Acts 9:1-31 (October 29, 2023)

The Conversion of Saul on the Road to Damascus

You can turn to Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9 as we continue to go through the Acts of the Apostles. We come to chapter 9 today and in these verses we're going to read of a great reversal in the story of the conversion and calling of Saul who will later be known as Paul.

This story starts out with Saul persecuting Christians and by the end of the story we see Saul being persecuted as a Christian. And it's such an important story that Luke's going to tell it three times throughout the book of Acts.

And so we'll return to this narrative again in the coming months as we get there but for today we read the first time of the conversion of Saul here in verses 1 through 19 and then we'll continue on through verses 31 in just a little bit.

But let me read the first 19 verses to get us started and the Word of God says this. Then Saul, still breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

As he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you Lord?

And then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goats. So he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him, Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.

And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

And he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Here am I Lord. So the Lord said to him, Arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus.

For behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man how much harm he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.

But the Lord said to him, Go.

For he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my namesake. And Ananias went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. And he received his sight at once. And he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food he was strengthened. And Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

Amen. This is the word of God to us this morning. Well as we go through this passage I'm going to be a good Baptist preacher for you today. And I'm going to alliterate five things that we see in this passage that happened to Saul.

We see that Saul was converted. We see that Saul was called. We see that Saul was communed and consecrated and commissioned. That's going to form the outline of this morning's sermon. But here's the thing.

These five things didn't necessarily happen in a linear progression where this happened and then the next thing happened and then the next thing happened. It all kind of goes together. The work of God in Saul's life is intertwined.

But through this passage we do see these five things, these five C's happen. So let's take them in turn. And the first is that Saul was converted. He was converted on the road to Damascus. And so when chapter 9 opens we have Saul breathing threats of murder against people of the way.

That is those who are disciples of Jesus. Those who are Christians. Those who are following Christ. He's breathing threats of murder against them. You'll remember from earlier that Saul was there when Stephen was being stoned and they laid Stephen's garments at his feet.

He was a part of that. And here he is going to arrest Christians. He obtained letters from the high priest authorizing him to go to Damascus. And he found any of the way he could bring them back, men or women, bound to Jerusalem.

He could arrest them. And the south chapter opens. Just a few paragraphs in. A paragraph in to chapter 9. And Saul is repentant. And he's following and obeying the words of Jesus. We see his repentance alluded to in verse 9 where it says,.

And he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank. This is a common sign of mourning and lament and repentance. We see his obedience in the verse before that, verse 8, where he arose from the ground.

And they led him and he went into Damascus where Jesus had told him to go to Damascus. And so he obeys. And we see further obedience in verse 20. We didn't quite get there. But verse 20 says,. Immediately he preached the Christ and the synagogues that he is the son of God.

Jesus had chosen Saul to be his chosen vessel to take the gospel, to preach the gospel to Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. And we see immediately in verse 20 that's what he goes and does.

He goes into the synagogue and preaches that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the son of God.

He's obedient.

Verse 21, if we keep on reading. People noticed the change.

It says,.

Then all who heard were amazed and said, Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and he's come here for that purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?

Is this not the same Saul who was just persecuting the church just five minutes ago?

People noticed the change.

And what was the change? What was the fulcrum point of the change that was in Saul's life? He encountered Jesus. The change point was that he encountered Jesus. He had encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus.

And Jesus had changed him. Jesus had brought him from death to life. Jesus had brought him from darkness to light. Jesus had brought him from the domain of Satan to the kingdom of God. And we see that his sight in this passage tells a parable of his soul.

Saul's sight tells a parable of his soul. We see at the beginning of the story, Saul is physically able to see, but he's spiritually blind. And in the middle of the story, Saul is spiritually able to see, but he's physically blind.

And by the end of the story, he is both physically and spiritually able to see. In other words, Saul was converted.

He was changed.

He was made new.

And only Jesus could have done that. And that's the truth for Saul. That's the truth for you, and me, and anyone else who has been converted to Christ. They're converted through, and only through, Jesus.

Saul's Prophetic Calling and Obedience

Secondly, Saul was called. And here, when I use the word called, I mean he was called in a similar way to the Old Testament prophets. We see this call here in verses 3 and 4. As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

And he fell to the ground, and he heard the voice of the Lord. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? This might remind you of the calls of maybe Moses, there at the burning bush. Or Isaiah, his visit to the throne room of God.

Or Ezekiel. You see, like those Old Testament calls, there's this blazing bright light. There's the booming voice of the Lord from the heavens. The light is so brilliant, he's blinded by it. Then in verse 6, the call might remind you of God's call to Abraham.

