Sermon Tone Analysis

Converting Saul

Converting Saul

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.”