Taking a Look at the Pauline Epistles

Paul's letters to the church, also known as epistles, are considered some of the most important documents in the New Testament. Paul's writings continue to shape and forge church even today. His letters were written in some of the darkest, most intense moments of Paul's life, but they also celebrate the grace, love, and life changing power of Jesus. Paul's journey in faith is shown in raw, unapologetic honesty, and inspires Christians to maintain a forward momentum, and to run the race Paul speaks so passionately about in Hebrews 12:1. Paul is able to write with both confidence and humility as he writes about the Christian journey.

Paul’s letter to the Romans can be broken down into four major sections. Within each of these sections there is a single compelling issue. Within the context of these respective issues, several interpretive questions can be answered through the interpretative process. These answers help us to understand how to apply the spiritual principals to our lives, as well as, help us compel other individuals to apply these spiritual principles within their lives.

In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this

Titus was a Gentile who converted to Christianity. He completed his missionary work along side Paul, as one of Paul 's assistants. The book of Titus is one of the shortest Pastoral Epistles. It is believed that Paul was the author of Titus; in this book Paul addressees how church leaders should act, it advises how Titus should teach the various groups, and finally the author gives Titus advice regarding Christian conduct. This paper will identify two biblical scholars ' primary viewpoints on Titus 2: 11-15, beginning with Lewis Donelson 's viewpoint and then Dean Thompson; it will then compare the two biblical scholars ' reflections on the passage. The final paragraph will indicate whether or not I agree with either scholar 's

Well we have seen in this above with the introduction that this deals with the humility when it is genuinely exercised and the rewards that are awarded by God. Well let’s discuss through this Philippians chapter two, one through eleven. Before going into the deeper first let us discuss what it says in the first five verses of this chapter. Well though it is always good to hear from the scholars. To say that in the verse one it clearly states that this chapter was linked to the previous chapter, because this chapter was started with “Therefore” which indicates that Paul began with the unity that was ended up in 1:27. This shows that it has four clauses which deals with the Philippians sharing and as well as their experiences. These are stated to promote unity especially through experiences in the people of Philippians. Richard R. Melick Jr. stated in his book of Philippians, Colossians, Philemon commentaries that,

NT2200-Week Four Philippians Function Discussion The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians has many themes throughout it covering topics such as an attitude of gratitude, unity among the brethren, joy in spite of suffering, and confidence in Christ. However, the theme of joy and rejoicing seems to be primarily the thought Paul is expressing in Chapter One verse four and continues to be expressed with gratitude and love for the Philippians who have shown Paul great love in supporting him during his time of incarceration. Thomas G. Gombis (2010) states, “This is one of Paul’s most personal letters, written to a church that was founded during his second journey and that he had visited during his third journey (Acts 20:3,6). The Philippian church

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 apostle Paul foresaw at the end of his life a great tsunami of attacks coming against the church of God. He responded with three letters. We call them the Pastoral Epistles: 1, 2 Timothy and Titus. After Paul’s first imprisonment, he visited different places including the Island of Crete, an Island only 160 miles long south of Greece and Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea. He wrote this letter to Titus around 62 A.D. from somewhere in Macedonia. Paul’s main objective is to encourage Titus and give instructions about Godly living as a young pastor. The churches in the Island of Crete needed leadership, correction and order thus Paul could not be everywhere. Paul at some time had visited the island of Crete for he says in Titus 1:5 “I left you

Is thought that the recipient of the letter were people from a province in central Asia Minor and Paul preached them during his first mission. The authors of the letter to the Galatians was Paul and Jesus Spirit. One of the main purpose of the letter or theme was to address the relationship from the Gentile Christians towards Judaism. The main points of the letter are to be truthful to God and commit to Him, in order to gain the Kingdom of heaven. In verse Gal 1:7 Paul clarifies that there is no other Gospel than the one that Jesus proclaimed. Paul explains that there is people that try to confuse Christians and pervert the gospel of Christ but he is warning us not to fall into that. It repeats over and over to not follow the law of the world but the teachings of Jesus Christ. We all are the church. The ones who believe on God are the church. To be the church in this letter means to believe in Jesus Christ and only worship God because He gave us freedom from sin and He is the only one that can lead us to the Kingdom of God. It also means to live by the fruit of the Spirit which is in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). It means to die to the sin, to reject the sin of, fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing (Gal 5:19-21), and anything that looks like

1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, also known as the Pastoral Epistles, attempt to describe proper hierarchy in the early church. They reject the idea of having women being significantly involved in the community. Libertarian theology interprets Christianity through the viewpoint of the poor. Leftist theology is a more liberal political party. It advocates equality and rejects the idea of social hierarchy. These three ideas were considered heterodidascalia, or “the other teachings,” in the early church (Menendez, 185). The Pastoral Epistles attempted to limit the number and type of people who could have power and authority, and they did this by “[addressing] specific church leaders and [targeting] specific groups” (Menendez, 186). By narrowing the gap between the secular and religious groups, it is possible to “deepen the national dialogues” (Menendez, 187). Based on the conservative, Pastoral interpretations of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, there is no room for equality amongst the people and it seems to me like they are taking certain rights away from these different groups of people. If the Pastorals were more sensitive to the three issues stated above, it could allow a better understanding between the state and church.

Paul begins the letter of Romans by introducing himself and stating his mission. Concisely stating the gospel message, Paul encourages the Roman Christians to “bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name” (1:5), or for the glory of Jesus Christ. He goes on to write of his desires and intentions to visit Rome in order to preach the gospel of Christ to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. Paul continues by explaining his excitement for the gospel as well as the need to live the gospel out in our lives. Finishing the first chapter, Paul presents the inexcusable idolatry, sinfulness, and evilness of the ungodly.

As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly

The previous section of the letter is the introduction and Paul’s note of thanks for the Corinthian believers. There is a distinct note of commendation and love in the first section before Paul begins to condemn and exhort the Corinthians for their poor behavior. Much of this behavior is linked to their boasting about their wisdom, or the wisdom of those whom they choose to follow. Therefore, much of Paul’s teaching is in relation to true wisdom, as opposed to worldly wisdom. Paul continues to address the issue of factions in the church by further concentrating on the issue of wisdom, before he begins approaching other issues from the report in chapters 5 and 6. Following this, Paul begins to address the questions posed by the

During the time the letter was written, most believe that Paul was in a prison in Rome. He wrote three letters at around the same time. One letter was to the Colossians; one letter was to Philemon, whose slave, Onesimus, had recently run away; the final letter was to the church that Paul had started in Ephesus. The messenger that carried the letters to the church of Colossae most likely passed through the sea port and great city at Ephesus. Working in Ephesus for at least two years, Paul expanded the reach of the Gospel to the entire

In this letter Apostle Paul showed how great his love was for the church of Philippi, showing his gratitude for their financial support to further the work of the ministry and to express his concern about their spiritual walk. His only thought was about advancing the cause of Christ and building the Philippians’ faith to continue their mission in spite of the persecution they were facing. Within their church many of the people were at odds and some were trying to hinder the spread of the Gospel. Because of this, Paul encourages the church of Philippi to "stand fast, be of the same mind, rejoice in the Lord always but by prayer let your request be made known and the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (4:1-7).