|
The Conversion of Saul the Persecutor
Click here for a PDF printable file
Click here to download your PDF reader - FREE
Villa Rica 3/16/03
Acts
9:1-7 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples
of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2and asked for letters from him to
the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the
Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3As he
was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and
suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4and he fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?” 5And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am
Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6but get up and enter the city, and it
will be told you what you must do.” 7The men who traveled with him stood
speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8Saul got up from the
ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading
him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.
I. Saul Set Himself to Stamp Out
Christianity
A. If I were to ask you who is the worst
persecutor of
Christianity in the world today, I wonder what you
would say? No doubt many would say Osama Ben Laden. He certainly wants
to kill as many Christians and Jews as he can. We call him a terrorist
but certainly he could also be labeled a persecutor.
There are many others right here in our own country that do engage in
persecution using stratagems to stop prayer and Bible reading in the
public schools and that seek to silence Christians from expressing their
faith in the public square. They want to remove every vestige of Christ
and Christianity from America. It has been an ongoing highly financed
effort by the American Civil Liberties Union and People for
the American Way and other secular humanist and atheistic groups.
There is an effort now underway to take the words "under God" out of the
pledge of allegiance. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco has already approved a lower court ruling to that effect.
Psalm 2 tells how God views such actions:
Psa. 2:1-6 1 Why
are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2
The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel
together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3
“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords
from us!”
4
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5
Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury,
saying,6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion,
My holy mountain.”
This enmity against God and Christ to
some degree is present in every person. It is a native characteristic of
man's sinful nature inherited from Adam. After Adam's fall in the garden
his once holy nature became a sinful nature which was passed on to every
one of his children down to the present day. The first clear evidence of
that enmity is to be seen early on in Cain's hatred against his brother
Abel. And why did he hate him? Why for worshipping God in the righteous
manner prescribed with the firstlings of his flock. Cain resented Abel
and rose up against him and killed him. This enmity against God and his
worshippers manifests itself in every generation in one form or another
of persecution since the fall.
Christ came as the second Adam to
reconcile God and man and those who believe in him and follow him become
targets of man's enmity against God. I believe you will see as we look
at Saul's conversion how this enmity worked before his conversion and
then was completely reversed after he was converted.
The Hebrew name Saul means desired.
His Roman name, which he went by among the citizens of Rome, was Paul,
which means little. It is said that he was a short man, just 4
1/2 feet in height. He was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a free
city of the Romans. This made him a Roman citizen. His father and mother
were both native Jews of the tribe of Benjamin.
According to Matthew
Henry Saul was educated first in Tarsus, which was a little Athens of
learning. There he became acquainted with Greek philosophy and the
poetry of the Greeks. Then he was sent to the university at Jerusalem to
study divinity and Jewish law. His tutor was Gamaliel, an eminent
Pharisee. He also had a handicraft trade of tent making.
Unlike many who war against God Saul was as kosher as you can get. He
lived as a Pharisee before his conversion and he could not be considered
an immoral person. He told the Philippians
as to the righteousness which is
in the Law, found blameless.(Phil 3:6)
He may have been a moral
person but he was a blasphemer of the Lord Jesus Christ and an
inveterate enemy to Christianity. He was consenting to the stoning of
Stephen and he sought to do all he could against the spread of
Christianity. The scripture says he was breathing out threatening and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.
When the disciples were scattered because
of the persecution in Jerusalem many journeyed to Damascus to escape the
persecution and find peace and quiet. That wouldn't do for Saul. He went
to the chief priest and obtained letters to the synagogues of Damascus
to arrest both men and women professing faith in Christ and bring them
bound to Jerusalem. He was nearing Damascus
and suddenly a light from heaven
flashed around him; 4and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying
to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Can you imagine the shock and distress Saul must have
experienced as he was enveloped in that flashing light and heard that
voice from heaven accusing him of persecuting him? He was dumbfounded.
He was terror struck. 5And he said,
“Who are You, Lord?” And He said,
“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
Notice that he called him LORD. Until now
the name of Jesus had been despised and considered worthy of scathing
words of contempt. What! Is it true that I have been persecuting the
Lord God Almighty? He discovers that his rage and hatred directed at
the disciples was actually directed at the glorified Christ. Those who
persecute Christians are going to find out, unless they discover it
before they die, that they have fought and raged against God himself.
All who have cursed using that holy and
supreme Name have blasphemed his glorious Person. Persons who have
laughed and scoffed at those who bear Christ's name, who have criticized
and taunted those who go to church and pray, who make life hard for them
at school or in the workplace or even in the home are persecuting the
One who spoke to Saul from heaven.
Saul, Saul why are you
persecuting me? All who engage in any form of persecution can
put their own name in the place of Saul.
Christ's question has behind it the idea
that the goodness and mercy of God are despised. Why do you persecute
me? I am the one who gave you life and food and clothing and all that
you have. What have I ever done to cause you to hate me as you do? I am
the one who came to the earth to be your merciful Savior. What harm or
unkindness have I shown to you that you rail at me and persecute my
followers? What justification do you have for persecuting me? When you
hate my people you show that you hate me. When you harm them and treat
them ill you are doing that to me. What a convicting question that must
have been to Saul and to all who take his name in vain and shake their
fist at heaven.
What must Saul have thought as it
suddenly dawned on him that his work of persecution was not against
simple, foolish men and women that he believed needed to be dealt with
harshly. And why? For believing and doing what he considered apostasy by
joining this sect of Jesus, for becoming heretics. He is astonished, he
is thunder struck to learn that the worship of Jesus is the true
religion. How blind he has been! He has been warring against the Lord in
heaven. What will happen now?
II. Saul Is Convicted and Converted By Christ
A. What an amazing
transformation! Saul is smitten with blindness. It wasn’t the brightness
of the light that blinded Saul because the men who were with him also
saw the light and heard the voice and it didn't blind them. vs. 7 The
men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing
no one. They did not understand what was said. They now have
to lead Paul from that spot to Damascus and located a lodging place.
These men saw the light but were not converted. Not all men are saved
when the Spirit of God moves upon one or another. Jesus told Nicodemus
John 3:8 8“The wind blows where
it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes
from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Saul was shown mercy
and the Lord told him get up
and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”
Saul is not told immediately what he
should do. But in the Word from heaven he was told where to go and that
instruction would come as to what he was to do.
I want you to notice that
the risen Lord Jesus is in total control of the situation. Is it
conceivable that Saul would not do what he was told? Some would say yes,
certainly he could refuse to do what he was told. After all everyone has
a free will. But remember, he was blind. What was he going to do, go
back to Jerusalem, run away? Besides a man would be a fool to disobey a
voice from heaven, would he not? Saul was a persecutor but he was not a
fool. When God wants to save a man and use him he can exercise his
sovereign power in such a way that the man would not even consider
disobeying. Willful raging Saul, breathing out threatening and murder
now is a docile lamb being led by the hand to where God directed him to
go.
When God wants a man to do a job for him
he can use ways and means to make sure he does. I think of Jonah who was
ordered to go to Nineveh and cry out against it but Jonah didn't go,
instead he ran away from the presence of the Lord. He took a ship from
Joppa to sail to Tarshish.
You know the story. A
great storm arose and the sailors began to pray to their gods. They
threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down
below in the hold and took a nap. So the captain woke him up and said,
How is it that you are
sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned
about us so that we will not perish.
Then the sailors decided
to cast lots to see on whose account this calamity had struck them. And
the lot fell on Jonah. Then the sailors questioned Jonah.
Jon. 1:8-17 they said to him,
“Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is
your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From
what people are you?” 9He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the
LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men
became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do
this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the
LORD, because he had told them. 11So they said to him, “What should we
do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming
increasingly stormy. 12He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into
the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on
account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13However, the men
rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was
becoming even
stormier against them. 14Then they called on the LORD and said, “We
earnestly pray, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s
life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O LORD, have done as
You have pleased.” 15So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea,
and the sea stopped its raging. 16Then the men feared the LORD greatly,
and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. 17And the LORD
appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of
the fish three days and three nights.
What do you think Jonah did in the belly of that great fish
after he had been there three days? What would you have done? The
scripture says that as he was fainting away he remembered the Lord and
prayed. He vowed to be faithful and serve the Lord and then the Lord
commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land. And Jonah
went to Nineveh and cried against it. God can accomplish his Word that
he sends and no man will disobey it.
In both Saul's case and Jonah's case
neither would ever have changed direction unless the Lord had sent his
Word. The Word of the Lord is so important. Heed the Word as you hear it
preached and taught. You evade or ignore the Word of the Lord at your
peril. God calls men to himself by the foolishness of preaching.
One night Canon Hay
Aitken preached to a large audience in Bristol, England, on the text,
"You must be born again." There in the congregation was a brilliant
young man named Horatio Bottomly. He listened intently. He heard the
preacher at the end of the sermon call all who were there to trust in
the grace of Christ and to commit their lives to Jesus Christ, and he
knew the call was addressed to him, too. He was deeply moved, but he
said, "Not now, I'll run my own life." And he did.
He made a fortune and
a name for himself as the champion of the people's rights. He was a
lawyer; he exposed swindlers and prosecuted criminals with great vigor.
When Bottomly was 63 years of age, this one who had exposed the crimes
of others was himself convicted of a crime and sentenced to seven years
in prison.
While he was there,
another man visited him and asked to pray with him. Bottomly said that
would be fine, and in the course of the conversation, the other man told
his story. He said, "Yes, many years ago, I was in Bristol, and I heard
a preacher, Canon Hay Aitken, preach on the text: You must be born
again. I was so deeply moved that I committed my life to Christ, and
ever since then, Christ has been my all in all."
Bottomly was silent for some time, and
then he said, "I, too, heard that searching message. I, too, was deeply
moved. I knew my need of Christ, but I rejected him." And then he said
remorsefully, "A life without God is a wasted life."
-- Donald W. McCullough, "Now is the Time," Preaching Today, Tape No.
73.
Dear friend, how is it with you?
Have you been converted? Are you heeding the gospel call on your life?
God may have spoken to you in this message. The Lord tells us to repent
of our sins and turn to him for the salvation he alone can give. Jonah's
last words in his prayer were these: "Salvation is from the Lord." Paul,
as we shall see in another message, went on to serve the Lord in a way
few have done. He was greatly used of the Lord even though he wickedly
blasphemed and persecuted Christians before his conversion. You may have
opposed the Lord. You may even know in your heart that you have
persecuted Christians and been a blasphemer. But there is mercy with the
Lord. Surrender to the Lord this morning. Come to him as we sing our
closing hymn.
Back to
the Top
The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
distribution. We only request that proper
web page attribution be provided if
distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word. |