The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus

We affirm our faith, but we also declare it in many ways that is, this is our anthem, this is the thing that we live by.

And as such, the Apostles' Creed that is, as such, it is not the totality of the faith, but it certainly is the foundation of our faith.

And one of the reasons why we declare it, in a sense, is to keep me on my toes, so that if I say something that goes against what the creed says, then it's not the creed that is wrong, but it is me.

So if you hear something from me, you have a thousand percent permission, if it contravenes the creed that is, to come and talk to me about it, and to rake me over the coals if necessary.

Why don't we pray and ask the Lord's blessing before we open up his word.

Father, we thank you for conversion.

Lord, for those that have put their faith and trust in your blessed Son.

Lord, we have wonderful testimonies.

Some dramatic, maybe some not so much, but wonderful testimonies nevertheless,

about coming to faith and what that looks like.

Lord, we thank you that you have gone to great lengths to convert us.

That you have sought us out.

That you have not commanded us to come up, but you have descended to us.

And Lord, we thank you for that.

We thank you for the conversion of St. Paul that we'll read this morning.

Lord, help us to glean from this story.

To know what it truly means to follow after you and what it looks like to live a Christian life

that is not perfect, but is reliant upon you, embedded in the church, learning to live for your glory.

And we pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

If you don't have one of these scripture journals, they should be at the back.

In fact, they are.

There's a big stack.

Grab one.

It's our gift to you.

And follow along.

In the scripture journal, we're going to be looking at Acts 9, verses 1 to 31.

Acts 9:1–31

And that will be on page 52.

Mossab Hassan Yusuf.

Does anybody know this name?

Have you heard of this man?

Mossab Hassan Yusuf is the son of one of the founders of Hamas.

The same terrorist organization that you might have heard of in the summer and early fall,

but you certainly know all about it now, since October 7th.

He is significant, Mr. Yusuf,

because in the 90s, he defected and became an Israeli spy,

and then, more significantly, he came to faith in Christ and was baptized in the early 2000s.

Later, publicly proclaiming his faith, I think in 2007 or 2008, a bit later on in the 2000s.

He is the most unlikely convert that I have heard of, at least in recent memory,

in, say, the past hundred years.

It is a remarkable story.

He was an enemy of Christ and a member of one of the most brutal and evil terrorist organizations in the world,

maybe of all time.

And Christ intervened in his life and changed him forever.

Mossab Hassan Yusuf.

In our text today, we have another very significant and even more unlikely conversion,

and even more, in a sense, in terms of salvation history, important conversion.

I'm not saying some conversions are more important than others,

but in the kind of the grand narrative,

it would be hard to find a conversion more significant than Saul of Tarsus coming to faith,

later becoming St. Paul the Apostle.

Saul's conversion is one of the most pivotal moments in the whole of Acts.

In fact, in many ways, the story of Acts, it hinges on Paul's conversion.

I mean, you could argue that it actually hinges on the giving of the Holy Spirit,

but in terms of the narrative, this is a key moment in Acts,

so key that his conversion is mentioned three separate times,

here in chapter 9, later on in chapter 22, and again in chapter 26.

And it really, truly is among the most famous conversions of all time,

not simply because it is of Saul, later Paul,

who would carry the gospel to the known world,

to the Gentiles from Asia Minor all the way to Rome itself,

but it is significant because it is miraculous and dramatic,

and it becomes, in a sense, paradigmatic of what conversion is.

If you've been in church for a while,

you can hear people talk about their own Damascus Road experience.

That's describing Paul's conversion.

It becomes the paradigm.

Or you could hear other people saying,

you know, my conversion was kind of boring.

I didn't have a Damascus Road experience.

But either way,

Paul's conversion becomes a very, very important conversion

for which we understand how God saves and redeems.

However, we must be careful to treat Saul's conversion

as either the standard for all conversions,

or as simply an exceptional circumstance,

a one-off event that happened never to happen again.

In fact, we must instead take from it essential principles

that are present in all conversions,

be they dramatic or not.

And if you're a Christian,

the majority of us will attest

to probably not having a dramatic conversion.

