Paul’s “Past Life” | Daily Sabbath School Lesson Study 6 | Quarter 1 2026 скачать в хорошем качестве

Paul’s “Past Life” | Daily Sabbath School Lesson Study 6 | Quarter 1 2026

   / @whisperinghope2u   Elder Vaughn Joseph, Elder Edson Joseph, Janela Evanson It is a common experience for Christian converts to think of their lives in terms of before they accepted Jesus and after, just as Paul does in Philippians 3. Nevertheless, rightly or wrongly, we sometimes speak of those who are not Christians as being “good people,” and, at least according to the world’s standards, many indeed are. In contrast, compared to God’s standards, no one is, not even Christians. Paul makes an implicit contrast between believing Jews who are spreading false doctrine and uncircumcised believers who rely fully on Christ for their salvation and put no confidence in mere human works such as circumcision (see Heb. 6:1, Heb. 9:14; compare Rom. 2:25–29). Even though Paul’s past life and pedigree would have been quite impressive to his fellow Jews, none of these things contributed to his salvation. In fact, they actually hindered it because they blinded him for a while to his need of Christ. Paul was not just circumcised—he was an “eighth day-er,” meaning he, an Israelite by birth and belonging to the people of the covenant, was circumcised on the eighth day. Furthermore, he was from the tribe of Benjamin, whose territory included some of the most important cities of Israel. Paul not only knew Hebrew but, as a student of Gamaliel the Elder (Acts 22:3, Acts 26:4, 5) and a Pharisee, he would have been steeped in knowledge of the law and how it was, at least according to tradition, to be applied. Paul was so zealous for the law that he persecuted the church because of its perceived threat to the Jewish way of life, which he thought the law prescribed. Interestingly, though “blameless” in terms of that human-originated “righteousness,” Paul realized the law was actually far deeper and more demanding than he could imagine, and that without Christ he stood before it condemned. Please note no copyright infringement is intended; and we do not own or claim to own any of the original recordings in this Video. Feel Free to email me: whisperinghope8@gmail.com You can WhatsApp: 1-268-464 7508