We have been considering Paul’s legacy, especially the legacy he left us through the letters/books he wrote. He wrote one other book, the book of Romans. We will spend the rest of this year studying this most important book. 

 

Before we get to that, there is one final part of doing a biographical study. You start by collecting all the information you can find in the Bible referring to the person to be studied. Then you work at correlating it into an outline, either in the form of an historical sketch or a character portrait. When you’ve done that, you need to crystallize what you’ve learned from the person you studied into some practical applications. 

 

It is clear Paul lived his life with a two pronged passion. First and foremost he wanted to know his Savior and Lord more intimately. Listen to how he described it in Philippians 3:10-11, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” When he wrote this he already had walked with the Lord for years. He had introduced his Lord to many throughout his journeys. He for sure wasn’t the same man he used to be, but he wanted to become more like Christ. 

 

He went on to share in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” 

 

That is something I take from this study and pray that God will give me the same passionate desire Paul had to know Christ more intimately and fully.