Maybe it's more a situation of just a slow realization,

a gradual coming to faith.

But nevertheless,

that does not mean it is any less significant or miraculous.

The cause of all conversions is the grace of Christ.

And this is really the crux of the message this morning.

The cause of all conversions is the grace of Christ

by the Holy Spirit,

through the will of the sovereign, all-powerful,

all-knowing Father God.

So Saul, I'm sure multiple times during the sermon,

I'm going to call him Paul,

but Saul, Paul,

his conversion is instructive for us

because the key components of all conversions

are right there in chapter 9.

So to be converted,

you must,

first point,

have an encounter with God.

Now that looks different for all people,

but you must have an encounter with God.

And the second thing is,

you must wrestle with and accept the truth of the gospel,

the truth of God's word.

And the third is that you must live as a member

and participate in the life of the church.

So to be converted,

a bit of a recap,

to be converted,

you must have an encounter with God,

wrestle with and accept the truth of the gospel,

and live as a member

and participate in the life of the church.

So let's jump into it

and look how Paul's encounter with Christ

is instructive for us.

Let's begin right in verse 1.

We'll read verse 1 and 2.

But Saul, still breathing threats

and murder against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priest

and asked him for letters

to the synagogues at Damascus

so that if he found any belonging to the way,

men or women,

he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Up until now,

Saul has been a murderous zealot.

We haven't seen him for quite some time.

The last time we saw him

was in chapter 7 at the stoning of Stephen.

And when we saw him for the first time

when he was introduced,

he was holding the garments of those

that stoned Stephen

and it said that he approved of what happened.

Saul comes back on the scene.

And this is, by the way,

following chapter 8

where the church scatters.

Samaria essentially comes to faith

and the Ethiopian eunuch comes to faith

who is a high court official.

And Ethiopia goes down south

and back to Ethiopia

and history tells us

that he brought the gospel

to an entire nation.

But now we're back to Saul.

And he is still murderous.

He has a personal passion

to hunt down Christians.

He's passionate about this.

In fact, he gets an open-ended extradition order

from the high priest in Jerusalem.

And he pursues Christians

all the way up to Damascus.

Now, if he's in Jerusalem

where he gets the extradition order

from the high priest,

Damascus is almost 250 kilometers away.

It's days, maybe even weeks' journey.

This isn't, what we see here isn't described,

Saul isn't described as some rioter

who is just caught up in the moment

of murderous vengeance.

He is exacting.

He is somebody who is planning his murder,

planning the destruction of the church.

This is his passion.

This is his calling, so to speak.

He is a very murderous man.

In fact, Peter here, or Peter Luke,

the writer of Acts,

he says that he is breathing threats and murder.

Literally, in the original language,

Luke is trying to convey to us

that Saul is like a rabid beast.

He is a starving lion,

and he is about to tear into the flesh of the church.

Later on in verse 21,

the church is afraid of Saul,

and they say that he caused havoc to the church.

Again, language used to describe a ferocious beast

who is laying waste to everything that's in front of it.

That's Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee,

the one with the green light to ravage the church.

This is the last person that one would think

and one would expect to come to faith.

But then Christ comes in.

Then Jesus enters into the story.

And look with me in verse 3.

We'll read from verse 3 to 9.

This, remember, Saul is almost at Damascus.

He is so cunning and exacting in his murderous intent.

And then verse 3.

Now, as he went on his way, that's Saul,

he approached Damascus,

and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.

And falling to the ground,

he heard a voice saying to him,

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And Saul said, who are you, Lord?

Lord, by the way, would be an honorary title

to somebody who clearly has authority.

This doesn't necessarily,

well, clearly, it doesn't imply

imply that Saul knows that it is Jesus

or that he's assuming that it's Jesus.

He's saying, who are you, Lord?

Let's continue.

And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

But rise and enter the city

and you will be told what you are to do.

The men who were traveling with him,

that is Saul, stood speechless,

hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Saul rose from the ground

and although his eyes were opened,

he saw nothing.

So they led him by the hand

and brought him into Damascus.

