Paul has just completed a “theological argument” section and will shortly introduce another one, but in between he makes the argument very personal. Why does he do this? It is because theology, personal relationships and personal behaviour are all interlinked. We love to separate them, but the Bible does not.
Paul draws attention to the way he lived among them, and how they treated him so kindly. Paul had an illness at the time, but he persevered. There is an interesting side point here. In the Bible, and in the New Testament in particular, we see many miracles, we people being cured if various diseases. Indeed Paul himself carried out some miracles. Yet, we also see they also suffered diseases like everyone else and sometimes just dealt with them without miracles, as in this case. Sometimes, in churches which believe (as I do) that miracles should be a part of the church’s life today, and our outreach to the world, we can implicitly teach that if we got everything right there would be no illness in the church. It has to be said that the New Testament does not support this. It is of course, equally unbiblical to discount the possibility or place of the miraculous.
The Judaisers were zealous, but were zealous for the wrong things. Zeal and commitment in themselves are not good, for they are dangerous if directed towards the wrong things.
Paul closes this section by stating his concern for the people. He did not give the theological arguments in order to prove an academic point, but in order to save people and to see them enter in to all that God has for them.
Paul draws attention to the way he lived among them, and how they treated him so kindly. Paul had an illness at the time, but he persevered. There is an interesting side point here. In the Bible, and in the New Testament in particular, we see many miracles, we people being cured if various diseases. Indeed Paul himself carried out some miracles. Yet, we also see they also suffered diseases like everyone else and sometimes just dealt with them without miracles, as in this case. Sometimes, in churches which believe (as I do) that miracles should be a part of the church’s life today, and our outreach to the world, we can implicitly teach that if we got everything right there would be no illness in the church. It has to be said that the New Testament does not support this. It is of course, equally unbiblical to discount the possibility or place of the miraculous.
The Judaisers were zealous, but were zealous for the wrong things. Zeal and commitment in themselves are not good, for they are dangerous if directed towards the wrong things.
Paul closes this section by stating his concern for the people. He did not give the theological arguments in order to prove an academic point, but in order to save people and to see them enter in to all that God has for them.
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