Melliana Lays
UCOR 2100
28 July 2021
Week Six Writing Assignment
Apostle Paul’s preaching about Evil
Apostle Paul was among the disciples of Jesus Christ. Although he was not among the twelve disciples, his major work was to preach the gospel of repentance and forgiveness to the fourteen tribes of the gentiles. Through his letters, Paul was able to reach all gentiles and preach the gospel of Jesus. He is emulated by many Christians in modern society, especially on his stands about evil in the community. According to Paul, sin is evil, and Christians can only overcome evil through Jesus Christ, who raised from the dead a sign that he defeated evil. The paper focuses on what influenced Apostle Paul’s thinking about evil, his ideas about evil, Jesus as the hero, and how evil ended. It also explores Paul’s ideas on today’s battle against evil through faith and how Christians in the modern community practices faith to combat evil.
What Influenced Paul’s Thinking
His Hellenistic, Pharisaic, and Jewish backgrounds, the Revelation to him, Jesus and early traditions, and his experiences as an apostle all affected Paul’s worldview. Second, Paul’s beliefs demonstrate that he was a diaspora Jew as well. Thirdly, Paul’s ideas were significantly impacted by his encounter at Damascus and his confidence in Jesus as the “Son of God” (Bird 504). Also, early church traditions and Paul’s contacts with Jesus impacted his ideas. Paul’s missionary journey purposed to proclaim the grace of God, which offers forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Paul’s letters, recorded in the New Testament, still support and nourish the life and doctrine of the Church today. Finally, Paul’s ideas were shaped by his experiences as a missionary and apostle as he travelled across the world preaching the gospel and building churches.
His monotheistic nature significantly influenced Paul’s thinking. The environment surrounding apostle Paul was full of Jews who are monotheists and strongly believe in God of the Israelites as the only true God. Another influence was his Damascus experience which changed him from being a persecutor of Christians to preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. Like other Christians, his belief is centred on Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of humanity. Finally, Paul’s thinking was influenced by the forgiveness he received from God; he believed that if he was delivered from sin, then every sinner can be delivered through forgiveness. Therefore, righteousness is determined by faith in God, and Satan is the cause of evil.
In contrast to Paul’s thinking, my thinking is shaped by coming to Church every Sunday, reading the Bible, and engaging in other church activities. Second, my faith as God’s child and Saver influences my thinking. Third, my contacts with many Christians have had a significant influence on my views. Fourth, discussions about Christianity and listening to people talk about the word of God inspire my thinking.
Paul’s Ideas about Evil
Apostle Paul had a belief that the universe has multiple levels full of spiritual beings. While writing to the Philippines, Paul talks of the regions below the earth. In Corinthians, he mentions paradise as the third heaven, which consists of supernatural beings called angels. He also recognizes demons, rulers, principalities, and powers (1 Corinthians 15:24, 12: 1-4). Paul recognizes Satan as the leader of the evil world. In his teachings and the letter to Romans, Paul communicates about many gods associated with evil and providers of power of sin. Therefore, according to Paul, sin is a result of evil forces in the universe and the influence of Satan, who is the ruler of evil. However, Paul trusted the God of Israel to bring the solution to sin through his son Jesus Christ.
According to Paul, Sin is inheritable. Hence every human being, including himself, is a sinner. In addition, Paul thinks that Christ Jesus can save human beings (Rogers 4). Moreover, Paul says that the advantages of following Jesus are more significant than the costs of Man’s sin. Therefore, following Jesus can help individuals avoid sin. Again, Paul defines sin as his desire to do something wicked, which he refers to as evil. Besides, Paul didn’t say anything about evil in particular. Further, he referred to evil as Satan since he was going through something causing him pain.
A sin is a form of praise to Satan whose primary work is to still, kill and destroy. Consequently, humans are in great danger of sinning since they live in a sinful society. Therefore, righteousness and grace are infectious in the same way. In addition, there is no such thing as the wrong person since it’s just a term coined by people to describe what they dislike. Thus, we may label it as evil when it comes to anything we don’t care for. So, true evil, in my opinion, does not exist in our world; hence evil is a moral judgment.
Jesus as Paul’s Hero
Heroism is depicted by Jesus Christ volunteering to die for humanity’s sin to deliver them from evil. Paul was crystal clear when he made it clear that he was imitating the teachings and practices of Christ. He indeed declared: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11: 1). There can be no other conclusion to this statement than that which Paul himself perpetuated – not contradicted – the doctrines of Christ. In even stronger language and unequivocally, Paul wrote to the Galatians to warn them from turning against Christ, who brought them grace. According to Fritz Meyer reading on Jesus, Paul’s Hero, Paul sees Jesus as his hero. Paul uses Kyrios to describe Jesus for the risen Christ. Jesus influences human lives even in the present. Jesus’ suffering and death for the humanity in the world; he died because of human sins. Paul was stress because Jesus died for human salvation; he also mentioned that Christ died for us, which godless people. Paul’s state that it was no such a small thing that Jesus did for us human in the world. Paul’s seen Jesus as his hero because he is willing to die for us humans with sins. Jesus overcomes evil on the cross, and his death beats evil in this world. Our belief belongs to Jesus, the one and only Savior.
I say that Jesus is my hero, my Savior. Jesus is my inspiration and also my role model for my life. He gives me strength in every situation, and he never sleeps for his child. I believe Jesus never wants his child to suffer no matter what it is. Jesus blessed my life and guided my life to be better day by day. I have the same hero as Paul; Jesus is our hero; he always forgives his child with their sins. Believe in Christ helps us to defeat evil or demons.
How Evil is Ended according to Paul
Paul believes that the end of evil is through courage and faith. In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead after being crucified because of sins. Since sins are a result of evil, then by defeating death, Jesus Christ defeated evil. Thus, the only way to ending evil is through faith and courage in Jesus Christ. In Thessalonians, Paul talks about Jesus’s promise that He will return and the righteous will rise from the dead (Rogers 4). The return of Jesus Christ symbolizes the end to evil and the rebirth of holiness in the world. Those who died in the name of Jesus, according to Paul, will be given a new spiritual body after rising from the dead while the sinners will perish. Therefore, eschatology will see the sinners who are guided by evil perish, bringing evil to an end. Paul’s vision about the end time demonstrates the suffering of sinners, and those who believed in Jesus Christ will have an opportunity to have a Christ-like spiritual body that is free of evil.
Evil can come to an end if everyone believes and trusts in Jesus Christ. I agree with Paul in Thessalonians that since Jesus Christ is the only one who died and resurrected, defeating death is evil. Christians can defeat evil by trusting and having faith in him. However, since sins result from evil, Christians can end evil by avoiding sins and repenting their sins. End time is characterized by the return of Jesus Christ, who will reward the righteous but dead with a Christ-like body and uniting their spirit and the soul. Therefore, dying a righteous man is one way of ending evil since a Christ-like body will be free from evil and sins. For Christians to ensure the end of evil globally, Apostle Paul insists on the need for faith.
Paul’s Ideas on Today’s Battle against Evil through Faith
Unlike Apostle James, who insists on actions as a supplement of faith in justification, Paul’s perspective is that faith in Jesus Christ and God is the only way to righteousness. In this case, Paul’s view about the fight against evil is that Christians can only combat evil if they have faith in Jesus Christ. Today’s Christianity terms the battle against evil as spiritual warfare. The term spiritual links the fight against evil by Christians to faith in a supernatural being. Christians must be aware of the nature of the war they are in, and as depicted in Acts during the call of Apostle Paul, the battle is not just for Christians, but it is on people turning away from darkness (evil) and following the way of light (Jesus Christ). To effectively combat evil, one must believe and have faith in Jesus, who God sent to deliver man from evil into the kingdom of God. Christians are entitled to winning the battle through Christ, the only son of God who gives forgiveness of sin and redemption (Lawless). Satan is deceiving, and his principal works are to steal, kill and destroy. Today’s world is full of enticing activities that can lure Christians into sin. However, submission to God and resistance to sin, which is the centre of evil, is the only way Christians can have authority over Satan. Thus, the battle against evil in modern Christianity is only achievable through faith in God. The actions of believers in the contemporary community portray faith in God in the fight against evil.
Daily Exercise of Faith in the Fight against Evil in the Community
In society, Christianity is at the forefront of combating evil. The exercise of fighting evil in the community is seen when Christianity organizations conduct community seminars and conferences. The main activity in the meetings is encouraging community members to believe, trust, and have faith in Jesus Christ. Christians believe that ending evil such as suicides, violence, greediness, and other forms of sin experienced in the community is by praying for help from God. Prayer is one of the actions that depict the faith of Christians in God. In most churches, Christians pray for the community to be delivered from sin. Christians pray for those obsessed with evil spirits and advise families, individuals, and even those in authority on the proper ways to deal with various vices in society. Their advice is based on the scriptures and guidance from the Bible on how having faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of changing the community. Therefore, in modern society, Christianity is based on faith as the foundation of victory against evil.
Works Cited
Bird, Michael F. “NT Wright and Paul’s Supersessions: A Response to Kaminsky and Reasoner.” Harvard Theological Review 113.4 (2020): 498-512. https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0017816020000243
Lawless, Chuck. “God’s Mission Has an Enemy: 10 Facts about Spiritual Warfare.” International Mission Board, International Mission Board, 17 May 2017, www.imb.org/2017/05/17/mission-enemy-10-facts-spiritual-warfare/.
Rogers, Timothy. “Word, identity and the relational form of the individual in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/52876764/Exegesis_on_Romans_FINAL.pdf?
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