And for three days,

he was without sight

and neither ate nor drank.

Saul was about to enter Damascus

to carry out his heinous mission upon the church

when the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ

intervened in his life.

Saul was ready to enter into Damascus

as a ravaging, terrorizing lion.

And Christ intervenes

and he has to be helped by the arm

and he looks a lot more like a helpless lamb

than a ravaging lion.

This is what Christ has done with Saul.

He has intervened in his life.

And it's very clear in the text

that Saul did not choose Jesus

but that Jesus chose Saul here.

He broke into his life.

Saul was an enemy of Christ,

persecuting him by persecuting his church.

It would be great if we spent a bit of time

on what Jesus was meaning

when he said you were persecuting me

even though Saul was persecuting the church.

We'll get to that, I think,

in the Sunday follow-up

that I send out midweek.

But clearly Saul is an enemy of Christ.

He is persecuting his church.

Saul was not seeking Christ, friends.

Christ was seeking Saul

the same way that he sought out

the Ethiopian eunuch in chapter 8.

Jesus reveals himself to Saul

so that he would never be the same.

This is the sovereign grace of God at work.

This is how we encounter God

when God encounters us.

Christ is working salvation in Saul

not in a collaborative way with Saul

but despite Saul's best efforts

to destroy Jesus.

It's remarkable

that Jesus extends grace to his enemy.

Consider Ephesians 2

written by the same Saul

years later to the church in Ephesus

and this is what he says

verse 1 of Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2:2

verse 2

in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

Verse 4,

But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved,

and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

Verse 8,

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God,

not a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand,

that we should walk in them.

It's very clear, the Apostle Paul,

this is not of your own doing if you are saved.

In fact, you are dead, you have no spiritual life in you.

Dead people can't choose anything.

This is what is happening in Acts chapter 9,

Acts 9 · chapter mention

this is what Paul will testify about until he dies in Rome.

This is the doctrine of election,

and this is the doctrine,

that God chooses to save us while we were far from him.

He awakens in us spiritual life when we were spiritually dead.

He changes us, he shakes us up,

he takes the hostile and makes some friends,

he intervenes and changes our course,

and he does this apart from our own working of,

of working our way up to him,

of choosing him,

because we are incredibly about ourselves,

and we do not want to give up the seat of kingship

that we sit in, or we think we sit in,

in the throne of our own souls.

But the doctrine of election,

that God saves who he wills,

when he wills,

can be a difficult thing for some.

And I'll admit,

it's in some ways very difficult for me,

because it appears that God

bypasses our ability to choose him,

that somehow it makes little of our own agency as human beings.

And our agency as human beings,

it's core to who we are.

Ability to choose.

It is core to what it means to be a human.

But consider,

that the sovereign grace of God

does not trample on human personality or agency,

but rather it enables us to be free

from the bondage of pride,

and of sin and prejudice.

In fact, it humbles us,

so that we can see clearly,

without the fog and cloud,

and film of selfish ambition,

and a misguided worldview,

of confusion.

Saul does not encounter Christ

only to become some kind of automaton.

It doesn't say that he just went about his business,

Christ's business afterwards,

without any personality drained of who he is.

That's not the case at all.

Instead,

he was struck with the reality that Christ is real,

and that his truth is the only real truth.

And we'll see in this next section,

where Saul wrestles and accepts the truth,

that the sovereign grace of God

requires a proper response of those

that hear the gospel,

and ultimately have to respond to it.

And this brings us to the second point,

that a key aspect of salvation

is that we have to wrestle with,

and ultimately accept the gospel message.

And again,

that looks different for each person.

That can be a longer process,

a shorter process,

but it has to be there.

It has to be there.

Saul is blinded.

And here,

in the same way that Zechariah,

if you remember,

in the opening chapters of Luke,

John the Baptist's father,

where he can't talk anymore,

it is a physical representation

of what is happening in his soul,

in his spirit.

Saul is blinded

as a reflection of his spiritual condition.

But it is also, in a sense,

the grace of God in his life,

for what we see is going to happen next.

Look with me, verses 8 and 9.