Remember God, Genesis 12, calls Abraham, tells him to leave his country, to leave his kindred, and go where? It doesn't tell you specifically, it says go to the land that I will show you. Verse 6 here, Jesus tells Saul to go to the city.

And then you'll be told what to do. In both cases, God does not fully reveal what is to happen next, or he doesn't fully reveal what the plan will be. Rather, he calls, and Abraham obeys. And then God shows him where to go.

And God calls, and Saul obeys. And then shows him where to go. So the first call of God to Saul is first to himself. God calls Saul to himself. And then he calls him to a specific ministry assignment.

Which we see in verse 15, and we'll come back to him being commissioned to that ministry assignment here in just a bit. But Saul is converted, Saul is called. Then we see that Saul is communed. By which I mean that he was welcomed into the community of disciples.

He was welcomed into the church. But this is where the story gets to have a little bit of tension. Especially if you're Ananias, it has some tension. See Ananias, he too has a vision of the Lord Jesus.

He too is called, see in verse 10, calls out to him, Ananias. His response might remind you of some of the Old Testament callings as well. Especially Isaiah. Isaiah responded to the Lord, here I am, send me.

And Ananias says, here I am, Lord. But his assignment, it seems dangerous to him. See in verse 11. The Lord told him, arise and go to the street, call straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus.

For behold he is praying. Here's the thing, Ananias had heard about this Saul of Tarsus. Ananias had heard what he had done, you know, there with Stephen. He had heard that he had letters authorizing him to arrest.

He had heard that he was breathing threats of murder against people of the way. He had heard about how much harm he had done to the saints in Jerusalem. But here's the thing, Jesus had changed Saul. And Jesus had plans for Saul.

And Jesus had plans for Ananias to be the means by which Saul was brought into the fellowship of the church. So what did Ananias do?

He obeyed.

Verse 17, Ananias went his way and entered the house. And notice how he addressed Saul. Same Saul who had been arresting Christians. Same Saul who had been breathing threats of murder. He addresses him and says, brother Saul.

Brother Saul. The one who had pillaged Christians was now welcomed as a brother. And he was baptized into the fellowship. And he ate with the disciples. And he was strengthened. And he spent some days with the disciples.

Verse 19 says, we see that Saul belonged.

He was brought in.

He was communed.

Consecrated for Holy Service

Next we see that Saul was consecrated. That is, that he was sanctified and set apart for a specific purpose. We see it in verse 17. Ananias laid hands on Saul. And he told him that Jesus had sent him so that Saul might regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And immediately what happened? He was able to see again. As something like scales fell from his eyes. And being filled with the Holy Spirit, he was baptized. Now you might remember, we've talked about the Holy Spirit.

How the Holy Spirit empowers and gifts believers for service. You also might remember when we went through the book of Mark. We talked about baptism. That one of the meanings of baptism is that believers are baptized into service.

They're baptized into ministry. So we saw that with Jesus' baptism. He was baptized at the beginning of his formal public ministry. Likewise, Saul was baptized at the beginning of his ministry here. And all of this goes to show that Paul is being consecrated, sanctified, set apart.

To be used by God for His glory. To be used in service of Christ and His kingdom. To be in service of the church. He was consecrated. And then lastly we see that Saul was commissioned. Saul was commissioned.

His baptism was a general commission for service in Christ's kingdom. But specifically, Saul was called to be an apostle. Saul was called to be an apostle with the specific role of being one chosen to bear Jesus' name.

Before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. We see that in verse 15. This is the specific call, the specific ministry assignment from Jesus to Saul. We'll see this further develop when we get into chapter 13.

And Saul and Barnabas are set apart and sent out by the church in Antioch. But here we see the commission of God on Saul's life. For him to be sent out to the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

And immediately we see in verse 20. He immediately gets to work on that task. He immediately begins preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. But what's interesting and what's sobering is verse 16.

For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my namesake. You see Saul's calling and commission would involve suffering. Saul who had inflicted suffering on Christians is now being called to suffer as a Christian.

If you keep reading your New Testament you'll come to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And there Paul recounts his sufferings. Later in life he's looking back on how much he suffered for the name of Christ. And he lists those and he says that from the Jews five times he received 40 stripes minus one.

Five times he was beaten with 39 lashes. Three times he was beaten with rods. Once he was stoned. Three times he was shipwrecked. A night and a day he had been in the deep. In journeys often. In perils of waters.

In perils of robbers. In perils of his own countrymen. In perils of the Gentiles. In perils in the city. In perils in the wilderness. In perils in the sea. In perils among false brethren. In weariness and toil.

