Conversions In The Book of Acts - IV

Conversions In The Book Of Acts
Saul Of Tarsus (9:1-19; 22:6-16; 26:12-18)

From the conversion of "The Ethiopian Eunuch", we now turn our attention to what is perhaps the most famous of conversions in the New Testament. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, chief persecutor of the early church - Ac 8:1a "Saul approved the stoning of Stephen.", 3 "Saul started making a lot of trouble for the church. He went from house to house, arresting men and women and putting them in jail."; 9:1-2 "Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest and asked for letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way." Who became Paul the apostle (Ac 13:9), a recipient himself of much persecution for the cause of Christ - cf. 2 Co 11:23-28 -- Whose conversion stands as a powerful testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are actually three records of his conversion in The Book of Acts. Ac 9:1-19 - where Luke describes it as it happened. Ac 22:6-16 - where Paul recounts his conversion before a large crowd. Ac 26:12-18 - where Paul defends himself before King Agrippa. From the example of the conversion of "Saul of Tarsus" we find not only a powerful testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also more evidence concerning the nature of conversions as they are revealed in Acts. For example, when was Saul (Paul) saved? Was it on the road to Damascus, when the Lord appeared to him? Or was it in Damascus, at some point after he arrived there? How was Saul (Paul) saved? Through saying a sinner’s prayer? Or by being baptized?

Such questions can be answered by a careful consideration of Biblical evidence. Let’s begin then with a review of the evidence provided by all three accounts of Saul’s conversion and look at the harmony of his conversion. Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute more Christians - Ac 9:1-2 "Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest and asked for letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way."; 22:4-5 "I made trouble for everyone who followed the Lord's Way, and I even had some of them killed. I had others arrested and put in jail. I didn't care if they were men or women. The high priest and all the council members can tell you that this is true. They even gave me letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus, so that I could arrest people there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished."; 26:9-11 "I once thought that I should do everything I could to oppose Jesus from Nazareth. I did this first in Jerusalem, and with the authority of the chief priests I put many of God's people in jail. I even voted for them to be killed. I often had them punished in our meeting places, and I tried to make them give up their faith. In fact, I was so angry with them, that I went looking for them in foreign cities."

All of a sudden a light shone around him from heaven - Ac 9:3 "When Saul had almost reached Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him."; 22:6 "One day about noon I was getting close to Damascus, when a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me."; 26:12-13 "King Agrippa, one day I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and permission of the chief priests. About noon I saw a light brighter than the sun. It flashed from heaven on me and on everyone traveling with me."

Then a voice began to speak to him in Hebrew identifying itself as the voice of Jesus - Ac 9:4-5 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice that said, "Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?" "Who are you?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus," the Lord answered. "I am the one you are so cruel to."; 22:7-9 "I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking, "Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me?" "Who are you?" I answered. The Lord replied, "I am Jesus from Nazareth! I am the one you are so cruel to." The men who were traveling with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice."; 26:14-15 "We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice say to me in Aramaic, "Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me? It's foolish to fight against me!" "Who are you?" I asked. Then the Lord answered, "I am Jesus! I am the one you are so cruel to."

Jesus then tells Saul why He has appeared to him - Ac 26:16-18 "Now stand up. I have appeared to you, because I have chosen you to be my servant. You are to tell others what you have learned about me and what I will show you later." The Lord also said, "I will protect you from the Jews and from the Gentiles that I am sending you to. I want you to open their eyes, so that they will turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then their sins will be forgiven, and by faith in me they will become part of God's holy people." He was to go on to Damascus, where he will be told "what you must do" - Ac 9:6 "Now get up and go into the city, where you will be told what to do." He will be told "all things which are appointed for you to do" - Ac 22:10 "I asked, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" Then he told me, "Get up and go to Damascus. When you get there, you will be told what to do."

Saul now arrives in Damascus led by the hand, having been blinded by the light - Ac 9:8 "Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he could not see a thing. Someone then led him by the hand to Damascus,"; 22:11 "The light had been so bright that I couldn't see. And the other men had to lead me by the hand to Damascus." For three days, he neither eats nor drinks - Ac 9:9 "and for three days he was blind and did not eat or drink."

