Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

After his call, Paul sets out -- The big story: what in the world is God doing? -- New creation beings: responsive and responsible -- Believers' progress: from babies to adults -- Baptism: starting well and ending better -- Lord's Supper: how to eat, drink, and live well -- Judgment: God's of us, ours of each other, and of ourselves -- Us and them: relations and contact with the outside world -- Making choices right and sitting loose in the saddle -- Epilogue: Paul for the twenty-first century.

Across the history of Christianity, Paul's letters have been mined for doctrines like original sin and the "Fall" of Adam or for arguing that justification is by faith, not by works. J. Paul Sampley's concern is not first with doctrines but with how Paul instructed, encouraged, built up, and at times, chided the followers who trekked behind him in "the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Sampley writes particularly for readers today who seek insight into the spiritual and moral life but are perplexed by the apostle. Sampley articulates how important themes in his letters -- the grand narrative of God's action, the new creation, the power of baptism and of the Lord's Supper -- serve the basic goal of calling people to faithful living and to "walking in love."