Your Name. Class & Section. Date. Passage. I, Ruben Valce,

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

On the road to Damascus the Lord intervenes in Saul’s life (Acts 9: 3-6) and he is genuinely converted during that encounter with the Lord Jesus. Under the ministry of Ananias (a disciple) he was also healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul now known as Paul from that moment on immediately began preaching Christ in the synagogues of Damascus. Paul’s preaching was very convincing and disturbing to the Damascus Jews to the point where they desired to kill him. Therefore, the other Christian disciples assisted him in his escape by night (Acts 9:22-25) that he may escape to Arabia. Paul’s missionary Journeys were defining actions of him, he usually set foot with other companions and he endured hardships on these voyages. He was imprisoned, lashed and stoned several times and almost murdered once (2 Cor. 11:24-27).

St. Paul, other known as Saul, never actually lived the life any of us would hope for. As a young child Saul learned to work with his own hands and create tents. Before his conversion to Christianity, he went out and arrested those who believed in Christ. While he was out arresting many, he also persecuted some of the Christians. Also, Saul was one person who approved the stoning of Stephen. Lastly, God appeared to him and he had a conversion of heart.

To fully understand Romans 8:1-4, we need to establish a basic concept of the book of Romans. All the way back as far as 57 A.D, the book of Romans is speculated to be written by Tertious, a secretary of the apostle Paul. This is shown in Romans 16:22. Paul intended to write the book, the book of Romans, to help create faith in the Romans. It is speculated that the apostle Paul, with the help of his secretary, wrote the book of Romans in the city of Corinth in Greece.The book of Romans consists of how to believe in God and that we are not saved through our own sin but through Christ Jesus who paid the ultimate price for our sins. In Romans 8:1-4, it talks about how we are not condemned to death because we are saved through Christ Jesus from him dying on the cross.

In Romans 1-8 Paul is writing to teach the doctrine of Christ. Although Paul goes into much more depth in these eight chapters, his message ultimately boils down to the following sentence. We have all sinned and deserve death, however, through the redemption and sanctification of Christ we have been saved and should now lead, Christ centered lives of faith.

After that Saul was refered to as Paul. He left his old life and began his mission as a amasador of Christ’s message to all the world, or the world as it was known at that time. He left Jerusalem and began his missionary journeys, at least five of them. He went to Asia minor (modern Turkey), Syria, Greece, Italy, Spain even Britian.Paul trained Timothy and John Mark. He was so dedicated to the calling Jesus put on him that he paid for it spending five years or more in prison for his teachings and faith on multiple occasions. He was whipped bewaten and tortured on more than one occasion. He even lived through a stoning attempt and being shipwrecked. He paid the ultimate price with his life as a martyr at the hands of the Romans.

Saul was given specific instructions to follow by Jesus and that would lead him to the place where he could regain his vision, but this would be a test of his obedience as well as the obedience of one of God’s disciples. Ananias was the one that Jesus chose to help Saul begin his transformation into Paul, but naturally he was hesitant to go to the man that had been singlehandedly persecuting the saints of God. “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites.

While Stephen was being stoned to his death there was a man there by the name of Saul. Saul was known for persecuting Christians. He did not realize how the stoning of one man would

The grace of God must have abounded all over Paul in the miraculous conversion experience. To think of how wretched of a man he was and the things he had done to believers would seem unforgivable. It is quite apparent that God’s grace has no measure and amount that can be given out in abundance. Dr. Constable says, “Saul's unexpected and extreme conduct, understandably bewildered the Jews who lived in Damascus. Instead of persecuting the Christians, he was proving that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. This is what

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).

To grasp the meaning and validity of Romans chapter 5 verse 21, it must be read in conjunction to verse 20, beginning at the conclusion of the sentence after the colon. For clarity, let us begin our reading again at verse 20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…” In continuance it states in verse 21, “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Let us explain verse 21 by using the Greek translation for the words reigned and righteousness. As sin “reigned” -[Gk. “Basileuo”, pronounced bas-il-yoo’-o, meaning to rule (-d)], having power and dominion

Professor Ambrosio asserts that Saul's vision "establishes a direct connection between Paul's question, 'Who are you, Lord?' and Jesus as the one who is being persecuted in the person of those who have faith in Him" (Hero or Saint Saul of Tarsus). This direct connection is what ultimately helps transform Saul into Paul a new man. Christianity, in other words, is the religion of throwing off the old man and putting on the new. The new, of course, is Christ which is why

The book of Romans can be concluded as the purest and richest theological book in the entire Bible. As Luther would put it, “Paul’s letter to the Romans is a thoroughly doctrinal letter: the “purest Gospel” (Moo, 1). Many can agree that the power of Romans has affected very important historical moments of the Christian Church. Even the Reformation may be regarded as the “unleashing of new spiritual life as a result of Romans (Morris, 1). But, as we read it more deeply and analyze some of the content Paul is talking about, we can see how rooted Romans is in the history of its people. It is not just a book of systematic theology, but it is a letter written to a group of people in a particular circumstance for a specific purpose. The question of what the correct and accurate purpose of Romans is should not remain unanswered or unsearched at the least. When reading Romans, it is crucial to understand the context for the basis in our interpretation of the meaning Paul intended for us. That being said, the purpose of Romans has to be more than just a theological book. There must be a precise purpose in why Paul wrote this letter the way he did. Understanding what was going on at the time Paul wrote to the Romans, why he wanted to write it, and what he wanted to accomplish after giving it to the Romans, needs to be analyzed for an accurate understanding of its purpose for them and for us today.

Paul 's original name was Saul. Saul started out hating and persecuting Christians. Saul had a big conversion moment where he heard God talking to him and he was struck blind for three days. "Paul was on his way to Damascus when he had a vision that changed his life: according to Galatians 1:16, God revealed his Son to him. More specifically, Paul states that he saw the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1), though Acts claims that near Damascus he saw a blinding bright light. Following this revelation, which convinced Paul that God had indeed chosen Jesus to be the promised messiah."("Saint") Paul then became a Christian and left his easy, comfortable life to become a preacher. Once Paul became a missionary he wanted to share the news of Christianity with everyone. "Paul’s great achievement was to take Christianity from Jerusalem throughout the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and finally to the capital itself." (Johnson) Paul 's main goal was to spread the word that Christ is the Son of God. (Adcock)

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.