by David Pitts

Created on: January 13, 2009

Saul of Tarsus became the great apostle, Paul, one of the main characters in the book of Acts and the author of many powerful New Testament letters. His life was largely spent establishing the gospel-based Christian faith in dozens of countries and provinces during the first century. The life of Paul demonstrates vividly how Jesus can take a life and change it.

His Background and Youth. He was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, a city known for its wealth and for its great schools which are said to have rivaled Athens and Alexandria. Tarsus had a strong Greek culture but also a large Jewish community. Saul was raised in a strong Jewish environment. His family was pious, and his father was a Pharisee, one of the keepers of Jewish law and tradition. Saul became a Pharisee. Saul was from the Jewish tribe of Benjamin. He was born as a Roman Citizen, so his family must have had some status. Growing up, he was taught the tentmaker trade that he often used to support himself. He was sent to Jerusalem as a youngster to study with Gamaliel, a prominent Jewish Pharisee teacher. All these facts about his childhood, background, and youth are recorded in the book of Acts and some of his letters. They set the stage for the phases of his great life for the church.

His Role in the Early Church. The first account of Saul in Acts is his role in holding the garments for those who stoned Steven, one of the first Christian leaders. Saul consented to his death. In fact, he became an aggressive anti-Christian zealot, seeking out the followers of Christ wherever he could. He sincerely believed they were a threat to his Pharisee-based Jewish faith.

His Conversion to Christianity. While Saul was traveling to Damascus to apprehend Christians there, he was blinded by a bright light and heard the voice of Jesus. Saul recognized the power, and followed the instructions to go into town and wait until he was told what to do. He must have been afraid he would be killed, because he realized he had been persecuting the followers of the true Messiah. He was haunted by that guilt the rest of his life. He referred to himself once as the "chief of sinners". A man named Ananias took him and baptized him, and his blindness was healed in Damascus.

After His Conversion. He preached to the Jews, spent time in Arabia, returned to Damascus, and finally spent considerable time back in Tarsus. During these years, he had revelations from God that helped prepare him for his main work, the missionary journeys.

Missionary

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