Learning from Paul It was only when Saul had a correct view of Christ that he could have a correct view of other people. His conversion reminds us that it is impossible to have a right view of man when we have a wrong view of Christ. Saul’s conversion was so radical that his name was changed from Saul to Paul. Because of his Damascus Road experience, Paul became a champion of equal rights for all people, especially Gentiles, who he had formerly hated. Overnight, he changed from being a Gentile hater to a Gentile lover. Why? Because “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” And for Paul, that “anyone” included everyone! It was that spiritual transformation that turned the Roman world of institutionalized racism for a privileged few upside down. It also brought down the dividing wall of hostility erected by the Jews
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