Saul rose from the ground,

and although his eyes were opened,

he saw nothing.

So they led him by the hand

and brought him into Damascus.

And for three days,

he was without sight

and neither ate nor drank.

Saul, again,

who was to enter Damascus,

strong and powerful,

to take captive the church,

was now a captive of Christ,

being helped into Damascus.

Things couldn't be any more different.

He is blind.

It says that,

and for three days,

he was without sight

and neither ate nor drank.

Nowhere yet do we see

Saul confess the faith.

Nowhere yet has he been baptized.

Has he joined a church?

Maybe he's a Christian.

Maybe he's not.

The text doesn't say.

But clearly,

in his life,

as of verse 9,

he does not have the markings

of a Christian.

He has not confessed his faith.

He has not been baptized.

He has not confessed his faith.

Conversion,

friends,

is often gradual.

And it's gradual because,

again,

we are not drained

of who we are

and our experiences

and our thoughts

and our ability to think

and be rational.

But we,

when we encounter God,

are confronted with things

that come up

against our existing worldview.

And we have to ask the question,

okay,

I've encountered God,

at least I think I have,

I feel like this gnawing

in my head,

maybe it's my heart,

I don't know,

do I have a soul?

But it seems completely

counter to everything

I've believed

my entire life.

What my friends believe.

My friends are good people

but they're not Christians.

Does this mean

I have to lose my friends

or push them away

or start dressing a certain way

or stop doing a certain thing?

And all of a sudden

we have this inner dialogue,

this wrestling,

this turmoil,

in a sense,

of the implications

of what it means

to be a follower of Christ.

And that can be a wrestling

that can go on

for months

and maybe years.

God in his sovereignty

will determine

how long that takes

for each person.

That's why

we as a congregation

ought to be patient

because Christ is patient.

Some of you

may have gone through

a series of wrestlings

before you've come to faith

and then have gone through

a series of wrestlings after.

And you can attest

to the patience

of Christ in your life.

So too, church,

we must be patient

with people.

But anyways,

back to the text.

This is what seems

to be happening

with Paul.

I mean,

it's speculation.

I'm maybe reading

in between the lines here

but based on what Paul says

in 2 Corinthians 11

and Philippians 3

and Romans 7

of his previous life,

it would seem to me

that Paul

has nothing going on

for three days.

He's blind.

He's completely dumbfounded.

He's neither eating

nor drinking.

He's weak.

Could it be

that he is wrestling

with God

in this time?

He's encountered Christ.

Remember,

he was a top-notch,

next-level

religious zealot

entrusted

with the purity

of his sect

of Judaism.

Could some of these words

be going on

in Saul of Tarsus' head

during these three days

where he was blind,

neither eating

nor drinking?

Jesus couldn't be

the Messiah,

could he?

He was killed

as a criminal

and hung on a tree.

The Torah tells us

that those that hang

from a tree

are cursed

by God

and the Messiah

can't be cursed

by God.

But then,

a cursed man

can't be risen

from the grave.

That seems that

God himself

is vindicating

Jesus,

but how can God

vindicate somebody

who's cursed

and evil?

And if his teachings,

and if he is vindicated,

that means his teachings

and his life

must be correct,

but his teachings

go against what I believe

and what I've trusted in.

Does that mean

I have to give up

everything

that I've believed in

and I've studied

for my entire life

since I was a child?

And if that's the case,

do I lose my community?

Do I lose my standing

in the synagogue

in Jerusalem?

You start to see

that this wrestling

could very well

be taking place

with Saul.

And this is

going before

his conversion.

And he is seeking

answers

and he is wrestling

and his world

is coming up

against the worldview

of the Messiah.

And he's not sure

what to do

or maybe he is sure

but there's doubt

and there's struggles

sovereign grace

of Christ,

it confronts us

and it grips us.

That's when we know

we've encountered God.

That

when we encounter God

and we'll see

in the life

of Saul here,

in many ways

life doesn't get better,

it can get more difficult

and more messy.

The things that we've enjoyed,

the privileges

that we've had,

we have to give up

potentially.

