Paul of Tarsus Essay - Significant Teachings

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.

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.

Paul helped this group of Jews put many believers to death and we can see this in the book of Acts. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, as he was then identified, approved to put Stephen to death by stoning him. Nevertheless, on the way to Damascus Saul of Tarsus finds himself in a life transforming situation. Jesus of Nazareth appears to Saul of Tarsus and changed his life. Saul is no longer! In addition to his spiritual transformation, Saul becomes known as Paul.

Paul more than anyone was responsible for the spread of the Jesus movement into the Gentile world. By the end of the first century Christianity had become an important religious force. Paul while respectful of its Jewish origins moved the Christian faith into a position where it was no longer bound by Jewish law and was able to embrace people of any cultural background. After his own conversion, Paul passionately espoused his message from the Palestinian world through Asia Minor and southern Europe to Rome, the heart of the empire. Some of his letters by Paul to fledgling churches throughout the Roman Empire are contained in the New Testament and outline Paul 's theology. He insisted that Gentiles had as much access to the faith as Jews and that freedom from the Law set everyone free. It was this teaching which was essential for the development and success of the early church which would otherwise have remained another Jewish sect.

Paul was the most effective missionary of the early church. A missionary is a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country. The Damascus road experience was both a conversion and a call to advance the life of the new movement. Paul preached the gospel of Christ, beginning at Jerusalem and continuing his journey to Rome. He preached is local synagogues, city markets, outdoor arenas, private homes and public halls.

Paul was born with the name of Saul, in Tarsus of Cilicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He was born both a

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.

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 whose name was Saul was an early Christian missionary and theologian, known as the Apostle to the Gentiles was born a Jew in Tarsus, Rome. As a minor, he was trained as a rabbi but earned his living as a tentmaker. A zealous Pharisee, he persecuted the first Christians until a vision of Jesus, experienced while on the road to Damascus, converted him to Christianity. Three years later he met St. Peter and Jesus ' brother James and was henceforth recognized as the 13th Apostle. From his base in Antioch, he traveled widely, preaching to the Gentiles. By asserting that non-Jewish disciples of Christ did not have to observe Jewish law, he helped to establish

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.

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.

Apostle Paul was not always a preacher of Christianity, Paul’s parents were Jewish as well as Roman citizens. Paul was to be a Rabbi though his future plans changed, on Paul’s journey of scorning Jesus, he had a vision in which Jesus asked why Paul scorns him, then commissions Paul to preach his message to the Gentiles who received mercy through Jewish unbelief. Around A.D. 56-58; Apostle Paul wrote the Romans, verses 8:26-30 states, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

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

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).

An examination of the Pauline epistles should begin with an examination of the author. Saul of Tarsus was a Jewish official a Pharisee. Saul was a persecutor of Christians and an eyewitness to the stoning of Steven. “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.” (Acts 7.58 King James Version) He had a vision on the road to Damascus and was blinded. God sent Ananias to heal Saul of his affliction. God also sent Paul a vision of Ananias to let him know that he would be healed. Paul did not learn the Gospel from other men. He received his knowledge directly from Jesus.