what did st paul do by contributing to the church-?

Answer 1

In short, he spread the message of Jesus to non-Jews throughout the eastern Mediterranean and transformed Christianity from being merely a small sect within Judaism to a philosophy and a relition all its own.

Answer 2

He is known as "The Apostle to the Gentiles". So before Paul came on the scene, practically all of the followers of Jesus were Jewish.

Answer 3

Theological teachings
Paul had several major impacts on the nature of Christian doctrine. Areas of contribution include theology of faith, justification, salvation, the relationship between Christians and the Mosaic Law, Christology, original sin, pnuematology, eschatology, the nature of the afterlife, and the role of the Jewish Scriptures in Christianity.

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Faith and Justification
Paul addressed the centrality of faith within the life of Jesus, and the ability to attain righteousness through such (Rom 3:22; Gal 3:22; etc.). Paul articulated his concept of faith in his theological treatments of Abraham (see Paul's letter to the Galatians), righteousness, and the forgiveness of sins. Closely related to his teachings on the resurrection and eternal life, Paul's theological insights on faith and justification have been the subject of many interpretations, leading to the modern debate between justification by faith alone vs. justification by faith and works. Most Protestant denominations assert that Paul's teachings constitute a definitive statement that salvation comes only by faith and not by any external action of the believer. Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology disputes this, asserting that passages cited in Paul are being misinterpreted (as stated in 2 Pet 3:16), and that this interpretation is directly contradicted in the Epistle of James: "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:24 KJV).

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Salvation and Adherence to Mosaic Law
The question of the necessity of adherence to the Mosaic Law for salvation was addressed in the Early Church at the Council of Jerusalem (see above). Paul's writings express the doctrine that salvation is not achieved by conforming to the Mosaic Law, but through faith in (or the faith of) Jesus. Paul was a major proponent of accepting gentile converts to Christianity without requiring the customary legal Jewish requirements of circumcision and practice of dietary restrictions. Peter's concurrence with Paul's position (see above and the Council of Jerusalem), and the subsequent impact on Christianity, has been the subject of much investigation.

The extent to which Paul contributed to the development, or perhaps (as some have argued) even the invention of this idea is the subject of academic debate. There are examples of early groups that did retain the Mosaic Law. Jerome noted the existence in the 4th century of a Christian sect in Syria called the Ebionites who still observed the Mosaic Law. The Ethiopian Orthodox, who claim to be the only church free of Marcionism, still observe some Mosaic Laws.[7] The Apostolic Constitutions, generally dated around the 3rd century, claiming to be from the Council of Jerusalem, are pro-Mosaic Law (see Acts 2.36; 6.19; 7.23). Unfortunately, one of the earliest Christian texts, the Didache, is silent on this matter.

Some scholars, such as Bertrand Russell, hold that Paul held a dissenting view from James and Peter, and see his teachings as revolutionary for Christianity:

Christianity, at first, was preached by Jews to Jews, as a reformed Judaism. Saint James, and to a lesser extant Saint Peter, wished it to remain no more than this, and they might have prevailed but for Saint Paul, who was determined to admit gentiles without demanding circumcision or submission to the Mosaic Law. [8]

Whatever the case, the admitting of the uncircumcised into Christianity conflicts with the ancient Israelite religion. Circumcision was seen as a divine mark dating back to the promises made to Abraham. Circumcision was such an important aspect of life that when King Saul (Saul the King) was struck by a Philistine archer in battle, he thrust himself on a sword, "So that these uncircumcised brutes may not come and taunt me and make sport of me." (Samuel 31:4). Exodus records that God would have killed Moses "but Zipporah [his wife] picked up a sharp flint, cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' genitals with it, saying, "You are my blood-bridegroom". (Exodus 4:24-25)

The matter of adherence to the Mosaic Law involves the relationship between the crucifixion of Jesus, forgiveness, and salvation. Whether or not the adherence to the Mosaic Law is seen as a rejection of the salvatory quality of the Passion is likewise of central consideration. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians he alluded to the possibility of eternal life, and described the merits of Jesus' Passion, death, and resurrection as superseding the value of the Mosaic Law — a belief often colloquially expressed as "Jesus died for our sins" (as the spotless "Lamb of God" referred to by John the Baptist and John the Apostle). Evidence suggesting that Paul's concept of salvation coming from the death of Jesus was common among early Christians includes Philippians 2:5–11, a passage long identified as an early Christian hymn, which expounds a view in harmony with Paul's.

