Saved Like Saul

Introduction

Well, it’s good to be back. As you may or may not know, we were away last week in a gospel meeting in North Alabama. We were able and privileged to be able to go back to where we were before we moved here. And so it was good to see those brethren and friends and family again and spend a week with them in the gospel. And we were doubly blessed because of the time of year that it was, we were able to enjoy some cool weather and fall colors. But then we came back to the land that seasons forgot.

But it’s good to be home and good to be with you. It’s not just the fall season, but it’s also football season. And so I came back this morning to some strange greetings. For the visitors, I’m from Alabama and an Alabama football fan. And for those of you who don’t follow football, Alabama lost for the first time last night.

Some of you said, I’m sorry. One of you said, You have my sympathy. A couple of couple of you even said, I’m sorry for your loss.

But it is football season, and because of the makeup of our congregation, we represent a lot of different teams. A lot of differences of opinion of who we root for and who our team is. And you know that’s okay.

And as hard as it is for me to admit that there’s probably no right team to pull for.

You like one type and I like another, and there’s really no right answer in there. That we’re all right, and we all have our own truth in those areas of life. But there’s at least one, and we would argue maybe more than one, but there’s at least one area of life where that’s not the case. Where it’s not just a matter of opinion. And all beliefs or all systems and ways are not equal. And it’s okay to agree to disagree. That when it comes to the spiritual realm, when it comes to God in the Bible, and specifically what we want to talk about this morning, when it comes to salvation, we don’t get to all choose our own way and have our own truth. There is but one truth, and one way.

Jesus would say of his Father and His Word, thy word is truth. And the same Jesus would say of Himself, I am the way. And unless we misunderstood the exclusivity of that statement, he would go on to say, not only am I the way, but he says, no one can come to the Father except by me. And so when we talk about salvation, it’s not a matter in which we can just say, you choose your way and I’ll choose mine. It is simply a matter of us submitting to God’s way and God’s will. And so I want to talk to you this morning about a very basic and fundamental subject, and that is, what do I need to do in order to be saved? That’s an important subject.

A subject you’ve probably heard talked about a few times before. But one that we make no apology in repeating and discussing again. Because we need to discuss this subject for one of three reasons. Number one is maybe you’ve never obeyed the gospel. Well, then this lesson is for you. You need to listen very attentively. Not at what I say or what the South Bumby Church of Christ says, but at what God’s Word says that you need to do in order to be saved. Because there’s only one way.

If you’ve obeyed the gospel in the past, this lesson’s for you. Because you need to examine and at times reexamine what you did to become a Christian to make sure that it really is the thing that God wanted you to do. Because it’s possible that you were taught wrong and did it wrong. And so you might need to revisit this subject. If you’ve obeyed the gospel and come to find out that is exactly what God wanted you to do, you were taught the right way, believed the right thing, and did the right thing, then this lesson is still for you. Because this is a message you need to be sharing with others. And so let’s talk about salvation. And specifically, I want to talk about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.

1. The Conversion of Saul

A familiar character to most Bible students and a familiar event is the conversion of a man by the name of Saul. Saul was his Hebrew name. Paul, as we know him more popularly, was his Greek name. And we read about his conversion in the book of Acts. In fact, three times in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 9, Luke tells the historical account of Saul’s conversion. Then later in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 22, after Paul is being arrested, he is asked to address the mob, and he tells that Jewish mob the story of his conversion. And then again, in the 26th chapter of the book of Acts, as he stands before Agrippa, having been arrested and undergoing a trial. Paul tells Agrippa his story.

And so three times in the book of Acts, we have accounts of the same event of the conversion of Saul. And so what I’d like to do, beginning this morning, is to just merge those three accounts. Acts 9, Acts 22, and Acts chapter 26. And let’s reacquaint ourselves with the story of the conversion of the man named Saul. We’re introduced to Saul earlier in the book of Acts at the stoning of Stephen. He’s a young man at this point, and he is complicit to the stoning of Stephen, and he’s holding the coats of those who are actually doing the stoning. Stephen, we believe to be the first Christian martyr, the first one to give his life for the cause of Christianity in Christ. And that event opens the floodgates of persecution, and we think inspires this young man to pursue that as his life’s goal.

To stamp out Christianity.

Persecutes them and actually even votes for their death. He does that locally in and around Jerusalem, and then he branches out and has actually letters, what we might call an arrest warrant, that he takes to Damascus. And he’s going to Damascus to see if he can find there any who are of the way, that he might drag them back to Jerusalem and imprison them as well. But something happens. Something happens on his way to Damascus and in Damascus that will forever not only change his life, but yours as well.

