Expert: Brenda Martin - 11/21/2005

Question
What are Paul's theologies? Are they related to his letters?

Answer
Hi there you asked--"WHAT ARE PAUL'S THEOLOGIES? ARE THEY RELATED TO HIS LETTERS?"

1. Paul valued and studied the inspired Hebrew Scriptures, repeatedly quoting from, alluding to, and applying them. (2 Cor. 6:2, 16-18; 7:1; 8:15; 9:9; 13:1; Isa. 49:8; Lev. 26:12; Isa. 52:11; Ezek. 20:41; 2 Sam. 7:14; Hos. 1:10)

2. Paul taught that Jesus is the central figure in his Father's purposes.—2 Corinthians 1:20; Colossians 2:2, 3.

3. Paul identifies Satan the Devil as “the god of this system of things.” (2 Cor. 4:4) He warns us that “the things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to God.” (1 Cor. 10:20)

4. He taught; not all religions are acceptable to God- Rom. 10:2, 3  (People may have God's written Word but lack accurate knowledge of what it contains, because they have not been taught properly. They may feel that they are zealous for God, but they may not be doing what he requires.)

2 Cor. 11:14, 15:  (Here we are cautioned that not everything that originates with Satan may appear hideous. One of his chief methods of deceiving mankind has been false religion of all kinds, to some of which he gives a righteous appearance.)

To Timothy he wrote-2 Tim. 3:2, 5: (Regardless of their outward professions of love for God, if those with whom you worship do not sincerely apply his Word in their own lives, the Bible urges you to break off such association.)

5. He also taught; True Christians should not embrace in religious brotherhood with those who themselves practice what God condemns or who condone such practices -- (1 Cor. 5:11; 6:9, 10)

2 Cor. 6:14-17: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God's temple have with idols? . . . ‘“Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,and quit touching the unclean thing”'; ‘“and I will take you in.”

6. Paul taught; belonging to an organized religion is necessary-- Heb. 10:24, 25:  (To carry out this Scriptural command, there must be Christian meetings that we can attend on a consistent basis. Such an arrangement encourages us to express love toward others, not only concern about self.)

1 Cor. 1:10: -(Such unity would never be achieved if the individuals did not meet together, benefit from the same spiritual feeding program, and respect the agency through which such instruction was provided.)

7. Being a Christian involves more than simply being kind to our neighbor. The importance of that is emphasized repeatedly in the Bible. (Gal. 6:10; 1 Pet. 4:8; 1 John 3:14, 16, 17)

8. (2 Tim. 3:16) Paul believed and taught that the entire bible is inspired of God.

9. Members of True Christianity will reflect the fruits of God's spirit in their lives. (Gal. 5:22, 23)

10. Members will be active witnesses concerning God's Kingdom, as he was--Matt. 10:7, 11-13;  (Acts 5:42; 20:20).

11. To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was unknown; . . . they say nothing about it. (The New Encyclopædia Britannica)

12. The hope for the literal dead is the resurrection and the opportunity then to hear the good news and to be judged.—Matt. 8:22; Eph. 2:1. Paul tells us that even in his day Christ was the only one other than God who had immortality. (1 Tim. 6:16) Therefore all men could not be possessors of “immortal souls” by reason of their human nature. —Rom. 2:7.

13. God wants us to study the scriptures to gain “accurate knowledge” . (1 Timothy 2:3, 4) accurate Bible knowledge is essential. The apostle Paul told the Christians in the ancient city of Philippi: “This is what I continue praying, that your love may abound yet more and more with accurate knowledge and full discernment.” (Philippians 1:9) Paul here relates love for God and for fellow believers to accurate knowledge of God and discernment of what his will is.

Summing up; Paul believed and taught exactly what Jesus had taught when on earth, and that was—

The religion that is correct is the one that is based completely in scripture, He taught that God has a name and used it daily, true faith must be accompanied by works. True religion upholds the Bible's standard of morality and clean speech instead of weakly going along with popular trends.

Its members truly love one another; such love reaches across racial, social, and national boundaries, drawing people together in genuine brotherhood. So strong is this love that it sets them apart as being truly different. When the nations go to war true Christians refuse to take up arms and kill them. That is what early Christians did.

It was the apostle Paul's privilege to write more books, or letters, of the Christian Greek Scriptures than anyone else (14 letters being attributed to him). He was given supernatural visions (2Co 12:1-5) and, by means of the holy spirit, was enabled to speak numerous foreign tongues.—1Co 14:18.

All the best
Brenda