As far as great men of faith go the Apostle Paul must be at the top of the list. From the information we have in scripture he faced more than any other believer. Yet through it all, he never wavered once. Paul had the very faith that Jesus spoke of that was able to move mountains. Through his great faith signs, miracles, and wonders often took place where ever he went. His faith was even so strong that unlike many who claim faith today he truly had no fear of death or the grave. Instead, he looks at death in the face with an eager expectation that is rarely matched. Paul had the faith to fully believe that what waited on the other side was far greater. But none of this was his greatest act of faith.
Matthew 17:20 (ESV)
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
1 Corinthians 14:8–10 (ESV)
8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning,
2 Corinthians 11:23–28 (ESV)
23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
1 Corinthians 15:55–57 (ESV)
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:20–21 (ESV)
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Compared to how we live today all those acts of faith seem incredible and even impossible. It hard for us to imagine all that Paul suffered as a Christian and understand how he managed to keep the faith. Especially as a generation who starts to question God even when we get a paper cut. But I do not believe that anything mentioned above compares to the Apostles greatest act of faith. An act that started after he was captured, stripped, beaten, and locked in a cold jail cell. All for preaching the Gospel and freeing a young girl from the demon that possessed her. But being the great man of faith Paul was he still found a reason to sing praises to His God.
Acts 16:22–25 (ESV)
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Suddenly as Paul and Silas were worshiping a massive earthquake shook the prison where they lay. It caused all the cell doors to fall open. The jailer seeing the cells open assumed the prisoners had all escaped and he was ready to take his own life. But extending the grace of His God Paul stopped the man’s hand. What some would have seen as just punishment for a wicked man who wrongfully imprisoned and beat them Paul wouldn’t allow. Instead, he acted in obedience to the teaching of his God. Then when asked what it took to be saved Paul didn’t hold back but gladly shared the Gospel with the man. An act that ultimately lead to the man’s entire family being saved that night.
Acts 16:26–28 (ESV)
26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
Acts 16:29–34 (ESV)
29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
If we are completely honest many of us would have struggled to extend the same grace Paul did to the jailer. But for the Apostle, there was no struggle. Instead, he lived out the teaching of scripture in its fullness. Acting in forgiveness, love, peace, mercy, and so on. I believe this is Paul’s greatest act of faith because it is easy to turn the other cheek. But it is much harder to turn back and offer a helping hand to the one who wronged you. Yet this is what we read Paul did.
But why? Because he understood the sinful lost nature of the man as he had once been n the same place. As well as the fact that Paul knew his message was true and knew how important it was to share that message with everyone he could. Regardless of how they treated him of the wicked deeds that lay in their past.
Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Matthew 6:15 (ESV)
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Matthew 5:39 (ESV)
39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
The sad truth today is that many even lack the faith to believe that known sinners can be saved. We struggle to believe that even with God some people can change their ways and have their pasts forgiven. But that is not the message that has been delivered to us through scripture. Instead, we see that God is willing and even desiring to save all people with no exceptions. Often we struggle when people haven’t directly sinned against us and have even more trouble believing that people can be saved who have sinned against us. But this shouldn’t be the case. The truth is we should be willing to forgive those who have wronged us time and time again. Just as God forgave us. Always hoping they too will find the same hope in Christ that we have.
John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Timothy 2:4 (ESV)
4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Matthew 18:21–22 (ESV)
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
That doesn’t mean it will always be easy and that’s why Paul’s act of faith was so great. It’s hard to look at someone who treated you cruelly and offer them a great blessing. Yet that’s just what Paul did and whatever Christian is called to do. We must understand that any wrong commuted against is nothing in the grand scheme of eternity. In reality, any wrong is simply a minor blip and nothing compared to the glory that awaits us in Heaven. The very same glory we should hope all people get to experience even if they acted in sin and wronged us in some way.
Romans 8:18 (ESV)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Holding grudges or harboring judgment toward the lost will never produce joy in your life. But nothing is able to compare to the joy of completing the great commission and seeing the lost come to life saving faith in Jesus Christ. It’s that same joy that always drives the Apostle Paul forward. Helping him to accomplish great acts of faith on a daily basis regardless of what happened to him that day. By seeing others come to faith Paul was even able to find joy and peace in the most unlikely places. Such as being held in chains for simply trying to lead others to a better life.
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Philippians 1:12–14 (ESV)
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Paul could have easily allowed the jailer to take his own life. Believing it was justice served for the wrong he was forced to face at the man’s hands. Or he could have allowed anger to keep him from extending the message of salvation to him. Just as many today do over much smaller matters. But Paul chose to be the bigger person that God calls all His people to become. Producing in my opinion one of the greatest and most difficult acts of faith in his life. If only we could all have the faith of the Apostle Paul today. If only an act of faith of this magnitude did not seem so great but the standard for every Christian.
That could truly be the case if we could only look past this world. If we would really place our full trust in what God’s word says. Believing that He can change any life and that no one deserves the perils of hell. It’s time we start seeing the lost like Jesus and even Paul did. As broken people in need of a healer. All worthy, just as worthy as we were, of God’s free gift of salvation. We should strive to live the kind of life that others talk about how great our acts of faith are. Just as we are still talking about how great Paul’s acts of faith are thousands of years later. We have the ability to live just like Paul and perform the greatest acts of faith. All it takes is living out God’s word in its fullness every day.
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