Call to Commitment

 

Acts 9, Part 1 

 

Chapter   9:1-9

 Jesus reveals Himself to Saul through a light

       1.   Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the  high priest   

         2.   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. 

3.      As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 

4.      Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 

5.      And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 

6.      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." 

7.      And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 

8.      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. 

9.      And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 

Luke took us through several chapters, recounting the beginning and the development of the first church in Jerusalem. He told of the persecution, following the martyrdom of Stephen and how the disciples scattered into Judea and Samaria. Next, he relates, “Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word,” so that Judea and Samaria were evangelized. You will remember that this was the second step in the Great Commission that Jesus left with His disciples.

 We last learned of the personal evangelization of an Ethiopian eunuch by Philip. This is an important development in Luke’s story, because this man took the gospel into the continent of Africa. Now, we will study the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who is to become the apostle to the Gentiles. His conversion is a major part in Luke’s carefully-planned account to Theophilus and through him, to the entire world of Christianity for all ages. He is about to reach beyond the evangelization of the Jews, the half-breed Samaritans, and a Gentile proselyte, to tell of the open and concentrated thrust of the gospel into the Gentile world. It begins with the transformation of the chief enemy of the gospel into an apostle, whose entire life, from this point on, will be dedicated to taking the gospel to the non-Jewish people. First, however, we will see in chapter 10, how Peter breaks through the barrier that kept them on the outside. 

 Saul guarded the garments of the Hellenist Jews who stoned Stephen and consented to his death (Ac. 8:1). Then he “made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Ac. 8:3). Our study today shows that Saul continued his rabid rage against the new church. Later the man himself gives this account: “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women (Ac. 22:4)… When they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” (Ac.26:10, 11). This is the demeanor of a person, driven by the devil, with support of high authorities, who already had proven that they warred against God’s purposes.

 Chapter 9 begins with a particular mission to Damascus, with letters from the high priest in Jerusalem. He would search for Christians, men or women, arrest them, bind them, and take them back with him (v. 2). Notice the term “breathing out threats and murder” (Greek definition: to inhale, that is, (figuratively) to be animated by (bent upon). I will allow Albert Barnes to help us to see the extreme animosity of this fanatical Jew: “The word breathing out is expressive often of any deep, agitation emotion, as we then breathe rapidly and violently. It is thus expressive of violent anger. The emotion is absorbing, agitating, exhausting and demands a more rapid circulation of blood to supply the exhausted vitality; and this demands an increased supply of oxygen, or vital air, which leads to the increased action of the lungs.”

 It would seem that only death could stop such a fanatic, or… a supernatural work of a sovereign God. Saul nearly reaches his destination, when suddenly God intervenes with a light from heaven (v. 3). In recalling his own story to the Jews at the temple, Paul said that this occurred around noon midday. His traveling companions also saw the light, were afraid, but did not hear the voice. Saul was also trembling and astonished (Ac. 22:6, 9), but he heard a voice, saying: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Jesus took the persecution against the church and its members as an affront against His own person (v. 4).

 He explains this further in the judgment of the nations, when He sits on the throne of His glory, declaring “I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, I was naked, I was sick, I was in prison.” Then, He clearly showed to the sheep on His right hand, His identity with His brethren, the Jews: “Amen, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. (Mt. 25:35, 36, 40). He said the same to those on His left hand, but to them He concluded: “Amen, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Mt. 25:45). This was true of His physical nation, as it is true of His bride, the church. Saul was guilty of persecuting the Messiah, when he persecuted His church. And so are all guilty of the same persecution of Christ, down through the ages, when they opposed the work of the Holy Spirit in His church.

 Saul reverently asked the Source of the light and the voice that revealed Himself to him, calling Him Lord, and the word came back, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”, but when he told the story to the Jewish mob at the temple, he added that the voice also said, “I am Jesus of Nazareth” He wanted it clearly understood, that it was the Nazarene, Whom they rejected and crucified, Who was the Lord of the light and of the voice that knocked him to the ground. He was alive! It is Jesus of Nazareth that they now must receive, if they are to be saved.

