True biblical worship so satisfies our total personality that we don’t have to shop around for man-made substitutes.[1]

Chapter 8

Saul of Tarsus

The story of Saul of Tarsus is one of the most dramatic stories of all time. He explodes onto the scene in the book of the Acts of the Apostles as a terrifying figure. Highly educated and possessing a formidable personality coupled with fanatic devotion, Saul enters the Biblical record as a sworn enemy of Christianity.

Saul is first seen in the Bible standing in approval at the stoning death of Stephen, a deacon in the early church. Following Stephen’s death, Saul is revealed as the instigator in the systematic persecution of the fledgling church. Not content with shattering the church in Jerusalem, Saul obtains permission from the religious leaders to seek out the followers of Jesus wherever they may be, going as far as Damascus, Syria, in zealous pursuit of his targets.

What made Saul so dangerous was his belief system. Saul was a devout Jew, a member of their Sanhedrin and the protégé of the greatest rabbi of that time. Saul was so adamant in his beliefs that he developed a very rigid and intolerant view of any Jewish person who embraced anything other than the Judaism he espoused.

Saul was the most dangerous type of person there is – one who believes, beyond any doubt, that he is acting on God’s behalf and is not subject to any other authority. His mentality was that of the “repent or die” variety. Today, we would probably label Saul as a religious extremist or a terrorist on par with the zealots in the Taliban. Saul acted to keep his religion pure. He wanted it free from the influence of Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecy.

Saul’s life undergoes a dramatic change one day. He is exposed to the God he claimed to serve and leaves the encounter a changed and humbled man. Interestingly, God used blindness to deliver part of His lesson to Saul, just as He did with Jie Li.

The Bible records the story in Acts, chapter 9. Saul was traveling to Damascus when, suddenly, a bright light enveloped him and a voice from heaven spoke.

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”[2]

Saul realizes that he is in the presence of the supernatural and his question seems to be one of clarification. Is it God, Himself, speaking or an angelic messenger? To his surprise, the voice identifies himself as Jesus. Saul’s shock is evident. He is bent on destroying the followers of Jesus, believing that Jesus was a charlatan, a fake, and now he is faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Jesus speaks from heaven. He is divine.

Blind from the heavenly light, humbled by the voice of Jesus, Saul is led to Damascus a thoroughly confused man. For a number of days he is alone with his thoughts, coming to terms with the difference between what he always believed to be true and truth itself.

During the time Saul is contemplating all that is happening to him, God is busy preparing the next step in drawing Saul to the worship of His Son. God speaks to a Christian believer, Anaias, and tells him to go find Saul and speak to him.

Anaias is naturally afraid. Christians are in hiding because of Saul’s activities and now God is asking him to approach Saul directly. Anaias is hesitant, clearly wondering if God can possibly be serious. He is assured that not only does God want him to visit Saul, but also that God is in the middle of drafting Saul into service for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Anaias finds Saul, puts his hands on Saul’s head as he prays for him and, just like Jie Li; God answers the prayer and restores sight to Saul. Saul now has a choice to make. For three days, he has prayed to God for clarification, guidance, and wisdom. Anaias challenges Paul with a mini-sermon followed by a question:

“The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know His will, and see that Just One (Jesus) and should hear the voice of His mouth. For you shall be His witness unto all men of what you have seen and heard. Why now do you tarry? Arise, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord”[3]

Saul is a thoroughly changed man. He does get up and become a Christian. He has accepts the incontrovertible evidence that Jesus is God’s Messiah. He did not just hear a voice and see a bright light. Scripture is clear that Paul beheld the resurrected Christ. He wrestled with this vision for three days and concluded that he had been wrong in his beliefs about Jesus, Christianity, and salvation from God.  For a person of his position, status and temperament, this is a miraculous change. God will use the zeal that characterized Saul and direct it into taking Jesus’ Gospel into the rest of the world. The champion of Jewish orthodoxy would become the champion of the Christian faith. The change is so dramatic that Saul starts using the Greek form of his name, Paul, to symbolize that he is no longer the same individual.

Saul, now Paul, becomes an evangelist, missionary, church planter, and author of the majority of the New Testament. His great intellect, his religious training, and his personality are used by God to spread Christianity throughout Asia Minor and Europe. He truly fulfills Anaias’ prophecy concerning him as Paul will witness before kings, civic leaders, and military commanders across the Mediterranean world. He becomes an unapologetic spokesperson for the Lord Jesus Christ.

The conversion Saul experienced, while dramatic, is not unique. Millions of people throughout the last two millennia have come to determine that Jesus Christ truly is God’s Messiah, the only way to eternal life. No matter how hostile or how angry a person may be towards Jesus, there is always hope for them. God continues to call men and women from all temperaments, all backgrounds, and all personalities through the Holy Spirit to Himself.

There are times when the Holy Spirit gently persuades men and women of the truth about Jesus Christ. There are other times when He uses very dramatic methods. Some people, like Saul, have a great desire to worship God but their idea of how to worship Him is flawed. In His graciousness, God takes measures to correct their thinking, revealing to them the proper way to worship. Other people have no idea of how to worship Him at all, like the Samaritan woman. They have given up in despair of finding a relationship with God. Gently, the Holy Spirit draws them to Jesus Christ, restoring hope to their lives. God knows what each person’s personality is like. He knows the backgrounds they come from. He understands the questions, objections, and longings that fill each of us because He made us to worship Him. He continues to draw us so that we can come into a relationship with Him that enables us to worship Him properly.

Both Jie Li and Saul stand as examples that no one is beyond the reach of God. There is no person who is too bad or who has done too much wrong for God to reach and draw into a personal relationship with Himself. In the words of Saul,

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief.”[4]

If God can save someone like Saul, a murderous fanatic, or Jie Li, an underworld crime boss, then He can save anyone. This gives everyone of us hope and a reason to celebrate.

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[1] Warren Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis

[2] Acts 9:4

[3] Acts 22:14-16

[4] 1 Timothy 1:15