From Trials to Triumph

Religion Is Practical and Experiential

The apostle showed that religion is a practical, personal experience of God's renewing power on the soul. Moses had pointed Israel to Christ as that Prophet whom they were to hear; all the prophets had testified of Him as the guiltless One who was to bear the sins of the guilty. He showed that while they maintained the ritual service with great exactness, they were rejecting Him who was the antitype of all that system. TT 239.3

Paul declared that he had rejected Jesus of Nazareth as an impostor because He did not fulfill his cherished conception of the Messiah to come. But now his views of Christ were more spiritual, for he had been converted. To apprehend Christ by faith, to have a spiritual knowledge of Him, was more to be desired than a personal acquaintance with Him as He appeared on the earth, a mere earthly and human companion. TT 239.4

As Paul spoke, those who were honestly seeking for truth were convinced. Upon some minds his words made an impression that was never effaced. But others stubbornly refused to accept the testimony of the Scriptures. They could not refute Paul's arguments, but they refused to accept his conclusions. TT 240.1