Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free

Ever wonder what Paul was really like and what he had to go through? This is a wonderful book that fills in almost all of my blank spaces. Very personal and heart wrenching. Very highly recommended!

Bruce's book provides fantastic coverage of the Apostle's Paul's life and thought. He discusses Paul's Jewish background in Tarsus, his zealous Pharasaism, his conversion from unbelief to Christ, and his missionary journeys and theology. Bruce is a reliable guide as he takes you through the narratives in Acts and the supplementary material in the epistles. He is open to all of the Pauline corpus being authentic writings of Paul, and even if someone else had a hand with Ephesians, (Bruce is not convinced), then that someone else did a great job representing Pauline thought.I especially enjoyed the discussions of the Corinthian correspondence (Paul's teaching about marriage in 1 Corinthians 7 in particular, I found it to be very pastoral and sensible) and the proposition that the Onesimus in Philemon went on to become bishop of Ephesus years later.Bruce believes that the heart of Pauline teaching is that true religion is not a matter of rules and regulations, that Christ makes us all one in Him, that people matter more than things, principles, and causes (not sure about this one, I would want to qualify it), and that unfair discrimination against others is an offense to God. I think the first two points are the strongest.One of the most INTERESTING books on Paul I have ever read. Bruce is like an investigative reporter, digging into the New Testament documents and historical sources to present the clearest picture of Paul. Highly recommended.

I have read many commentaries, but this one reads differently because Bruce is trained as an academician and not as a theologian. Love the way he integrates all the aspects of the life of Paul - journeys, letters, etc. along with history, geography, and culture in one chronological treatment.

I chose the book on Paul due to a deep fascination on his life and who he was. Once I began reading it, I did find that there were chapters in the book that were especially insightful, but the depth to which the author chose to go was at times like reading Tom Clancy in non-fiction. There were pages and pages of discussion on theories about seemingly trivial issues about Paul that I wondered why the author chose to explore them. At times, it was difficult to read. Overall, though, I am quite happy that I read the book and feel I have a much richer perspective on the New Testament and, more importantly to me, more familiarity with the Apostle Paul.

The book came quickly and was in excellent condition. FF Bruce's Paul is a classic. I have more "modern" books on Paul, but for a good overall for history of the period, Paul's own life and his travels, start by reading this book. I learned many little points that I should have been introduced to in the more modern books, but was not. Start with this book on Paul and then read the others.

Bruce does it again, he's a worthy ready on whatever topic. Every bible teacher/preacher should have this in his library

Everything you would want out of a study of this nature. Bruce’s work on the life of Paul is in-depth and a creative way to work through the life of the apostle. I admit at first I wondered how a book bigger than my Bible was going to go through half of half of the Bible. I anticipated fluff but Bruce leaves none. It seems like a novel where the city and monographs are characters themselves.

Inspiring, thoughtful and scholarly. F.F. Bruce leads the reader down paths the Apostle trod. His magnificent historical perspective is most arguably thorough yet readable, insightful and engaging. Ample documentation is provided in original language footnotes of the Greek and Semitic sources from which we read our modern Bibles as emphasis and for further clarification. Print type clear !6 B/W plate illustrations. I am enjoying F.F. Bruce's plain non complicated expressions helping to augment a deeper understanding & bio of the Apostle Paul. Very well written , well worth the purchase.

Great in-depth research on this great apostle. Enjoying every page.

It is a beautiful book on the life of Paul the Apostle. I am using it to help prepare a study.

This is not an easy reading book, it demands perseverance, but if you would like to deepen your knowledge and understanding of the apostle Paul and how is faith in God impacted his life, it will be very helpful.

Well researched and true