And Paul hears a voice from heaven. Those who are with him hear a sound, but they can’t make out the voice. And Paul, who is now fallen to his knees before this bright light, says, Who are you? And words that must have shook him to his core replied, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It’s hard for you to kick against the goals.

But to now hear his voice from heaven, showed that everything that he believed was wrong. And from that one to not only identify himself as Jesus, but to say, you are persecuting me, told Paul that not only was he wrong about Jesus, but he was just as wrong about the followers of Jesus. And rather than being worthy of imprisonment and stonings and death. They were worthy of his attention and his emulation. And so Saul, so shook and says, What would you have me to do? And the voice simply replies, go to Damascus, and someone there will tell you what you must do. You imagine the rest of that journey for this man who didn’t choose to oppose Christianity because he hated God and hated everything that God stood for.

But who opposed Christianity because he thought that was what God would want him to do, and thought he was serving God correctly in so doing. To now be told that he was just as wrong as wrong could be, that Jesus really was the Son of God. And that Stephen and those other Christians that Paul had opposed, imprisoned, and even put to death, were the true children of God. The light had blinded Saul, and so those who were with him had to pick him up and literally lead him by the hand into the city. Where he waits for three days. The combination of the text tells us a few things about those three days. We could probably speculate what those three days were like. They must have been torture.

Waiting. What is God going to do to me or say to me? He waited for three days, and the text says, with no food or drink. If there ever was a time for fasting in Saul’s life, this was it. Fasting was intended to show your sorrow, to bring you closer to God. Saul needed both. So he fasted for three days, and Ananias, when he is told to go, is told that Saul is in Damascus and he’s praying. Three days, no food, no water. And he’s praying. Now, what you know about Saul before and after his conversion. What do you think those prayers were like? Were they just simple formulaic prayers like we might say the beginning of a service or before a meal? Were there prayers that were just emptily offered, just words that were said with no real meaning or feeling behind them?

No. I can’t imagine how strong and how sincere and fervent those prayers must have been. The tears that must have been shed.

Ananias, who had been instructed by God to go to this man Saul, reluctantly went to him and gave him the simple instruction. Saul, receive your sight. And he laid his hands on him, and his eyes were just as quickly opened as they had been closed on that road. And Ananias says, What are you waiting for? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Saul would say to Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. So he did what he was told. And he was also told that he was not only to become a Christian, but he was to become a spokesman. That just as vigorously as he opposed Christianity, that’s how vigorously he would promote Christianity. And that we’d spend the rest of his life preaching and teaching it.

2. His Salvation Was Common, His Selection Was Unique

And again, he said, I was not disobedient. And he did just that. And so in this story of Saul, we recognize that two things are happening simultaneously. We have the salvation of Saul or Paul. He becomes from a sinner to a saint, from lost to found, to dead to alive again. But at the same time, he is being selected as an apostle. They’re happening almost simultaneously. But we recognize this about these two events, that Paul’s salvation was common and his selection was unique. Let’s look at those in reverse order. His selection as an apostle was a unique event. The scriptures would have us to know that there were only 14 men, really about 12 at a time, who wore this title of apostle. And so that made it very unique.

Of all the millions, billions of people that had ever lived, only 14 men were chosen to be God’s special ambassadors. That’s unique enough. But Paul would point out that his selection as an apostle was even more particularly unique because he was one born out of due season, and he was selected differently than those other twelve and even of the thirteenth. And so that part of what’s going on is extremely rare and unique. But on the other hand, what Paul experienced in becoming a Christian in having his sins washed away was not something unique to one person or to even 14, but Saul is told to do and does exactly what every other Christian is told to do and must do in order to have our sins washed away.

Because I don’t want to become an apostle. That was even possible. But I want to be washed from my sins, just like Saul was.

3. When Was Saul Saved?

Saved Saul. Let’s ask that question in a different way. When was Saul saved? We’re going to look at four things that happened in the story of Saul in these three short days. Four big and important things happen. All of which you could probably find somebody in the religious world that would say, that’s when you’re saved, or that’s what you need to do in order to be saved. But let’s look at these events as they transpired in Saul’s life and ask ourselves, when was Saul saved? The first thing that happened to Saul is that it received a direct revelation from God. That happened. That’s the start of the story on the road to Damascus. The bright light, the voice. He had a conversation with Jesus Himself. Jesus spoke from heaven, Saul heard here upon earth the very angelic voice of God.

