Category: Bible studies

When I walked into her room, I knew she was changed from the woman I had come to know over the years. The first sign was the missing smile from her face, and the second the lack of her unusually boisterous voice saying, “Well if it isn’t the preacher man!” No, this time she sat in silence, with barely the ability to move her face at all. The stroke attacked all her functions, but left her in the frustrating state of full-minded imprisonment. She could think, but not speak; she could process but not deliver. In the months that followed, one by one, her brain was retrained to learn things all over again – things we don’t even think about doing anymore. She once told me that she was “learning things for the first time all over again!” – I knew exactly what she meant as I watched her do each…

I mention my old friend because her story illustrates in the physical realm what happened long ago to Saul of Tarsus in the spiritual realm. In fact, and many of us went through in our first “growing steps” of faith in Christ learning life all over again. Though his story was nearly two thousand years ago, his conversion was not dissimilar to many people I know. They may not have been “struck down on the road to Damascus”, but God cut deeply into their broken lives – and they weren’t ready for what God wanted to change. Let me see if by looking at Saul’s early steps, we can see more clearly the struggle, and then allow God to make sense of His solution to the issue.

Go back in our story and observe Saul the day BEFORE he met Jesus on the road. He was a competent and capable student of the Word of God, and he was a zealous follower of Temple politics. He had gained the confidence of his fellows early, and used that to build a reputation that was formidable. He exhibited neither laziness nor dull minded slowness – but none of those attributes made him a re-born child of God. He was enthusiastic and zealous, but lost in self-moved and self-measured religion. At the moment of the apogee of his human influence, Jesus cut him down on the roadway, and his life was forever changed. By the end of that conversion story (where we left him in our last lesson) he was blind, hungry and separated from those who understood his past or could perceive his incredible destiny. What happened next is the story of this lesson – the “first steps” of new faith…Yet there is a single principle underlying the text that we must bear in mind…

Key Principles: Some of the initial lessons of faith are the hardest simply because they set the expectation for the rest of our time of service to the King.

Seven Lessons for the “New Beginning”

Paul faced an entire change in his life – one that moved him from an enemy of the Cross to a follower of the Savior. Few men in recorded history have such a radical transformative event, and yet literally millions understand what happened to Paul. They may not have had their lives documented, but they understand the radical changes that come into a life interrupted by God’s grace. Having lived a dramatic life before his Christ encounter, Acts 9 opens up eight critical lessons that Paul needed to learn to help set the tone and expectation for his life “in Christ”. Don’t skip by these lessons, for they are not mere “place holders” in the story. Our expectations weigh heavily in our walk – for those who don’t learn what to expect can easily be drawn off course in discouragement when their false ideas are not confirmed.

Lesson One: God doesn’t always remove troubles instantly – because He works through difficult circumstances (Acts 9:8-9).

The first lesson that Saul needed to confront is found in these two simple verses:

Acts 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Ironically, God blinded Saul so that he could get him to see the truth about life. God had an incredible plan for Saul’s life, but a man so competent couldn’t simply bound his way into that plan on his own power and with his own abilities. In fact, God could only get Saul to move forward by forcing him to a “dead stop”.

God didn’t just make him helpless… He left him in that state for three long days and nights. On the back side of the narrative that may not sound like a long time, but in the midst of it, Saul had no idea that this wasn’t going to be his “new normal” – and his whole life wasn’t about to unravel. There is no way Saul could be happy in darkness – but in the midst of the trouble, Saul could learn the meaning of JOY. Happiness is about what I am going through, while joy is about Who I am trusting as I pass through it.

Dwight L. Moody said it well, “Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about.” [SOURCE: Dwight Lyman Moody as quoted by Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992).

Saul needed to learn to trust God and not the circumstances – but he needed something even DEEPER – a lesson many have forgotten. God is not cruel when He delays respite from trouble. He has a purpose that is perfectly timed and properly placed into your life. You may not think so, but that is one way we can learn that we are not God. He is not a genie in our bottle, but a Creator, Sustainer and Master. I am the needy, He is the Knowing One. Trust will always be an issue if I don’t learn early that God does not use my watch to operate His Kingdom. That was the point of the three days and nights…

Here is the point: Either God gets to be God or He doesn’t. Either He chooses my path and I follow His lead, or I am faking the Christian life and trying to lead the dance of life. Saul needed that lesson – but so do we all.

Lesson Two: Your mission from God will require the involvement of others – because God works through teams (Acts 9:10-12).

A second lesson was also in order:

Acts 9:10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord [said] to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”

It is easy for gifted, talented and capable Christians to miss the need for others – and it is a deep lesson we all need to take to heart. A few years ago, Galen Clark wrote this commentary about team members that I clipped out: “Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin had every reason as teammates to be friends, but they were not. Incognito harassed and bullied Martin. He called him a racial slur in a voicemail played by every media outlet in the country. He threatened to kill him and his family. Incognito claimed all of this was just locker room talk. It is the way the guys talk to one another in the NFL. Apparently, Martin didn’t get the memo. Martin left his lucrative job citing emotional issues and fearing for his life. Though we don’t know all the details, it appears as if Martin has some culpability, as well. He was far too passive in dealing with Incognito’s threatening behavior. As a teammate, it appears, he should have expressed how troubling Incognito’s threats were to him. These two men had many more reasons to get along than to have a toxic relationship. Consider all the reasons they had to be friends. They were both football players. On the same team. Had the same coach. Both were offensive linemen. Both played on the same side of the line. Both were starters. Both wanted to win. Both are big dudes. Both were millionaires. Yet somewhere along the way one or both of them forgot they played for the same team and began to treat the other like a New England Patriot. They forgot the enemy was in another city. They forgot enemy is on another team.” How often I have heard Christian conversation that seemed like brothers forgot where the battle truly can be found. Strong leaders need to be especially careful of the way they learn their need for others.

This past week I participated in a forum on doctrine for the fellowship of churches to which I belong. Men came together from across the country, and hours of discussions produced a newly affirmed doctrinal framework for our churches as we face the emerging issues of our time with renewed vigor and hope. It was a lively discussion with men who love Jesus and yet found themselves quite different from one another. All of us were called by One Lord, but we all felt drawn to specific issues and emphases in ministry – based on the path Jesus placed before us. Gathering together in one room, the energy of team and the gentle reasonableness of maturity overcame what could have been a very negative experience. I will not soon forget how positive this experience was for all of us.

One of the men that impressed me deeply was a long-time friend and fellow Pastor from a Pennsylvania church that tried (sometimes in vain) to “chair” the meeting. He was kind to all of us, careful in his speech, and affirming in his words. Yet, he had conviction in his voice and firmness in his words. I was encouraged by the combination.

Saul needed to learn to temper his voice with those God would place on his team. It isn’t always easy – especially when we are used to being the leading voice in the room. At the same time, it is an absolutely essential lesson – we cannot, we will not and we must not work alone in the Kingdom. Sometimes we have to go a long way to help people know we understand where they are coming from, and that we love them in spite of our differences.

Fred Parsons wrote many years ago a little story that makes the point: A grandfather found his grandson, jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his voice. When Johnnie saw his grandfather, he reached up his little chubby hands and said, “Out, Gramp, out.” It was only natural for Grandfather to reach down to lift the little fellow out of his predicament; but as he did, the mother of the child stepped up and said, “No, Johnnie, you are being punished, so you must stay in.” The grandfather was at a loss to know what to do. The child’s tears and chubby hands reached deep into his heart, but the mother’s firmness in correcting her son for misbehavior must not be lightly taken. Here was a problem of love versus law, but love found a way. The grandfather could not take the youngster out of the playpen, so he crawled in with him.

Sometimes the best way to show love is identify with the plight of another. It doesn’t rescue them, but it does give them comradery in the trouble! Seriously, Saul needed to learn the value of the team.

Lesson Three: Though your sin is forgiven, some troubles will still follow you – because God uses even our weakness to grow us to full stature in Christ (Acts 9:13-14).

A third lesson was just as essential:

Acts 9:13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

The verses are clear – Saul was a known quantity in Ananias’ life, and not a desired one. The fact is that our reputation is forged over the long haul, and God’s forgiveness doesn’t automatically equal man’s forgiveness. If we were poor parents before we came to Christ, our adult children may not greet our new faith with open arms. We sinned against THEM as well, and that will take time to repair – if it can be this side of heaven. I doubt that Saul would have been fully embraced by Stephen’s family the first week of his new faith.

We all WANT to forgive people – but we have to admit it isn’t all that easy to do when the hurt was deep. Don’t take Ananias’ words too lightly. He wrestled with God because he didn’t KNOW if Saul was sincere in a change of heart.

Look at his words. “Lord, I know about this guy!” Was he implying that God didn’t? I don’t think so. I believe what he was doing was making clear something that Luke included in the text for a specific lesson to the church – When “all things become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17) for the believer the reference primarily concerns our state before God. The mortgage company doesn’t forgive our debts and our waist line doesn’t automatically shrink to a manageable and healthy level. Things that took a long time to break will take a long time to fix – unless God decides to chop into the norm with a miracle. He can – but often He chooses to let us learn to work our way back out of the problem. It is in working through our problems that God builds our strength, and teaches us patience for one another. After all, all the believers around you have their own dragons of the past to slay.

We make a terrible mistake when we try to apply the benefits of our “new life in Christ” to some guarantee that repairs to injured relationships and physical damage from poor habits will be either immediately healed or easily righted. God didn’t say that – poorly educated televangelists did. Real healing takes real work and real time. God can do it instantly, but that shouldn’t be our expectation – or we may set ourselves up for deep disappointment.

Lesson Four: God’s choice of you trumps any deficiencies you bring to the mission – because God chose the best vessel for the work He called you to (Acts 9:15).

Fortunately, for the last lesson, there is a balancing truth, found in the next verse…

Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

Take a deep breath… God chose you. He knew what He was getting better than you knew what you were giving Him. He made you. You are genetically perfect for God’s call in your life. You aren’t from the wrong side of the tracks – but from exactly where you needed to be from to help you think the way you do. God has a chosen path for His children – and your job isn’t to invent it, it is to FIND IT.

It is ironic that Saul wasn’t the one learning this lesson in the text… Ananias was! Saul, like many great leaders, likely sensed God’s hand in his life. At the same time, Dr. Luke (the writer of the account) made clear that is what God told Ananias. God essentially said: “I’ve got BIG PLANS for Saul!” Go wanted to march him into places of power and give him the task to speaking truth to powerful men and women. His job wasn’t going to be easy.

Not to step off this lesson at all, but consider this: God is preparing in our midst some of the children and youths that will tackle the next great challenge of the Kingdom. We dare not take nursery duty lightly! Sunday School must be prepared well. Children’s ministry must include Godly models! Youth must be drawn into the study of God’s Word at the deepest level we are able to give them. The days ahead will require confidence and knowledge of the Word of God, and we must train them – for they also are chosen instruments of our Master.

Lesson Five: God’s plan for you may include living through times that are very uncomfortable for you – because God’s plan is set in a battle to redeem a fallen world (Acts 9:16).

A fifth lesson is both powerful, and in some ways, troublesome…

Acts 9:16 …for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.“

Consider how clear God was on the coming troubles for Saul of Tarsus. Why? Why didn’t God clear the path of trouble if He loved Saul and wanted his mission to succeed? Those are loaded questions. The truth is that there are a number of reasons – but one of them is that Saul needed to learn to trust God THROUGH the troubles, not just recognize that God was greater than his troubles. Let me illustrate what I mean with the words of a woman writer:

“[My daughter], Allison, came home for the weekend. She opened the door, didn’t speak, and dropped her duffel bag. Smudges of mascara circled her eyes. I whispered a “God-please-no” prayer. “Come tell me about your classes.” I patted the sofa. She muttered, “Gotta take a shower.” As she clomped upstairs, I analyzed the recent changes in her: complaints of not having any money, rarely answers the phone, weight loss, pinpoint pupils, and a “who gives a rip” [facade]. I searched her purse and found a leopard-colored pipe and the unmistakable sweet odor of pot. My heart fluttered wildly like a bird stuck inside my chest. She plodded down the stairs, hair in a towel, wearing the same wrinkled clothes. Be still and talk in a sweet voice, I told myself. You must convince her to stop. “We need to talk, honey.” “Not now. I’m tired.” “I found your pipe.” She stared at me with death-row eyes. “Chill, it’s not that big of a deal.” The tightness in the den suffocated me. I needed air. “Want to walk?” I asked brightly. “Like we used to?” “Whatever.” I knew I could talk some sense into her. “Honey, please. You’ve gotta stop.” I grabbed her hand. “Mom!” She jerked away. “We have a strong family history. You don’t want to…” I never got to finish the sentence. Allison stormed out of the room and within minutes was headed back to college. I knew what I had to do–abandon everything in my life and start to worry/fix/control full-time. I began spending most days by the phone. I evaluated Allison’s reactions, gestures, and comments. Thoughts circled my mind like buzzards: What if she never stops? What if I never see her again? What if she overdoses? Or goes to jail? I lured Allison into therapy by promising we’d go to an Italian restaurant before visits. Her first appointment day arrived. She played with her spaghetti, and I couldn’t eat. “So, what do you plan to say to the counselor?” I asked. “How should I know?” When they called her name at the office, I hurried in to make sure the counselor understood. Allison refused to sign for me to have any information. I considered eavesdropping, but too many people were around. An hour later, she walked past me as I paid. “What’d you talk about?” “Just stuff.” Our therapy/lunch charade continued that way for a few weeks. Then Allison’s sister informed me she was still using. She denied it, refused to see the counselor, dropped out of college, and stopped answering my calls. I was convinced if I forgot about Allison, even for a second, or enjoyed anything, something bad might happen. Several months later, after another night of little sleep, I glanced in the mirror. I could have passed for the addict: dark circles under hopeless eyes. I called my friend Linda. Her son, also an addict, had been sentenced to state prison. “You can’t imagine all that’s going on here,” I said. “Come over for coffee,” she urged. I wanted to stand guard at home but knew she’d listen and understand. “Hey, girlfriend.” Linda hugged me. I didn’t touch my coffee as I blurted the saga. Linda didn’t sweet-talk. “You need help.” “You haven’t heard the whole story,” I argued. “I’m fine–my daughter, she needs help.” “You’re addicted to worry and control,” Linda said. “I’ve been where you are.” She stretched out on the sofa. “The only one you can control is yourself.” The possibility that she might be right terrified me. “It took me years to realize that I’m not in charge. God is,” Linda admitted. “By worrying, you’re telling God he can’t handle things. Go to Al-Anon with me.” I’d heard of Al-Anon but didn’t see how it applied to me. But I agreed because I was in awe of Linda. I didn’t open my mouth during the meeting. Every word spoken sounded like my own thoughts: “I worried myself sick about my alcoholic husband.” “My peace comes only when I let go and let God.” Then the speaker said, “To change, you’ll have to leave behind some familiar lifelong habits.” But how? This is who I am–what I do. “An alcoholic can’t drink, and those of us in this room can’t allow an ounce of worry. For us, it’s every bit as dangerous and addictive. Worry robs our serenity.” I didn’t think change was possible. Not for me. But I knew one thing for sure–I was destroying my life. That night at home I got real. “Help me, God. I can’t do this without you.” I began to ask God for help each morning. I whispered, “Not my job,” as worry, fear, or control tried to needle back in. Two years after that first Al-Anon meeting, Allison and I met for an impromptu lunch. She’d gone back to the same therapist. On her own. “You can’t imagine how easy it is to study when you’re not high,” she laughed. “Nope, I guess not.” I blinked back happy tears. “Thanks, Mom.” “For what?” “When you didn’t fix my problems, it scared me. A few times I had to dig change out of the seat of my car for gas money. Some days,” she paused, “I didn’t have food.” My throat felt warm with pride. She’d done it on her own. “I’m making A’s. And look,” she handed me her checkbook. “I have money again.” Recovery defies logic. It means doing the opposite of what feels natural. When I took care of myself and my addictions, Allison did the same.” Citation: Condensed from our sister publication Today’s Christian,© 2008 Christianity Today International Julie W., “Not My Job,” Today’s Christian (July/August 2008)

Here is the bottom line of this lesson: we live in a fallen world, and the influence of the enemy is all over the place – but God is at work. He is not at work only in the GOOD THINGS of life – God is at work everywhere. The question isn’t: “How do I get out of the pain and trouble?” as much as it is: “God, how can you use me in the pain and trouble? What do I need to learn from you today?”

Lesson Six: All the preparation and talent in the world isn’t enough to fulfill your mission – because God’s power is vested in God’s Spirit (Acts 9:17).

Saul was incredibly gifted, and excelled early in life. He needed the lesson of the next two verses…

Acts 9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.“

Saul needed God’s Spirit more than he needed the restoration of his physical eyesight. God was about to give him both – but the Spirit became the secret to really being able to see. God wanted Saul to see as few others could. He wanted him to evaluate things in a spiritual way. He wanted him to recognize the truth articulated well by C.S. Lewis: “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body!” No believer is truly mature until they see the physical world as many times smaller than the spiritual world that entirely engulfs the cosmos.

“In January, 1995, according to an article written by Gary Thomas, J. Robert Ashcroft had fewer than forty-eight hours to live, but he was holding on to life, hoping to see his son, John Ashcroft, sworn into the U.S. Senate the following day. [John Ashcroft, as we all know by now, is in the process of being confirmed as our next Attorney General]. As family and friends gathered in Washington for a small reception, J. Robert Ashcroft asked his son to play the piano while everyone sang, ‘We Are Standing On Holy Ground.’” “After the song, the frail old man spoke some powerful words: ‘John, I want you to know that even Washington can be holy ground. Wherever you hear the voice of God, that ground is sanctified. It’s a place where God can call you to the highest and best.’” “Wherever we are in our vocation, if Jesus is Lord of our lives, that place is a holy place of service for Him” (Thomas, “Working for All It’s Worth,” Moody, July/August 1998, p. 13, as quoted in Morgan, p. 796).

There was a man who knew that WHERE was not the question – but IN WHOSE POWER was the ultimate query. Work done by the talented will wash quickly away. Work done by the Spirit of God cannot be undone by mere mortals.

Lesson Seven: Though conversion is a spiritual act, not everything about you is spiritual – because God works through the frailty of earthen vessels (Acts 9:18).

One final lesson from our text…

Acts 9:18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened.

Here is the great truth that we are but men and women. We who know God and proclaim His love, do so in earthen vessels… in cracked pots. Our bodies are not indestructible, and they need tending. We need not baby them – they also need discipline. I am heartened by this story:

One of God’s faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, “While God gives me strength, failure will not deter me.” In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.” Allen Gardiner. (from sermon central).

Allen didn’t LOSE to a broken body, he WON to a good God. He was called home after doing all he could for Jesus. Like Epaphroditus of old, he was sick from his call – and gave all he could.

At the same time, Saul was needed for the long haul, and had to learn to eat right, hydrate well, and rest when the time was given by God. He couldn’t be DRIVEN by ministry, he needed to be DIRECTED by Jesus. Elijah learned that long before… A walk with God may need more prayer time, or it may be time to take a day and rest before God. We need to learn to pace ourselves in our ministries…These were some beginning lessons that helped flavor Saul’s expectations and temper his steps… and they should ours as well.

Some of the initial lessons of faith are the hardest simply because they set the expectation for the rest of our time of service to the King.

God doesn’t look at people the way we do, and that is a good thing. When we look at people, we are culturally trained to judge them, more or less, by a set of ingrained values, many of which we may not even be consciously aware. If we see a very large person, we may immediately judge them to be undisciplined and even slovenly adorned – though the truth may be that they have a genetic disorder or a disease causing gross inflammation. We may write them off if we are looking for a “high energy go-getter type”. If we see someone who is dressed in a disheveled manner, or even mismatched in their clothing, we may judge them to be a “have not” from society’s lowest place – though they may actually be quite well off and just a person who does not care about fashion a whit. When we see someone exceptionally pretty or handsome by whatever the fleeting standard of our day, we are culturally cued to draw near to them and want them to approve of us or accept us. These things are ingrained from a very young age, and they are at work in virtually every interaction of your life. Some sociologists term this “cultural value stamping”.

Fortunately, God is not from where I grew up. He doesn’t reside in one culture, and His evaluations are not all based on my appearance, nor my past performance, but rather He relies on His ability to know what I will become with His transforming hand. God is at work in people that want Him to be – but so much more. He is working in the backdrop of the scenery of your life even before you are aware of Him… Such a truth can be dramatically illustrated in the life of the church history hero – Saul of Tarsus. God saw what few others could see – and God used him dramatically… but only after God forcibly interrupted Saul’s life with a flash of blinding light.

Key Principle: The biggest factor that determines our life’s destination is not our past or even our personality – but our willingness to embrace God’s change in us and control over us.

A few years ago I picked up a book entitled When People are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch. I didn’t read the book, because I was so struck by its title. I began to think about that and put the book back on the rack. What a great title! Have you gone through a time in your life when you made God too small in your eyes, and made people too important? That seems to summarize the setting of the beginning of the story of a companion I have been sharing my life with over the past thirty years. In my obsessive desire to know the Bible, I traveled through almost all the places identified by church historians as part of the life of the Apostle Paul. In this series of lessons, I want to walk through that journey with you.

Meet Saul of Tarsus

I want you to meet my friend back where he began. He was a good guy, well educated, properly spoken and sharply adorned. He came from a good family, and got a first-class education. He was a free Roman and a Jew. He had a Latin mind for organization, a Greek tongue for the study of human wisdom, and a Hebrew heart to know God – the perfect combination for the task that God outlined for his life. Though this story is about him, and not you, it is worth remembering that you are, in fact, genetically perfect for the task God has assigned to you. He knows what He needs and He made you because you are needed in the intricate tapestry of God’s full plan to make Himself known.

The first time we meet my friend, he was standing with his university friends in Jerusalem and listening to a speaker that was systematically alienating and aggravating the crowd surrounding him. The speaker’s name was Stephen, and the subject of his prolonged lecture was the defense of God’s work through Jesus of Nazareth – a life changing influence that was changing people in Jerusalem’s Jewish community by the thousands, and was becoming a source of profound aggravation to the Judean aristocracy in general, and the Temple leadership in particular. The scene was recorded in Acts 7, and it was quite tense, the air filled with a combination of hot, dry dust and bitter-tasting anger:

Acts 7:54 Now when they heard this, (referring to Stephen’s apologetic preaching) they were cut to the quick, and they [began] gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they [began] stoning [him]; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Freeze the movie frame there. Here was the auspicious beginning scene for Saul who would become the most accomplished writer among the Apostles. Could you see it? Of course not! He was one of the crowd – nothing more outstanding could be said of him than the fact that people trusted him with their robes while the stoned a man to death. But wait… that isn’t NOTHING. Saul was a man in whom others placed confidence. They left their valuables with him. They may have sounded like radicals, and certainly they were – but Saul was a trusted radical in their midst. He served them, and that made him both notable and trusted. Don’t forget the way to importance is always by serving the needs of others – it was an early lesson Saul seemed to get. Let’s move back into the scene…

Acts 7:59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on [the Lord] and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep. Acts 8:1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 [Some] devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But Saul [began] ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. 4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word…

The text shifted quickly, as the storm against the Jerusalem church seemed to grow to a “flash point” in almost a moment. A trusted young man was holding the coats in one scene, and was leading the charge into the home of unsuspecting followers of Jesus in the next. Who was this man? We are fortunate, because we have an answer. Because he wrote thirteen letters of the New Testament that are specifically accepted by scholars as from his quill (or his traveling secretarial companions), we know a good bit about the man. I want to introduce him the way he later introduced himself in many scriptures.

The Uniqueness of Saul

I think it is fair to say that Saul fo Tarsus was a unique man, chosen for a very special mission. In fact, Acts 1:23 shares the details of how the Apostles chose a successor to Judas Iscariot. Essentially the choice came down to two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (surnamed Justus) and a follower of Jesus known as Matthais. The latter (Matthais) was chosen, but was never heard about again in the writings of the Christian Scriptures. Some argue the leaders may have been “out of step with God” (though the narrative does not appear to be a statement of disobedience). One thing is certain, waiting in the wings for a Divine meeting was “Shaul of Tarsus” whose conversion and writings would powerfully impact the Disciples from the first century until now (as we will see in our study of Acts 9 and beyond). Scholars have argued that Paul was unique in the record in five ways.

• First, Paul was the most controversial man among the early leaders. The record of Church History reveals that he was called an “illegitimate charlatan” by Pseudo Clement, but highly regarded by others. He was widely followed and bitterly disputed all at the same time. In other words, he was a dynamic leader!

• Second was the noted and incredible “expansive view” of Paul – he was a visionary in many ways unique to his time and place. Though Jesus spoke mainly to Jews and called on them to follow their King, Paul (by the direction of the Holy Spirit) recognized the expanded definition of “spiritual kingdom” – stretching that definition even into the Gentile world. He recognized the shifted pattern of God’s work, and followed after the movement of the Spirit. His chief argument with the other leaders was that the Spirit indicated a change in the direction of the outreach (Gal. 3:2), and the church must follow that direction. He saw it well before most of his peers (cp. Acts 15) and argued when he saw a conflict in the leadership over the new direction (Gal. 2:1ff).

• A third uniqueness of the “Apostle to the Gentiles” (as he called himself in Rom. 11:13) can be seen in the way God used him to communicate revolutionary new ideas to the young churches. Paul “broke ground” on a number issues: divorce, inter-ethnic marriage, acceptable styles of dress in worship, the public behavior of women particularly in ministry, family issues and eschatology (particularly issues like our “resurrection bodies”, etc). His use of the holy principles of the Hebrew Scriptures and the revelation offered to the church by the Spirit through his pen offered the window not only into the Roman world and its problems, but into the method and principles of problem solving for the church of every age!

• Though often thought of as a domineering leader (perhaps because of some very hard words to the Corinthian Church), a fourth uniqueness of Paul was that he was actually extremely relational and caring. He openly praised the good in others (Phil. 1) and thought of the people of God as related in every way. It is no accident that the Spirit of God used Paul to explain the “body concept” of the church, with Messiah as the Head (1 Cor. 12:12ff). He obviously felt that his life was an example to believers everywhere (Phil. 3:4ff) and expressed deep emotion in his dealings with their sin and troubles (2 Cor. 2:4; Phil. 4:1). The closing words from his quill were all about the people in his life, not simply a sterile list of accomplishments (2 Timothy 4).

• Finally, a fifth way Paul was unique in the early leadership of the church – he was uniquely exposed. Though we have other records about the foundations of the church and its leaders, we have nothing so complete as the record of and by Paul. Though the Gospels offer a reasonably complete picture of Jesus, we have no physical writings of Jesus. In the case of Paul, we have both the writings about him (i.e. the Book of Acts) and the letters written by him to the young churches and leaders.

