What specific perils did Paul endure?
Paul endured perils from Jews and Gentiles: perils by the heathen, in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea, and among false brethren. He faced weariness, painfulness, watchings, hunger, thirst, fasting, cold, and nakedness, plus daily mental and spiritual pressure caring for the churches.
Les teaches that Paul was human and not a superstar, and that it was not just the Jew but both Jew and Gentile who were after him. He lists the specific perils: perils by the heathen, in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea, and among false brethren. Paul also endured weariness, painfulness, many watchings, hunger, thirst, frequent fasting, cold, and nakedness, meaning insufficient clothing to keep warm. Beyond those outward physical sufferings, Les explains, Paul faced daily mental and spiritual pressures—the care of all the churches and believers. He was constantly under pressure from reports and letters, such as from the Corinthians asking what to do about problems, and from the Galatians who were going back into legalism, prompting him to hurriedly write the six chapters of Galatians. Les says Paul was constantly besieged with the care of Christianity as it began to make itself known throughout the Roman Empire.
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;