St. Paul by the Rev’d Stuart Ansell

Much of St. Paul's theology is based on the concept of justification by faith, or being made right with God because of belief in and following Jesus Christ. Paul has no time for "the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16, 3:2, 5, 10). By this he seems to mean those aspects of the law, such as circumcision, observance of special days, and the food laws, which separated Jew from Gentile. Paul is at pains to make religion inclusive and to break down the barriers which exclude those who are not Jews. 
Paul was a deeply religious person. He was a strict Pharisee and a contemporary of Jesus, although he never met Jesus in the flesh. He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, a tribe with a high social standing. He was named Saul and he studied under Rabbi Gamaliel, a guru of his day. Unlike Jesus who was a countryman and who therefore uses images from the countryside and farming, Saul was a city dweller and so the images he tends to use are those of the army, the race course, the ringside and the market, all of which would be familiar to urban people. Prior to his conversion Saul was a Rabbi, and like all Rabbis pursued a manual trade, in his case that of a tent maker. But Saul was also a Roman citizen, and used his Roman name of "Paul" after his conversion. 
It was his deeply felt religious beliefs and his life dedicated to God in the only way he knew, that caused Paul to persecute the new Jesus movement, a growing sect of Judaism. As a Jew, Paul knew that anyone who was executed by crucifixion was under God's curse (Deuteronomy 21:23), so for Paul, Jesus couldn't possibly be the promised Messiah. Therefore Jesus could only be a sham, a dangerous blasphemer who was drawing people away from the true path. 
But then came the journey to Damascus, when in a very powerful moment literally out of the blue, Paul "met" Jesus for himself. Paul instantly recognised the blinding light and the voice which spoke to him as an epiphany, a meeting with God, and asked God to identify himself. The response, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," plunged all Paul's preconceived ideas into utter confusion. His zeal for God had blinded him to God's desires and designs for the world, and for a few days after his conversion experience, Paul was indeed blind, reflecting his previous state and probably too, a symptom of the inner turmoil he was now experiencing. 
It's unlikely that Paul himself would see this amazing experience on the road to Damascus as a conversion. He was much more likely to view it as a calling, a change in the way in which he viewed and worshipped and responded to God. The biggest change was the change from the exclusivity of Judaism as the only people chosen by God, to the inclusiveness which brought Gentiles too into that special relationship with God, and Paul saw clearly after his Damascus Road experience that this change was brought about through Jesus Christ. 
After his experience, Paul had to revise his understanding of the Jewish law. Although he continued to live his life according to the spirit of the Torah, he began to see that applying the strict letter of every minute detail of the law actually worked against God rather than towards him. 
One huge obstacle for him was the fact that Jesus had died on a cross, and therefore according to the Law, under God's curse. Paul had to revise his ideas about the cross and he began to see the cross as divinely inspired, rather than as a divine curse. 
The other big problem was the need for circumcision. Circumcision was an unquestioned fact of life for all Jewish males, for it was the sign and seal of the covenant between God and his chosen people. Anyone uncircumcised would be outside that very special covenant relationship and therefore outside the presence and love and guidance of God. Around ten years after his conversion, Paul embarked upon three missionary journeys, probably between AD 47 and AD 58. When Paul wanted to open up the Jesus movement to include Gentiles, it never occurred to the Jews that Gentiles might not wish to submit to circumcision. For all Jews, circumcision was essential. There could be no covenant with God without circumcision. 
When Paul insisted that Gentiles should be allowed to embrace the Jesus movement without submitting to circumcision, he caused massive scandal to Judaism and the first major rift between the new sect and the old Judaism. There was a huge row between some of the apostles in Jerusalem led by James the brother of Jesus, and supported by Peter, even though Peter was in favour of admitting Gentiles to the ranks. 
As Paul works out his theology he realises that the law itself cannot put people into the right relationship with God (Galatians 2:16). In fact it can do the opposite, because by convicting people of sin, the law can actually condemn and imprison them (Romans 7:8-11). Therefore, says Paul, the law was only intended to be temporary. It was a teacher designed by God to guide his people until Christ came (Galatians 3:23-25). But Christ came to free people and to make all people the heirs of God's promise of blessing which was given to Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29). To insist that Gentiles should be subject to all aspects of the law was a retrograde step, taking them away from the freedom given by Christ back into the imprisonment of the law (Galatians 4:1-5:1). 
As we all know, thankfully Paul eventually won the day, although the cost was the split between Christianity and Judaism. 
Paul's experience on the road to Damascus was a wonderful, spiritual experience, but it was also a huge challenge. Paul found he had to reassess previously unquestioned assumptions, and then stand alone against the might of the apostles who had actually been with Jesus and who were the acknowledged leaders of the Church in Jerusalem, God's holy city. Paul's experience also brought him into conflict with the secular authorities and he suffered horrific punishments because of his teaching and preaching. His life changed on the Damascus road, but it didn't become any easier, quite the reverse. 
God has continued to challenge his people throughout the ages since, and continues to challenge us today. Christianity isn't a comfort stop along life's way, but is a challenge requiring from us in response, more than we have to give. Paul could never have achieved his great theological insights and could never have endured his terrible life, without the support and the inspiration and the strength given to him by God through the Holy Spirit. 
Will you take on God's challenge? Are you willing to give up your ease and your comfort in order to respond to God? Will you, like St Paul, allow Jesus to enter your life so utterly that you're prepared to risk anything for him? If you are, like St Paul, you too will experience untold richness and depth of life and a wonderful relationship with Jesus.