Galatians Bible Argument Essay

In chapter 1, Paul writes about his sufferings and how they are helping the progress of the gospel. Chapter 2 is about the benefits of Christian faith, “mind of Christ”, and how Jesus gave up his glory so he could rescue mankind, and save us of our sins. Chapter 3 Paul again explains the benefits of Christianity and prompts the church to keep up with the Gospel. In the last chapter Paul promotes Christians to rejoice in the lord by praying and giving thanks to God. “My God shall supply all your needs.”

Paul’s distinctive contribution to Christianity is his heresy- the doctrine of salvation by faith. A salvation available not just to the descendants of Abraham, but to the pagan, non-Jewish world as well. When he was writing to those in the Roman capital, Paul makes the declaration that proved to be the cornerstone of all his writings Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live

Wacaster’s book, which is (as the title suggests) centered on Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, is very obviously intended to the common-level, “average” audience. Wacaster does not delve into complex conversations of textual variants, manuscript discrepancies, and disputations of authorship, nor does he use vocabulary or phraseology that is above the understanding of most individuals. Rather, Wacaster is simple, straightforward, and effective in communicating his points on the wonderful book of Galatians. With many commentaries that are written at a graduate and scholarly level, a more basic approach is much appreciated and needed.

At the core of St Paul’s teachings is justification by faith, this foundation then shapes the influence of St Paul on the formation, expression and doctrine of the Christian Church. Paul’s background describes him as a Pharisee who persecuted Christians, however after his conversion on the road to Damascus, he is considered to have been acquitted of all his sins as he turns to a life of missionary journey to preach about Jesus and God to the gentiles. St Paul has contributed heavily to the development and evolution of the Christian Church and his influence is so great that he is considered the “Second founder of Christianity”. He challenged the early belief of the Jewish-Christians, who were seen as being only a small sect of Judaism, to expand out and to unite as “one body in Christ”. Thus helping to unite

Judaizers wanted to preach works but Paul wrote that we must preach Christ alone. 7. Paul was not a passive individual as he describes himself in verse 14 he was “exceedingly zealous”. He appears to be talking to an audience who knew him in the past as a strong Jew who upheld the traditions of his people. He also stated in verse 14 that he “profited in the Jews’ religion” 8. so he was possibly politically powerful and personally benefiting from his status in the community while upholding the Jewish traditions of his fathers. He wants to make it clear to his audience that what he is preaching to them now is not of man but is by divine revelation from God by his grace. To demonstrate his point, Paul recounts his conversion, in which he switched from being a persecutor of the church to being a preacher of its gospel. He wants to advise that his conversion occurred through a direct act of God, who “was pleased to reveal his Son to me, 9. so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles”. The revelation of who Jesus really was came directly from God and for a clear purpose so that Paul could take the message to the Gentiles. Paul insisted that the Spirit is the same Spirit through whom God spoke and acted in the history of Israel, the difference is that through Jesus the Spirit is now poured out on all God’s people, Jew and Gentile alike. 10. The fact that Paul criticized some aspects of his native Judaism 11. and that he announced a gospel to the

Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, was raised in a Jewish household, but he also had exposure to Roman culture because his father was also a Roman citizen. After his family relocated to Jerusalem, he became the apprentice of Gamaliel, who was a Hillelites Pharisee member. Paul on the other hand, had become a member of the Shammaites Pharisee, who strictly followed the Jewish law, and believed that those who did not follow the Jewish law were preventing the coming of God’s kingdom. As a member of this Pharisee, Paul too part in the persecution of Christians who were accused of heresy, because he along with the other members believed that they were spreading and supporting a belief in a failed messiah, who we have come to know as Jesus Christ.