And these are things

that we need to count

the cost of

as we come to faith

and as we continue

on in the life of faith

but especially

as we come to faith.

The sovereign grace

of Christ

confronts and grips us

and we are left

to respond to him

how?

By wrestling

through

the implications

and ultimately

by accepting the truth.

And that truth,

that journey

of wrestling

leading us

to a decision,

that also

has the grace

of God

marbled through it

so that God is there

every step

of the conversion process.

It is a gift from him.

So on one hand,

we are saved by grace alone

through faith alone

and yet,

our own wrestlings

and responses

are necessary.

And you see

all of a sudden

that on one hand,

we choose God

but on the other hand,

we do not choose God.

He saves us

and yet,

he does all that

but we have to respond

to him

and it's a really

remarkable back and forth.

Ultimately,

God saves.

We don't have a part

in our salvation

but we certainly

have to respond

to him.

I'll read from you

just a small bit

of C.S. Lewis'

own conversion.

This is from

Surprised by Hope.

This is from

his autobiography

and this is how

he describes

this encounter

with God

but then also

his choosing God

and this is

what he says.

I became aware

that I was holding

something at bay

or shutting

something out

or,

if you like,

that I was wearing

some stiff clothing

like corsets

or even a suit

of armor

as if I were

a lobster.

I felt myself

being there

and then

given a free choice.

I could open

the door

or keep it shut.

I could unbuckle

the armor

or keep it on.

Neither choice

was presented

as a duty.

No threat

or promise

was attached

to either

though I knew

that to open

the door

or to take off

the corset

meant the incalculable.

The choice

appeared to be

momentous

but it was also

strangely unemotional.

I was moved

by no desires

or fears.

In a sense

I was not moved

by anything.

I chose to open,

to unbuckle,

to loosen the rein.

I say I chose

yet it did not

really seem possible

to do the opposite.

On the other hand

I was aware

of no motives.

You could argue

that I was not

a free agent

but I am more

inclined to think

this came near

to me

or sorry

this came near

to being

a perfectly free act

than most

I have ever done.

Necessity may not

be the opposite

of freedom

and perhaps

a man is most free

when instead

of producing motives

he could only say

I am what I do.

For those

who may still

be wrestling

with the truth

of the gospel

as it confronts

your world view

rest assured

that God is patient

and gentle

in the process

but that he certainly

will complete

the work

that he begins

that he will

be faithful

to you

and patient

in the process.

So we

as Christians

like I mentioned

we ought to be

also

patient

with those

around us

with our family

members

and friends

and other

parishioners.

If we continue

we see that

the wrestling

and struggle

of coming to faith

is not something

we are left

to go through

by ourselves

because

God sent

to Saul

this man

named Ananias.

Look with me

verses 10 to 16.

