Paul had
only one message. It was God's Message--Christ,
and Him crucified:
Acts 9:17-22; 26-28: "Then Ananias
went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he
said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, Who appeared to
you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that
you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'
Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he
could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some
food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with
the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the
synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard
him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised
havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this Name? And hasn't he
come here to take them as prisoners to the chief
priests?' Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and
baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the
Christ...When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the
disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he
really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him
to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the
Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he
had preached fearlessly in the Name of Jesus. So Saul stayed
with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in
the Name of the Lord."
Acts 10:42-43: "He commanded us to
preach to the people and to testify that He is the One Whom God
appointed as Judge of the living and the dead. All the
prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him
receives forgiveness of sins through His Name."
Acts 20:17-21: "From Miletus, Paul
sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they
arrived, he said to them: 'You know how I lived the whole
time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of
Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears,
although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. You
know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be
helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to
house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must
turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord
Jesus.'"
Acts 26:19-20: "So then, King
Agrippa, I [Paul] was not disobedient to the vision from
heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in
Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached
that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance
by their deeds."
Acts 28:30-31: "For two whole years
Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came
to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the
kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus
Christ."
1 Corinthians 2:1-5: "When I came
to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom
as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I
resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and
with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not
with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the
Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom,
but on God's power."
1 Corinthians 9:16: "Yet when I
preach the Gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach.
Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!"
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: "Now,
brothers, I want to remind you of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By
this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the Word I
preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was
buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures..."
2 Corinthians 4:5-7: "For we do not
preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your
servants for Jesus' sake. For God, Who said, 'Let light
shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to
give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show
that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from
us."
2 Timothy 4:1-4: "In the presence
of God and of Christ Jesus, Who will judge the living and the dead,
and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this
charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and
careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not
put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires,
they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears
away from the Truth and turn aside to myths."
