The New Testament tells that Paul’s missionary vision was concentrated on serving the Gentiles. Being a strong enemy of Christianity, Paul became one of the greatest miracles of the New Testament and thus his life was a true representation of what a real mission is. There are several characteristics of missionary methods Paul uses in his service.

The first method that can be recognized is the so-called itinerant evangelism which lies in spreading the good news in every place on Earth. In other words, Paul “[calls] people everywhere in the then known world to repent and give themselves to Christ” (Moreau, Corwin, and McGee 2004). The accent is put on the fact that the Gospel is spread by Paul not in the place of his usual inhabitance but in the places, he would even never visit if it were not for God’s calling in his life. This method should be well understood by each Christian because often Church sees evangelism only locally. Paul provides a good method of making God’s will be done since the main commission consists in spreading the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Paul’s method went beyond all borders of the average human mind- he committed himself to go anywhere God would send him, whatever it cost him. Another important method used by Paul in his evangelism is following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is evident from the Scriptures that Paul was led by Holy Spirit in every decision he made. It even turned out sometimes that the places he wanted to visit were not part of God’s plan so he successfully avoided traveling there. Thus, “in a blend of Spirit-led decisions and divine revelations, Paul moves from one city to another” (Moreau, Corwin and McGee 2004). Of course, since mission is God’s will first, and each missionary should follow this rule, but Paul’s life is a true example of how missionaries should accomplish their calling in preaching the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.

The next characteristic of Paul’s missionary methods that may be traced from the life of Paul is total fearlessness. Paul did not appreciate his earthly life at all but considered God’s mission to be the main purpose. It is clear that Paul’s mission consisted in fulfilling God’s will even at the cost of his own life, and his daring heart allowed him to return to places full of danger. Therefore, “modern Christians may wonder what Paul’s feelings were as he returned to Lystra, where recently he had been stoned and left for dead…” but this seems to be “a nonissue” for Paul as he was straight-out for mission (Moreau, Corwin and McGee 2004). Paul’s methods were radical enough: he exposed people’s sins and also was not afraid to die for the truth. One more important characteristic of Paul’s missionary methods is that he never left those he converted to Christianity without spiritual help and support. To be more precise, despite his calling consisted of going to the nations and spreading the Gospel to the ends of the Earth, he still considered it important to support the planted churches. He does this in the face of persecutions and tries to fulfill his promise to visit the churches at all costs, though still, he is every time led by the Holy Spirit.

The last characteristic is presenting Gospel to all people, regardless of their background. Paul “was willing to adapt in different places a radically different approach, as he put it, “for those under the law and for those not under the law” (Winter and Hawthorne 1981). This was one of the most crucial characteristics of Paul’s mission because it triggered many contradictions among the Jewish people and Pharisees. His message was as contradictory and difficult to accept as the message of Jesus Christ. This is the testimony of Paul’s true devotion to the teaching of Christ. As His disciple, Paul followed the main principle Jesus Christ used: God loved the world and wants every human being to be saved. All in all, Paul’s missionary methods fully express the essence of the Gospel: God’s love to people at all cost.

References

Moreau, A. Scott, Gary Corwin, and Gary B McGee. 2004. Introducing World Missions. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic.

Winter, Ralph D and Steven C Hawthorne. 1981. Perspectives on The World Christian Movement: Reader. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library.

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To understand who Jesus in the Old Testament was, one must first understand who he was in the New Testament. The New Testament refers to Jesus as Christ which means Messiah borrowed from the Hebrew word and the Greek word which means the chosen one or the anointed one. Most of the apostles that came after the death of Jesus Christ and those who were his students refer to him as Jesus the Messiah. This means that they believed that he is the very same person that was prophesied in the Old Testament by many prophets, for instance, Jeremiah, Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. “It is not easy to determine what constitutes allusion in the Old Testament”[1]. The paper aims at relating the New Testament to the Old Testament to offer a summary and emphasis on the topic of discussion.

Summary

The Old Testament presents a God of juice and punishment on those who disobeyed his rules, for instance, he, the father, sent plagues on Egypt as punishment for what they had done to the children of Israel. He too gained freedom on Sodom, but Jesus comes in the New Testament and offers a different approach to love and compassion offering humankind forgiveness and in the most important part and foundation of Christianity, he as for their sins. The Old Testament offers a prophecy of a son, born in the lineage of David as a praise to God the father. It also describes that no one had seen the Father nor heard him directly unlike Jesus that is born of the origin Mary ad walks among men in a day that God the Father had not done before.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. In Genesis, God creates the world from the word of the mount and later but because of human sin, he offered a promise that the Messiah would be born in the very lineage of David. While he was under arrest, Jesus referred to Himself as ‘I AM’ which is also the divine name of God as He had used it while in the Exodus to Moses, and thus, he brought in a confirmation that God the Father has never been seen or heard by man before. In the same instance, Christ had predated Abraham, which made the Jews quite angry but it also brought out the new meaning. This offered a probability that he, Jesus had the probability of being the son of God[2].

The Old Testament has fifty-two prophecies on the coming of Jesus Christ and thus if we considered that the Old Testament prophesies are void and invalid, Christianity as we know it does not have meaning. The savior that had been affirmed in the Old Testament would not have been born and thus he would have been just a man fulfilling his mission, and thus, there is relevance that has been created by the Old Testament.

Jesus himself did not claim to be the Son of God in the New Testament he responded that it was the people that called him. Thus, it brings out a question on whether he was the actual fulfillment of what had been prophesied but in affirming the place of Jesus in the Bible. Jesus accepts to die for human sins as he had been ordered by God the father claiming that His will should be done which confirms the validity of his coming and the ascending to the father after his work was done[3].

After the death of Jesus Christ, Christianity evolved, and new movements were formed, unlike the olden days where the Roman Catholic church was dominant at that time[4]. The apostles of Jesus Christ had learned new philosophies that they had learned from their teachers. They spread out and continued the work that the Son of God had started.

Paul, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, explains how the church was formed. He states that they built the development of the New Testament church that emerged after the death of Jesus through the New Testament. Then the prophets who wrote the Old Testament and Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone of all of it (Ephesians 2:20)[5].

Peter another apostle preached on the day of Pentecost a very powerful sermon at the beginning of the New Testament church and on that day he converted 3000 people and his sermon only entailed scriptures from the Old Testaments (Acts 2:14-41)[6].

Conclusion

Most of the books in the New Testament make lots of direct quotes from the Old Testament except for four books. Many individuals today misinterpret the New Testament living like the Old Testament is not part of the new teachings. This is not the case as it is seen on numerous occasions that we have seen the Old Testament being involved directly with the New Testament. Jesus Christ believed in the Old Testament teachings and prophets. The books of the Old Testament inspire and retain a permanent value, they do not depreciate but hold a huge significance as none of the old covenant has ever been revoked.

Bibliography

FRANCE, R. T. Jesus and the Old Testament. [Downers Grove, Ill.]: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971.

GUTHRIE, NANCY. The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2012.

[1] R. T France, Jesus and the Old Testament ([Downers Grove, Ill.]: Inter-Varsity Press, 1971). p.15

[2] Nancy Guthrie, The One Year Book Of Discovering Jesus In The Old Testament (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2012). Feb 4.

[3] Nancy Guthrie (2012). Feb 8.

[4] R. T France (1971), p.17

[5] Nancy Guthrie (2012). Feb 8. September 12.

[6] R. T France (1971). P.35-37

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