Paul's Conversion to Christ

A Look at the Profile of the Author of the Book of Romans - Part 2

Jan 26, 2010
Edwin Vargas

Statue of Apostle Paul (Saint Petersburg, Russia) - Wikimedia Commons User LoKi

Paul, the author of the book of Romans, was a zealous persecutor of early Christians who was later converted to Christ, after which he became one of His apostles.

“Thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers…zealous for God” (Acts 22:3)

Prior to his conversion to Christ, Paul was a zealous follower of Judaism and a member of the “strictest sect” of the Pharisees (Acts 26:5).

While disagreements exists among scholars on many points pertaining to 1st century Pharisaism, several things are relatively clear. As noted by New Testament scholars D. A. Carson, Douglas Moo and Leon Morris, the Pharisees paid a great deal of attention to the “oral law,” “the traditions of the elders” (Mark 7:3), a body of regulations designed to interpret and supplement the written law of Moses. They had a number of fundamental disagreements with the Sadducees, most likely due to their openness to accept doctrines not clearly stated in the Pentateuch (e.g., immortality of the soul, bodily resurrection). They also exercised great influence over the common people, who respected their zeal for their beliefs.

Paul as a Pharisee was trained under Gamaliel, a distinguished doctor of the Jewish law, first of only seven rabbis to be given the title Rabban. His being a disciple of Gamaliel gave Paul a privileged place among the elite classes of his days in the rabbinical school. It may have been for this reason that he was able to claim that he was “advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of [his] own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of [his] fathers” (Gal. 1:14).

By his own admission, Paul’s zeal for Judaism led him to persecute the early Christian movement (Acts 22:4a; 26:9-11; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6). He was responsible for the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 7:58; 8:1), as he was also at the very front line in the persecution of the early Christian believers (Acts 8:3; 9:1-2).

“As I came near Damascus” (Acts 22:6)

Paul who was an extremely zealous persecutor of Christians became probably the foremost preacher of the gospel of Christ. This came into place shortly after his Damascus road experience, the turning point in the apostle's life described once by Luke (Acts 9:3-6), twice by Paul himself in his speeches (Acts 22:6-11; 26:12-15) and once in his epistles (Gal. 1:15-16).

Paul’s conversion to Christ was a sudden and dramatic experience. There was no preparatory period involved, no pre-conversion crisis or psychological struggle whatsoever. This dramatic event and its implications also played a basic role in the formation of much of his theology (cf. Phil 3:3-11).

Furthermore, his conversion also involved his call to apostolic ministry (Acts 9:15). Paul himself spoke and wrote about it as closely connected to his Damascus road experience (Acts 22:15; 26:15-18; Gal. 1:16). It must be noted that while in this call ministry to Jews is certainly included (Acts 9:15), Paul himself often emphasized that his call was most particularly focused on his apostolic ministry to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:16; 1 Thes. 2:4; Rom. 1:1, 5; 15:15-16).

Having gone through a short survey of the apostle's profile, the student of the Bible should then be able to trace in the pages of the book of Romans the imprint of its human author's background - his place of birth, his upbringing, his education, his experience in life, his theology, among others. This approach comes into line with historic evangelical theology that affirms that the nature of the Bible's divine inspiration takes into account the distinctive personalities and literary styles of its human authors whom God had chosen and prepared. This, indeed, is an important undertaking if one is to correctly understand this book and interpret it more accurately, a hermeneutical principle that applies to all the other books of the Bible.

References:

Carson, D. A., Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris (eds.). An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,1992.
Douglas, J. D., rev. ed., and Merrill C. Tenney, gen. ed., New International Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan Corporation, 1987.
"The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy" in J. I. Packer, God Has Spoken. London, UK: Hodder & Stoughton, 2005 Edition