Paul had prided himself upon his Pharisaical strictness; but after the revelation of Christ to him on the road to Damascus, the mission of the Saviour, and his own work in the conversion of the Gentiles, were plain to his mind; and he fully comprehended the difference between a living faith and a dead formalism. Paul still claimed to be one of the children of Abraham, and kept the ten commandments in letter and in spirit as faithfully as he had ever done before his conversion to Christianity. But he knew that the typical ceremonies must soon altogether cease, since that which they had shadowed forth had come to pass, and the light of the gospel was shedding its glory upon the Jewish religion, giving a new significance to its ancient rites.{LP 65.1}

Paulus havde selv pralet af sin farisæiske nøjagtighed; men efter Kristi åbenbaring for ham på vejen til Damaskus, blev Frelserens mission, og hans eget arbejde med at omvende hedningene gjort tydelige for ham, og han forstod forskellen mellem en levende tro og død formalisme til fulde. Paulus hævde stadig at være en af Abrahams børn, og holdt de ti bud i bogstav og i ånd, ligeså nøjagtigt som han altid havde gjort før sin omvendelse til kristendommen. Men han vidste at de forbilledlige ceremonier snart måtte ophøre, da det som de havde afskygget var sket, og evangeliets lys havde spredt sin herlighed over den jødiske religion, givet sin gamle ritualer en ny betydning.