. Thus
divinely appointed to this important office, they set out from Antioch,
A. D. 45, and preached the Gospel successively at Salamis and Paphos,
two cities of the isle of Cyprus, at Perga in Pamphylia, Antioch in
Pisidia, and at Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, three cities of Lycaonia.
They returned to Antioch in Syria, A. D. 47, nearly by the same route.
This first apostolical journey of St. Paul, in which he was accompanied
and assisted by Barnabas, is supposed to have occupied about two years;
and in the course of it many, both Jews and Gentiles, were converted to
the Gospel.
Paul and Barnabas continued at Antioch a considerable time; and while
they were there, a dispute arose between them and some Jewish Christians
of Judea. These men asserted, that the Gentile converts could not obtain
salvation through the Gospel, unless they were circumcised; Paul and
Barnabas maintained the contrary opinion, Acts xv, 1, 2. This dispute
was carried on for some time with great earnestness; and it being a
question in which not only the present but all future Gentile converts
were concerned, it was thought right that St. Paul and Barnabas, with
some others, should go up to Jerusalem to consult the Apostles and
elders concerning it. They passed through Phenicia and Samaria, and upon
their arrival at Jerusalem, A. D. 49, a council was assembled for the
purpose of discussing this important point, Gal. ii, 1. St. Peter and
St. James the less were present, and delivered their sentiments, which
coincided with those of St. Paul and Barnabas; and after much
deliberation it was agreed, that neither circumcision, nor conformity to
any part of the ritual law of Moses, was necessary in Gentile converts;
but that it should be recommended to them to abstain from certain
specified things prohibited by that law, lest their indulgence in them
should give offence to their brethren of the circumcision, who were
still very zealous for the observance of the ceremonial part of their
ancient religion. This decision which was declared to have the sanction
of the Holy Ghost, was communicated to the Gentile Christians of Syria
and Cilicia by a letter written in the name of the Apostles, elders, and
whole church at Jerusalem, and conveyed by Judas and Silas, who
accompanied St. Paul and Barnabas to Antioch for that purpose.
St. Paul, having preached a short time at Antioch, proposed to Barnabas
that they should visit the churches which they had founded in different
cities, Acts xv, 36. Barnabas readily consented; but while they were
preparing for the journey, there arose a disagreement between them,
which ended in their separation. In consequence of this dispute with
Barnabas, St. Paul chose Silas for his companion, and they set out
together from Antioch, A. D. 50. They travelled through Syria and
Cilicia, confirming the churches, and then came to Derbe and Lystra,
Acts xvi. Thence they went through Phrygia and Galatia; and, being
desirous of going into Asia Propria, or the Proconsular Asia, they were
forbidden by the Holy Ghost. They therefore went into Mysia; and, not
being permitted by the Holy Ghost to go into Bithynia as they had
intended, they went to Troas. While St. Paul was there, a vision
appeared to him in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed
him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” St. Paul knew this
vision to be a command from Heaven, and in obedience to it immediately
sailed from Troas to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis, a city
of Thrace; and thence he went to Philippi, the principal city of that
part of Macedonia. St. Paul remained some time at Philippi, preaching
the Gospel; and several occurrences which took place in that city, are
recorded in Acts xvii. Thence he went through Amphipolis and Apollonia
to Thessalonica, Acts xvii, where he preached in the synagogues of the
Jews on three successive Sabbath days. Some of the Jews, and many of the
Gentiles of both sexes, embraced the Gospel; but the unbelieving Jews,
moved with envy and indignation at the success of St. Paul’s preaching,
excited a great disturbance in the city, and irritated the populace so
much against him, that the brethren, anxious for his safety, thought it
prudent to send him to Berea, where he met with a better reception than
he had experienced at Thessalonica. The Bereans heard his instructions
with attention and candour, and having compared his doctrines with the
ancient Scriptures, and being satisfied that Jesus, whom he preached,
was the promised Messiah, they embraced the Gospel; but his enemies at
Thessalonica, being informed of his success at Berea, came thither, and,
by their endeavours to stir up the people against him, compelled him to
leave that city also. He went thence to Athens, where he delivered that
discourse recorded in Acts xvii. From Athens, Paul went to Corinth, Acts
