September 4, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, September 4.
"And now... for the rest of the story." If you're of a certain age, that phrase will remind you of the radio broadcaster Paul Harvey, born on this date in 1918. He was one of the most prolific media personalities of the 20th century. From 1951 till 2008, Harvey's news shows were listened to by over 24 million people each week, on over 1200 stations. His distinctive voice and casual delivery gave the listener the feeling of hearing the news from a friend. And each week, he would close his program with that famous phrase. After a short mention of a well-known news event or moment in history, he would go on to share little-known information about that story.
There was another "Paul" who was largely responsible for giving the world the "rest of the gospel story." The Apostle Paul was born about the same time as Christ, but never met Him. After Jesus returned to the Father, and the young church began to take its first steps, Saul (his Hebrew name) became one of the church's greatest persecutors. And then, as he traveled to Damascus to arrest Christians, Paul (his Roman citizenship name) met Christ through a vision, and was miraculously changed. He went on to serve the young church as a church planter, beginning new congregations in places like Corinth and Ephesus. But His legacy for us lies primarily in his writings. The New Testament has 27 books, and Paul has been considered the author of as many as 14 of them. Today, theologians call his authorship into question for about half of these, but, even with that, his impact on scripture is immense.
When we hear a sermon, or sing a hymn, we are connecting, most often, with doctrines that come from the Pauline Epistles. His letter to the church in Rome, the Book of Romans, is a prime example of his teaching. Martin Luther famously said - "This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and truly the purest gospel." John Calvin believed, "When one understands Romans, he opens himself to understanding the whole of scripture." You can read through the Book of Romans in about the time you'd spend watching a TV program. Time well spent. Time discovering the "rest of the story."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
