Did Paul have it easier than Abraham?
No. The Apostle Paul did not have it easier than Abraham; he suffered greatly, traveling and preaching the Gospel across the Roman Empire. He endured hardship on the Mediterranean, constantly surrounded by immorality, yet never let it turn him aside from preaching the Gospel.
Les explains that the Apostle Paul did not get through as easily as Abraham did. Paul suffered as he traveled the Mediterranean Sea. Les compares Paul's situation to being on a big ship while Paul was bouncing around on a little boat that wasn't much bigger than a cork. Yet Paul did it all for the sake of the Gospel, to get it out to the ends of the Roman Empire. He was constantly in the midst of the immoral remains of that Roman Empire, and yet never let it turn his mind aside; he just preached the Gospel. Les says this was quite a revelation. The context also connects this to verse 14: that the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, not through Israel, but through the finished work of the cross through Jesus Christ, so that Gentiles might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith, without any works of the law—a gift of God that is part and parcel of the whole plan of redemption, giving eternal salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit.