FREE chapter from my NEW book --- The Road to the North: Our Doctrine through the Eyes of Paul

The Journey That Redefined Everything

What does it take to carry a message that the world is desperate to silence? In "The Road to the North," you aren't just reading a history; you are experiencing it through the eyes of the Apostle Paul himself. This first-person narrative takes you into the raw reality of his mission to help you connect with his doctrine in a profound new way. By walking in his sandals through every riot, miracle, and narrow escape, you will begin to understand the why and how behind the truths he eventually wrote to the Body of Christ. This is an invitation to witness the birth of the Mystery of Grace, forged in the heat of real-world struggle. By understanding Paul’s life and experiences, the deep theology of his epistles becomes a relatable reality rather than a distant study. Experience the beginning of the mission that opened the "Door of Faith" to us all.

If you find this chapter compelling and wish to continue the journey, you can secure your copy of "The Road to the North" for your own library, as a training aid for a Bible Study group, or as a thoughtful gift for a friend. This book is designed to help readers bridge the gap between the words of the epistles and the heart of the man who wrote them, making it a perfect resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the Gospel of Grace. You can find the book available through the following links:

• Global Bookstore Options: https://books2read.com/RudiSteenhuis/

• Amazon Storefront: Road to the North (Unique Book ID: B0GXYNMYS2)
  Note: The amazon link above is from the USA store. To purchase from Amazon, you need to access the book in Amazon in your region.

 

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Chapter 1: The Encounter

Acts 9:1-9

The memory of my life before the "Damascus Light" is a tapestry of shadows and rigid lines, woven with a zeal that I once mistook for righteousness. I was a man of the Law, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church. My world was defined by the marble of the temple and the meticulous scrolls of the Sanhedrin. I had sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the master of our traditions, learning to dissect the Torah with a precision that left no room for the scandalous claims of a Galilean carpenter. My roots were deep in the soil of the tribe of Benjamin, and my faith was a fortress I defended with a violent, holy hunger.

Explaining Peter's Dissimulation in Antioch

The Antioch Incident: When Programs Collide

It is one of the most striking scenes in the New Testament. In Galatians 2, we find Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, standing toe-to-toe with Peter, the lead Apostle of the Circumcision. Paul "withstood him to the face" because Peter was "to be blamed."

To the casual reader, this looks like a simple personality clash or a minor disagreement on church etiquette. However, through the lens of Right Division, we see a profound doctrinal crisis. This confrontation was not about Peter’s personal salvation; it was about protecting the integrity of a specific program God was revealing through Paul.

Understanding Peter’s Standing

To interpret this conflict correctly, we must first recognize Peter’s position. Peter was saved under the Gospel of the Kingdom. He had walked with the Lord during His earthly ministry, and his commission was focused on the nation of Israel and the fulfillment of prophetic promises (Mat.10:5-7).

Peter was not a "Grace believer" in the Pauline sense. He was a Kingdom saint who had been given a specific revelation regarding the Gentiles (Acts 10) to prepare him for the transition period. When Peter arrived in Antioch, he wasn't there as a convert to Paul’s ministry; he was a guest representative of the Jerusalem leadership.

Concepts in Thessalonians that might confuse people regarding the Grace Doctrine

Concepts in Thessalonians that might confuse people regarding the Grace Doctrine

Why did Paul mention things like Jesus as King, the Day of the Lord, signs of the End Times, and the Antichrist in the Thessalonian letters? Are these things part of our Grace doctrine? How do we understand these things in the context of the Thessalonian epistles? 

These are valid questions, which in turn have valid answers.

1 Thess.5:1-2: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”

Paul’s stay in Thessalonica was brief—about three to four weeks (Acts 17:2). He reasoned in the synagogue, proving from Scripture that Jesus was the Christ who suffered and rose again. His message was met with both faith and fierce opposition. Some Jews believed, many Gentiles turned from idols, but others stirred riots, accusing Paul of treason for proclaiming “another king, one Jesus” (Acts 17:7). The Thessalonian believers were young in the faith, surrounded by pagan idolatry, political suspicion, and persecution. Paul’s urgency was to ground them in the essentials: Christ crucified and risen, salvation by faith, holy living, and hope in His return. Yet because of rumours, false letters, and external pressures, he also had to clarify matters that touched on kingdom language—Jesus as King, the Day of the Lord, and signs of the end. These were not the core of his mystery gospel, but necessary clarifications to protect them from confusion.

The Arabian Gap: Solving the Three-Year Mystery of Paul’s Early Ministry

The Arabian Gap: Solving the Three-Year Mystery of Paul’s Early Ministry

The timeline of Paul’s life immediately following his conversion is often treated as a sudden burst of activity, moving instantly from the Damascus road to the Jerusalem council. However, the scriptures reveal a deliberate and vital season of hiddenness that defined Paul’s unique apostleship. To truly grasp the origins of the Mystery doctrine, one must look closely at the "three-year gap" that occurred before Paul ever set foot in Jerusalem as a believer.

