PAULS CONVERSION PAUL AS GODS CHOSEN INSTRUMENT JOSH

PAUL’S CONVERSION: PAUL AS GOD’S CHOSEN INSTRUMENT JOSH FERRELL

WORKS CITED § § § Bruce, F. F. Paul Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977. Chawszczewski, Susanne A. Understanding and Experiencing Conversion: St. Paul, St. Augustine, and Christians Today. St. Francis: Saint Francis Seminary, 2009. Conybeare, W. J. , and J. S. Howson. The Life and Epistles of St. Paul: The Standard Work on the Life and Writings of the Great Missionary Apostle. 16 th ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980. Longenecker, Richard N. eds. The Road From Damascus: The Impact of Paul's Conversion on His Life, Thoughts, and Ministry. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1997. Polhill, John B. Paul & His Letters. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999. Pollock, John. The Apostle: A Life of Paul. 15 th ed. Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1999.

INTRODUCTION § Paul: § Before his conversion was called Saul, which was his Hebrew name § A former Jew § Hated and persecuted Christians § Helped carry out persecutions (Stephen) § Acts 8: 3, “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. ” § Acts 22: 4, “I persecuted the followers of the Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison. ” § Acts 26: 10, “And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ”

§ Saul eventually had a “change of heart”, dramatically altering the course of his life § Paul was now dedicated to his new faith, savior, and the mission § One of the most important events ever to take place in history, besides the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ § Paul is used as an instrument to spread the gospel to the Gentiles

§ On the road to Damascus, God used a sequence of events to radically change Saul’s heart and later his actions § God can use anybody, regardless of their past, to use to His glory § If God can use a hot tempered, short fused, persecutor to proclaim the gospel of Christ and bring thousands of people into the kingdom of heaven, then he can use anybody he wants

THESIS § We see the hand of God throughout Paul’s life as God set him apart for salvation and apostleship, converting from selfcenteredness to dependence on Jesus Christ, putting his full trust in the one and only true God with his whole life.

SAUL THE PHARISEE § Tension between Christians and Jews § Paul followed the Old Testament laws § Paul had the idea that, “The old must stay; therefore the new must go. ” § A crucified man could not conceivably be the elect one of God. § Paul’s Jewish roots and Pharisaic heritage along with the customs of the laws of Judaism is what drove him to have such zeal to follow the law accordingly.

§ Hatred is what drove § Acts 22: 5 b, “I even obtained letters from them to Saul to Damascus in their brothers in Damascus, and his attempt to dissolve went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be the Christian faith punished. ” § Until the last moment § Philippians 3: 6, “As for of his pre-Christian zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. ” career, Paul persecuted the church

CONVERSION EXPERIENCE § Paul’s conversion experience changed his whole life and thought process § Luke relates the account three times in Acts § Acts 9: 1 -19, Luke’s narration § Acts 22: 6 -16, Paul himself speaks about his conversion § Acts 26: 9 -18, Paul explains his conversion to King Agrippa

Acts 9: 3 -9 § 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, why do you persecute me? " 5"Who are you, Lord? " Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, " he replied. 6"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. " 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

§ Even though Saul was § Acts 9: 15 , “Go! This content with his man is my chosen spiritual life, the instrument to carry my Lord’s sovereign grace name before the took hold of him Gentiles and their kings and before the § The hope is that God people of Israel. I will can use anyone, even show him how much the worst of us, having he must suffer for my the ability to save name. ” anyone § The challenge is not to be spiritually satisfied

Acts 22: 14 -20 § 14"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. ' 17"When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking. 'Quick!' he said to me. 'Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me. '

§ God’s chosen instrument § Righteous One - To see Jesus resurrected § Wash your sins away § Being baptized § The Holy Spirit bestows God’s grace § First step to dependence on God and his righteousness § His will, not ours § He stands near in times of crisis and need for help § Acts 22: 18, “Quick! He said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me. ’ § Acts 23: 11, “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome. ”

Acts 26: 14 -18 § 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, [a] 'Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. ' 15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord? ' " 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, ' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. '

§ “Kick against the goads” is a Greek proverb for useless resistance; only hurting yourself § His mission was from God § Turn those from darkness to light § So they may see the truth § Acts 26: 18, “To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. ” § 2 Corinthians 4: 6, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, ” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. ”

CONCLUSION § The light that now shines in Paul’s heart is the knowledge of the glory of God § He shared this new found knowledge, just as we should; this was his mission, it should be ours as well

Philippians 3: 12 -14 § 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PERSONAL DECLARATION § I’ll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines, or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won’t back up, back off, back down, or back slide. I’ll just keep moving forward by God’s grace. I’m spirit led, purpose driven, and mission focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race!