Daily Devotions
Galatians
"For you have heard of my former conduct..."
Text: Galatians 1:13a
THE TESTIMONY OF PAUL
Paul was not proud of his past infamous behaviour. But neither would he avoid speaking candidly about what he was like in the past.
For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism,
how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure
and tried to destroy it.Galatians 1:13
1. “My former conduct”
a) This could have been used against Paul.
b) He had indeed persecuted the church of God.
c) He had gone to extreme measures against the church.
d) He had tried very hard to destroy it.
2. Doubts cast upon Paul and the message he proclaimed
a) How could he have truly proclaimed the gospel he was against?
b) How could the church accept a man who had sought to destroy it?
MANY CONFESSIONS
This was not the first time Paul publicly confessed his past misdeeds:-
1. He spoke about his evil past to an angry mob in Jerusalem (Acts 22:1-21).
2. He openly spoke of his past before King Agrippa (Acts 26:1-23).
3. He wrote about his past in a pastoral epistle (1 Timothy 1:13-17).
A SINFUL PAST DOES NOT CANCEL OUT A PRESENT MINISTRY
Paul did not try to excuse his past wicked behaviour. He chose to deal with his wicked past as candidly as he could. The following things may be noted from (1 Timothy 1:13-17).