Paul the Missionary: How Contextualization Influenced His Mission | Jeff Randleman

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/paul-the-missionary-how-contextualization-influenced-his-mission/  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ *Author’s Note: Paul’s encounter with Christ led him to a greater understanding of the faith, and from that encounter, Paul developed a theology of mission that affected everything about him, specifically in four areas: The nature of his call and conversion, and his role as an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul’s gospel-centered preaching, building on Old Testament promises, fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, Paul’s practice of contextualization, in both church planting and disciple making, and Paul’s experience of persecution and suffering for the sake of Christ, in which he chose to boast. Each of these contributes to the missiology of Paul, and from them, we can learn much about God’s missio Dei, his desire to reach all nations with the good news of Jesus Christ, and the offer of salvation he extends to each of us. In this article, we’ll explore Paul’s practice of contextualization, and how this formed Paul’s theology of mission. Contextualization is the means of presenting the message in such a way that it is culturally relevant and understandable, without compromising the truth of the message (syncretism) or watering it down so much that it no longer matters (irrelevance). “In order for the Christian message to be meaningful to people it must come to them in language and categories that make sense within their particular culture and life situation. It must be contextualized.”[1] Paul’s efforts to spread the gospel took him into numerous different cultural, ethnic, and religious settings. In order to bridge such diverse differences effectively, Paul had to pay attention to three key areas: culture, language and communication, and worldview. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ Get our Premium podcast feed featuring all the breakout sessions from the RENEW gathering early.  https://reallifetheologypodcast.supercast.com/  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW