Converting Saul
Walking through the Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Converting Saul
Converting Saul
Converting Saul
Ὁ ΔΕ Σαῦλος ἔτι ἐμπνέων ἀπειλῆς καὶ φόνου εἰς τοὺς μαθητὰς τοῦ Κυρίου, προσελθὼν τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ, ᾐτήσατο παρʼ αὐτοῦ ἐπιστολὰς εἰς Δαμασκὸν πρὸς τὰς συναγωγάς, ὅπως ἐάν τινας εὕρῃ τῆς ὁδοῦ ὄντας ἄνδρας τε καὶ γυναῖκας, δεδεμένους ἀγάγῃ εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ. ἐν δὲ τῷ πορεύεσθαι, ἐγένετο αὐτὸν ἐγγίζειν τῇ Δαμασκῷ, καὶ ἐξαίφνης περιήστραψεν αὐτὸν φῶς ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, ἤκουσε φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ, Σαούλ, Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; εἶπε δέ, Τίς εἶ, Κύριε; ὁ δὲ Κύριος εἶπεν, Ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις. σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν. τρέμων τε καὶ θαμβῶν εἶπε, Κύριε, τί με θέλεις ποιῆσαι; καὶ ὁ Κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν, Ἀνάστηθι καὶ εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ λαληθήσεταί σοι τί σε δεῖ ποιεῖν. οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες οἱ συνοδεύοντες αὐτῷ εἱστήκεισαν ἐννεοί, ἀκούοντες μὲν τῆς φωνῆς, μηδένα δὲ θεωροῦντες. ἠγέρθη δὲ ὁ Σαῦλος ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς· ἀνεῳγμένων δὲ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ, οὐδένα ἔβλεπε, χειραγωγοῦντες δὲ αὐτὸν εἰσήγαγον εἰς Δαμασκόν. καὶ ἦν ἡμέρας τρεῖς μὴ βλέπων, καὶ οὐκ ἔφαγεν οὐδὲ ἔπιεν. Ἦν δέ τις μαθητὴς ἐν Δαμασκῷ ὀνόματι Ἀνανίας, καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος ἐν ὁράματι, Ἀνανία. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, Κύριε. ὁ δὲ Κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν, Ἀναστὰς πορεύθητι ἐπὶ τὴν ῥύμην τὴν καλουμένην Εὐθεῖαν, καὶ ζήτησον ἐν οἰκίᾳ Ἰούδα Σαῦλον ὀνόματι, Ταρσέα. ἰδοὺ γὰρ προσεύχεται, καὶ εἶδεν ἐν ὁράματι ἄνδρα ὀνόματι Ἀνανίαν εἰσελθόντα καὶ ἐπιθέντα αὐτῷ χεῖρα, ὅπως ἀναβλέψῃ. ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ Ἀνανίας, Κύριε, ἀκήκοα ἀπὸ πολλῶν περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τούτου, ὅσα κακὰ ἐποίησε τοῖς ἁγίοις σου ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ· καὶ ὧδε ἔχει ἐξουσίαν παρὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων, δῆσαι πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους τὸ ὄνομά σου. Εἶπε δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος, Πορεύου, ὅτι σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς μοι ἐστὶν οὗτος, τοῦ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν καὶ βασιλέων, υἱῶν τε Ἰσραήλ. ἐγὼ γὰρ ὑποδείξω αὐτῷ, ὅσα δεῖ αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματός μου παθεῖν.
Ἀπῆλθε δὲ Ἀνανίας καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ ἐπιθεὶς ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας εἶπε, Σαοὺλ ἀδελφέ, ὁ Κύριος ἀπέσταλκέ με, Ἰησοῦς ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου, ὅπως ἀναβλέψῃς καὶ πλησθῇς Πνεύματος Ἁγίου. καὶ εὐθέως ἀπέπεσον ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ λεπίδες, ἀνέβλεψέ τε παραχρῆμα, καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐβαπτίσθη, καὶ λαβὼν τροφὴν ἐνίσχυσεν. Ἐγένετο δὲ ὁ Σαῦλος μετὰ τῶν ἐν Δαμασκῷ μαθητῶν ἡμέρας τινάς·
The Conversion of Saul
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.