xviii, A. D. 51, and lived in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, two
Jews, who, being compelled to leave Rome in consequence of Claudius’s
edict against the Jews, had lately settled at Corinth. St. Paul was
induced to take up his residence with them, because, like himself, they
were tent makers. At first he preached to the Jews in their synagogue;
but upon their violently opposing his doctrine, he declared that from
that time he would preach to the Gentiles only; and, accordingly, he
afterward delivered his instructions in the house of one Justus, who
lived near the synagogue. Among the few Jews who embraced the Gospel,
were Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, and his family; and many of
the Gentile Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.” St. Paul
was encouraged in a vision to persevere in his exertions to convert the
inhabitants of Corinth; and although he met with great opposition and
disturbance from the unbelieving Jews, and was accused by them before
Gallio, the Roman governor of Achaia, he continued there a year and six
months, teaching the word of God.” During this time he supported himself
by working at his trade of tent making, that he might not be burdensome
to the disciples. From Corinth St. Paul sailed into Syria, and thence he
went to Ephesus: thence to Cæsarea; and is supposed to have arrived at
Jerusalem just before the feast of pentecost. After the feast he went to
Antioch, A. D. 53; and this was the conclusion of his second apostolical
journey, in which he was accompanied by Silas; and in part of it, Luke
and Timothy were also with him.
Having made a short stay at Antioch, St. Paul set out upon his third
apostolical journey. He passed through Galatia, and Phrygia, A. D. 54,
confirming the Christians of those countries; and thence, according to
his promise, he went to Ephesus, Acts xix. He found there some
disciples, who had only been baptized with John’s baptism: he directed
that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus, and then he
communicated to them the Holy Ghost. He preached for the space of three
months in the synagogue; but the Jews being hardened beyond conviction,
and speaking reproachfully of the Christian religion before the
multitude, he left them; and from that time he delivered his
instructions in the school of a person called Tyrannus, who was probably
a Gentile. St. Paul continued to preach in this place about two years,
so that all the inhabitants of that part of Asia Minor heard the word of
the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” He also performed many miracles
at Ephesus; and not only great numbers of people were converted to
Christianity, but many also of those who in this superstitious city used
incantations and magical arts, professed their belief in the Gospel, and
renounced their former practices by publicly burning their books.
Previous to the disturbance raised by Demetrius, Paul had intended to
continue at Ephesus till Titus should return, whom he had sent to
inquire into the state of the church at Corinth, 2 Cor. xii, 18. He now
thought it prudent to go from Ephesus immediately, Acts xx, A. D. 56;
and having taken an affectionate leave of the disciples, he set out for
Troas, 2 Cor. ii, 12, 13, where he expected to meet Titus. Titus,
however, from some cause which is not known, did not come to Troas; and
Paul was encouraged to pass over into Macedonia, with the hope of making
converts. St. Paul, after preaching in Macedonia, receiving from the
Christians of that country liberal contributions for their poor brethren
in Judea, 2 Cor. viii, 1, went to Corinth, A. D. 57, and remained there
about three months. The Christians also of Corinth, and of the rest of
Achaia, contributed to the relief of their brethren in Judea. St. Paul’s
intention was to have sailed from Corinth into Syria; but being informed
that some unbelieving Jews, who had discovered his intention, lay in
wait for him, he changed his plan, passed through Macedonia, and sailed
from Philippi to Troas in five days, A. D. 58. He stayed at Troas seven
days, and preached to the Christians on the first day of the week, the
day on which they were accustomed to meet for the purpose of religious
worship. From Troas he went by land to Assos; and thence he sailed to
Mitylene; and from Mitylene to Miletus. Being desirous of reaching
Jerusalem before the feast of pentecost, he would not allow time to go
to Ephesus, and therefore he sent for the elders of the Ephesian church
to Miletus, and gave them instructions, and prayed with them. He told
them that he should see them no more, which impressed them with the
deepest sorrow. From Miletus he sailed by Cos, Rhodes, and Patara in
Lycia, to Tyre, Acts xxi. Finding some disciples at Tyre, he stayed with
them several days, and then went to Ptolemais, and thence to Cæsarea.