Saul’s Background

The essential facts about Saul/Paul’s life are, for the most part, documented in the Christian Scriptures by the man’s own letters. At the same time, these facts are but a shadow of the man that stood the test of brutal beatings, shipwrecks, homeless wanderings and many rejections for the cause of proclaiming Jesus. Let’s set up our series of lessons with some significant things about Paul that we know.

First, we know something about his various names. He was named at his circumcision after the first king of Israel (‘Shaul’). Bible students recall that King Saul was selected by his peers in part because of his physical stature. He was known as the king that stood “a head above” other men of his day, and that appealed to the insecure Israelite tribal leaders. In contrast, the Apostle Paul was short in stature. A possible reference to this was his Gentile name “Paulus” which loosely has been translated as “short, stubby one”. Though some writers and Bible teachers unfamiliar with Jewish customs offer the notion that Saul was the “unregenerate” name of the Apostle, Paul did not exchange one name for another after his conversion. On the contrary, every Jew of the diaspora was traditionally named according the formula, “And his name shall be named among the Jews as ___, but among the Gentiles he shall be called ____.” Saul possessed both names from the time of his parent’s naming ceremony. We have become accustomed to calling him by the “name among the Gentiles” because most of the ministry record we have comes from the time of his service outside the land of Israel, among the Gentiles that came to faith. It is worth noting that his size and name left little restriction on his impact. John Chrysostom, (c. 345-407) a leader of the Byzantine Church is quoted as saying, “He was barely five feet tall, with a reach that touched the stars.”

In addition to the knowledge concerning his names, we surmise the birth date of Paul to be about 5 CE, during the end of the reign of Caesar Augustus (who ruled until the year 14 CE). It is certain that he was born during the first decade of the first century, making him a younger contemporary to Jesus. By the Scriptural record we know that Paul never met Jesus before the Savior’s Resurrection and he was still “a young man” (Acts 7:58, a reference to his early thirties) at the time he was “holding the cloaks” at the stoning of Stephen in Jerusalem.

Paul’s hometown was the city of Tarsus, and he seemed quite proud of that fact. He apparently liked his “home teams”, and mentioned his home – the place of the third largest “university city” in the Empire (behind Alexandria and Rome) whenever he got the chance. (Acts 7:58; 9:11, 30; 11:25; 21:39; 22:3; 22:28; 26:9-10; Rom. 11:1; 2 Cor. 11:22; Gal. 1:14; Phil. 3:4-7; 2 Tim. 3:14ff). Some scholars speculate that Paul may be a descendant of some of those who were promised free citizenship if they moved to the Cilician city in 171 BCE. Another claim for the citizenship ancestry of Paul can be found in some who raise the possibility that Paul’s father or grandfather helped Marc Antony (and thus Rome) during Cleopatra’s renowned visit to Tarsus in 41 BCE. The historian Strabo mentions the splendor of the event, as Cleopatra sailed her gilded barge in the Cyndus River into the city. In addition, there is reason to believe that Antony and Octavian used some resources of the city in their struggle against Brutus and Cassius, who they later defeated at Philippi in Macedonia. Some have even suggested that a tent maker’s gift could have been repaid in citizenship (cp. Acts 18:3), though this is mere speculation. In addition to being the hometown of Paul (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), it was also the city Paul returned to after his escape from Jerusalem (Acts 9:30). Barnabas found Paul in the city and enlisted him to service at Antioch (Acts 11:25ff). Paul may well have visited on the Second and Third Mission Journeys (Acts 15:41; 18:22-23). Paul was proud of this important city (Acts 21:39) and his free citizenry, a sentiment common to Roman citizens who often had significant rivalries between cities in athletics, etc.

Paul’s occupation was also recorded in the Bible (Acts 18:3, 20:34; 1 Cor. 4:12) as that of a tentmaker or leather worker. The Greek term “Skenopoios” was used to refer to a variety of binding and weaving crafts. The area of Cilicia, the region of Tarsus, was noted in antiquity for the quality goat hair tents (called “cilicum”). Some scholars even suggest that Paul’s family may have secured citizenship by providing tents to the Roman army during the transition from Republic to Empire.

Students of the Bible can also reasonably identify the key elements to the education of the Apostle Paul. His early life in Tarsus was no doubt impacted by the university in town that was legendary in the time. When he moved to Jerusalem and out of the shadow of the university, Paul studied under the moderate Pharisaic instructor Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He was learned enough to become a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). His quotations of the Hebrew Scriptures are usually from the Septuagint version (250 BCE), a possible sign that his memorization of the Word was done from the Greek translation. He apparently could speak the Hebrew language (Phil. 3:5; Acts 21:40) and Greek (Acts 21:37) and perhaps Latin (though this is not certain).