Now there was

a disciple

at Damascus

named Ananias

the Lord said

to him

in a vision

Ananias

and he said

here I am Lord

and the Lord

said to him

rise and go

to the street

called Straight

and at the house

of Judas

look for a man

of Tarsus

named Saul

for behold

he is praying

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

but Ananias

answered

Lord I have

heard from

many about

this man

how much

evil he has

done

to your

saints

at Jerusalem

and here

he has

authority

from the

chief

priests

to bind

all who

call

on your

name

but the

Lord

said to

Ananias

go

for he is

a chosen

instrument

of mine

to carry

my name

before the

Gentiles

and kings

and the

children

of Israel

for I

will show

him

how much

he must

suffer

for the

sake

of my

name

if you

remember

the first

Ananias

was not

a faithful

follower

in fact

he might

not have

been a

follower

at all

he was

faithless

and an

enemy

of the

gospel

now this

new

Ananias

that we

see in

chapter 9

he is

faithful

he is

used by

God

in

Saul's

life

in a

remarkable

way

confirming

God's

call

on his

life

despite

Ananias

apprehension

he obeys

the Lord

and look

at verse

17

and just

before we

read it

consider the

turmoil that

Paul has

gone through

potentially has

gone through

if we go

through you

know my

speculative

reading of

Saul

for sure he's

weak he's been

in prayer it

just says that

he feels

alone

because he's

a human

and we would

all feel

alone

and then

Ananias

shows up

verse 17

let's read

so

Ananias

departed

and entered

the house

and laying

his hands

on him

he said

brother

Saul

the Lord

Jesus

who appeared

to you

on the

road

by which

you came

has sent

me

so that

you may

regain

your sight

and be

filled

with the

Holy

Spirit

so imagine

being called

a brother

and having

hands laid

on you

feeling like

your world

has been

turned upside

down

and the

implications

might be

more than

you can

bear

and then

God

sends a

man

to comfort

you

and to

welcome

you into

a family

you feel

the faithfulness

of Christ

in that

moment

to Saul

the kindness

of God

in that

moment

to be

called

brother

by the

very man

that you

would have

likely

saw

killed

just

three

days

before

this

is grace

this

is the

sovereign

grace

of God

at work

this

is what

it means

to be

called

into

the

church

of

Christ

is to

know

a love

and kindness

that is

it is so

foreign

in our

world

not because

the world

is rougher

now than

it was

50 years

ago

because

the world

is rough

and that

is what

is happening

here

imagine

if this

was

the way

we lived

our lives

as a

church

in the

midst

of a

culture

of

cancellation

and

polarization

of

demonizing

those

who are

different

than

you

people

come

to

faith

and we

welcome

them

to your

brother

to your

sister

somebody

who has

not

enjoyed

the

embrace

of

somebody

that

truly

loves

them

for

years

potentially

decades

are

embraced

with

Christian

love

it's a

very powerful

thing

friends

you may

have a

small or

large part

in someone's

faith journey

but be ready

because you

will

some plant

some water

but it is

Christ who

brings the

growth

surely

but some

plant and

some water

when an

opportunity

presents itself

to you

will you

be obedient

will you

be

an

ananias

that person

might look

like a

threat

or somebody

who is

terribly

uncomfortable

and awkward

or somebody

that you

just

you don't

want to

go near

because you

are a

hyper

introvert

and you

like your

space

will you

be obedient

will you

offer

a hand

of family

and fellowship

to that

person

if the

Lord is

calling you

to that

Saul

is given

assurance

by his

sight being

restored

and he

comes to

accept the

truth that

Jesus is

indeed the

Christ

verse 18

it says

this

and immediately

something like

scales fell

from his

eyes and

he regained

sight he

arose and

was baptized

and taking

food he

was strengthened

Saul has

come to

faith

he has

encountered

God he

has wrestled

with God

he has

ultimately

accepted

the gospel

message

and friends

this is a

Christian man

who just

three days

before

sought to

kill

Christians

immediately

Saul is

welcomed into

the church

and participates

in the life

of the church

and this is a

key reality

of coming to

faith and this

will help us

to transition

into our

third and

final aspect

of what it

means to

be a

converted

person

is that

we are to

live as

members and

participate in

the life of

the church

when we come

to faith you

are incorporated

into the

very body

of Christ

and with

it

you get to

participate in

the life and

mission of

the church

so look with

me at

verse 20

and immediately

and immediately

sorry

and immediately

he proclaimed

that is Saul

Jesus in the

synagogue saying

he is the

son of God

and all who

heard him

were amazed

and said

is this not

the man who

made havoc in

Jerusalem of

those who

called upon

this name

and has he not

come here for

this purpose

to bring them

bound before

the chief

priests

but Saul

increased all

the more in

strength and

confounded the

Jews that is the

unbelieving Jews

who lived in

Damascus by