The Lord appears to Ananias in a vision, and tells him to go to Saul - Ac 9:10-16 "A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, "Lord, here I am." The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying, and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so that he could see again." Ananias replied, "Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem. Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name." The Lord said to Ananias, "Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me. I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name."’ Ananias then obeys and goes to Saul, and has his sight restored - Ac 9:17-18a "Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, "Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit." Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see."; 22:12-13 " In that city there was a man named Ananias, who faithfully obeyed the Law of Moses and was well liked by all the Jewish people living there. He came to me and said, "Saul, my friend, you can now see again!" At once I could see." Saul is then told why the Lord appeared to him and how he will be a witness of what he has seen - Ac 22:14-15 "Then Ananias told me, "The God that our ancestors worshiped has chosen you to know what he wants done. He has chosen you to see the One Who Obeys God and to hear his voice. You must tell everyone what you have seen and heard." Then Saul is told to be baptized and wash away his sins, calling upon the name of the Lord - Ac 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."; 9:18b "He got up and was baptized."

Sauls’ conversion is now complete and he begins his work immediately by preaching in Damascus - Ac 9:20 "Soon he went to the Jewish meeting places and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God." And later in Jerusalem, Judea, and to the Gentiles - Ac 26:19-20 "King Agrippa, I obeyed this vision from heaven. First I preached to the people in Damascus, and then I went to Jerusalem and all over Judea. Finally, I went to the Gentiles and said, "Stop sinning and turn to God! Then prove what you have done by the way you live."’
As mentioned previously, the conversion of Saul is a powerful testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What other reasonable explanation can be given for the drastic change from "chief persecutor" of the Christian faith to "chief proclamator" of the Christian faith? But the conversion of Saul is also valuable for the insights we can glean into the process of conversion. With that in mind, allow me to share some observations concerning "when" Saul was saved.

It is often stated that Saul was saved on the road to Damascus when the Lord appeared to him; that his conversion took place at that moment. Note that while on the road, the Lord said it would be in Damascus where he would be told "what you must do" - Ac 9:6. In Damascus, Ananias told him to "wash away your sins" - Ac 22:16/ At that point, Saul was still in his sins! He was still not saved! While in one sense he was indeed "converted" on the road (his view of Jesus certainly changed), conversion in the sense of salvation did not occur then. Saul was not saved until after he arrived in Damascus.

From the statement of Ananias in Ac 22:16 (to wash away his sins), we learn that Saul was not saved by virtue of the vision on the road. We learn that Saul was not saved by virtue of the prayers and fasting he had offered for three days - Ac 9:9,11. Saul was saved when his sins were "washed away" - Ac 22:16, which occurred after spending three days in Damascus. Saul’s salvation occurred when he was baptized to wash away his sins! This concurs with what Peter said about the purpose of baptism in Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."
Concerning baptism and calling upon the name of the Lord we can turn to Peter’s statements. After quoting Joel who wrote of calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Ac 2:21 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (ASV, KJV), Peter told his crowd to be baptized - Ac 2:38 (see above). Now Ananias commands Saul to be baptized, "calling upon the name of the Lord" - Ac 22:16. As Peter wrote, baptism saves us, and is an appeal for a clear conscience - 1 Pe 3:21, in baptism, then we are "calling upon the name of the Lord". We are appealing to God by the authority of His Son Jesus to forgive our sins. While we can certainly pray as we are being baptized, baptism itself is a prayer (an appeal) to God for a clear conscience!

From the conversion of Saul we learn that one is not saved by visions of the Lord (who could have a vision more impressive than Saul’s?) We learn that one is not saved by saying the sinner’s prayer (Saul had been praying and fasting for three days!) In keeping with what we have seen already, one is saved when they are baptized for the remission of their sins - Ac 2:38. One is saved when they are baptized to have their sins "washed away" - Ac 22:16. Of course, we learn from Paul’s discourse in Romans 6 that the simple rite of baptism is efficacious because in baptism we are baptized into Christ’s death - Ro 6:3-4 "Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father." We are united with Christ in the likeness of His death - Ro 6:5 "If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him." We are crucified with Christ, and our body of sin is done away - Ro 6:6 "We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin." We die to sin, and are therefore freed from sin - Ro 6:7 "We know that sin doesn't have power over dead people."

In his commentary on Ro 6:3, Martin Luther wrote: "Baptism has been instituted that it should lead us to the blessings (of this death) and through such death to eternal life. Therefore IT IS NECESSARY that we should be baptized into Jesus Christ and His death." (Commentary On Romans, Kregel Publications, p. 101)

And so we say, as did Ananias, to anyone who has yet to be baptized for the remission of their sins... "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in Saul’s conversion and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jimnewy@classicnet.net

This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001

God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year

Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
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