A common misinterpretation suggests that Paul spent those first three years entirely within the city of Damascus, refining his debating skills in the synagogues. Many readers look at the "many days" mentioned in the book of Acts and assume this refers to a single, continuous stay in the city, concluding that Paul immediately sought out the Twelve Apostles for instruction. This blending of accounts causes significant confusion, as it makes it appear that Paul’s gospel was merely a hand-me-down from the Jerusalem leadership rather than a direct revelation from the ascended Christ.

To correctly understand this timing, we must reconcile the historical narrative of Acts with the chronological autobiography provided in the first chapter of Galatians. The breakdown of these three years begins "straightway" after Saul received meat and was strengthened following his encounter with Ananias. While he initially preached in the Damascus synagogues, proving that Jesus is the Son of God, he did not remain there to build a local ministry. Paul explicitly states that he "conferred not with flesh and blood" and did not go up to Jerusalem. Instead, he departed into Arabia.

Words are Spirit: Living and Walking in the Truth

Words are Spirit: Living and Walking in the Truth

The concept of "the Spirit" is often shrouded in mystical confusion, relegated to the realm of inexplicable feelings or unpredictable emotional surges. Yet, if we look to the King James Bible, we find a definition that is both concrete and profoundly transformative. To truly understand the nature of the Spirit, we must anchor ourselves in the direct declaration of Jesus Christ: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jn.6:63). Here, the mystery is solved. The Spirit is not an atmospheric presence or a vague energy; the Spirit is the Word of God in operation.

This scriptural fact establishes that the Word of God is the delivery system for divine life. To "receive the Spirit" is not to be overcome by an outer force, but to receive the holy information, instruction, and doctrine of Christ into the heart. The Bible describes this process not as a human effort, but as the "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit.3:5). This regeneration is the total overhaul of the inner man by the power of the Word. This is the foundation of our spiritual existence—our "position" or standing before God.

However, a critical distinction exists between "living" and "walking," a distinction that Paul emphasized heavily to the churches in Galatia. To "live in the Spirit" refers to our spiritual quickening—having our status changed from an orphan of the world to a son of God. This is a positional reality secured by the internalization of life-giving words. Yet, Paul presents a secondary challenge: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal.5:25). This command implies a striking possibility: a person can be "alive" by the Spirit—possessing the correct doctrine and having been saved by the Word—and yet fail to "walk" by that same Spirit.

Why Biblical Love Requires Knowledge

Why Biblical Love Requires Knowledge

In a world that often defines love as a fleeting sentiment or a blind acceptance of all things, the Apostle Paul provides a sobering and life-transforming correction. Writing from a Roman prison, his heart's desire for the saints was not merely that they would feel more, but that they would understand more. He writes in Php.1:9 (KJB): “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;” This reveals a profound pillar of the Mystery of Christ: true, Godly love is never directionless; it is a disciplined fruit of the Spirit that must be specifically channeled through the lens of truth.

The Vulnerability of Blind Love

We must recognise that love without knowledge is not a virtue, but a spiritual vulnerability. When love is divorced from the "form of sound words" (2Tim.1:13), it becomes prone to the errors of the flesh and the "sleight of men" (Eph.4:14). Paul warns that even a sincere "zeal of God" is unprofitable if it is "not according to knowledge" (Rom.10:2).

To walk safely, our love requires "judgment"—a moral perception that acts as a guardrail, allowing us to distinguish truth from error. In our current dispensation of Grace, we are not led by the "schoolmaster" of the law, but by a renewed mind that seeks to "approve things that are excellent" (Php.1:10). Without this biblical anchor, a believer’s affection for God can easily be hijacked by legalism or worldly philosophy.

The Root of the Mind: A Life Yielded to Glory

The Root of the Mind: A Life Yielded to Glory

The mind of Christ is a distinct spiritual disposition characterised by a total absence of selfish ambition and an instinctive drive toward the well-being of others. It is a state of being where one is perfectly joined together in the same judgment, possessing a love that does not fluctuate based on personal preference (1Cor.1:10; Php.2:2). This mindset is defined by a lowliness that naturally esteems others as better than oneself and looks outward at the needs of the body rather than inward at personal desires (Php.2:3-4). However, it is vital to recognise that this is not our mind; it does not originate within the human heart, nor is it an extension of our natural temperament.

The mind of Christ is entirely foreign to our corrupt nature. It is not a collection of our best thoughts or a refined version of our own desires; it is the very life and thinking of Christ Jesus Himself. We do not produce these thoughts by trying to think more "spiritually" or by exerting our self-will. Instead, these thoughts enter our mind as we read and study the scriptures, internalising the doctrine of grace. As we spend time in the Word, His thoughts begin to fill the spaces where our own used to dwell, renewing our thinking from the inside out (Rom.12:2). The more we occupy ourselves with His truth, the more His perspective becomes the lens through which we view the world.