proving that

Jesus was

the Christ

when many

days had

passed the

unbelieving Jews

plotted to kill

him but their

plot became known

to Saul they

were watching the

gates day and

night in order

to kill him

but his

disciples took

him by night

and let him

down through an

opening in the

wall lowering

him in a

basket

Saul the

ravager of the

church becomes

the proclaimer

of the gospel

the raging lion

has become the

bleeding lamb

the bleeding of

this lamb is the

proclamation of the

lamb of God who

takes away the

sins of the

world so when

Paul when Luke

tells us that he

proclaims that

Jesus is the

son of God

that's a bit of a

catch-all term for

Saul later Paul's

theology that Jesus

is indeed the

sent one the

Messiah God's

only son that is

going to die for

the sins of the

world Paul is

participating in the

mission of the

church friends at

the very heart of

the church is the

mission to continue

the same ministry of

Jesus Christ himself

proclaiming that the

kingdom of God is

at hand that they

that all people

should repent and

believe and be

baptized

Jesus is the

only one by which

anyone can be

saved it's the

only name that

brings salvation

under heaven

this is the

message of Christ

and it becomes our

message to

proclaim as well

we are called to

both live out and

proclaim this gospel

and evangelism

right it can be

difficult and

daunting because we

live in Canada and

Canada is very much a

live and let live

society our history

was forged not on

the battlefields of

Gettysburg but on

the on the on the

boardroom of

Charlottetown so to

speak we we

negotiate we find

nuance we we

tolerate it's in the

very DNA in a sense

of what it means to

be Canadians

interesting we'll

see in 30 40 50

years what Canada

will look like if

that will still be

our DNA as more and

more people come from

around the world into

Canada but

nevertheless we are a

live and let live

society by and large

on the ground so

confrontation is not

something that comes

easy for us and

evangelism seems very

confrontational because

as we share the faith

and we're not

necessarily attacking

people but it can be

perceived as that and

it is difficult but

this is the reality of

the kingdom that when

the gospel is

proclaimed it comes

against our existing

worldview and it

causes us to make a

choice it confronts us

and when heaven

confronts an unredeemed

people and culture of

any culture but of

Canada persecution is

bound to come not

necessarily from

Jerusalem and the

chief priests to bound

us up and take us

away to be arrested and

stoned but in all sorts

of ways where our

reputation could take a

hit and decisions that

we make will result in a

less comfortable less

live and let live kind of

life but the strength that

God gives as we bear

witness to him is a

strength that we need to

accomplish this goal and

this is what we are called

to do so that God calls us

into the church gives us a

mission knows our frailty

gives us the strength to do

it to be encouraged by one

another so not all of us are

called to have an evangelism

ministry of St. Paul thank God

in many ways Paul is going to

live a crazy difficult hard

life but we are called to

follow our Savior and to

proclaim his name let us

continue in verse 26 and when

he had come to Jerusalem that

is Saul just pause really

quickly here and this is

something we'll deal with

later on the time markers

aren't like Paul was in

Damascus for a week or two

good possibility that he was

there for a year or two and

in here somewhere there's a

trip to Arabia that he'll

talk about later on we're

not going to deal with that

but anyway some time has

passed he comes to

Jerusalem let's pick it up

in verse 26 and when he

had come to Jerusalem he

attempted to join the

disciples and they were all

afraid of him for they did

not believe that he was a

disciple but Barnabas took

him and brought him to the

apostles and declared to

them how on the road he had

seen the Lord who spoke to

him and how at Damascus he

had preached boldly in the

name of Jesus so he went in

and out among them at

Jerusalem and what's

implied in between verse

27 and 28 is that they've

accepted him the church in

Jerusalem so Paul went in

and out among them at

Jerusalem preaching boldly in

the name of the Lord and he

spoke and disputed against

the Hellenists the the

Greek speaking Jewish people

but they were seeking to

kill him and when the

brothers learned this they

brought him down to

Caesarea and sent him off to

Tarsus his hometown our church

will see people come to

faith it's true it will and

those converts will almost

certainly include people that

will be ethnically and

culturally and socially and

economically different than

many of us and we have the

privilege but we also have the

orders from Christ himself to

welcome all new Christians

into the church without

exception and welcome them as

brothers and sisters that we

must extend hospitality and love

in the same way that Ananias

extended it to Saul in

Damascus and Barnabas did so to

Saul in Jerusalem it makes sense

that they were afraid of of

Saul he came and he showed up

maybe this was the the the

result of an extended plot and

Saul was he's like a fifth

columnist inside the Jerusalem

