But Saul…as he went on his way…suddenly a light from heaven shone around him…heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Acts 9:1-19
Saul, of Tarsus, was the single biggest threat to the early church. He campaigned to eradicate the Jews who had become followers of “the Way,” the early name adopted by those who were converted to belief in Christ and obeyed His commands. Saul was trained as a Pharisee under the tutelage of Gamaliel, a learned and respected teacher of the Jews. Saul learned well from his teacher the ways of obedience to the Law given in the Jewish Scriptures. But, Saul was a legalist who believed he was going to heaven simply because he followed all the laws as they were taught in his day, laws that his ancestors had corrupted and Saul’s contemporaries had become even more corrupt as we see when Jesus “cleansed the Temple” of the religious leaders and their merchants buying/selling overpriced sacrifices and usurious exchange rates for money; when Jesus confronted the religious rulers about their own sin and slavery to Satan; when, even as they were “judging Him,” He submitted to their “kangaroo court” and crucified Him. Saul was one of those men. He wanted all followers of this Jesus killed, eradicated. And, he had done great harm to the Jerusalem church. Now, Saul, on his way to Damascus, was headed to do the same there. In these verses, we have the most dramatic conversion of anyone in the history of the church. The Heavenly aura of Jesus Christ shone upon Saul and his henchmen on the road that day, blinding Saul and confronting him about his persecution. Saul, not knowing to Whom he was speaking, asked, “Lord, who are you?” Jesus revealed His true identity to Saul there on the road, commanding Saul to continue on to Damascus and to await further instructions from the Lord Jesus. Thus, begins the new life of the Apostle to the Gentiles. Saul becomes Paul and his missionary works brought the Good News to many Gentiles in his day as Paul faithfully preached and taught those who became believers, Christians as they were first called in Antioch. Now, there may not be such amazing conversions as Paul’s in our world today. But, every person who believes Jesus is the Messiah and does all that He commands are just as dramatically changed as Saul was on that road to Damascus. You see, conversion of a lost soul is a miracle of God. There is nothing a human can do to become a Christian. Just as a baby is created in the mother’s womb and is born, so must the dead spirit of the lost human be regenerated by the Holy Spirit and be “birthed” into the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul was truly a great missionary. But, he was saved in the same way all Christians are saved, by the grace of the Living God through faith alone in the works of Jesus Christ alone. Praise God for your salvation this day!
Source: S C Ball June 19, 2023
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