You won’t be hearing about it on AP reports, or the network or cable news – not even on FOX. We just don’t get many reports about what it’s like to be a Christian in the Mid-East, surrounded by people who aren’t. And while we hear about Muslim leaders and their zeal and hatred against the West, I want to tell you about a well-educated guy whose hatred isn’t against just the West, but especially against Christians. Beyond his contemporaries, he’s consumed by his religious convictions. In fact, he’s so driven by them, he’s one of the radicals who actually want us dead. This guy exudes hatred for Christians. Aside from organized kidnapping of people known to be Christians, he also has organized beatings and tortures of them designed to terrorize, and specifically to try to get them to renounce Christ. It doesn’t matter if they’re men or women. It doesn’t matter if they’re his countrymen or not. It’s his consuming passion to hate Christians. The superiors in his religion approve. In fact, they provide means to help him travel and hunt down Christians. Once they’re captured, he always votes for their death. No one is sure just how many Christians have died because of him, or how much has been suffered by the Church because of him, but one thing’s for sure: Christians in the Middle East know about him and they know his name.
And now there’s news that he has changed; not just that he has become nicer, but that he has become one of the people he has been trying to destroy all along. Do you suppose, if he were to offer to come lead a ladies’ retreat here or to apply for our children’s ministry position we might hesitate – at least a little? Would you go to hear him preach? Would you trust him at a special gathering? If he really was changed, you might. But is he, or isn’t he?
You and I have had to wrestle with thoughts like that before, and we will again. We’re not the first. The guy I’ve just been describing to you is actually another case of name change in the Bible – the last one we’re going to consider in this series. His name is Saul. He’s not an Iranian Muslim terrorist. He’s actually a Jewish Pharisee from the city of Tarsus in Cilicia, and raised in Jerusalem. We’re not exactly sure that his name was really changed – only that in Acts 13:9, out of the blue, it says Saul was also called Paul, and then, from that time forward, he’s always known as Paul. So, whether God changed his name or not, for our practical purposes, He did, because that’s his name to us from then on. Paul.
This morning, I want to look at this man, a “forever changed” person, as an example and reminder to us of the way God changes people – even people who are on an absolute crash-course for hell. Why do we need to see that or even think about it? I’m glad you asked that. Stay tuned!
We’re introduced to Saul of Tarsus in Acts 7 where the first person ever to die for his devotion to Jesus is being pummeled to death with rocks. Saul isn’t throwing rocks, but there’s a man there, less than 40 years old, cheering on the murder, and guarding the coats of everyone who’s doing it. 8:1 tells us that Saul was there, giving his approval. It all seems to ignite a flame inside him – a flame of religious zeal and indignation against Christians. A great persecution is launched against the Church, and Saul is on the leading edge of it. How dare they oppose the Law! How dare they turn from the traditions of the Fathers! How dare they assemble themselves and encourage others to follow this Nazarene cult leader! So…
Acts 8:3 Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Acts 9:1-2 Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Those reports…are mild. The more detailed descriptions come from the mouth of Paul himself:
Acts 22:4-5 "…I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison…went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
Acts 22:19 "Lord, I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.”
Acts 26:9-11 "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem…I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
Galatians 1:13 …you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
Philippians 3:6 as for zeal, persecuting the church…
I want to make applications of Saul’s story all along the way this morning. So, I encourage you to take some notes from this. My goal is for us to have at least one or two action points that we can carry with us into the rest of the day and week. The first is…
1. Understand That You Can Be Zealous…and Religious…and Wrong!
There’s no shortage of people with a cause in our world today. There are plenty of people enthusiastic about any number of things. If you watch the news enough, you’ll sometimes see them gathered in groups, holding signs, maybe chanting or singing something. It may be for a good cause. The fact that they’re sort of organized, or even that there are a lot of them doesn’t make what they’re doing right. It only means that they’re together. Someone has said, “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers!” If you’re going to make a statement, make sure you’re right. If you’re going to support a cause, make sure it’s the right cause. Especially if it’s in the name of God, make sure that what you’re excited about is the right thing – that it really is something that God wants.
Saul of Tarsus was zealous. There was no lacking sincerity. He was willing to see people put to death for the cause. But he was wrong.
1 Timothy 1:13
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
There’s a knock at the door. A group of armed thugs pushes their way in. They have reason to suspect that Jesus is worshiped in this house. The children huddle, terrified in the corner, as the brutes grab the mother, the father, bind their hands, and go to leave. They’re hauled away to be beaten, tortured and killed. It’s not Communist China. It’s Saul of Tarsus – sworn enemy of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The Bible pulls no punches. It’s there because we have to look this evil in the face.
Saul was a horrible, hateful, torturer and murderer of Christians – and he thought this pleased God. The moment we meet him, he is the church’s worst enemy, and he has enough power backing him to be very dangerous. So, the church scatters from Jerusalem. The result is that people in other places begin to hear about Jesus too. (Funny how Satan’s plans get messed up, isn’t it?)
So, Saul gets papers to travel with his anti-Christian traveling show. He’s headed for the ancient city of Damascus, 150 miles north of Jerusalem. It’s almost noon. He’s close to arriving when Saul is forever changed.
Acts 9:3-4
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
I thought Saul was persecuting Christians in the church. But Jesus asks him, “Why are you persecuting Me?” You might want to make a note of this: Persecuting the Church, the people of Jesus, is persecuting Jesus. Jesus receives actions against His people very personally. Remember that. Remember that when you harm someone of the Church, Jesus views that as an attack against Him personally. Kind of sheds a different light on the way we treat each other, doesn’t it? Kind of makes you think a little more carefully about the way speak or the way you leave others feeling in the church, doesn’t it?
Saul and his whole group are all knocked to the ground. He retells the story in Acts 22 and 26, where we pick up some more details.
Acts 22:8-11
"’Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. "’I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. "’What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. "’Get up,’ the Lord said, ’and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
Saul was changed. When someone comes to Jesus and says, “Who are You?” and “What do you want me to do?” things change. He was blind in a sense when he left Jerusalem. Now he’s physically blind as well. 3 days he ate and drank nothing. He was praying. That’s all we know. God had taken this man who was on the road to destroy the Church and was now signing him up to be a team leader!
(2. Praise God that He Pursues Us!)
One of the ways we can apply this story to our own lives is to recognize and appreciate the way God pursues us. The Bible has accounts – God sent a whale to get Jonah back to shore; He had Balaam’s donkey talk to him; He brought Samuel back from the dead to get King Saul’s attention; He sent Nathan the prophet to call David to repent. Time and again he pursued straying people. You’ve heard stories – Martin Luther nearly struck by lightning, others having near-death experiences, some more dramatic than others, but leading people to the Lord or back to the Lord or into some special service for Him. Oh, Paul later comments that he wasn’t disobedient to his calling. In other words, he still had a choice in the matter, but he was also obviously the target of God’s pursuit.
So, what’s your story? Who or what finally brought you to Jesus, or back to Jesus? What caused you to be here today? Or do you dare to think it’s all just some coincidence?
Romans 2:4
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
Maybe the story you would share is less dramatic than a flash of light and a voice from heaven. Maybe it was a simple song, or a picture, or a word, or a memory, or a look at the stars. Maybe it was simply your recognition that God demonstrates His love for us by Jesus dying for us while we were still sinners. The Bible is the story of God’s pursuit of mankind – His pursuit of you, to invite you to Himself for an eternal relationship. So what has you here this morning? Whatever it is, praise God that He pursues us! Praise God for whatever or whoever led or is leading you to Him.
One of the ways that God will reach Saul is through a Christian in Damascus named Ananias. One of the very people who Saul was going to go persecute will help him in his pilgrimage to Jesus! We might call that ironic. Ananias might call it something else as God tells him to find and help Saul…
Acts 9:13-16
"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”
We, along with Ananias, need to learn to…
3. Never Question God’s Ability to Work Radical Change in People
Be honest with yourself this morning. How many times have you found yourself cynical or at least doubting when it comes to God forever changing a person? “Yeah, he’s all excited now, but give him a few months and he’ll be back to his old self.” “Yeah, she says she’s sorry, but anyone can say that.” “Who…him? Are you kidding? The church is the last place in the world he’d ever set foot!”
Shame on us! Shame on us for doubting, for choosing not to believe that God can and will radically change people! We need to not question it. Why? Because…
We’re like Ananias and we hesitate
It’s a lie from hell that tells us God can’t change a person. I say that because, if we allow ourselves to be convinced that a person won’t be changed, why would we bother sharing Jesus with him? Ananias hesitated. God spoke directly to him to send him, and he balked. “Uh, Lord, is this the Saul of Tarsus – the one who has made it his personal goal to destroy the Church?” God just told him to go.
I think He probably has the same message for us for those times that we think too much and hesitate: Go. Just go. I’ll take care of changing the person. You go.
We also need to not question God’s ability because…
We’re like Saul, and we can be changed.
Too many people put off becoming a Christian because they have this impression that the Church is a place you go to once you have your act all together. After you’re good enough, then you go. I wonder where they got an idea like that? Lord, please don’t let it be from me! Actually, the Church is where a bunch of people who don’t have their act together come to seek the Lord Who has the ability to get our acts together! If God can take a person like Saul of Tarsus and turn him into the starting quarterback of His varsity team, that means He can work change in the life of someone like me, and like you!
Never question God’s ability to work radical change in a person’s life.
Because of time, I want to share just one more application I see in this whole scene, and it’s Paul’s point as he recalls his old life in I Timothy.
1 Timothy 1:13-16
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
4. Appreciate the Way that Radically Changed People Can Be a Testimony to God’s Patience
I’m afraid that sometimes we’re looking for the wrong people to tell about Jesus. After all, isn’t it easier to find someone who’s nice – someone who’s already a “good” person, someone whose life really won’t seem radically different if they accept Jesus? Look at the life of Paul more closely. We may just have it exactly backwards.
Why does God use someone like Paul? Why go out of His way to stop him and challenge him to turn around? Because when He gets a hold of someone like that and forgives him and changes him, it becomes for us an example of just how amazing God is. And the worse the guy, the more amazing the example!
Changed lives are one of the greatest testimonies to the wisdom and power of God – because the change for every one of us where it counts is a radical and deep change. Where it manifests itself is in a changed life.
A year ago I preached about God’s ability to forgive the worst people we could imagine. I mentioned the conversions of Jeffrey Dahlmer and Manuel Noriega. Could God forgive such evil men? He certainly can! And every time He does, it’s a witness to just how amazing God is. That doesn’t mean that if you weren’t previously a murderer or a druggy or a Panamanian dictator that your testimony about Jesus is less. It does mean, though, that in the Church there’s no such thing as a 2nd-rate member because of your past. God takes a Saul of Tarsus and forgives him and makes him Paul the Apostle.
Forgives him. That’s another lesson to be learned from this change – our ability to better understand and practice forgiveness, which we’re especially working on these days.
Conclusion:
“Oh, but Lord, I want to forgive. I know I’m supposed to and all, but…how?”
“Maybe if I explained it. Maybe I could tell you a parable about forgiveness and how essential it is in your relationship with Me. Maybe then you could be a forgiving person.”
“But, Lord, I still am struggling.”
“What if I forgave people? What if I look at a paralyzed man and the first thing I do is tell him he’s forgiven? What if I take someone who calls himself the chief of sinners – Saul of Tarsus – and I forgive him and turn his life completely around? Then could you forgive others too?”
“Maybe, Lord, but I have to confess that it’s tougher when it seems like I’m the one they’ve offended.”
“How about if someone forgives you? What if all of the times you’ve messed up someone forgave you? Then could you be a forgiving person?”
“Well, that’s already been done, mostly.”
“What if I were to show you the enormity of your own sin? What if I were to find a way to point out just how huge it is, and then I forgave you? Could you consistently forgive others?”
“I’m afraid I’d still struggle, Lord. I’m not sure what it will take for me to finally forgive. I’ve been so hurt.”
“I know - What if I were to lie down on a cross, to bear your sins, and as they drive the nails through My hands and down into the wood I were to say, ‘Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.’ Do you think then you could learn to forgive too?”
As it turns out, Jesus has already done everything we need not only to be forgiving people, but to be completely forgiven. What hasn’t He done for you this morning? What would keep you back from being forever changed by the Master?