Paul begins his letter with honesty and speaks of his genuine dealings with the church of Corinth. He goes on to

The theme of being made alive in Christ goes hand and hand with other themes that stand out throughout the book of Ephesians. Clinton Arnold, author of a book titled “Exegetical Commentary of The New Testament Commentary Ephesians” offers several themes to better understand Paul intention in writing this letter. The first theme that stands out is the threat of the spiritual powers must be viewed in light of the superior power of God and the power he passes on to his people. That same power gives Paul his apostolic authority to prepare the church in its commission to make the gospel known to the “rulers and authorities in heavenly laces” (Elwell, Yarbrough). Secondly the powerful cultural coercion of the Gentiles hostility towards Jesus can and should be defeated in the church on the foundation of Jesus work bringing both into one new group. Unity and love in a togetherness of peace reflects

So it is clear that Pauls mission is spoken directly from this over piling up of texts Pauls strategy is to bring the gospel to all the nations, all the people for the glory of God. Not just Gods original chosen people the Jews. Pauls strategy is to start of where Jesus Christ left off, to bring the news of the saviour to the Jews first and thusly to the Gentiles second – fulfilling the Old Testament Prophecies.

Before leaving on his mission, he went to the high priest and asked for “their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.” Even in his early years, Paul followed the rules and we see this characteristic in him as a leader later in life. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, the light of Jesus transforms Paul’s life. From that moment forward, we see Paul begin to study the word, live with the rabbis, and partner with people that were spreading the gospel. Throughout Paul’s missionary journeys, we see the impact that this time of his life had on his work and relationships with other people. Overall, Paul’s years serving in the Roman Empire opened his eyes to the plight of the Christian people and softened him for the work the Lord had called him to do.

Our source of knowledge of the apostolic work of Paul comes first from the Book of Acts. The epistles written by Paul serve to further our knowledge of his mission. These letters were written to churches that he had founded or churches that were known to him. Luke’s account of Paul introduces us to the basic facts about this important biblical figure. A more complete understanding of Paul’s journeys can be gleaned from his letters. These epistles were written almost at the time they occurred and they comprise some of the earliest works contained in the New Testament.

The people were angry with Jesus in much the same way as they were Paul, however, so the trials were quite similar in scope. We also sense the Paul knew he was going to be imprisoned in much the same way that Jesus long ago foretold of his own arrest and subsequent crucifixion. 7. Identify the leaders of the Jerusalem church and the missionaries who first helped carry “the new way” into the larger world beyond the Jewish capital. There were a number of leaders from the early Jerusalem church who help carry the message outside of the region, including Philip and Stephen.

This argument does not, however, decisively remove the possible use of ‘conversion’ for Paul, as Stendahl’s view that conversion must mean abandonment of a previous religious system is certainly not a necessary condition. In addition to this, to remove the language of ‘conversion’ from Paul’s experience is to remove its decisiveness; its absolute alteration of Paul’s thinking and being that can be seen in Gal 1:12-14. In these passages we see Paul speak of the risen Christ, who gave him his teaching and drew him away from his life in the Law, and as a Pharisee, in which he excelled (Gal 1:14) and which had led him to persecute the Church (Gal 1:13). When this Christocentric language is placed against his former understanding, which had caused him to persecute the Church, one cannot simply speak of a ‘call’, but rather must move to language of radical turning, of ‘conversion’. As this shows, while Stendahl’s argument that Paul should not be considered a ‘convert’ is not strong enough to warrant abandonment of the term, his exposition of Paul as ‘called’ should not be ignored, as, from a missional point of view, he certainly was. This leads us to the conception of Paul’s experience as encapsulating both ‘call’ and a ‘conversion’ dynamic, more fully expressing the reports he and others gave of this time.

Paul visited Ephesus on his first missionary journey, on the way from Greece to Syria. After his third missionary journey, he stayed there and pastored the Ephesian church for 3 years (Easton, np). “Though Paul was not the first to bring Christianity to Ephesus, for Jews had long lived there, he was the first to make progress against the worship of Diana” (Orr, np). Because of his strong ties to the church, Paul cared deeply about the faith of the believers there (Macarthur, np).

For some background information on Paul. His original name was Sual in Hebrews announced in the new testaments. He was yoked to a rabbi so he can become a rabbi him self. Paul converted to christianity when he saw the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the road of Damascus. During his life he created three big ministries to travel through the Roman Empire, and he did this because he was planting churches. His goal was to preach to the new Christians the word of God, and to give encouragement. Paul started his mission because the Lord asked of him to do so, and so the Lord provided him with wisdom and strength to for fill his journey.