3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

tra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the
surrounding country; and there they continued
proclaiming the good news. The beginning
of the second missionary journey
concentrated on helping the churches in
the provinces of Syria and Cilicia (Acts
15:41), most of which were not located in
the large cities of Antioch and Tarsus.
What is true from a sociological
perspective is that the apostle did not
overlook people in large cities, towns,
and villages where he traveled in presenting
the Gospel to them. Much of his
ministry did take place in the larger cities
of these Roman provinces, but to assume
that he only focused on ‘cities’ in
his ministry would be completely false.
Beyond missionary strategy, perhaps
some of the most valuable lessons
to be learned from Paul’s third missionary journey relate to personal integrity and a basic understanding of ministry
itself. In Paul’s farewell speech to the Ephesian leaders at Miletus Luke gives us his perspective on Paul’s
understanding of ministry (Acts 20:17-36), and Paul supplies us with a beautiful portrayal of ministry in 2 Cor.
1-6. Already discussed above, these pictures do not need to be repeated here. But it does need to be affirmed
that personal integrity in ministry was critical for the apostle Paul. And integrity included faithfulness to preach the
Gospel message given him from God. But it also included honest and compassionate treatment of God’s people.
Lastly, it had much to do with Paul’s behavior and character. In both these biblical sources we see a man whose
life was unconditionally committed to Christ and thus built his entire life around presenting the Gospel message
of Christ genuinely and without any failure or flaw. Although this was true for Paul from his conversion onward,
the emphasis on it comes out forcefully during his third missionary journey.
Any believer who desires God to use his or her life effectively in ministry today must follow Paul’s example
of maintaining an impeccable integrity in all of life. This doesn’t mean perfection, but it does mean a profound
commitment to serving and living every moment of every day under the complete control and leadership of God’s
Spirit. No part of our life can be exempted from such commitment.
What I am talking about applies equally across the spectrum of Christianity. No such thing as clergy and
laity existed in the New Testament. This is a much later, false dichotomy injected into Christian thinking with destructive
consequences. Neither is this level of commitment just for ‘missionaries’ or ‘preachers.’ It is a universal
demand of the Gospel upon every believer. For a beautiful picture of a host of early believers who effectively
served the Lord, read the Salutations sections of the letters of Paul, and especially those letters coming out of
the third missionary journey: 1 Cor. 16:5-20; 2 Cor. 13:11-12; and especially Rom. 16:1-23. Tribute is paid to a
large number of believers being used by God in various ministry roles in Ephesus and Corinth.
The third missionary journey represents a further maturing of a seasoned missionary with a variety of new
experiences, and at the same time new levels of impact in presenting the Gospel of Christ. Hopefully, you have
come to the conclusion that has struck me in doing the research and writing of this material. I have gained a profoundly
deeper appreciation for the personal sacrifice made by Paul
in order to carry out the divine commissioning given to him at conversion.
Paul gave up virtually everything that we modern Christians consider
important in life: a home to live in, a wife and children to enjoy, a
steady job with a dependable source of income, a relatively peaceful
and harmonious lifestyle, an image of success and achievement. On
and on the list could go. Paul walked away from a promising life as a
rising star among Jewish scribes in the first century. Everything was
sacrificed in order to faithfully carry out the mission given him by the
risen Christ.
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