 Jesus not only revealed Himself to Saul, but in another sentence warned him of the danger that he was causing to himself. He could not ever be successful in deterring God’s purposes, but he could harm himself. Already, he is smitten blind and has brought much damage to his soul. Jesus said that he is “kicking against the goads”. For anyone, who may not know the meaning of that statement, it refers to a Syrian proverb, expressing an effort that brings nothing but pain. A goad was a piece of iron on a stick, made to prod an ox to keep moving, which a stubborn ox would kick against, not giving damage to anything, but himself (v. 5).

 Paul described the light to King Agrippa as brighter than the sun and Saul and the entire entourage fell to the ground (Ac. 26:13, 14) under its power. Saul recognized the lordship of Jesus and has already addressed Him as Lord and does so again in verse 6. There can be no doubt that he repents from his sins and ambitions, submits himself to Him and asks for His direction for his life. At that point, He is saved, according to the doctrine of salvation in his book of Romans: “If you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord (Ro. 10:9, Amp. Bible) or, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord” (ASV) or, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” (ESV) “and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Paul believed in the resurrected Christ, revealed to him that day, and confessed Him as Lord.

 Paul, apparently, did not believe in the doctrine of irresistible grace, for he told King Agrippa in chapter 26:19, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” That statement reflected his understanding that there must be human submission to God’s work. To say “I was not disobedient” recognized the possibility of disobedience, otherwise he would have expressed his obedience otherwise, as if he were obligated to obey.

 I want to give a little space here to the need to take the word of God in its clearest and most obvious interpretation. I have reached that determination and I encourage you to simply do the same. I will be a Calvinist, when the Bible confirms Calvinism, and in the same way, I will be Arminian, when the Bible confirms Arminianism. I will not be forced to proclaim loyalty with a certain school of thought. From the beginning with Adam and Eve, God proved that His creation was not a slavery, in which mankind would be held in check outside his own volition. He did not want slaves, but beloved sons and daughters, who would submit to Him in loving service. They could become voluntary bond-slaves, or love-slaves, as the Old Testament law offered (Ex. 21:5-6), and to which Paul, James, Peter, Jude and John submitted themselves. You will discover the fact in the introduction to, at least, some of their letters.

 

A. B. Simpson... champion of world missions

Because of the seriousness of the consequences, I want to add that I know of people, who have been kept from salvation through hyper-calvinism or, at least, had their spiritual life damaged by it. A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, was one. His parents being Presbyterians. did not offer any assistance to their teen-age son, lest they interfere with the sovereign work of God, as he sought salvation desperately. He tells in his own words: “My whole religious training had left me without any conception of the sweet and simple Gospel of Jesus Christ. The God I knew was a being of great severity, and my theology provided in some mysterious way for a wonderful change called the new birth or regeneration, that only God could give to the soul. It now seems strange that there was no voice there to tell me the simple way of believing in the promise and accepting the salvation fully provided and freely offered. How often since then it has been my delight to tell poor sinners that

We do not need at Mercy’s gate

To knock and weep, and watch and wait;

For Mercy’s gifts are offered free,

And she has waited long for thee.

Then one day, he read from a book, Marshall’s Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, that he found in his pastor’s library: “The first good work you will ever perform is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Until you do this, all your works, prayers, tears and good resolutions are vain. To believe on the Lord Jesus is just to believe that He saves you according to His word, that He receives and saves you here and now, for He has said… ‘Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out’. The moment you do this, you will pass into eternal life, you will be justified from all your sins, and receive a new heart and all the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit.”

 I received the following statements in a letter from a young Romanian woman: “At one dark moment in my life, I realized that, if we continued to stay and go to the same church, my children would not believe. They will just not see God’s power. I thought that they might get an intellectual understanding, but will not know God’s power and His reality. Towards the end of 2018, I started reading 1 Corinthians. I do not know, nor remember how, but suddenly chapter 12 and 14 seemed so clear to me. I looked around, and did not see the contents of those chapters in my church and I earnestly desired them. However, I was told by my friend, the pastor’s wife, not to seek the extraordinary...”