For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. (ESV)
The Christian religion begins in the New Birth by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is then developed under His guidance and sustained by His presence, grows through His grace; by our obedience to His calling. It is not necessary that we should all be able to recall when we were converted but it is important that we should all live in a manner that shows that we have been converted. Conversion is vitally important as the central part of our Christian witness.
To convert is to change from one character, type, or purpose to another. Our bodies convert food into energy. We can convert inches to centimeters, pounds to kilograms, and dollars to euros.
Our hearts can undergo similar conversions. We can change direction morally, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually.
We are what we think, ,“For if anyone thinks his is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “converted” means “to turn back or return.” It is also translated "restore," as in , “He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
The Bible paints a picture of the word “convert” to mean to return to what we were initially created to be. When we admit our helplessness apart from Christ, we are ready to embrace Him as Savior and Lord. Conversion happens when we trade our old sin nature for the new nature Christ provides. When we come to Him humbly, confess our sin, turn away from it, and seek His ways, our entire perspective changes. The Holy Spirit moves into our spirits and transforms our entire way of life, , “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
When we are converted— we are restored to the relationship God intended us to have with Him. says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This is more than a human attempt to "clean up your act." It is a wholesale change of direction. You were going east; now you are going west. Conversion changes the human heart from sinful to righteous, from hell-bound to heaven-bound.
The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the leading persecutor of the Christians, was perhaps the greatest event in church history after the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. The next great event would be the conversion of the Gentiles in , and Saul will become Paul the apostle to the Gentiles. We can clearly see here that God is continuing His plan to bring the Gospel to the whole world.
As we come into the text let’s look for a moment at the backstory of Saul as the Holy Spirit leads him in to conversion.
, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord...
Look at for just a moment, “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”
As we look at Saul on the road in our text, we see a very zealous man who actually thought he was doing God a service. Saul was sincere but Saul was sincerely wrong; he was zealous with out knowledge, the knowledge of the True and Living God.
If we were to have stopped Saul on his way to Damascus and asked him what all the fuss was about, he might have responded somewhat like this. “This Jesus of Nazareth is dead. Do you really expect me to believe that a crucified nobody is the promised Messiah? According to our Law, anybody who is hung on a tree is cursed. Would our God take a curse false prophet and make him the Messiah? I don’t think so!
His followers are preaching that Jesus is both alive and doing miracles through them. But their power comes from Satan, not from God.
These are dangerous people, and I intend to eliminate them all before it destroys our historic Jewish faith!
In spite of his great learning Saul was spiritually blind; , gives some insight into this.
, “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Saul didn’t see what the Old Testament really taught about the Messiah. He was spiritual blind and stumbled over the cross of Christ; he depended on his own righteousness and not on the righteousness of God.
If you are still in your unrighteous state you are blind and do not see the need for a Savior and you probably still resent it when you are told that you are sinners. That will only change when the veil is lifted from your heart, so that you might see Jesus Christ clearly.
Saul still filled with his misplaced religious fervor continues to breathe threats and participates in the murder and afflictions of Christians who are worshipping the one true and living God. The disciples of the Lord where taking their refuge in their faith and belief in the protection and provision of the Lord.
, “ Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; with for the LORD!”
Now we see that Saul ups the ante in his efforts to displace, disrupt, dismantle and destroy the newly minted Church of Jesus Christ.
So now Saul goes to the high priest Archiereus of Hierosolyma.
Saul gives us some insight into his mode of operation and his mind set in , “ I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all you are this day. I perfected this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.” Then again in , “ I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chiefs priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted then even to foreign cities.”
In our text Saul is “...Asking the high priest for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that it he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Damascus had a large Jewish population, and it has been estimated that there could well have been thirty to forty synagogues in the city.