While St. Paul was at Cæsarea, the Prophet Agabus foretold by the Holy
Ghost, that St. Paul, if he went to Jerusalem, would suffer much from
the Jews. This prediction caused great uneasiness to St. Paul’s friends,
and they endeavoured to dissuade him from his intention of going
thither. St. Paul, however, would not listen to their entreaties, but
declared that he was ready to die at Jerusalem, if it were necessary,
for the name of the Lord Jesus. Seeing him thus resolute, they desisted
from their importunities, and accompanied him to Jerusalem, where he is
supposed to have arrived just before the feast of pentecost, A. D. 58.
This may be considered as the end of St. Paul’s third apostolical
journey.
St. Paul was received by the Apostles and other Christians at Jerusalem
with great joy and affection; and his account of the success of his
ministry, and of the collections which he had made among the Christians
of Macedonia and Achaia, for the relief of their brethren in Judea,
afforded them much satisfaction; but not long after his arrival at
Jerusalem, some Jews of Asia, who had probably in their own country
witnessed St. Paul’s zeal in spreading Christianity among the Gentiles,
seeing him one day in the temple, endeavoured to excite a tumult, by
crying out that he was the man who was aiming to destroy all distinction
between Jew and Gentile; who taught things contrary to the law of Moses;
and who had polluted the holy temple, by bringing into it uncircumcised
Heathens. This representation did not fail to enrage the multitude
against St. Paul; they seized him, dragged him out of the temple, beat
him, and were upon the point of putting him to death, when he was
rescued out of their hands by Lysias, a Roman tribune, and the principal
military officer then at Jerusalem. What followed,--his defence before
Felix and Agrippa,--his long detention at Cæsarea, and his appeal to the
emperor, which occasioned his voyage to Rome, are all circumstantially
stated in the latter chapters of the Acts. Upon his arrival at Rome, St.
Paul was committed to the care of the captain of the guard, A. D. 61.
The Scriptures do not inform us whether he was ever tried before Nero,
who was at this time emperor of Rome; and the learned are much divided
in their opinion upon that point. St. Luke only says, Paul was suffered
to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. And Paul dwelt two
whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto
him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which
concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding
him.” During his confinement he converted some Jews resident at Rome,
and many Gentiles, and, among the rest, several persons belonging to the
emperor’s household, Phil. iv, 22.
The Scripture history ends with the release of St. Paul from his two
years’ imprisonment at Rome, A. D. 63; and no ancient author has left us
any particulars of the remaining part of this Apostle’s life. It seems
probable, that, immediately after he recovered his liberty, he went to
Jerusalem; and that afterward he travelled through Asia Minor, Crete,
Macedonia, and Greece, confirming his converts, and regulating the
affairs of the different churches which he had planted in those
countries. Whether at this time he also preached the Gospel in Spain, as
some have imagined, is very uncertain. It was the unanimous tradition of
the church, that St. Paul returned to Rome, that he underwent a second
imprisonment there, and at last was put to death by the Emperor Nero.
Tacitus and Suetonius have mentioned a dreadful fire which happened at
Rome in the time of Nero. It was believed, though probably without any
reason, that the emperor himself was the author of that fire; but to
remove the odium from himself, he chose to attribute it to the
Christians; and, to give some colour to that unjust imputation, he
persecuted them with the utmost cruelty. In this persecution St. Peter
and Paul suffered martyrdom, probably, A. D. 65; and if we may credit
Sulpitius Severus, a writer of the fifth century, the former was
crucified, and the latter beheaded.
