Saul is called “Paul” for the first time in Acts 13:9. You will remember that when the apostles chose a replacement for Judas, they required that this person must have seen the risen Lord (Acts 1:21-22). After his conversion, Saul's name was changed to Paul, and he spent the rest of his life serving Jesus and teaching people about him. It’s quite a common misconception that his name was changed following his conversion. Paul had sat under the teaching of Gamaliel, “a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34 ESV). Before his conversion, Paul was a dedicated adherent to the Jewish faith. Saul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus was his encounter with the risen Lord: On the way to Damascus an amazing thing happens to Saul, beginning with a blinding light. He became a missionary to people all over the world. They were again in trouble. A missionary is a person who is sent by a church to teach about Christ. Through experiencing Saul's dramatic life change, the kids return home with a renewed hope that amazing change is always possible with God. CBN’s Superbook team is made up of Emmy-winning artists and storytellers, whose credits include Mulan, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. All were acquainted with Saul's opposition to Jesus and his zeal in hunting out and delivering up to death all who believed on His name; and his miraculous conversion convinced many that Jesus was the Son of God. He actually had two names: Saul, his Semitic name, and Paul, his Greco-Roman name. He went about “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1). Firstly, this is the man who would become known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, the man who would do more than perhaps anyone else to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide, and to fight heterodoxy and other problems that would arise in the churches he established. This painting took Michelangelo in a new direction with a more mannerist approach, … Conversion of Saul is a fresco sometimes referred to as Conversion of St Paul. He truly believed in the truth of the Old Testament and, most probably, was anxiously awaiting the Jewish Messiah. Answer: One of the often-thought-of “name changes” in the Bible is that of Saul to Paul.The change is commonly linked to Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road, when the Lord Jesus commissioned him to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1–19).However, at the time of Saul’s conversion, Jesus still addressed him as “Saul.” But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews. Impact of his conversion. Question: "When and why was Saul’s name changed to Paul?" (4) Saul’s conversion is the basis of his apostleship. The Conversion of Saul Mike Aquilina. Saul of Tarsus takes the lead in hunting for Jesus’ followers. 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