The fact that there were already believers there indicates how effective the church had been in getting the message of Christ. Some believers had fled persecution in Jerusalem. Which explains why Saul wanted authority to bring them back.
During this transitional time Christian services were held in homes and also in synagogues. Apostles would use the synagogue as a launching point for missionary activities. Upon arriving in a new community, they would show up at the synagogue and request to speak. They would then present Jesus as the Messiah and begin their local outreach.
This sometimes resulted in many people believing in Jesus.
The synagogue served as an important fixture in Judaism and early Christianity. Its importance during the time of Jesus and the apostles provided one of the key ways the gospel spread in the earliest years of the church.
So, Saul want to go there first to see it there would be any men or women worshipping there were part of the Way.
What was “the Way”? The early followers of Christ referred to themselves as followers of the Way because of Jesus’ statement in
that He is “the way and the truth and the life.” Luke says that Aquila and Priscilla explained to Apollos “the way of God” more fully (). Peter refers to Christianity as “the way of truth” (). And the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus’ broken body is the “new and living way” for us to enter the Most Holy Place (). This name “The Way” referred to those who believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Have you come to the point in your life that you have discover the way, the truth and the life, that is only found in Christ Jesus?
This passage of Scripture shows clearly what we have come to know as the doctrines of grace. Every aspect is clearly shown; Saul spiritual blindness shows his total depravity and sinfulness.
As Saul approaches Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven shines upon him. This light from heaven shines around him in and introduces of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ to Saul, this is beginning of his conversion.
There are three typical threads, some successive stages that can be found in all human conversions.
(1) There is the thread of Spiritual blindness— this is blindness that does not recognize the truth that comes from the One, Holy, Living, God. It does not see clearly nor does it seek Christ and the glory of His gospel. It does not see or seek the glory of God or the grace that He gives. This thread seeks to stitch over that which is sacred and subtlety blur that which is spiritual.
(2) There is the thread of Spiritual healing— This healing is the only way true sight can ever be obtain. This healing comes in the form of regeneration, which precedes faith. It is were God calls our name and speaks directly to our hearts. This is where God heals our hearts, our minds, and our very souls and prepares us to be able to receive the light of the truth of the gospel. God applies faith to our hearts, minds, and souls as a balm that cures our unbelief and restores, rejuvenates, and recreates us.
(3) There is the thread of Spiritual sight— Spiritual sight gives us what the Bible terms as “eyes that can see.” Eyes that have the ability to see, the true and living God. Eyes that can see through the veil that was previously over vision. Eyes that have to ability to see, the false god of this world; and the true God of the entire world, in His glory and the light of the gospel.
Now the same light of the gospel is being shone from heaven upon Saul and it will take him through all three of these threads and weave for him a new clearer vision.
Let us pray...
Spiritual blindness
4 “And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul...” We might miss the strength of God’s call here to Saul unless we realize that repeating a person’s name is a Hebrew expression of intimacy. When God speaks to Abraham at Mount Moriah, as he is about to plunge the knife into the breast of Isaac, He says, “Abraham, Abraham.” Or when God encourages Jacob in his old age to take the trip to Egypt, He says, “Jacob, Jacob” (, ).
Compare the call of Moses from the burning bush: “Moses, Moses,” or the call of Samuel in the night, “Samuel, Samuel” (; ).
This call in which one’s name is repeated symbolizes a deep relationship with Christ. This call also shows the doctrine of grace called unconditional election, more of that in a moment.
Now understanding this call brings some momentary clarity to this passage but also brings a cloud of confusion as well.
You might ask the question, “If Saul is on his way to kill and bind Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem? Then how can there be a deep loving relationship between him and Christ?
What does the Bible teach us about the love of Christ?
, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
So what is God up too?
Look, quickly at , “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
Christ reaches out to Saul even in the midst of his sin to secure for Him salvation, which shows that Saul was of the elect even before he was correct. God had elected him to salvation before the foundation of the world and now God was revealing the purpose of his life through Christ Jesus and his conversion.
