"—nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus." (NIV)
Rather than going to meet the other apostles to have them explain to him what had happened, Paul went out into the desert, just like Jesus did in Mark 1:12-13. Like Jesus did in Mark 1:35, Paul went off on his own, and, using his own knowledge of the Scriptures (with God's guiding wisdom and understanding), he discerned for himself whether or not the message of Christ was true. After he had come to a conclusion, he then returned to Damascus before meeting the other apostles.
Like Paul, the Bereans in Acts 17:10-15 examined the Scriptures closely before making their decision, rather than simply accepting the words of famous men, and they were commended for it. We should do the same, always picking apart the words of the Bible to determine our own God-given understanding of the gospel. We need to own our faith and not just be genetic Christians (Christians by heredity: because our parents are Christians). Paul set a great example for us to follow, and we would do well to follow that example. god clearly knew exactly what He was doing when He chose Paul to preach to the Gentiles.
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