Apostle Paul: Regret and or Guilt?

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Do you think the Apostle Paul suffered significantly from regret and guilt about persecuting the Church after his conversion? We know that because of Paul (Saul) men, women and children suffered and died for their faith in Christ.
 
I think he felt remorse for his sins, but didn’t let them define him. He was not “Paul, Butcher of Christians”, he was “Paul, adopted son of God and Apostle of Christ”.
 
‘For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.’ - 1 Cor 15:9-10
 
The reason I asked this on CAF is because of some significant guilt and regret I myself have been experiencing about some sins from my past. Laying in bed at night remembering and knowing how I hurt people before. :cry:
 
God is merciful. Do not focus on the past which you cannot control but on the present which you can control.
 
I believe Paul was struck with Wonder when he thought about how God gave him the Holy Spirit, forgave him his sins, and gave him such a great understanding of the Gospel, and then commissioned him as an Apostle.
“As terrible as I have been, the Lord is extending the hand of friendship to me; he wants to be my friend. Was there ever such love?”

What is the LORD’s motive, his intention, in how he is treating you? How is he treating you?

Only one of the ten lepers returns to Jesus to thank him. 9 were giddy about how they were healed; one was struck with Wonder at why Jesus did this for him and he went back and bowed down before Jesus in Thanksgiving.

Love him much!
He forgave you much with love in his heart, good intentions - he forgave you so he could be your friend, your father, your brother.

John Martin
 
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May I interrupt this discussion with a quick question?

I know the Bible states that Paul/Saul persecuted the church but where is it that the persecution was ever described? I see that many assume he killed Christians but do we know that? Persecution can take many forms.

Thank you for any enlightenment!
 
Pattylt said:
I know the Bible states that Paul/Saul persecuted the church but where is it that the persecution was ever described? I see that many assume he killed Christians but do we know that? Persecution can take many forms.
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Paul is described in Scripture as having murderous intent towards Christians, hunting them down, beating them, and being an accessory to Stephen’s murder by a mob and approving of it. Although Paul is described as “persecuting” rather than “killing” Christians, he was basically acting like the Gestapo or KGB towards Christians, whether or not they died directly from his ill-treatment of them including beatings, or later from the consequences of their imprisonment and punishment at the hands of the high priest whom Paul turned them over to.

Acts 8:1 and 22:20 state that Paul (then called Saul) consented to Stephen the martyr’s execution. Acts 7:58 also states that Paul (Saul) watched over the cloaks of the mob who were killing Stephen. So basically he was the coat check guy for an anti-Christian lynch mob and was standing there cheering the killers on.

Acts 8:3 describes Paul (Saul) “trying to destroy the Church” by “entering house after house and dragging out men and women” whom he “handed over for imprisonment”.
Acts 22:19 also has Paul admitting that he used to “imprison and beat” Christians.

Acts 9:1-2 reads,
Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
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In Acts 9:13, Ananias says that he has heard about how much “evil” Saul had done to Christians at Jerusalem.
 
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