St. Paul was a person of great natural abilities, of quick apprehension,
strong feelings, firm resolution, and irreproachable life. He was
conversant with Grecian and Jewish literature; and gave early proofs of
an active and zealous disposition. If we may be allowed to consider his
character independent of his supernatural endowments, we may pronounce
that he was well qualified to have risen to distinction and eminence,
and that he was by nature peculiarly adapted to the high office to which
it pleased God to call him. As a minister of the Gospel, he displayed
the most unwearied perseverance and undaunted courage. He was deterred
by no difficulty or danger, and endured a great variety of persecutions
with patience and cheerfulness. He gloried in being thought worthy of
suffering for the name of Jesus, and continued with unabated zeal to
maintain the truth of Christianity against its bitterest and most
powerful enemies. He was the principal instrument under Providence of
spreading the Gospel among the Gentiles; and we have seen that his
labours lasted through many years, and reached over a considerable
extent of country. Though emphatically styled the great Apostle of the
Gentiles, he began his ministry, in almost every city, by preaching in
the synagogue of the Jews; and though he owed by far the greater part of
his persecutions to the opposition and malice of that proud and
obstinate people, whose resentment he particularly incurred by
maintaining that the Gentiles were to be admitted to an indiscriminate
participation of the benefits of the new dispensation, yet it rarely
happened in any place, that some of the Jews did not yield to his
arguments, and embrace the Gospel. He watched with paternal care over
the churches which he had founded; and was always ready to strengthen
the faith, and regulate the conduct of his converts, by such directions
and advice as their circumstances might require.
The exertions of St. Paul in the cause of Christianity were not confined
to personal instruction: he also wrote fourteen epistles to individuals
or churches which are now extant, and form a part of our canon. These
letters furnish evidence of the soundness and sobriety of his judgment.
His caution in distinguishing between the occasional suggestions of
inspiration, and the ordinary exertions of his natural understanding, is
without example in the history of enthusiasm. His morality is every
where calm, pure, and rational; adapted to the condition, the activity,
and the business of social life, and of its various relations; free from
the overscrupulousness and austerities of superstition, and from, what
was more perhaps to be apprehended, the abstractions of quietism, and
the soarings or extravagancies of fanaticism. His judgment concerning a
hesitating conscience, his opinion of the moral indifferency of many
actions, yet of the prudence and even the duty of compliance, where
non-compliance would produce evil effects upon the minds of the persons
who observed it, are all in proof of the calm and discriminating
character of his mind; and the universal applicability of his precepts
affords strong presumption of his inspiration. What Lord Lyttleton has
remarked of the preference ascribed by St. Paul to rectitude of
principle above every other religious accomplishment, is weighty: Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I
am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal,” &c, 1 Cor. xiii,
1–3. Did ever enthusiast prefer that universal benevolence, meant by
charity here, (which, we may add, is attainable by every man,) to faith,
and to miracles, to those religious opinions which he had embraced, and
to those supernatural graces and gifts which he imagined he had
acquired, nay, even to the merit of martyrdom? Is it not the genius of
enthusiasm to set moral virtues infinitely below the merit of faith; and
of all moral virtues to value that least which is most particularly
enforced by St. Paul, a spirit of candour, moderation, and peace?
Certainly, neither the temper nor the opinions of a man subject to
fanatic delusions are to be found in this passage. His letters, indeed,
every where discover great zeal and earnestness in the cause in which he
was engaged; that is to say, he was convinced of the truth of what he
taught; he was deeply impressed, but not more so than the occasion
merited, with a sense of its importance. This produces a corresponding
animation and solicitude in the exercise of his ministry. But would not
these considerations, supposing them to have been well founded, have
holden the same place, and produced the same effect, in a mind the
strongest and the most sedate? Here, then, we have a man of liberal
attainments, and in other respects of sound judgment, who had addicted
his life to the service of the Gospel. We see him in the prosecution of
his purpose, travelling from country to country, enduring every species
of hardship, encountering every extremity of danger, assaulted by the
populace, punished by the magistrates, scourged, beaten, stoned, left
for dead; expecting, wherever he came, a renewal of the same treatment,
and the same dangers; yet, when driven from one city, preaching in the
next; spending his whole time in the employment; sacrificing to it his
pleasures, his ease, his safety; persisting in this course to old age,
unaltered by the experience of perverseness, ingratitude, prejudice,
desertion; unsubdued by anxiety, want, labour, persecutions; unwearied
by long confinement; undismayed by the prospect of death. Such was St.
Paul; and such were the proofs of Apostleship found in him.”