I was talking to our Missionary Tim Parrow on Monday night.
He told me attendance last Sunday night was very small, but the meeting was possibly very productive.
Marta was the only one who attended besides the Parrows.
After the service she stayed and talked for an hour, eventually confessing that she needed to be saved.
I have forgotten what term she used, but it was one of the more theological terms:
She said that she needed to be “regenerated,” or she needed to be “converted.”
this was the first time that she realized that SHE was a sinner.
Also, she is to give birth soon, but this has been a problem pregnancy, and it looks like a caesarean will be necessary.
Bro. Parrow’s comment pointed out the over-use, and the subsequent dilution, of a lot of good Bible terms.
There is nothing wrong with talking about a person’s salvation.
But like the term “born again” it’s a thing laughed at by the world.
However when we use words like “regeneration” or “conversion” people are forced to listen and think a little rather than just dismiss.
Other terms like that are: “faith” or “belief in Christ.”
Just about everybody knows that they should believe in Jesus,
But isn’t it interesting that he didn’t actually talk about believing in Jesus or repenting of his sin, and he certainly didn’t talk about asking Jesus to come into his heart.
We see that it was his testimony that he preached repentance:
Does this mean that Paul did not put his faith and trust in Christ? Of course not.
Does this mean that he didn’t urge people to cast aside their idols and to believe on the Lord Jesus?
Of course not.
How can we know that Paul, or anyone else for that matter, has believed on the Lord and repented of his sin?
We know because of the sort of relationship that person has now with the Lord Jesus Christ.
If he has really repented before God, then he’s not going to love sin the way that he did.
And if his faith is in the Lord Jesus, then he is going to love the Lord, worship the Lord and obey Him.
Salvation from sin is not produced through a person’s obedience.
A person’s obedience is a result of his salvation.
When Paul said, “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,”
he may have been speaking about a specific heavenly vision and a precise obedience to that vision,
but the fact of the matter is that Paul’s nature was changed, and he had become an obedient person.
Obedience is one of the characteristics of a true saint of God.
So what did he see?
His eyes saw nothing more than a light brighter than the noon-day sun.
But spiritually he saw much more than that.
He saw that he was headed in the wrong direction: towards Damascus when it should have toward Calvary.
By faith he finally saw the Lord Jesus Christ – the Messiah, the Saviour.
And among other things he saw his need to surrender to the Lord.
Can’t we also say that as far as that goes, we have seen this revelation too?
Can’t we say that the whole Bible is the revelation of these same things? Amen?
Why is it that the Lord doesn’t personalize His revelations to us as He did to Saul?
Did Saul need more of a miraculous revelation than any of us?
Did he need a vision whereas the rest of us don’t? Perhaps he did.
But as the Lord Jesus said to a group of unbelievers: You shouldn’t have to have miracles in order to believe.
God wants us to trust Him apart from visions, miracles, angels and Heavenly visitations.
And to that end, the Lord has revealed himself in a lot of less spectacular methods.
For example there is the Word of God.
The preservation of God’s Word may or may not be miraculous as well.
That means that the Bible is extremely valuable and ought to be precious to us.
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
“Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
.How long do you think that the conversation between Christ and Saul lasted?
Half an hour? Ten minutes? Two minutes?
If Luke has given us the all that was said and all that took place, then it didn’t last very long at all.
But when it comes to the Bible, if nothing else, this revelation is eternal.
In other words we have so much more than Paul, even if his vision was more spectacular.
Other ways that God reveals Himself is through nature, human reason, and the conscience.
Two better methods than these are providence and the witness of the Holy Spirit to our spirit
And again, what the purpose of that revelation?
“Rise (Saul), and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee.”
Wasn’t the purpose Paul’s revelation a commission to bring glory to the Saviour?
As I said last Wednesday, “This is all about Jesus.”
He didn’t say, “Whereupon I understood the vision” although apparently he did.
He didn’t say, “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I started witnessing to everyone about my vision.”
He said, “The point of the vision was to give me a job to do, and I’ve been trying my best to do it.”
Don’t you find it curious that he said, “I was not disobedient,” when it would have been easier to say “I obeyed?”
The language of the Bible here is rather like a double negative – “not disobedient.”
Unless we’re grooming them to be politicians or lawyers.
Isn’t this some kind of “double-speak”?
He had been living a life of disobedience, but now he was not disobedient.
He had been kicking against the pricks, but now he rejoiced in the gentle leadership of the Lord.
The Bible uses lots of different terms to describe the lost man:
“Wicked, enemies, reprobates, rebellious, fools…”
“Children of Belial, Children of Hell, Children of the Devil, Children of the Wicked One.”
There is a long list, and one which is used three times is “Children of Disobedience.”
And then we should be able to say, “From that point on I have not been disobedient.”
Obedience is something in our power to give or to keep.
Obedience should be a part of our Christian lives, and if it is not, then we need to re-examine our Heavenly vision.
Once in a while the Lord puts words in someone’s mouth and forces him to speak – like Balaam.
And sometimes He even temporarily changes the character of someone in order to accomplish His will – just as he made the Balaam’s donkey speak like a man.
But generally, the Lord commissions and commands and then leaves the response up to us.
Paul made the wise choice and immediately began preaching Christ and calling sinners to repentance.
He had been a block of ice, standing in the way of other people’s service of God.
But early one afternoon, a light from heaven shone down upon him,
and he melted in an instant, becaming a source of the purest, sweetest water any sinner ever tasted.
In Acts 9 we are told that Paul “trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
The key to the service of God is obedience.
Perhaps the key to obedience is availability.
Paul declared himself to be available for whatever work the Lord had for him to do.
This is the way that it should be every new child of God.
This is the way that it should be for all the children of God, whether newly saved or among the ancient.