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
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 Damascus
It
was not a human force that took Paul to the ground, but a spiritual force, “As he journeyed he came near Damascus
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]
[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
[4] Longenecker, Richard N.
“Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol.
9. Grand Rapids , MI
[6] Longenecker, Richard N.
“Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol.
9. Grand Rapids , MI
[7] Longenecker, Richard N.
“Acts” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol.
9. Grand Rapids , MI
No comments:
Post a Comment