In sleeplessness often. In hunger and thirst. In fastings often. In cold and nakedness. And besides the other things what came upon him daily was his deep concern for the churches. 2 Corinthians 11. Paul suffered for Jesus.

But here's the thing. Don't think about his suffering being punishment for his prior rebellion. For his prior persecution of Christians. No it's not suffering. This suffering is actually an honor. Because it's an honor to share in the sufferings of Jesus.

By God's grace Saul was counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. And it's an honor to share in the sufferings of Christ. Because if you share in the sufferings of Christ you also share in the comfort of Christ.

And the next two stories here in Acts chapter 9 show the beginnings of Saul's sufferings. His life is threatened. He's forced out on the run. Let's read verses 20 through 25. Immediately he preached to Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God.

Then all who heard were amazed and said, Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem? And he's come here for that purpose. So that he might bring them bound to the chief priests.

But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus. Proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Now after many days were past the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul.

And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and led him down through the wall in a large basket. We hear echoes of Jesus' ministry here in these verses. I want you to think back for a moment.

Jesus was baptized and then he spent some time in the wilderness fasting and tempted by Satan. Here Saul, he spent time in blindness and fasting and then he was baptized. After his baptism Jesus preached in the synagogues.

Paul does this in verse 20. After he's baptized he preaches in the synagogues. In both cases the audience is said to be astonished or amazed. We see that in verse 21 here. The crowds ask of Jesus, is this not the son of Joseph?

And the crowds ask of Saul, is this not he who was coming to arrest Christians not too long ago?

Verse 21.

Then there's a plot to kill both of them and they both escape. Saul being let down from the city walls in a basket by night. You see Saul's following in the footsteps of Jesus. Saul's following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Saul's Welcome in Jerusalem and the Church's Peace

Then verses 26 -31 recapitulates Saul's experience in Damascus. But this time it's in Jerusalem. Let me read those verses. And when Saul had come to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples. But they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple.

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him. And how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

So he was with them at Jerusalem coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists.

But they attempted to kill him.

When the brethren found out they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Then the churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit they were multiplied.

Again his conversion story is astonishing. And the people that hear about him being there in Jerusalem. Much like the ones in Damascus they were afraid of him because of his prior life. And like Ananias vouched for him and brought him into the community there in Damascus.

Here Barnabas mediates for Saul and vouches for his conversion to Christ. And here again Saul preaches boldly in Jerusalem just as he did in Damascus.

And he faces threats.

Verse 29 they tried to kill him just like they tried to kill him in Damascus. And at this time we see that he escaped just like he escaped from Damascus. It's a recapitulation. It's the same story over again.

And then we see at this time that the church prospered and had peace. That they walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and they multiplied. Now what I want to do here for our last remaining minutes together is I want to connect Paul's story to your story.

I want to connect Paul's story to your story. Now there's discontinuity and there's continuity at play here. Meaning not everything is one to one the same. And so there's discontinuity. You're not Saul.

You're not an apostle. Jesus did not appear to you as you walked down the road. You're not going to go on and write the majority of the New Testament. There's some differences between us and Saul right?

But there's also some continuity and that's where I want to focus today. Because just like Paul was converted if you're in Christ today you too have been converted. Maybe not in as dramatic fashion as Saul.

But when we think about it every conversion is actually pretty radical. Because what is true for any of us is true for all of us. What is true for Saul is true for us. Because all people were all born in the corruption of sin.

We are all slaves to our desires, to our lusts, to our passions. We rebel against God. We disobey His word. We love our sin. We've had hearts of stone. See that's a story for every person who's ever lived except for Jesus.

But when the light of the grace of God dawns upon us and He takes out that heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh and He puts His spirit within us we are changed. And the same grace that saved Saul is the same grace that saved you.

And you've been changed Christian. You've been converted to Christ. That means you're no longer defined by your sin. You're no longer defined by what you've done in the past. You're no longer defined by your past sinful habits.

You're no longer defined by your past addictions. You're no longer defined by your worst moments. You're defined by Christ because you've been converted to Christ. And He has washed away all your sin.

And He has made you a new creation.

You've been changed.

So what do we do with this? True. First thing we do is we rejoice in it.

We are glad in it.

Our sins have been washed away. So be of good cheer. You're saved, you're cleansed, you're changed and you belong to God.

Rejoice.

Second thing, give thanks. Do not cease in your gratitude to God for what He has done for you but thank Him. Three, take comfort. I know that sometimes our journeys on earth towards heaven are arduous.

Sometimes dark, sometimes steep, sometimes lonely. But take comfort in this. If you are in Christ, your journey to heaven is sure. Because you've been changed by Jesus. You've been converted to Christ.

