What Was The Goal In Life Of The Apostle Paul?

1 Corinthians 2::2 - "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."    NASU 
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• His Goal Was 

It is quite obvious Paul's goal was to be totally focused on Jesus Christ. He wanted to learn everything he could about Jesus. Where was he going to learn about Jesus?
 
He was going to learn about Him by studying the Old Testament. In Paul's day, the writings were not called the Old Testament. They were called The Law and The Prophets.
 
Matt. 5:17 - "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."
 
After Jesus' resurrection but before His ascension when talking with His disciples He names the Law, the Prophets and adds the Psalms as a way of description. Many years later the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms will become known as the Old Testament.
 
Lk 24:44-45 - Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
 
When you read the writings of Paul you will find him quoting numerous scriptures from the Old Testament, which indicates he was studying the scriptures because he wanted to know all he could about Jesus Christ.
 
I did a very quick scan of the book of Romans and I identified 38 different quotes from the Old Testament scriptures. Paul studied the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms because he was determined to know Jesus Christ.
 
Here is what Paul has to say about the Old Testament in the book of Romans 15:4 -"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
 
You are never hopeless if you are reading God's Word. 

• Would You Consider This Your Goal? 

I hope as you read this Pump Up you will be encouraged to imitate the apostle Paul in this way: You will become determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
 
What greater goal could you have for yourself?
 
I have started to study the book of Ecclesiastes in my personal life and the main theme of this book is really simple and straight to the point. Everything we do is meaningless except to have a loving relationship with God.
 
Solomon says it this way: "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person."  NLT
 
I would like to explain the word "fear" as it doesn't have the same meaning as the definition of fear that generally comes to our mind when we hear it. It is not the "fear" you would have if someone were robbing you at gunpoint or you encountered a rattlesnake on a path where you are walking.
 
The Hebrew word is "yare" and it means "to revere or show reverence". When I was young we were taught to take off our hats when the National Anthem was played. If you didn't have a hat on you were to put your right hand on your heart, stand still, and don't talk to show reverence.
 
The older I become the happier I am that I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe the best thing we can do is show Him reverence by learning as much as we possibly can about Him. 

Think About These:
 
Our goal should be Service, not success.
 
If God is kept outside, something must be wrong inside. Fix it.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago