The Danger of Presumption and Despair

Imagine for a moment that your are traveling down the road in route to reach your destination.  Picture two large ditches on each side of the road as you are on this trip.  If you lose control of the car and slide into either one of these ditches you will not make it to your destination.  Let's picture the destination as being heaven and one ditch is the ditch of presumption and the other is the ditch of despair.  If a person falls in either one of these ditches they will not make it to heaven.

The Ditch of Presumption

If a person slides into this ditch it is a great danger to their soul.  Many people quickly presume that they are Christians and this presumption could lead to eternal damnation.  They trust in certain principles rather than in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  They trust in the facts that they are from a christian family, attend church, read their bible, give tithes or because they said the sinner's prayer.  They simply presume that because they have done all or some of these activities that they will be accepted into heaven.  Jesus Christ gave a stern warning to those who find themselves in the ditch of presumption:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, case out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?'  And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt 7:21-23).

The principle from this verse is that many a presumptuous person is going to be surprised on judgment day when they are condemned to hell.  To their shock and horror Christ is going to say to them, "Depart from me."  My prayer is that this will not be you!  Make your calling and election sure lest you be too presumptuous and face the condemnation of Christ.

The Ditch of Despair

The ditch on the other side of the road is equally as dangerous.  The ditch of despair can keep a person from reaching the eternal destination.  The individuals that find themselves in this ditch cry out and say that there is no way God could ever forgive them.  They conclude that because of the severity of their sinfulness they could never be accepted by Christ.  To these individuals I present some glorious promises that are found in the bible:

"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32).

"And it shall come to pass, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).

"For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13).

To the person that may find themselves in despair I exhort you to look to these precious promises.  Test God see if He will hold true to His promises.  I challenge you to trust in these promises.  God's promises are "Yea and Amen" so I know if you look to the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved!

Titus 3:1-2: Proper Attitude Towards Civil Authority

Have you ever wondered what your responsibility to civil authority is as a Christian?  The Apostle Paul answers this question in the third chapter of Titus.  View the video below to find out more!

Characteristics of a Healthy Church- Titus 2:1-10

The individuals that have been radically transformed by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are the people that make a church.  The local church is established when these individuals come together for corporate worship and mutual edification while submitting to the authority of God as their rule for faith and practice.  We use the phrase "community of believers" to describe the church as it is a group of individuals who believe and form a like-minded community.  The individuals that come into the church come from a wide variety of backgrounds and find themselves at all different stages of life.  They have a burden to be faithful to the Lord do not understand how to face the trials of life according to the Scriptures.  One of the main missions of the church is to teach them exactly how to make biblical decisions in all areas of life.  In Chapter two of Titus Paul begins by sharing with Titus some practical principles that he needed to teach his church.  A healthy church is one that has the characteristics mentioned in the second chapter of Titus.  Watch the video below to learn more about what these are!

The Damascus Road Experience

Conversion is a term commonly used by all of the religious sects of the world.  In essence conversion means in the broadest sense that an individual has acquired certain knowledge about a worldview, embraced that view that eventually lead to a lifestyle change.  Conversion affects all three aspects of the human—mind, heart and will.  The term conversion is one espoused by Christendom as well (Acts 3:19).  However there is a key difference between the Christian view of conversion and all the other religions of the world.

The bible espouses a conversion that comes solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9).  Now, this grace pours out upon people in different ways and in different measures.  For instance some people experience salvation in a similar manner that John the Baptist did.  From the womb of his mother the Spirit came to John the Baptist (Luke 1:41).  Some people live as if they have always been a Christian.  Still others have a more gradual process like Nicodemus.  This religious man sought out Jesus with some serious questions.  Christ told him of his great need of regeneration and he did not respond immediately (John 3:1-12).  We do know that sometime after this initial meeting he did come to embrace the Christian faith as his own.  History is full of great Christian leaders who came to the Lord in this manner.  Final there are some that have a dramatic experience.  It is as if the heavens open and the glory of God floods that person’s soul in an instant.  This is the account we read about the conversion of the Apostle Paul.  Paul’s conversion has often been referred to as the “Damascus Road Experience.”  It was given this name because of how God came to Him on the road to Damascus.

            In the entire history of the Christian church there has not been a more dramatic and powerful conversion (in the writer’s opinion).  Saul of Tarsus was completely transformed and became the Apostle Paul—a pillar of the church.  Saul the slayer was changed by grace and transformed into Paul the preacher.  To follow we will consider certain elements of this conversion experience.

PAUL’S PERSECUTION

            Paul’s magnificent obsession was to put an end to Christianity as it began to rapidly spread.  As was previously mentioned he approved of the killing of Stephen (Acts 8:1) and now he wanted more.  His fury had not diminished since this time but was enraged and now he sought the blood of Christians in Damascus.[1]  Acts chapter nine begins by stating, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1).  Paul’s thirst for vengeance against the Christians had not yet been quenched.  His focus was not to stop pursuing the Christians until they stopped proclaiming salvation through Christ Jesus.  Paul’s tactics were sharp and severe cutting people through with threats and inflicting harm on them when necessary.

            Some have stated that the, “breathing out threats and murderings” was merely as internal battle taking place within the mind of Paul.  They say that this means that Paul could not silence his heart in this intense battle.  This clearly was not the case!  Paul was not confused about what side of the fence he was on.  He was not having an internal struggle with the tenets of the Christian faith, but rather was passionately and zealously defending his.[2]

KNOCKED OFF HIS TRACKS

            With the authority of the high priest carrying him Paul set out for Damascus with a band of militant men.  His full intention was to get to Damascus and begin “rolling the heads” of the Christian converts.  To the utter amazement of Paul and the men with him Paul was knocked off his horse dead in his tracks by a powerful force.

            It was not a human force that took Paul to the ground, but a spiritual force, “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.  Then he fell on the ground” (Acts 9:3-4a).  The supernatural bright light appeared to Paul and should be understood as an expression of divine glory and it is no surprise that this light knocked him down and blinded him (Acts 9:8a).[3]  In this scenario Paul actually encounters the risen Christ.  The Lord Jesus Christ came to Paul demonstrating the electing sovereign grace of God.

            There is some discrepancy concerning this event when comparing the different testimonies of this account in the book of Acts.  The bright light was referenced to being seen by him alone (Acts 9:3; 22:6) and also by everyone in his party (Acts 26:13).  I believe this can easily be explained.  The first two accounts is reference to the fact that Paul not only saw the bright light, but that he saw the risen Christ in the midst of that light.  Now, in the final account in the book of Acts the author was stating that everyone in the party saw the bright light (they knew something unusual was taking place) and only Paul witnessed that it was actually Jesus.[4]

 A VOICE OF AUTHORITY

          After Paul was knocked down by the blinding light he heard a booming voice of authority, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4b).  Paul knew that the author of this voice was God, but he was not exactly sure who this God was, “And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord” (Acts 9:5a).  Then comes the moment of truth!  This voice of authority reveals who He is, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5b).  It is interesting to note that Jesus equates the persecuting of Christians to actually persecuting Himself.  Woe to those who seek to destroy and persecute the church.  This thundering voice and the words that were communicated left Paul puzzled and utterly speechless.

            There is some debate about exactly what language Christ communicated to Paul in.  Some definitively say that the language Jesus spoke in here was Aramaic.[5]  Others say it was Hebrew.  Some say it was either Hebrew of Aramaic.[6]  Both languages would have been spoken by Paul.  I think the testimony Paul shares in Acts 26  makes it very clear, "And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me" (Acts 26:14).  

           Furthermore at first look there seems to be a contradiction concerning exactly who heard the voice of Christ.  Verse four seems to indicate that only Paul heard the voice and verse seven seems to state that all those in the company heard the voice.  Here the critic of the bible would hang his hat in attempts to strike down the inerrancy of the Word of God.  Well, the critic should put his quiver away as there is a perfectly good explanation for this.  The word for voice as used in both verses can either be translated “sound” or “articulated speech.”  The logical conclusion is that those traveling with Paul only heard a sound, but did not understand what that sound was.  This is consistent with spiritual deafness that handicaps the unregenerate man.  On the other hand Paul heard “articulated speech” which allowed him to not only hear, but actually comprehend everything that he heard.[7]

CONCLUSION

         What a powerful account of the grace of God we read in the ninth chapter of the book of Acts.  While on the road to Damascus Christ came to Paul with a blinding light and a thundering voice.  This event is real documented historical fact.  It was more that Paul simply having a distracted state of mind, in remorse, allusion, vision or a myth.  Paul sought to persecute the Christians in the name of  “God” (actually in the name of Pharsiasm) clearly blinded by his zeal, and in this moment Christ came to him.  Paul was seeking to arrest the Christians and on his way to do so he was arrested by sovereign grace.  This grace changed the course of his life and ultimately the course of the direction and development of the New Testament Christian church.[8]

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[1] Barrett, C.K. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. ICC. New York, NY: T & T Clark, 1994.

[2] Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981.

[3] Marshall, I. Howard. The Acts of the Apostles. TNTC. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 1980.

[4] Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981.

[5] Bruce, F.F. Commentary on the Book of Acts. NICNT. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988.

[6] Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981.

[7] Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981.

 [8] Barrett, C.K. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. ICC. New York, NY: T & T Clark, 1994.

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