THE APOSTLE (1997)

Directed by: Robert Duvall
Written by: Robert Duvall
Studio: October Films
Starring: Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton
Rated: PG-13

About the film:
A preacher from Texas decides to begin a new life, mainly because he is running from an old life that has gone bad. He lands in Louisiana, declares himself reborn and starts afresh, preaching on the radio and restoring an old church. Even as it looks as if he is beginning to have an impact upon his new community, the sins of his past begin to catch up with him.

Movie Quote:
“I’d rather die today and go to heaven than live to be a hundred and go to hell.”
Euliss “Sonny” Dewey (Robert Duvall) in The Apostle (1997)

Bible Quote:
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere: I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
Psalms 84:10 (KJV)

Commentary:
Sonny’s declaration is a noble one. Oftentimes people get so caught up in the trappings of this world that they lose their perspective. The reality is that our time on this earth is but a drop in the bucket of eternity in which we’ll be swimming.

While on this earth, our life is filled with choices. The most important one we’ll ever make is how we will spend the eternity that has been promised us. That isn’t a decision we can put off until we get there.

There’s only one way to ensure our entrance into heaven. His name is Jesus Christ. As it says in Romans 10, when we confess him as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, we are saved. From that moment on, we are citizens of heaven, serving as ambassadors for Christ here on earth. Our passage to an eternity with God our Father has been secured and cannot be lost. When Christ returns a second time, he will come to gather those who will be joining him and his Father throughout all eternity.

Over two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ purchased a ticket to heaven for every man, woman, and child who came after him. But that ticket is not forced upon us. It needs to be claimed. Romans 10:9-10 tells us how. Simple logic should tell us when. Claiming a ticket after the train has left the station does a body no good at all.

Questions to consider while watching the film:

1. Is Sonny a man of God or a false preacher? Why or why not?

2. What scenes best evoke the Christian walk and mindset? Why?