PAUL’S CONVERSION

Lesson 17
6/20/03

THEME SCRIPTURE: Act. 8, 9

YOU’RE THOUGHTS: Who wrote the book of Acts?
                                      After reading the previous lesson (16) does being born again make sense to you?
 

 MY THOUGHTS: In our last lesson, we talked about the transformation that occurs
when one chooses to be born again. We touched on the fact that having a lot of
knowledge in the things of God doesn’t mean that we will be with Him in heaven.
This truth was brought to the attention of a religious man by the name of
Nicodemus and because he chose to come to Jesus and heard this truth, there was
a possibility that he was transformed into a new man or born again. In this
lesson, we are going to talk about another man that was well schooled in
religion, then literally saw the light and was miraculously transformed too. His
name was Paul.
Paul’s old nature compared to his new was like night and day. During his
pre conversion years, he was identified as Saul and because he was a native of
Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, a Roman province in the south-east of Asia
Minor, he was pined, at least on one occasion the name, Saul of Tarsus. (Act.9:
11). The city of Tarsus, which now is in modern day Turkey, had the reputation
of having a famous university; in fact its reputation stood higher then the
universities of Athens and Alexandria. Since Saul was born and raised in this
city, it stands to reason that most of his education was from there. Saul’s
father was without a doubt, very influential in filling Sauls head with the
rigid, strict and “you do it this way or your condemned” concept of the laws of
God. The reason I made this assumption is because his father was a Pharisee and
what the scriptures tell us about the habits of these Pharisee’s makes this
picture very clear (Act.23: 6). Another interesting tidbit of information
pertaining to Saul’s father was even though he was a Jew, he became a Roman
citizen. This to me is an example of God’s wonderful mercy at work, because this
fact became very important in minimizing the intensity of Saul’s (then Paul)
persecution later on in his life. (Act.23: 27). Being born as a Jew, Saul abided
to the Jewish custom and learned a trade before he pursued the profession of a
rabbi. The trade that he acquired, which was very common in Tarsus was making
tents from the hair of goats.
At the age of thirteen, Saul entered a Jewish school of sacred
learning in Jerusalem and became a pupil under the intense tutoring of a rabbi,
Gamaliel (Act.22: 3). I’m sure Saul’s intentions were good when he first started
in this elaborate study of the scriptures, but I think self righteousness or
pride started clouding his mind and his heart as he grew more knowledgeable.
This is what led him to become very resentful toward the Christians. Saul could
not understand how these Christians could love the same God that he thought he
loved with so much zeal and a heartfelt intensity. Saul felt that if these
Christians didn’t observe the law, the way he felt the law of God should be
observed they should be condemned or punished or eliminated.
This persecution that was generated by Saul and his people would cause
the disciples of the Lord to scatter throughout the country, not to hide but to
preach the Gospel with even more intensity. This angered Saul so much that he
got permission from the high priest to go into Damascus where he knew that many
were located and capture and bound them and bring them to Jerusalem. Well,
needless to say this is where Saul met our loving Jesus and this was the start
of the transformation that occurs when you become born again. I believe that the
Lord had tried to get Sauls attention many times in the past and he would not
listen. That’s why the Great Light of our Lord Jesus overcame him on the road to
Damascus. I don’t need to talk about what changes occurred after Sauls
conversion because the many books that Saul, who is now Paul wrote tells the
story better then I can. Follow his three missionary journeys through the book
of Acts. Read how he handled the many afflictions that came his way and better
yet observe his attitude when he wrote his many letters to the New Testament
churches. He once persecuted the Church, then after his conversion he edifies or
lifts up the Church. I felt moved to use Paul’s conversion to illustrate the
change that develops when one surrenders their life to Jesus because of what
Paul was like before his conversion. He’s no different then you and me. He
believed in God, but he didn’t know God .The only way he came to know God was
through Gods only begotten son Jesus Christ. You might not hear His voice or see
His light like Paul did, but you will definitely feel His love if you give Him a
chance. So I pray that today will be your first day in the process of
transformation that occurs when Jesus enters your life. God Bless you.
Scrip Ref: Act. 9:11, 21: 39, 22:3
Paul’s Missionary Journey: Voyage # 1- Act. 13, 14, Voyage # 2 - Act. 15: 30-41,
16, 17, 18: 1-22, Voyage # 3- Act. 18: 23-28,
Act.19, 20, 21:1-4

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