CHARACTER LESSON 14: PAUL
- Hal Habecker
- May 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 3
Selected Studies in Aging – How Did Characters in the Bible Finish in Life?
Hal Habecker, Finishing Well Ministries
The attached video watching guide below is designed to follow the study. Every Scripture I mention is already included, but please feel free to take your notes as you listen and think about what is being said.”
Hal Habecker
DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO WATCHING GUIDE
Lesson intro
PAUL: Pressing On to the Finish Line
We meet Paul first in Acts 7 as Stephen was being stoned to death. He was a persecutor of the early church. After his dramatic conversion on the Damascus Road, Paul spent 3 years learning from Christ in the Arabian desert and then 14 years in the church at Antioch before launching his missionary journeys.
Conversion
From persecutor to apostle on the Damascus Road
Missionary Journeys
Three major trips spanning approximately 12 years (46-57 AD)
Imprisonment
Arrested in Jerusalem, held in Caesarea, and finally taken to Rome
Final Ministry
Writing letters and mentoring the next generation from prison. In his early 60s, when most people begin thinking about retirement, Paul wrote:
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press (pursue) on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press (pursue) on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.12-14)
As his execution neared, he could say with confidence: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4.7)rial. What a picture of beauty. God was pleased with His servant's life of 120 years.
