How deeply was Paul immersed in Judaism before his conversion?
Before conversion, Saul of Tarsus was thoroughly saturated with Judaism: he was a Jew of Jews, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, and educated at the feet of the greatest rabbi of that time. He was more religious than many of his peers, so deeply immersed that it took years for Judaism to be removed from his system.
Les teaches that Saul of Tarsus had been a Jew of Jews, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, educated at the feet of the greatest rabbi of that time. He was saturated with Judaism and more religious than many of his peers, yet he was human. Les illustrates that when something has been drummed into a person for years, it takes the power of God to cleanse it. He notes the stark difference between Judaism’s rules, regulations, and law-keeping, and Phariseeism, versus stepping into God’s grace and receiving everything freely without lifting a finger—which flies in the face of human thinking. Salvation begins when a person admits there is nothing they can do but believes God has done it all, including dying for them and rising from the dead. Then God expects believers to move out and live a life of service, not simply rest in saving grace and do nothing.