The extent to which Paul himself followed the Mosaic Law is also a matter of debate. The Acts of the Apostles records Paul as accepting a subset (see Noahide Laws) of the Law for new Gentile converts (Acts15); in Acts 16 he personally circumcises Timothy, a Greek, even though his father was Greek, because his mother was of Jewish. In Acts 21 James challenges Paul about the rumor that he is teaching rebellion against the Law. Paul goes to Herod's Temple with four Nazarite pledges to show that he is not; however, when some people from Asia Minor (Paul's home area) see him, it starts a major riot. The assumption that Paul was anti-Law (indeed that even Jesus was anti-Law) found its largest proponent in Marcion and Marcionism.

One teaching that Paul clearly did not originate, but did become the chief advocate for, was the conversion of non-Jews, specifically those not circumcised, to Christianity (for example, see Isa 56:6–8; Acts 10; proselyte). While a number of passages in the Gospels acknowledge that Gentiles might enjoy the benefits of Jesus, Paul claims to be "The Apostle to the Gentiles" — a title that can be traced to Galatians 2:8. His missionary work amongst Gentiles helped to raise Christianity beyond its initial reputation as a dissident (if not heretical) Jewish sect (see Jewish Christians), at least with the populace, if not the Roman Imperial party (see Constantine the Great).

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Original Sin
In the New Testament, the doctrine of original sin is most clearly expressed by Paul's writings, and was subsequently elaborated on by various Christian theologians, most notably Augustine of Hippo. (see Original Sin).

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Christology and Pnuematology
Paul also articulated his belief in the doctrine of Christ's divine nature. Likewise, Paul manifests a strong doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Much of the Epistle to the Romans, and particularly the ending to Second Corinthians, portrays the Spirit in equality with God the Father and the Son. These references would later find expression in the doctrine of the Trinity. Paul's notion that the Holy Spirit dwells within all believers at the time of their conversion is integral to his soteriology, ecclesiology, missiology, and eschatology. Paul explained in his letter to the Galatians that they received the Holy Spirit because of the promises of God to Abraham (Gal 4:4-7). The apostle Paul testified to the Galatians, "If you be Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:29).

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Eschatology
There is evidence that Paul, not unlike many early Christians, believed there would be an imminent apocalypse or eschaton. In this final judgement God would deliver the world from evil (see, for example, 1 Thessalonians). Some have argued that this apocalyptic view caused Paul to view marriage as chiefly a means of preventing fornication; and this view therefore deemphasizes the role of procreation in marriage. (see: 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

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Nature of the Afterlife
Paul’s teachings also have their own paradox in relationship to ancient Israel's concept of the afterlife. The Old Testament relays the idea that the Israelites forsook God and must now wait for the promises of Abraham to be fulfilled. These unconditional promises entailed multitudinous progeny, nationhood, royal leaders, and land possession. The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) ends waiting for Judah to be restored via a new monarch, possibly from the line of David. Paul's teachings contrast with the Hebrew Bible because of his belief that Jesus died for man's sins, and Jesus' commands to love God and to love one another, the end of which would be a paradise like afterlife. This view of afterlife differs from that of the ancient Israelite's religion, and its articulation of Sheol or a state of nothingness. Dr. James Tabor wrote, Sheol is a place where:

"The dead are abandoned forever. This idea of Sheol is negative in contrast to the world of life and light above, but there is no idea of judgment or of reward and punishment. If one faces extreme circumstances of suffering in the realm of the living above, as did Job, it can even be seen as a welcome relief from pain–see the third chapter of Job. But basically it is a kind of "nothingness," an existence that is barely existence at all, in which a "shadow" or "shade" of the former self survives (Ps. 88:10). " [9] The idea of Sheol, prevalent throughout the Torah and Hebrew bible, and its subsequent interpretation developed into one of causes for Judaism's rejection of Jesus as a prophet.
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Jewish Scriptures in Christianity
Christianity to Paul was revealed through Jesus' ministry but shaped and largely defined by the Hebrew Bible.[10] The ancient God of Israel (Yahweh) is held by Paul to be the same God that he praises. Paul's view of God or Yahweh is likewise similar to the view held by the prophet Ezekiel. Both Ezekiel and Paul believed Yahweh practiced retributive justice. This theme of retributive justice can be observed in Hosea, where God says to Ezekiel,"Go, and marry a whore, and get children with a whore, for the country has become nothing but a whore by abandoning Yahweh" (Hosea 1:2). Also, in Jeremiah, God speaks of his people as a camel in heat to the prophet: "You have been like a she-camel, twisting and turning as she runs, rushing off into the wilderness, snuffing the wind in her lust; in her heart who can restrain her? None need tire themselves out in pursuit of her; she is easily found at mating time" (Jeremiah 2:23-24).

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Social views

A 19th-century romanticized portrait of Paul of Tarsus (his exact appearance is unknown).Paul's writings on social issues were just as influential on the life and beliefs of Christian culture as were his doctrinal statements.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul expounded on how a follower of Christ should live a radically different life — using heavenly standards instead of earthly ones. These standards have highly influenced Western society for centuries. He condemned such things as impurity, lust, greed, anger, slander, filthy language, lying, and racial divisions. In the same passage, Paul extoled the virtues of compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and gratitude (Col 3:1–17).

Paul condemned "sexual immorality", saying "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body" (1 Cor 6:18)—based on the moral laws of the Old Testament and the Antithesis of the Law attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (see also 1 Cor 6:9ff.; Eph 5:21–33, Col 3:1–17). Other Pauline teachings are on freedom in Christ (Gal 5; 1 Cor 8; Col 2:6–23), proper worship and church discipline (1 Cor 11), the unity of believers (1 Cor 1:10–17; Eph 4:1–6), and marriage (1 Cor 7; Eph 5:21–33). Paul advocated celibacy or abstinence for the "believer" (unless married), and warned that either marriage or separation would bring trouble if not sanctioned by God beforehand. Paul also affirmed homosexual acts to be sins (1 Cor 6:9-10). In verse 11, he asserted that these past sins could be forgiven through baptism into Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 7:8–9 (NRSV), he wrote: "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion." On divorce, 1 Corinthians 7:10–16 (NRSV), he cited Jesus: "To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife" (from Mark 10:11 and parallels), but then gave his own teaching: "To the rest I say—I and not the Lord: but if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so." (see Pauline privilege)

Concerning slavery, Paul said that, pending the near return of Jesus, people should focus on their faith and not on their social status (1 Cor 7:21ff.). He also instructed slaves to serve their masters faithfully (Eph 6:5ff.), and that masters should be respectful of their slaves, as "he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him" (Ephesians 6:9b NIV). Due to his authority, these views have had an influence in Western society into modern times; Paul's apparent failure to explicitly condemn slavery in his Epistle to Philemon has sometimes been interpreted as justifying the ownership of human beings, although chattel slavery is a relatively modern phenomenon. On the other hand, some Christians interpret Paul's attempt to buy the freedom of a runaway slave, Onesimus, in Philemon, and his order to Onesimu's master to treat him "not as a slave, but instead of a slave, as a most dear brother, especially to me." (Philemon 16) as a subtle condemnation of slavery.

Paul was not only establishing a new cultural awareness and a society of charity, but was also subverting Roman authority through language and action. Paul used titles to describe Jesus that were also claimed by the Roman Caesars, the Ptolemaic dynasty, the Seleucid Empire, and Alexander the Great. Augustus had claimed the titles "Lord of Lords", "King of Kings", and Paul trumped Augustus Caesar's title "son of a god" (as he was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, whom he declared to be a god) by affirming Jesus of Nazareth's claim to be "Son of God" (i.e. the "Most High God", rather than one of the pagan gods). Alexander the Great claimed to be the son of Zeus and a virgin. When Paul refers to Jesus' life as the "Good News", evangelion in Koine Greek, he is using another title claimed by Augustus. Ancient Roman inscriptions had called Augustus the evangelon (good news) for Rome (the word is also used in the three synoptic gospels). Paul used these titles to expand upon the ethic of Jesus with words from and for his own place and time in history. If Jesus is lord, then Caesar is not, and so on. The ethic being that the Christian's life is not to be lived out of hope for what the Roman Empire could provide (legal, martial and economic advantage) or the Pharisaical system could provide (legalistic, self-dependent salvation), but out of hope in the Resurrection and promises of Jesus (against this view see E. P. Sanders). The Christianity which Paul envisioned was one in which adherents lived unburdened by the norms of Roman and Jewish society to freely follow the promise of an already established but not yet fully present Kingdom of God, promised by Jesus and instituted in his own Resurrection. The true "subversive" nature of Paul's ethic was not that the Church seek to subvert the Empire (vindication in full had already been promised), but that the Church not be subverted by the Empire in its wait for Christ's return.

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Writings

Main article: Authorship of the Pauline Epistles
Paul wrote a number of letters to Christian churches and individuals. However, not all have been preserved; 1 Corinthians 5:9 alludes to a previous letter he sent to the Christians in Corinth that has clearly been lost. Those letters that have survived are part of the New Testament canon, where they appear in order of length, from longest to shortest. A subgroup of these letters, written from captivity, is called the "prison-letters", and tradition states they were written in Rome.

His possible authorship of the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews had been questioned as early as Origen. Since at least 1750, a number of other letters commonly attributed to Paul have also been suspected by some of having been written by his followers in the 1st century.

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The Pauline corpus
Note: those considered to be the "prison-letters" are marked with an asterisk (*).
Undisputed Pauline Epistles (almost certainly authentic)

Romans
First Corinthians
Second Corinthians
Galatians
Philippians*
First Thessalonians
Philemon*
The "Deutero-Pauline Epistles" (a majority of scholars believe that these were not written by Paul, and hence give them this name)

Ephesians*
Colossians*
Second Thessalonians
The Pastoral epistles of Paul (sometimes considered a separate category; and suspected by over two-thirds of scholars not to be of Pauline authorship).

First Timothy
Second Timothy
Titus
Two further epistles attributed by some to Paul (since some of the prior epistles mention them) have been lost:

Epistle to the Alexandrians (lost) Nothing is known of this letter apart from a brief mention in the Muratorian fragment that claims it was a Marcionite forgery.
Epistle to the Macedonians (lost)
The following epistles are almost universally agreed to be pseudepigraphical (written by someone other than Paul who was nevertheless pretending to be him):

Third Corinthians
Epistle to the Laodiceans
The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca the Younger
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Scholarly Consensus
Scholars classify Paul's epistles (or letters) as a foundation of Christian literature. Scholars who hold that Jesus' disciples did not author the works traditionally attributed to them consider Paul's epistles to be the foundation of Christian literature.[11] Those who follow this position generally concede that nothing can be learned about Jesus' life or teachings from Paul. [12] Paul himself claimed knowledge of Jesus from visions, or "divine dreams", and from the apostles (particularly James the Just and Simon Peter), as he never met Jesus in the flesh. Christian tradition has seen Paul in a much more authoritative light. "Paul is seen as God's principal instrument of transforming Christianity into a largely Gentile religion. More than any other individual, Paul is responsible for the future universality of the Christian church."[10]

Paul is traditionally attributed with 16 of the New Testaments 27 books. Scholars who follow Markan priority see Paul's writings as the earliest of the New Testament, and hold that the earliest surviving of all Christian literature is Paul's First Thessalonians. [11]

Some scholars have argued that Paul's writings gained prominence during a weak time for Jewish orthodoxy. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was burned for a second time in 70, with much Hellenization of Judaism having already taken place. These factors led many Jews to compromise their faith; Hershel Shanks, in his book, the Meaning and the Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls writes:

Judaism during this period has been described as “remarkably variegated.” Some scholars have gone so far as to talk about Judaisms, rather than one Judaism. In those insecure times the traditional Judaism, centered in Temple sacrifice, was widely considered by Jews themselves inadequate to the story present, So, along with institutions like the synagogue, which would replace the Temple and become the focus of Jewish life thereafter, we also see the development of expectations of the end of time, of heavenly visions, of life after death, of resurrection of the dead, of apocalypses (revelations) where good and evil were to face each other in a final cosmic battle, and of messianic deliverers.