 “Needless to say, I found out too late, why my spiritual life almost died. I did not realize that the church we went to was Calvinistic, very fatalistic and cessationist!! There was turmoil within me and, even though I was reading my Bible at that time, after a sermon by a guest pastor at the church, I was so distressed that I went home and closed my Bible, without picking it up for months. His sermon was very deterministic and cessationist. A depression came over me, especially after the death of my friend, the pastor’s wife. In this deep depression, I started to slide into sins and weaknesses, from which I had been delivered, when I became a Christian.”

Eliza Șerban

 I had come to believe that God’s will is only suffering and that healing is not in His will, so I did not even expect it. I was taught a fatalistic acceptance of all circumstances. I had come to believe that God’s will is only suffering and that healing is not in His will, so I did not even expect it. Subconsciously, I had believed for many years that God wanted me to be miserable and that we must accept all, for all has been predetermined.  I was taught a fatalistic acceptance of all circumstances. I thought that this was the only true doctrine and it was ‘meat’ instead of only milk that some Christians were drinking. I thought that churches, outside of those that I went to, did not have pure doctrine and are liberals.  Therefore, instead of running to God, I was running from Him. I was taught that He does everything, even the work of the evil one.”

 I concentrated on the negative effect upon her of the doctrines of cessationism and pre-determinism, according to her letter but, in fact, she was freed from these doctrines through a miraculous healing and a subsequent baptism in the Holy Spirit. She had been very sick the greatest part of her life, thin and melancholy. After an operation in London, her vital signs fell to zero and she had to be revived. Several times, she was at death’s door and a doctor told her husband that she did not have long to live. But she was healed and powerfully baptized in the Spirit and I see an astounding difference in her life.

 And now, we return to our text: The explanation for the experience of the fellow-travelers is that they heard a noise, but did not distinguish a voice or what words were spoken. Because they did not understand the message, they were not able to distinguish the source of the voice. They saw a light, but it did not personalize, therefore they did not know that it came from Jesus of Nazareth (v. 7).

 Saul having shut his eyes at the brightness of the light, he now opens them to discover that the light had left him sightless… “I could not see for the glory of the light” (Ac. 22:11). His companions led him into the city of Damascus (v.8).  In the amazing glory of the heavenly experience, Saul had no appetite for earthly food and he spent three days in fasting and prayer. There were other factors involved, for which he could have spent this time in this way. There must have been an enormous conviction of his sinful treatment of Christians, as well as a tremendous change of direction in his future (v. 9).

 

Chapter 9:10-18

 Ananias comes to Saul

 10.  Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 

11.  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. 

12.  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." 

13.  Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 

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

15.  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. 

16.  For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." 

17.  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." 

18. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. 

 The Lord Jesus is actively and continually involved with all the affairs of His church on earth and, as he sent word to Philip to meet the Ethiopian eunuch, now he sends a faithful Christian in Damascus to meet Saul. Saul, the Pharisee, must also be taught by another, as the Ethiopian. Although he is learned in the Scriptures, yet the knowledge gained, according to his interpretation, turned him against the work of God, which was occurring in his day. Knowledge attained without the indwelling Holy Spirit serves only to oppose true Christianity. This explains how cults have arisen with heretical teaching, false teaching that pretends to interpret Scripture. Paul later taught that no natural man can receive the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned. Saul is as ignorant as a pagan, concerning the New Covenant and needs a teacher, who is born again.

 Enter Ananias in this place, who leaves as he came, with nothing known of his background. He is simply “a certain disciple,” disposed to immediate obedience. He is equipped, as all Spirit-filled believers with supernatural power, and healing flowed from his hands, to return sight to Saul´s eyes. He is a disciple of Christ and he is capable of hearing and obeying the Holy Spirit. This qualifies him to teach Saul the early steps for a new believer (v. 10). He is not mentioned again in the New Testament. The Lord gives him a Damascus’ street address, the house of a man named Judas, where his companions had taken Saul. He sends him based on the fact that he is praying. It is the prayer of a repentant sinner and it reminds me of the prophet Jonah’s prayer from the belly of a fish.

