When they heard this, they praised God. But then they said to Paul, “Brother, you see that thousands of Jews have become believers. All of them try very hard to obey the law.
As for being strict about the law, I’m a Pharisee. As for zeal, I opposed and attacked the church. As far as keeping the law is concerned, I kept it perfectly.
I had studied Judaism in depth, more so than most Jews my age. That was because I was so devoted to the teachings passed down from those who’d lived before us.
The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. He is the image of God.
God said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” And he made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light we needed to know God’s glory, which is shown in the face of Christ.
“I’m a Jew. I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but I grew up here in Jerusalem. I studied with Gamaliel, who trained me well in the law that was given to our people long ago. I wanted to honor God as much as any of you do.
shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who goes to everyone everywhere and teaches against our people, our law, and this holy place. He has even brought Greeks into this temple and made our holy place unclean.”