Many believe that the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is second most important event in the Book of Acts. And there are many who feel that it is third most important event in all history. These people say that only the descent of the Holy Spirit on day Pentecost and the resurrection of Jesus Christ supercede. I am not prepared to say I rank the rebirth of Saul higher than the virgin birth of Christ, or the giving of the Law, or whatever. Nevertheless, the conversion of this man is extremely significant. And this is why we’re spending a few weeks here in Acts 9.
Thus far we’ve looked at the conversion of Saul directionally and instrumentally. Saul was saved from some things and then towards other things. As he later said of the Christians in Thessalonica – he had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. And to wait for his Son from Heaven.” Granted Saul’s idols were different from the Greeks’ – his were the idols of a self-satisfied pride. But people who are saved by the grace of God are converted from the same basic condition and sins. Last week we noted that instrumental in his conversion were God’s sovereignty, His servant, God’s special school and the Shekinah glory of the Lord.
Today I’d like to follow Saul’s conversion towards God’s intention and the immediate, natural results. Some of them are important to us, while others were only important to him. Saul was knocked to the ground, but I can’t say the same about me, and neither can most of you. But he trembled before the power and holiness of God, and that should be a part of our testimony. He was privileged to converse with the risen Christ, and while something similar may have occurred in your conversion, I’m pretty sure that your conversation with the Lord was different from Saul’s. Scripture says that he was astonished, confused, humbled and motivated. Some variety of these things are often seen when people are born again today – but not all of them. Some of these give evidence of Saul’s regeneration. And my purpose today is to suggest that if you have been converted to Christ, there should be some natural and obvious evidence in you as well.
There are some natural results to conversion which offer proof of new spiritual life. Is there anything seen in us which is similar to these things Saul? What proof could Ananias take back to his church, as a testimony that Saul was a new man in Christ? Remember that Saul was coming to Damascus to destroy the church of which Ananias was a part. Those people all knew his intention and the authority from the high priest which he had in his pocket. And now he was saying that the old Saul was dead and that he was a new creature in the Lord? There would have to be some evidence – something naturally flowing out of a genuine conversion – to convince those cautious Christians which he had earlier intended to slaughter.
I would like you to examine your heart: Have you been converted unto God from sin? I am not like some evangelists, trying my best to give you doubts. Nevertheless, I do want you to consider and to compare Saul of Tarsus to yourself. If there is much difference, then perhaps there is reason to seek the crucified Saviour. Some of the natural consequences of Saul’ conversion were blindness, obedience, fasting, prayer, baptism and his eventual association with God’s saints.
The first natural consequence of that man’s conversion was his blindness.
But first, I need to point out the difference and the relationship between physical and spiritual blindness. Luke tells us in verse 2 that “suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven.” As Paul first describes the account in Acts 22, he says, “As I made my journey and was come nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light around about me.” I am told that fishermen have a bad habit of allowing their fish to grow each time they talk about it, especially if the said fish got away. But Paul was not a fisherman, nor a compulsive liar. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he repeated his account in Acts 26 – “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me.” If we can picture the brightest noon-time sunlight, and then imagine a light twice as bright as that, we aren’t surprised that Saul was blinded. But the fact that the light which he saw was not natural leads me to believe that the blindness was not natural either. Besides why were not Saul’s companions blinded as well? This was a special blindness. And since it was special, several questions come mind –
For example, does God hurt people simply to hurt them? Does the Lord God, the God of love, delight in giving pain to people? Does that fit your definition of Jehovah? Is He like the so-called gods of the heathen who take pleasure in making people miserable? Yes, I believe in the sovereignty of God – that nothing ever happens without His permission. But also believe that nothing occurs without His purpose. “He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
Well then what was the purpose for hurting and blinding the man in this specific case? This blindness was not designed to punish Saul for his persecution or for the slaughter of Stephen. And it was not to keep him from completing his self-assigned duty of persecuting the Damascus church. God could have stopped that in a thousand different ways – temporary blindness didn’t do it. The persecution ended the moment Saul said, “Lord” – “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” Although it could have been, I don’t think the blindness was for the benefit of Ananias or anyone else. That blindness was a diversionary tactic.
Have ever heard that when a person loses one sense, others often become more acute? The deaf man must focus his strengths in other areas, and learn new skills in order to survive very well. The blind man must hone his hearing and his sense of touch to know what is taking place around him. Some blind people have extraordinary olfactory senses – they can better differentiate between smells. But for the three days of Saul’s blindness it was not on his sense of smell, taste or touch he concentrated. Rather it was on his hearing that he was working – and more specifically it was his spiritual hearing. Saul of Tarsus was forced for seventy-two hours to direct his heart towards more important places than Damascus or even the earth in general. This blindness was designed by God to serve a spiritual purpose. For three days all Saul had were his memories, his conscience, conviction and the ministry of the Spirit. Those three days set the tone and got him going in the right direction for rest life. He learned all about surrender and helplessness. Like a blind man, he cultivated dependence upon God an upon others. What an advantage Saul had over us – we still have our eyes, our wits, our education, our faculties.
A second result of Saul’s conversion was his obedience.
The man had never been obedient to God for a single minute in his life – no-one apart from Christ ever has. I can say that with the authority of scripture. The Bible describes us all as aliens, strangers, rebels and enemies. Because Jehovah is so holy, so pure, and so higher than us, by nature it is flatly impossible for us to please Him. Saul may have been obedient to his parents, priests and teachers. He may have obeyed the speed limits and filed his taxes on time. But whatever outward obedience there existed in his life, it was in some way out of selfishness. The kind of obedience which pleases God, is rendered to God in order to please Him. Any obedience which is designed to avoid punishment, or to gain the smile of someone else, is not pure and holy obedience.
Even Saul’s words, “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” were not yet to the point of godly obedience. He was taking the right steps – baby steps – but he had some hard, blind lessons yet to learn. If what someone does appears to be good, it is not recognized by the Lord, until it is done for the glory of God. When the drug-dealing millionaire pays taxes on his legitimate business, used to launder money, his compliance with the IRS does not mean that he is not a criminal and enemy of society. When the tavern owner gives money to his Catholic church, he doesn’t cease to be an enemy of God. Religious gifts, partial obedience, reluctant service and so on don’t buy off the wrath of God.
Saul meekly obeyed the Lord, in going into the city and waiting for God’s next command. When the Lord’s representative arrived and instructed him, Saul began to serve the Lord. The zeal which he had before wasn’t destroyed, it was sanctified. It might be argued that he had no alternative but to obey God because he was helpless and blind. But that is not true – no one with Satan’s help, is without strength enough to rebel against the Lord. There had been a conversion in Saul’s obedience department. And I hope that you can see one in your own. If you do not serve God with all your heart in all that He commands you, then should you say with Saul, “I have been converted to Christ”?
The next thing we see is Saul’s fasting.
Verse 9 says that Saul was three days without sight, neither did eat nor drink. Was this abstinence out of necessity or of his choice and free will? Please notice that even though I said that he was “fasting,” the Bible doesn’t use that word. It merely says that he didn’t eat or drink. Why do I point that out? Because the word “fasting” brings up two images. One is not eating or drinking after 7:00 p.m. in preparation for a medical procedure which is coming the following morning. And the other is some sort of religious exercise. I don’t believe that either of these was involved in Saul’s case.
As a Jew, and more particularly a Pharisee, Saul had learned and practiced fasting. There were days or periods in his life, when he abstained from food – because it was expected of him. He was very likely the sort of person whom the Lord Jesus criticized for making a theatrical production of going hungry. But on this occasion this was not an act, and he was not too physically sick to eat. The soul of his man was so stirred up that he lost all desire for food.
Saul’s world was turning upside down. I don’t know that we can fully imagine all that was going through that man’s heart and mind. Earlier, this Pharisee would sooner vomit than to think of worshiping the Nazarine. That one, who had been so proud, could contemplate a complete denial of his whole prior life, took his appetite away. He was coming to understand that he must turn his back on his teachers, friends, family, and they would do same to him. That he should look with joy on the most despicable thing in the world – the crucifixion – turned his stomach. No, he had no desire for food.
And besides that, he had meat most others would never know. He was feasting on a spiritual manna untasted, unseen and scentless to most people. It is believed by many, that Saul was beginning to receive the revelation which will make Him Paul the Apostle. Ananias didn’t teach Saul a single Christian doctrine, at least not by what we read here. Saul was so full of things spiritual that there was no room for mundane things like food.
How completely different we are today than Saul was during those three days. Take an audit of your week – the last 168 hours. How much time did you spend in church, or in some sort of Christian service? How much was spent in your Bible outside of church? But then how much time did you spend in your favorite hobby or at work? How much time was spent at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table? Saul was converted; how about you?
The fourth thing that indicated Saul’s conversion was his Prayer life.
In fact his praying is mentioned at a proof of his salvation. Ananias couldn’t believe that the Lord would send him to visit the infamous Saul of Tarsus. “It is all right Ananias, behold he prayeth.” Christ didn’t say, “He singeth the songs of Zion,” or he “preacheth the Book of Isaiah.” “Behold, he prayeth.”
There are few things harder in the Christian life than to fully and honestly pray. People can easily preach the Bible or teach if they learn a few skills. But real prayer is the business only of the real people of God. Especially is this the case in the three days of Saul’s kind of fasting. Prayer is the great grace and autograph of the residing Holy Spirit.
If someone was told to find you and only way to recognize you is your prayer life, could he ever locate you? Remember that Saul had never really prayed before in his entire life. The Lord will not hear the prayer of the one who turns his ear away from the Word. So this was something brand new, like a child learning to walk – it must have been marvelous.
And of what did his prayers consist? It shouldn’t have been for his salvation, because he had that in all its strength, although not in all its fullness. Was he asking for things? Was he begging for the restoration of his sight? From what I know of Paul the Apostle, he was likely completely mortified – like a worm on the hot cement. If he was praying about his bodily condition, he was probably asking God to take life – to slay him.
My guess, a totally unsubstantiated guess, is that Paul after a day or so moved on from “slay me Lord.” The Lord was working in that man’s heart in a very special way. The Lord was introducing Himself to His latest saint – the man whom He planned to especially use. I think that this time of prayer was full fledged fellowship with the eternal Son of God. Saul’s theological education was just beginning, and it was being soaked up by the man’s unbridled love. It was not like so many of our prayers – “God do this,” “God please do that;” “Thank you Lord for doing that;” “Why didn’t you do it sooner.” That kind of prayer is usually over in ten minutes or less – but this went on for days. Saul was truly converted and it could be seen in his prayers.
We notice too that Saul received baptism.
This baptism was the most courageous thing that Saul had ever done. He was taking sides with the accursed thing – “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Baptism takes the believer back to the cross – the death of Christ. Back to the burial of Christ and back to His resurrection – which Saul had been saying was a lie. For him to identify with Christ in water burial, was a death sentence. In being baptized, Saul was declaring that the old Saul was dead.
But he was willing, in fact he was yearning, to make that testimony – that statement. Genuine Christians are never really sure of the salvation of another professing Christian, if that second person refuses to be baptized.
The last thing natural result of Saul’s conversion was his new association.
Verse 19 – “And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.” “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples” – verse 26. The troubler from Tarsus had become a brother of those whom he had persecuted. “Though they slay me, yet will I beg their forgiveness and plead for their fellowship.” “How can I forsake the assembling together with them, especially in these last days.” Saul was taking his life into his hands even to approach the congregation.
He was like the six hundred in the valley of death – with cannon to right of him and cannon to the left. His former associates wanted his blood, and the Christians might have desired the same, had they not been converted themselves. Even Christians can hate the one who murdered and arrested their loved-one.
But as converted to Christ he wanted to be as close to the Lord as possible. And that meant becoming a member of one of the Lord’s churches. No one can be close to Christ and at the same time despise or neglect the church for which He died. If we want the truth we cannot ignore “the pillar and ground of the truth” – the church.
Saul was converted, and there was natural evidence of that in his life. Ask yourself if the same can be said of YOU. Are you a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus?