APOSTLE PAUL AND THE CONTEXTUALIZED PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL

Abstract

The Church of Christ owes very much for its origin and growth, to Paul’s pioneering missionary endeavours and to the theological insights presented through his writings. It is from Paul’s conviction of the need for adaptation, there grew up the decision not to impose on the Gentile Christians his own Jewish legal traditions and cultural specialties. Paul had a clear grasp of the essentials of the gospel and could distinguish them from the Jewish cultural elements. He believed that demanding gentile converts to adapt the Jewish ways, while they accept the gospel of Christ, was not only unnecessary but also it would really pervert the essence of the gospel (Gal 1:6-7). It was this firm conviction and deep commitment to the truth revealed in Jesus Christ that made him a faithful messenger in his ministry to the gospel (Rom 15:16), and made his witnessing a great success in the world of his times. The importance of Paul’s labour, and his contribution for the early spread of Christianity into the gentile world, and its emergence as a well-established Christian Church was beyond comparison. In our missionary undertakings, we have to learn much from the open mind, large heart, wide vision and principled practices of St Paul.

This article was originally published in Naiju Jose Kalambukattu, CMI, ed., Theologizing in Context: A Hermeneutic of Living Dialogue between the Word and the World, Bengaluru: Dharmaram Publications, 2019, 71-83.