And the last thing to do with this truth is live like it. Let the practice of your life match the reality of your life. You have been changed by Jesus. So live a changed life. Live like one who is converted to Christ.

So you too have been converted.

You too have been called. Now you haven't been called to be an apostle like Saul was. But you have been called. First of all, like him you have been called to God Himself. God is your God and you are part of His people.

So never lose sight of that. God has called you to Him. But secondly, you have been called to certain work. You have been called to certain service. Now often Christians will think if you are a serious Christian, then that means that God must be calling you to be a missionary or pastor or some kind of full time paid ministry.

And it's true. I pray that God will call out missionaries from our church.

I pray that God will raise up pastors from our church.

But I reject the idea that those are the only worthy callings for serious Christians. No, every vocation can be a calling from the Lord. God doesn't just call full time ministers. He calls plumbers to plumbing.

And He calls nurses to nursing. He calls lawyers. He calls delivery men. He calls the butcher and the baker and the candlestick maker. And He calls those who work on computers and those who work with heavy machinery.

He calls farmers who grow the food. He calls grocers who sell the food. He calls housewives who prepare the food and put it on the table that makes the whole family smile. He calls teachers and accountants and police officers.

Children.

He's called you to your schooling right now. Retirees. Maybe He's called you to care for your grandchildren or serve in the church or in the community somewhere. He calls husbands and wives and grandparents.

Those vocations as husbands and wives and grandparents. These are all callings from the Lord. And you can have multiple vocations upon your life. And yes, sometimes God does give a very specific call to some people to do very specific things.

And you can discern that by God's Word and God's Spirit within God's people. But whether that happens or not, the call of God is for you to be faithful wherever He has put you. You would be faithful in whatever work that God has given your hands to do.

To be faithful with the work He's given for you at this time. And he who is faithful with little will be faithful over many things. And so do your work, whatever it is, wherever you are. Do it as unto the Lord for you've been called to it.

Serve your family with gladness. Serve your church with gladness. Serve your community with gladness. Serve your company with gladness.

God's put you there.

You've been converted, you've been called, you've been communed. You've been welcomed into the fellowship of the church.

You've been baptized.

You belong. You're called brother. You're called sister. We all partake of the same Spirit and have been adopted as sons of God. So we want First Baptist Church Troubler's Rest to be a place for you to belong.

A people for you to belong to. For you to worship and say, this is my God. And then to look around and say, these are my people. This is a place for you to belong. Like Saul among those at Damascus. To be strengthened in your spirit and in your soul by the fellowship of the church.

That being the case, maybe you need to be an Ananias or a Barnabas. And you need to connect other people with the church. You need to bring them in so that they too can belong. Or maybe you haven't officially joined in church membership.

And you need to follow through with church membership. I'd love to set up a time to talk with you about that. This is a place for you to belong. You too have also been consecrated. That is, you've been filled with the Holy Spirit and set apart to live a holy life for God.

So I'd ask you a question. Are you living a holy life for God? Are you serving Christ and His kingdom? You've been set apart by God's spirit and by baptism for that purpose. And then lastly, you too have been commissioned.

Jesus said it in John 20, 21. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And in Matthew 28, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. We see it in Matthew chapter 5. You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.

You've been sent by Christ. Wherever you are, you've been sent by Christ to be salt and light, to make disciples. God has perfectly positioned you in His providence. He has perfectly positioned you to do your part in discipling nations by being salt and light and being ready to give a defense of the hope that is within you.

That is, you've been sent by God to this place at this time. And so the call to you is to be faithful in that commission. Fulfill your ministry here and now. Or, how we like to say it around here, by word and deed, go in glory for King Jesus.

That's what Saul did.

As he would say later in one of his letters, we can imitate him as he imitates Jesus.

And so let's do that.

Let's pray together. Our Father, by your grace you have saved us. And so I ask you to help us to live full lives in light of that reality that you've shown your mercy to us and saved us and called us to yourself.

Let us live holy lives. Let us live faithful lives. Strengthen us to attempt great things for you and for your glory. Things that would fail spectacularly if you don't bless it. Things that would have enormous impact on our community for Christ if you do.

To strengthen us to attempt great things. But also, Father, I pray that you would help us also to do all the normal, ordinary day-to-day things for your glory too. Those things that nobody else sees.

Those things that nobody will thank us for.

But you see them.

Help us be faithful in the everyday. And again, Father, we thank you for the grace of God that changes us. That takes out our heart of stone and gives us hearts of flesh and puts your spirit within us.

We pray that we would live by your spirit. And we ask these things in the name of Jesus.

Amen.