Then comes the question, “why are you persecuting me? And he said, “Who are you Lord? And he said, “ I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Saul suddenly found himself on the ground. Not from a heat stroke, but placed there by and for a personal meeting with Jesus Christ, whom he thought was dead.
Because Saul was pursuing the men and women of Christ, Christ considers an attack on His people as an attack directly upon Him.
And he holds Saul accountable for his pursuit. Yet, in the wisdom of Christ, the one whom has prepared Saul for good works beforehand, the one whom knew Saul, as he was being forming in his mother’s womb. The one whom had planned his path even before Saul took the wrong path is now calling Saul to his true purpose!
And when God calls you to your true purpose no one else can count you out. Yes, you can’t count me out if God has counted me among those that He will save! You can’t count out the elect even when they are not yet correct!
You can’t count me out simply because you think you would like to, for Romans tells us that “ the gifts and the calling of God irrevocable, only what God says, and only whom God calls really ever count.
I understand that Saul thinks that he has prepared himself to achieve greatest by protecting Judaism but it is Christ Jesus who has the last word on what any of us ever really achieve.
Here we see the very instructions of Christ coming to bear upon the life of Saul, “ But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” Isn’t this just like Jesus to come to your life and turn it upside down, to come into your life and change the very direction and purpose of your life?
, “And the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” This call upon Saul’s life was intimate, it was personal, so much so that the text tells us “the men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.” Just like in
, “ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.” Later on in the Book of Acts Saul speaks to this very point and adds that the men who were with him heard the voice but did not understand the words, saw the light, but did not see the vision Christ, because of their spiritual blindness. I see this event as the doctrine of limited atonement being played out right before our eyes. They heard the voice and did not understand the words, they saw Saul reacted to the vision but did not see Christ, and they heard Saul speaking to someone but did not know who it was.
Every time Christ and the Gospel is presented there are told you see and those who do not see, there are those who hear and those who do not hear, that are those who respond and those who do not respond. Everyone to whom Christ died for all ways responds, His atonement is limited to those whom He has called and election even in the midst of their depravity.
Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing, Saul says in , And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.” Saul was moving here from spiritual blindness to spiritual dilation. When you are at the Optometrist for an eye exam, they will commonly dilate your eyes to make them wider or larger to check for any hidden problems. Christ has dilated the eyes of Saul that Christ might correct his vision permanently; He has dilated Saul eyes that He might heal them with the healing salve of salvation.
This healing salve would come in the form of the laying on hands from a disciple of Christ later on. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For this angry bull, had not been knocked off his high horse and has been come a docile lamb. The leader of the resistance had been humbled and was being prepared for his healing.
And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
As with physical dilation afterwards you are very sensitive to light and must sit for a while until you can regain your bearings. Saul now sits and depends of others to lead him around for three days as Christ prepares to heal his spiritual blindness.
Spiritual Healing
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias, The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “ Here I am Lord.”
Once again a servant of Christ hears His voice and immediately reacts, just like Isaiah in , “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us” Then I said “ Here I am! Sent me.”
We pick back up here in v. 11-12, for further instructions to Ananias,
“And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
Now, we see the obedience of Ananias turn into obstruction and even an unsolicited observation from him. 13-14, “But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on you name.”
Translation, Ananias is saying to Christ, wait a minute, and do you know who Saul is? Yes, I want to lay hands on him but not to heal but to hurt him. Are you aware that Saul had done much evil against your causes, against your people and against your kingdom?
Let him stay blind and unable to find his way, he has papers right now from the chief priests to arrest and bind up us Christians and carried us to Jerusalem.
Jesus, I know that your grace is amazing but really, Saul?
