Paul's life in the Acts vs the Letter - Essay Example

Pauls Life in the Acts Vs the Letter The life of Paul as portrayed by Luke in Acts and in his epistles can be harmonized especially, in regard to his earlier life and faith. For instance, in the book of Acts 22.3, Luke examines the pre-Christian Paul and notes first that he was raised in Jerusalem and educated as a Gamaliel’s pupil. However, in his letters Paul does not mention this critical biographical information concerning himself. Secondly, Luke portrays the pre-Christian Paul in the Acts as a prosecutor of the Church something, which is generally accepted as evidenced before his call on his way to Jerusalem to persecute Christians; the followers of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, just like Luke, all through his ministry, Paul never mentioned his pre-Christian life in his epistles and how he persecuted Christians. Moreover, Luke in the Acts portrays Paul as a staunch believer of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts 27, Paul never controlled the storm or the future. However, amidst the impending disaster he appeared the most competent and sober human because he believed in God and had faith that God will deliver him and the others to Rome safely. Therefore, through his God given capability mastering the social environment while still on aboard of the ship makes him stand out as source of hope to the others.

These attributes of Paul are depicted all through his letters and teachings. He was strong believer of Jesus Christ; preaching the word of God to the people by encouraging them to have hope and faith in Jesus Christ (Bruce, 1888).Ultimately, in the book of Acts the life of Paul was characterized by threats and arrests from the Romans. However, Luke portrays Paul in the Acts as the light who enjoyed certain benefits while under arrest. For instance, unlike his detention in Caesarea and Jerusalem, he stayed in personal lodgings as indicated in verses 16, 23 and 30 of Acts chapter 28 (Bruce, 1888).

Moreover, this can be harmonized to his detention in Rome while writing the epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon. Therefore, from the aforementioned it is evident that it is possible to harmonize Luke’s Acts to Paul’s epistles in the New Statement.Works CitedBruce, Frederick Fyvie. The book of the Acts. Vol. 5. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1988.