church they didn't know they're

maybe potentially wise to to be

careful but Barnabas comes in and

he advocates he does in a sense

the work of the Holy Spirit

advocating for for Saul and and

that is our call too so when we

see people that will be different

than us we are compelled to

to welcome them in that means in

all likely in all likelihood we

will see people come to faith and

join our church that come from the

LGBT community we might see people

that have previously lived a trans

life or have been in a same-sex

relationship and they come to faith

and who knows where they are in the

process of of submitting their lives

to Christ our job primarily first and

foremost is to love them and welcome

them and to be to them brothers and

sisters in Christ and as they are

growing in their faith and wrestling

through sin in their lives we are there

to be strength for them because later

on they will be strength for us when

we are wrestling through things we do

not have the option of shunning people

if they do not fit in our nice neat

categories after people come to faith

and before they come to faith we we

show them love and kindness compelling

them to submit their lives to Christ

and this is why in a very real way the

church the church is the true diversity

equity inclusion originators because what

unites us isn't who we are or what we

have done or what we will do or how

much money we have or because we need to

reach a specific quota or look a certain

way but it's because of Christ Christ who

saves all without partiality he looks at

people and chooses them not because of

what they have done but because of his

great love extended to them and welcomes

them in so that the church truly is

diverse united though around Christ

bigotry prejudice haughtiness of any

kind has no place in our church and

sometimes it takes a Barnabas to remind

us of that it is fitting then as Paul

says in Galatians chapter 3 starting

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

verse 25 but now that faith has come we

are no longer under a guardian for in

Christ Jesus you are all sons of God and

when he says sons of God he is talking in a

sense of firstborn it's not just that

it's sons and daughters it's or just

regular sons it's that we are firstborn

sons with all the privileges that that

entails in the ancient world firstborn

sons

men and women all firstborn sons in

Christ Jesus for as many of you as

were baptized into Christ have put on

Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek

slave or free male or female for you are

all one in Christ Jesus and if you are

Christ's then you are Abraham's offspring

heirs according to promise that is the

calling of all of us in the church

firstborn sons with all the benefits

and privileges that accompany that

reality do you see the grace of God at

work here in Acts chapter 9 where Saul

Acts 9 · chapter mention

who we last saw as approving the stoning

of Stephen has become a Stephen himself

fleeing Jerusalem the sovereign grace of

God has gripped him so that he has

encountered Christ wrestled with him and

accepted the truth and has been

welcomed in as a full member of the

church participating in its life and

mission and he suffers not as a

punishment of his previous crimes but

as a privilege of being united to Christ

and being associated with his name

friends this is conversion this is the

gospel message this is our reality

and if it's a struggle this morning

good keep struggling keep wrestling

there's there's lots of room for that

this is a reality friends of all

conversions whether or not your

conversion was like Paul's or coming to

faith as a teen and later kind of

confirming your faith later on or maybe

it's that you've never not known a time

where you haven't been saved and just

God's kindness and grace is all you've

known from your entire life and you've

kind of grown in that maturity whatever

it is the principles are the same God's

sovereign grace has been active in your

life this is the reality for which Jesus

Christ died on the cross being buried and

rising again this is grace it is life it

is truth it is the way of salvation let's

let us pray father we thank you for the

example in life of St. Paul or we thank

you that there's no mistaking that you

intervened in his life and that you

showed up in a miraculous way so that he

encountered you that he wrestled with

the implications of what it meant to

become a Christian and ultimately came to

faith accepting and proclaiming your name

being baptized being welcomed into the

church Lord may that reality be our

reality may that reality be the reality

of our neighbors and friends and our

children our co-workers those we meet as

we go about our lives in this part of

Ottawa Lord we pray that this would be so

clear and evident that you and you alone

bring people to faith Lord we ask that

you would help us to be real about our

ongoing wrestlings our ongoing struggles

and Lord help us to remember that you are

patient with us and help us to remember to be

patient with each other and Lord we pray

that the the the goodness of your grace would

abound in our congregation all the more we

pray this in Christ's name amen if you have

children now is the time to pick them up to

pick them up to sign them out of Messiah

kids