Jesus illustrated this truth in a parable (). A landowner went out early in the morning and hired workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a fair day’s wage. Later in the morning, he saw some other men standing idle in the marketplace, so he hired them and told them that he would pay them a fair wage. At noon and in mid-afternoon, he did the same thing. Finally, about five o’clock in the afternoon, he hired some others. When evening came, he paid all the workers the same, a full day’s wage. But the men who had worked all day grumbled because these men who had only worked one hour got the same wage that they received after working hard all day. But the landowner said, “I paid you what we agreed on. If I wish to be generous to this last man, that’s my privilege. I can do what I want with that which is my own.”
Jesus was teaching that salvation is by God’s free grace, not based on man’s merit or works. If God wants to dispense it to someone that we think unworthy, that is His business. In God’s sight we are all unworthy. No one has a valid claim against God. If, before they are born, He chooses to love the conniving Jacob but to hate the nice guy Esau, so that His “purpose according to election might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls” (), that is God’s prerogative. If He chooses to be gracious to a thief just before he dies and to leave a religious Pharisee to die and face judgment for his pride and self-righteousness, that is God’s prerogative. We have to get rid of the proud notion that salvation depends on even the least amount of human merit, effort, or good works.
How much could this thief do to merit eternal life? He could not clean up his life! He couldn’t promise to do better in the future. He had no future! He had made a complete mess of his life. He did not say, “If I had it to do over, I would be a better person.” He had nothing to argue, nothing to promise, nothing to bring to Christ as collateral for salvation. He simply asked for something he did not deserve, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And, Jesus granted his request without strings attached!
The doctrine of irresistible grace here shows that the saving grace of God’s effectual call is applied to those whom He has determined to save, in God timing, He will overcome their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel.
, “And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
is a good summary of Paul’s life and ministry. It was all of God’s grace, for he did not choose God; if was God who chose him,
15-17, But the Lord said to him, “ Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
These words “for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name,” this is the doctrine of the perseverance and preservation of the saints. Here we see that Saul is saved and born again of God and nothing in heaven or earth or what he might suffer will ever separated him from the love of God. So Ananias being the faithful servant that he was places his trust in Christ and fully accepts his task and lays hands on Saul to heal him. It is important to note, that Ananias heart has been healed also because has he lays hands on Saul he calls him brother. God’s grace is so amazing!
Spiritual Sight
“ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.
Here Saul gains his spiritual sight but there are four things that I believed happen to Ananias that can sharpen our spiritual sight.
(1) God can use even the most obscure saint. Were it not for the conversion of Saul, we would have never heard of Ananias. Yet Ananias played an important part in the ongoing work of the church. Behind many well-known servants of God are the lesser-known believers who have influenced them. It was Andrew that brought his brother Peter to met Jesus and was never heard from in Scripture again yet, look how God used Andrew. Always remember, God keep the books and will see to it that each servant will get a just reward. These days everyone wants to be a superstar in the ministry, but there is only one superstar which is God, everyone else is ordinary and God uses ordinary means and ordinary people to do His extraordinary ministry! The important thing is not fame but faithfulness.
(2) The ministry of Ananias reminds us that we should never be afraid to obey God’s will. Ananias first argued with the Lord and gave some good reasons from his perspective why he should not heed God’s will. But when God commands us, we must remember, He is in charge and that He is working, “a both ends of the line,” and that His perfect will is always the best.
(3) God’s works are always balanced. God balances here a great public miracle with a quiet healing using Ananias. The bright light and the voice from heaven were dramatic events, but the visit of Ananias was somewhat ordinary. The hand of God pushed Saul from his “high horse,” but God used the hand of man to bring Saul the spiritual sight that he needed.
(4) Finally, we must never underestimate the value of one person brought to Christ. Peter was ministering to thousands in Jerusalem, and Philip had seen a great harvest among the Samaritan people, but Ananias was sent to only one man. Yet what a man, Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle, and his life and ministry has influenced millions of people.
Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether. If life is to have meaning, and if God’s will is to be done, all of us have to accept who we are and what we are, give it back to God, and thank him for the way he made us. What I am is God’s gift to me; what I do with my life is my gift to God.
Conversion is not implanting eyes, for our eyes already exist; but conversion is giving our eyes proper sight and direction, which without Christ they do not have.