The Holy Spirit, By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay

Joe Michael Pleasant New Testament Survey January 29, 2016 Paul or Saul The man that was once known as Saul is one of my favorite bible characters in the whole bible. He was by far one of the most influential people in the book of acts, and all of the New Testament. Saul was the modern equivalent of a Islamic radical pushing his religious agenda. He was a monster. The lowest of the low in the scumbag world would be hands down Saul. On top of being the tool of extermination for Satan in Jerusalem, shortly after the death of Christ, he was also extremely religious. He was a Pharisee. While extremely well educated in the religious practices of Judaism, Saul was differently a hypocrite. He completely pushed is religious agenda while he completely

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.

Without Paul, all of Jesus’s followers would have remained Jewish. Jesus’s disciples thought that the afterlife was going to happen very soon, so they awaited and kept on being Jewish. Paul knew Jesus’s main disciples. After Jesus’s death, Paul went out and talked with these disciples and formed a plan to spread Jesus’s teachings. Paul convinced them to start converting others, Paul was the one who organized the early converters and told them what to do. When Jesus’s disciples started to try and convert Jewish people, they remained unsuccessful and low on resources. Paul gave them the resources they needed, as he was doing very well at converting. These resources helped the other heads of the religion to start converting. They listened to Paul, and because of Paul they started to be successful at gaining more followers. Paul decided to convert Gentiles, the non-Jewish people. Paul expanded the religion from being a small branch off of Judaism,

Saint Paul, originally named Saul, was a crucial part in the development of Christianity. Paul, who was born in Tarsus, Cilicia, grew up Jewish and was trained as a rabbi (Adcock). Paul eventually converted to Christianity, but before he did, the future of the religion was looking very slim. Rome had made it illegal to practice Christianity. Paul was a pious Jew, so his conversion to Christianity surprised many of his followers. They viewed him with much suspicion and treated him with hostility. Paul was dedicated to his new life and made it his mission to spread Christianity throughout the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and eventually to Rome itself. Paul made two separate journeys throughout the Mediterranean. He preached about the message of Jesus to many and sent his letters to the people he had not visited. Paul saw that his new faith had a message for everything and everyone. By converting to Christianity, St. Paul has saved Christianity from extinction, has written crucial letters about his faith, has preached to hundreds of people, has spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, has caused

Christianity over the course of history has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way believers conduct themselves. It provides morals, practices and ethics that every Christian attempts to live by. Throughout the many denominations in the Christian church, Paul of Tarsus had a significant influence on the faith. His contribution to the development and expression of Christianity is immense and can be seen to stem from his writing and missionary journeys which have implemented his ideas and interpretations onto the development of Christianity. After Jesus, Paul was arguably the most significant figure in Christianity as his teachings form a significant part of the New Testament. Like may other Pharisees of that time in history, Paul sought to suppress the early Christian movement. He accused early Christians of blaspheming against God and breaking Mosaic Law. However, Paul had a life-changing experience when he had a vision of Jesus, and he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary for the early church. Centuries after his ministry, his teachings still influence Christian theology.

Paul was “a Hebrew born of Hebrews,” who lived from 5 C.E. to 67 C.E. and became seen as a Jewish apostle for the gentiles or non-Jews. Paul created a new subtype of Judaism known as Jesus following Jews. Even though Paul strongly self identified as Jewish, he took it upon himself to spread the ways of Jesus to non Jews in attempt to save everyone when the world ended. He went on missionary trips to and from Jerusalem, Cyprus, Galatia, and Ephesus. Paul wrote that “There is no longer Jew or Greek… for all of you are one in Jesus Christ.

Paul was devoted to spreading the gospel to many different people groups. An example from Paul's life that has taught me about spreading God's word is when he preached on his first missionary journey in Acts 13, even after many Jews slandered him and argued against everything he said. Paul’s demonstration of courage in this situation is very inspiring to me. It teaches me to be bold in my belief of the gospel, even when people disagree with me. Another

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

When an individual comes to faith in Christ he or she is not left alone to battle the struggles of sin, lead people to Jesus, experience heartache and sorrow, find God’s will, or live a life that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord. No, Christians are given an awesome gift that cannot be purchased or earned. Believers are blessed with the gift of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 14:16, “ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”(ESV) Sadly, many believers do not have a correct understanding of who the Holy Spirit is, or what He does. The purpose of this paper is define the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

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.

When we dissect the beginning of Christianity, two characters come into action: Jesus and Paul. While Jesus is viewed by many Christians as the founder of the religion whose life laid the framework of Christianity, Paul is viewed as the great leader of Jesus’ mission, delivering that mission in the most unique way. Paul originally named Saul was not a Jew, but a pharisee who persecuted Jews. Until he met Jesus on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus., he was struck with blindness for three days and waited for a follower of Jesus with the name Ananias to heal him of his blindness. Subsequently after

Paul experienced a transformation which altered his self-understanding and the way he employed his many gifts. Paul’s mission was to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus the Christ to the Gentile nations. (Acts

Paul writes in Acts 22:6 that he experienced a vision, ‘I fell to the ground and heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me... I am Jesus of Nazareth.”’ Paul was blinded but continued on to Damascus where he became certain that his vision of Jesus symbolised his calling to spread the Gospel. When he arrived his sight was restored by a disciple named Ananias and Paul was baptised as he became a Christian, a follower of Jesus. This conversion to Christianity enabled Paul to believe that he had been given a mission to go preach the word of God. Paul embarked on journeys to towns where he would seek employment and gradually get to know people. Paul wanted to influence these people by speaking of his experiences he had with God and what they had taught him about Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. In these towns, Paul also established local churches and invited elders to run them whilst he was out of town spreading the word of God, ‘Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust’ (Acts 14:23).

The Apostle Paul (formerly Saul) is responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the areas of Asia Minor and Greece. Through his 3 mission trips to the region Paul created a base of support for the Christian faith and implemented a support strategy for future growth. The time period for his journeys was 45 AD – 58 AD. The story of Paul is interesting from the perspective that the man best known as the author of most of the New Testament started out as a devout Jew and despised the Christian faith. After his conversion he made it his life’s work to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To this end, Paul made several mission trips to the area of Asia Minor and Greece.

God gave Paul a mission to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. They traveled from city to city spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the message was not always being received. It is really no confirmed certainty on why John Mark eventually left Paul and Barnabas to return to Jerusalem. The Jews went on record as being in opposition to the Gospel, but Paul kept preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul saw that the Gentiles were very receptive to the Gospel.