 Jonah’s situation was very similar to that of Saul, because he also was going in another direction away from God. God detained him in the middle of his journey, not by a light from heaven, but by a vicious storm. He also prepared a fish for him to take him, as far as it could by sea, back in the right direction towards Nineveh. Within three days, Jonah prayed a prayer of repentance, which he records in the second chapter of his book. It contained these words: "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple” (Jon. 2:7). 

 When blindness brought Saul to his senses and to repentance, he prayed for three days, as well. Perhaps for the first time in his life, despite his religious background, he utters the first prayer that God in heaven has heard from him. Previous to this experience, Saul’s prayer was as the Pharisee in the temple… “(he) prayed thus with himself” (Lk. 18:11). In Jonah’s case, the fish vomited him onto land. In effectual prayer, both Jonah and Saul, connected with the Lord and were delivered (v. 11).  

 Someone said that prayer is a two-way street. Saul prayed to the Lord and the Lord spoke to Saul in a vision. It was not an abstract imagination or a mental state, but almighty God communicating with Saul in plain reality, even mentioning the name of the man, who is on the way to visit him and tells him, what he will do when he comes. Likewise, the Lord tells Ananias of Saul´s vision in plain reality (v. 12).

 Ananias wants further enlightenment, as to the present state of this chief enemy of the gospel. He says “I have heard from many about this man” and he already heard of his mission to Damascus under the authority of the chief priests. His understanding up to this point has been on a human level from many people (v. 14). The Omniscient Lord gives him an up-to-the-minute update on his present condition. Isaiah assures us: “With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?” (Is. 40:14). His understanding of all the nations of the world is expressed as “a drop in a bucket”, in Isaiah 40:15 to “nothing” and then to “less than nothing” in verse 17. All Ananias’ past knowledge is nullified by one word from the Lord. As quickly as Ananias changed his mind concerning Saul, just as quickly had God reached in to change his nature.

 In the eternal plan of God from the beginning of time, Saul was included, to bring better understanding to the ignorant nations. He had deemed Saul the ideal choice, in His own wisdom, to “bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.” The generals of armies do not search in their enemies’ camps for recruits to further their own plans, but such are the ways of God, superior to the ways of men. God knew exactly what He was doing and He will train Saul for His own sake (v. 15).

 I was challenged many years ago by someone, for having ended a prayer, “For Jesus’ sake, amen.” He opined that prayer is to help for our own sake, since we show by praying that we need Him. I agree, but still the motivation behind prayer is not, principally, to get something for our personal needs, but to seek His glory and purpose. The prayer that Jesus taught His disciples begins, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” and ends, “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Mt. 6:10, 13).  I simply replied that “if our prayer is not for Jesus’ sake, it’s not worth praying.” It is absolutely correct to see that all is done for the glory of His name and for His eternal purpose.

 The Lord predicted suffering In Saul´s future and Jesus said to His disciples that, in this world of sin and sinners, “You will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). In 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, Paul lists the fulfillment of Acts 9:16 in his experience, along with the consolation and the victory that accompanied the trials. From chapter 1 of the same epistle, he showed that, according to the ways of God, through trust in Him, victory comes: “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Co. 1:9). Paul walked in this world through tribulations and saw heathens won to Christ, wherever he went.

 Ananias stepped into Judas’ house on Straight Street, to instruct Saul in this new life and see him empowered to serve the One he met on the Damascus Road. Through anointed hands, Saul was healed and the Holy Spirit fell upon him (v. 17). The prophet gives this hope: “Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up” (Hos. 6:1). The following prophesy in Hosea of the resurrection of Christ, working in the believers, worked individually in Saul´s heart: “After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight” (Hos. 6:2).

 Scales fell from Saul´s eyes and from that point on, Saul saw things differently than he ever had before. He believed and was baptized in water, testifying to his companions and the owner of the house, perhaps, that something powerful had transpired in his life (v. 18). Without hesitation, Saul walks into this new realm and dramatic circumstances began to take place, beginning in Damascus, where he was saved. Jesus revealed Himself to him and then, as he wrote the Galatians, “called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me” (Gal. 1:15, 16). Did you notice the two little words, to and in? Jesus revealed Himself to him and from that day on, God revealed His Son in him.