Near to the heart of any Jew of antiquity was his tribe affiliation. Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin, the ancient possessors of the heartland of Israel. The area of the hill country is north of Jerusalem and is centered on the ridge route of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. The territory was the dwelling of King Saul of old, and included such important Biblical places as Gibeon, Bethel, Ai, Mizpah and Shiloh (the place the Tabernacle was placed for much of the pre-Temple times.

We know only a few things about Paul’s family. By his own admission he was brought up by observant Jewish parents in the diaspora (i.e. “son of a Pharisee”- Acts 23:6). He no doubt had a number of brothers and sisters, but only mentions one sister indirectly in Acts 23:16. He alluded to his father on a few occasions, but never made any mention of his mother in any of his Epistles (see Rom. 16).

Paul’s contributions and successes are also well known. He has been called a fanatic (defined as “he can’t change his mind, and he can’t change the subject!). He was usually followed by a riot or a revival! Yet, one third of the Christian Scriptures were written at his hand. We know of fourteen and possess now thirteen letters to young churches and Pastors, but there were no doubt others. His style was sometimes complex enough to draw the observation by Peter “some of Paul’s words are hard to understand!” (2 Peter 3:15-16). In addition to his writings, his energetic travel schedule took him to more on journeys totaling more than 10,000 miles.

His travels were often met by troubles (Acts 16:22) and he was asked to leave on a number of occasions (as in Acts 16:39). We have only a traditional record of his death. The “Apocryphal Acts of Paul” (a dubious source in many respects) offers the detail that Paul was beheaded along a main shopping district on the west side of Rome at the hand of the executioners of Emperor Nero in 67 CE.

The broad view

Step back for moment and look at a quick overview of an important man God used in all our lives. He was saved in 36 CE at about age 31 or 32, and died in the year 67 or 68 CE at age 62 or 63. Half his life he followed a zealous religious life, and then he met God’s Son. His was a life interrupted by God’s grace. With only half of his life left – he accomplished more than any other of his day. How? The answer is found again in the Scriptures, back in the record of the Book of Acts, chapter 9.

9:1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and 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?” And He [said], “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.

In 9:1 we begin the paragraph with Saul looking powerful and menacing – but all this suddenly changed. A flash of light, a voice from on high, and the youthful and ardent stride of Saul was broken forever. He started the passage looking ahead at life, but when he met Jesus, he found out that he couldn’t really see at all. The journey that began with him in the lead, ended with him being led by the hand, unable to see the turns in the bumpy road.

As we study the life and ministry of Saul or Tarsus, don’t venerate the man. He was as frail as any other, and as subject to the sin nature as all of us. Yet, from the encounter with Jesus onward, the man learned a secret… The interruption of his life became his greatest blessing. The unexpected call of God became the driving force of his life. Saul FELL INTO GOD’S GRACE, and that was a powerful place to be.

Saul’s Secret

Saul’s greatest power lay not in his ability, but in his surrender of all his life choices to serve his King, his Lord – his Master. Falling into grace was God’s work of introduction, but growing in grace (as he later told Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:1) required the deliberate withdrawal of control of life’s choices to the direction of God’s Spirit under the Lordship or mastery of Jesus Christ. Philippians 3 says it in his own words: “…beware of the false circumcision; 3 …and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 … If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…

Saul didn’t consider Jesus simply as his Friend, or his Helpful Guide – but rather as his “KURIOS” – his Master. Jesus called the shots on Saul’s life. When we move ahead in the story, Jesus will be at every turn in the road of Saul’s life, directing him, guiding him and commanding him. It started with Jesus’ appearance to Ananias in Damascus to accept Saul and help him grow… but it goes on and on in the story. In every story we will see God at work directing… but that isn’t the key to the story. God is doing that in all of us. He isn’t silent… He just isn’t finding many that are willing to listen and surrender.

The secret of Saul was his decision – his final determination that his life was not his own – period. Because he didn’t see his life as his own, God could direct him and use him.

He didn’t find it in religion – he found it when he met and surrendered his life to Jesus on a roadway. GK Chesterton was right when he wrote: “The mark of faith is not tradition, but conversion. It is the miracle by which men find truth in spite of tradition and often with the rending of all the roots of humanity.”

His secret was that he met God, and took God’s mastery of his life seriously. The same can be said of you. The biggest factor that determines our life’s destination is not our past or even our personality – but our willingness to embrace God’s change in us and control over us.