Limbaugh book 'Jesus is Risen' looks at Paul and the early church

There�s a reverent and humble tone to David Limbaugh�s voice when he talks about his faith.

He�s not a preacher and doesn�t plan to be one. But he has a brilliant legal mind, zeal for sharing the Gospel and, maybe most importantly, he�s willing to use his platform to talk about faith in Jesus Christ.

Some will associate the Cape Girardeau attorney as a conservative columnist, author and analyst. Others as the brother of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. But these days Limbaugh�s literary pursuits have focused on the Bible.

On Tuesday, his fourth Christian-themed book �Jesus Is Risen: Paul and the Early Church� will be released. It�s similar to his previous book �The True Jesus� in that the approach is to summarize Scripture, chapter by chapter, staying close to the text but adding insight from Biblical scholars and Limbaugh�s own commentary.

�Jesus Is Risen� focuses on the book of Acts and the Apostle Paul�s first six epistles (Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and Romans) arranged in chronological, as opposed to canonical order.

�The material kind of speaks for itself,� Limbaugh told me in a recent interview. �I think I cover it consistently in these books where I try to strike a balance between depth and accessibility. I want to go deep enough so readers who really are interested in learning more than just the text, learning what the scholars say about it, will have something there to sink their teeth into.�

Limbaugh�s first Christian book, �Jesus on Trial,� chronicled his path to Christianity with a focus on apologetics, a defense of the faith. The �Emmaus Code� followed, which showed how the Old Testament pointed to Jesus in the New Testament.

Limbaugh�s goal in writing Christian books is to help accelerate readers� learning curve. He has a platform through politics that has afforded him an opportunity to reach readers in a nonpolitical way.

�I�m passionate about Christ. Passionate about the Bible. And I want to share that,� he said. �Plus it�s a welcome relief from the controversy that always inhabits my political world. I�m very sincere and passionate about my political beliefs, but I also want to present the Gospel and the Bible in a way that is absolutely nonpolitical. And I can say for as political as I am, there is not a scintilla of a hint of a political statement in any of my Christian-themed books.�

In �Jesus on Trial� Limbaugh dedicated a chapter to �aha moments.� While he said there are fewer individual moments like this in �Jesus is Risen,� there�s an overall amazement and appreciation for the Bible.

�Every time I read the Bible and think about it, I am blown away by the new insights that I get. Not because of me, but because of what I believe is the Holy Spirit illuminating these things for us. And the more you study, you get something more out of it each time.�

The early church had a unique perspective as it related to how it came to faith. It was not academic. It wasn�t because of stories they were told. They witnessed the miraculous and believed, overcoming their skepticism.

�All of these people who originally spread the Gospel were reluctant, were non-believers, were deniers, and they didn�t become believers, in fact, finally and irrevocably until His (Jesus�) resurrection and they witnessed it,� Limbaugh said. �And one of the greatest apologetic proofs of Christ�s existence and truth claims is Paul�s conversion. He was the greatest persecutor of the church. He was steeped in the Jewish law, he trained under the famous Jewish rabbis. He resented the new Christian movement, The Way, because they were perverting his religion and saying that you didn�t need to follow the (Old Testament) law.�

Of course the turning point for Paul was his journey to Damascus where a blinding light came upon him and Christ spoke to him. Limbaugh said the words Jesus used when speaking to Paul are something to key in on.

�And when Christ revealed Himself to him, he didn�t ask, �Why are you persecuting the church.� He said, �Why are you persecuting Me.��

This is significant because, as Limbaugh said, Paul persecuted Christians because he didn�t believe Christ was the Messiah. He believed �they were corrupting God�s Holy ordinance.�

A wonderful part of Paul�s story is that the same zeal for which he persecuted Christ followers, once he turned to Jesus he was just as zealous to evangelize.

Limbaugh�s goal in the book is to give readers a bird�s eye view to Scripture where you experience the early church first hand, watching the events unfold in chronological order.

Readers will learn things they didn�t know, or think about ideas in ways not otherwise considered.

Consider this: The book of Acts is not complete. The written word in the Bible, of course, comes to an end. But the work of the New Testament church will not end until Christ�s work is finished.

�We are evangelists for Christ, believers who continue to try to spread His message. Until we have exhausted all possible targets for evangelism, Christ�s work isn�t finished. It�s ongoing.�

Lucas Presson is the assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.