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Paul's Method Of Teaching

Luke records Paul’s entrance into Thessalonica “where there was a synagogue of the Jews” (Acts 17:1 NKJV) and provides insight into Paul’s method of teaching:

“Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating, that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, this Jesus, whom I preach to you is the Christ” (Acts 17:2-3 NKJV).

From these two verses, let us note the following observations:

1) Luke said of Paul, “as his custom was.” Note that Paul did his work according to a well thought-out plan. He was not haphazard in his approach to evangelism. There was a synagogue in Thessalonica and the apostle took advantage of it. The Jews there were reasonable prospects for the gospel of Christ. Romans 1:16 says that the gospel was “to the Jew first.” If we want to reach people for Christ today, we must be like Paul and think about what we are going to do ahead of time.

2) The text says that he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2 NKJV) There are two necessarily interlocking components here: Scripture and reason. One cannot learn what the Scriptures teach without the use of reason and reason left on its own without the guidance of Scripture will denigrate into infidelity. Paul used both necessary components. His method was not new, for Isaiah appealed to God’s rebellious children when he said:

“Come now, and let us reason together, Says the Lord, Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV).

Thus our appeal to people today must be based on this divinely sanctioned combination of reason and revelation.

3) Let us note that the first word of Acts 17:3 NKJV is “explaining.” Paul explained the texts from what we know as the Old Testament which supported the truth that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. Remember that Paul had been uniquely prepared for his apostleship. He had intimate knowledge of Greek and Roman philosophical tradition (cf. Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12). He also sat at the feet of Gamaliel and thus had been taught by one of the best minds in Judaism (Acts 22:3). He had studied his Bible, its context and culture as well as his own culture. He was equipped to explain the Scriptures to his hearers. As followers of Christ, the lesson for us is to prepare ourselves so that we can be the best teachers of the sacred text that we can possibly be.

4) We see that Paul was demonstrating two important things: (a) Christ “had to suffer” (Acts 17:3 NKJV). This was all important consideration for first century Jews. They had come to believe that the Messiah would be a powerful military and political figure who would rid Judah of Roman domination. They rejected the picture of the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53; (b) Paul proved was Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Christ. We are not told which Scriptures he used, but one can logically conclude that he would have referred to the many Old Testament passages that told of his birth, life, death and resurrection. He would also have appealed to secular history where there was ample proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. There had been witnesses and some of them skeptics (e.g., Thomas – John 20:24-29 NKJV). Many people were still available to verily the truth that He arose, including Paul himself (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NKJV).

The above passages regarding Paul’s method of teaching, give us a great insight into today’s religious arena — one containing God’s truth — the other counterfeit. Counterfeit religion asks people to believe based on their feelings, using very little reason. The teaching of God’s truth relies on planning, preparation, reason, explanation, proof, and the inspired Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV).