Paul of Tarsus and Judaism

In The Letter of Paul to the Galatians, the apostle Paul, who taught the gospel of Christ to the first century world, wrote to the churches of Galatia, in Galatia, within late 40’s - mid 50’s CE to share the defense of his Gentile mission as a whole and the understanding of the law on which it is based (Gal 1:1-2). Paul was appalled that the Galatians were able to believe another gospel so quickly. He wanted the Galatians to realize that they should be fighting for God’s approval, not their…

the letter is written on the behalf of Onesimus, a former slave of Philemon who ran away and allegedly stole from him in the process. In the letter, Paul appeals to Philemon’s faith as he asks that he accept Onesimus with love, forgiving him for his past actions; as he has changed and is now beneficial to both Paul and Philemon. In the letter, Paul reminds Philemon that he is indebted to him, and that Philemon could charge any demands of restitution to him but implies directly that he hopes…

Written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome in 62 AD, Ephesians 1:1 identifies “Paul, as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” As Paul pinned his letters, he always had a careful intent in his choice of words toward the audience that he was addressing. The next line reads, “To the saints in Ephesus” signifying that when Paul wrote these letters his audience was the church in Ephesus. There is also evidence of a secondary audience unfamiliar to him. As evident in Ephesians 1:15, “ever…

St. Paul was born in the city of Tarsus, Cecilia (present day Turkey) in 5AD to a wealthy Jewish family. He had a background of Jewish faith and Greek culture, which was brought up outside of his homeland. Schooled in a way of Jewish life to follow the law of Moses, he was a gifted student of one of the famous teacher, Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee, a young Jew who keeps control of the boundaries of the law and make sure everyone were faithful to the law of Moses. St. Paul, known as Saul in his…

The apostle Paul wrote the entire book of Romans for the sole purpose of expounding on the doctrine of salvation. At the core of his argument, the apostle sets out to persuade his audience that in our human condition we are incapable of saving ourselves. Hence, he makes this clear from Romans 1:18-3:20, thus explaining “why extraordinary righteousness is needed: neither Jews nor Gentiles measure up to God’s demand of ordinary righteousness.” Then, Paul introduces the gospel of Jesus Christ and…

Paul advises God’s followers to live worthy lives in Christ (4:1). “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Ephesians 4:1-6 are the first verses following the preceding half of the book. Similar to how one would plan to write an essay or dissertation, Paul uses the first verses of the second half to operate as a mock thesis statement for the rest of the book. In this short excerpt, Paul highlights the principle of…

For many people, the events of the Bible seem to take place in some magical and distant world of a “Bible Land”. We read about places the Bible talks about, such as Jerusalem, Corinth, Nazareth, and Ephesus and picture a whole different world that our childhood biblical books illustrate for us. The truth is, is that the more we know about the locations mentioned in the bible, the better we can understand the meaning of the stories. Ephesus is one of the most important cities that are mentioned…

In the text, Paul developed his argument by building up his credibility as an apostle for Christianity. Paul was previously known to fight against Christianity and refuse what it held true. However, he wanted to convince the Gentiles, those who did not follow the Christian faith, that he was previously blinded from the truth. He claimed to have had undertaken a revelation from God and discovered God as the truth he was missing. “If I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I…

because it says it in the beginning of Genesis. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Paul wrote this in Romans 1:20. This means that God speaks through all his creations, he does not need to be seen to make it known that he is there. He proves that he is always there when someone needs him without even truly being right in front…

affects both the heart and mind. While Corinth didn’t think like Athens, it could possibly contain pride by believing everyone is free to live how they please. Obviously, Paul had tremendous success there. However, this was only because either the Holy Spirit had prevented sin from progressing or had prepared the Corinthians’s heart to Paul message producing the greater initial response than what happened in Athens.(1 Samuel 25:34, Acts 18:7-8, Acts 17:34) Pride comes in many forms, yet the Holy…