Surely that would save somebody.

And they may say, God spoke to me.

Even if we were to concede the point that God still acts in that way today, though the same apostle would say that’s not the way he acts today. But even if we were to concede that point, do we recognize that even though Saul spoke to Jesus himself and Jesus spoke to Saul, that he was still in his sins when Ananias approached him three days later? Well, what else happened? Well, he prayed earnestly to God. If you were to ask some religious leaders or some organizations today, what do you need to do in order to be saved? They may say, pray this prayer. Say the sinner’s prayer, or come down to the altar and pray through sometimes is the expression that is used. Pray through for your salvation.

I would make the argument that if anybody could pray through for salvation, it was Saul during those three days.

If prayer could ever save anybody, surely that prayer would have saved Saul. If that’s the way one is to be saved from his sin.

To be literally brought to his knees. And now he’s praying.

But again, when Ananias finds him on his knees praying, tells him to arise and to do something else to wash away his sins. Another thing that Saul experienced is he experienced a miracle. You may could argue that he experienced two miracles. The fact that he was blinded, and certainly the fact that three days later he was healed of that blindness. That was pretty special, wasn’t it? And again, you might not have to go very far to find somebody today that says that’s how I was saved. I was at some religious service and the preacher put his hands on me. And I could feel the cancer or the diabetes or the deafness or the lameness or whatever. And that’s when I was saved. But a close examination of this story shows us that’s not what saved Saul.

Because after he’d received a direct revelation from God, after he had experienced a miracle, maybe two miracles, after he had been praying, surely, earnestly, vehemently praying to God, Ananias says, Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. We ask the simple question again. When was Saul saved? And it’s pretty easy to answer, isn’t it? If we remove our prejudices, our preconceived notions, what we always believed, what somebody taught, one some church, what I’ve heard, and we just look at the text and say, when was he saved? It was when he was not disobedient. And he submitted to the commandment of God. Now, what if Saul had been otherwise disposed? What if Saul had said on that road to Damascus, no, Lord, let’s do it now?

Because the Lord had said, go to Damascus and there it will be told. Because you notice this thing in the book of Acts, God always uses an earthly messenger. Even when God Himself, the Holy Spirit, or an angel is involved, God still uses an earthly messenger to deliver the word by which they’ll be saved. But what if Saul said, no, save me right here on the road? Or what if been told by Ananias, whom God said was coming to tell him what he needed to do? What if when Ananias said, Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord? What if Saul would have turned to Ananias and said, What are you talking about? I’ve been calling on him for three days.

4. What He Taught Others: Exactly What He Had Done

I’ve been praying. I received a miracle. I had a direct revelation from God. But Saul does none of the above. Saul doesn’t argue or dispute. He simply obeys. All of this is reinforced. When we look at not only what happened to Saul, what saved Saul, but what this man would later teach. Because remember, he was not only saved from his sins, he was selected as an apostle to teach others. Well, what did he teach others to do? Exactly what he had done. Look with me at the teachings of Paul in Romans chapter 10. What would Paul say we needed to do? Romans chapter 10 and verse 17, he says, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This same Saul said, You need to do what I did.

You need to hear and believe. That’s what he did, and that’s what he taught. He would also argue that this faith doesn’t need to be concealed, but it needs to be confessed openly. Back up to verse 10 of Romans 10, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with mouth confession is made unto salvation. Saul did that. From that day forward, he would confess and profess his faith openly. Back in Acts chapter 26, when he is speaking of his conversion, of what he had done, he tells Agrippa, when in verse 19, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, then in Acts 26, verse 20, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

That’s what Saul did, and that’s what he taught. To hear, believe, confess that faith, repent of our sins, and this same Saul taught others to do what he had done. In Romans chapter 6, then in verse 3 and 4. This same Saul.

Conclusion

Romans 6, verse 3, beginning, or do you not know that as many of us as we’ve been baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So what can we learn about salvation from Saul? We can look at what he did. And we can look at what he taught. And we can say, that’s the way. Doesn’t matter what I think or what you think, or what any group of men or churches teach or believe? All that matters is that this is what the scripture teaches that one needs to do in order to be saved. What about you this morning?

Would you be saved? Would you be saved like Saul was saved? To receive the same washing away of sins, of calling upon the same Lord. Would you do what he did and what he taught to receive what he received? If you’re subject in any way to the gospel call this morning, if we can help you in any spiritual way, why not come to God his way this very morning? And why not do that right now? As together we stand and as we sing.