A Complete Change Of Heart - The Conversion Of Saul

May 30, 2021 Sermon - A Complete Change of Heart (Saul) - Acts 9:1-31

Today we continue in our short series on highlights from the book of Acts, and today we are looking at the main figure in the narrative of the book of Acts, Paul. His story is amazing because he experiences a complete transformation in his heart, he goes from having a heart of stone to a heart of flesh, and we witness part of that transformation in the Book of Acts.

He transforms from being the chief persecutor of the church into its chief defender, from being a murderer of martyrs to being one who himself is eventually martyred for his faithful ministry as an Apostle of Jesus Christ and for being such a strong defender of the faith.

Paul’s personal experience, as dramatic as it was, is his personal story of life before Christ and life after Christ.

As we look at Paul’s story today in brief, I want to ask you to think about your story. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have a “before Christ” story and an “In Christ” story.

And you also have the story of your conversion. For many that story is not linear, but rather a looping journey. For many there is not a clear moment of conversion, but rather a recognition at some point in your life that you believe, and you trust fully in Jesus alone for your salvation.

It’s interesting but not really surprising when you think about it that we first encounter Paul at the martyrdom of Stephen. Others were doing the stoning and the killing, but Paul was there in support of those individuals who were part of the mob that murdered Stephen.

We first see Paul at the stoning of Stephen. Acts 7:57-60 says: 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Saul has entered on the scene. The man who was to become the apostle to the Gentiles thoroughly agreed with the execution of Stephen. We should consider how Stephen’s testimony and the WAY he died might have impacted Paul. Could Paul ever forget the way in which Stephen had died, forgiving his murderers with his last breath? It’s said that the blood of the martyrs even thus early had begun to be the seed of the Church.

Acts 9:1 says this: And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

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Saul, as the King James Version says, "made havoc" of the church. The word used in the Greek denotes a brutal cruelty. It is used of a wild boar ravaging a vineyard. The contrast between the man who was savaging the church in this chapter and the man who surrendered to Christ in the next is intensely dramatic.

This is the early picture we see of Saul, also known as Paul. Paul was his Roman name, as he was a Roman citizen.

What do we see when we look at Paul? We see a man with zeal. He was well-known enough at this point that it was natural to the crowd to entrust him with their cloaks, so they put them at Paul’s feet. We learn from Paul later on in his epistles that he met all the requirements of his role.

Paul was a native of Tarsus, an important city in the Greco-Roman world. He was a descendant of the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin and originally was named Saul, after Israel's first king. He was a Roman citizen and after his conversion he generally used his Roman name Paul, rather than his Jewish name, Saul.

Raised in a Jewish home, he was taught the Old Testament Scriptures and brought up in strict accordance with the beliefs and practices of the Pharisee sect. As he grew older, he was sent to the city of Jerusalem, where he studied under Gamaliel, one of the leading Jewish rabbis of that day.

Paul gives this tidy summary of his life in Philippians chapter 3: that he was circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.