And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and
putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even
Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath
sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled
with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as
it had been scales; and he received sight forthwith, and arose
and was baptized.--_Acts 9, 17, 18._
We hear in the Gospel of this Sunday how by speech and by miracle
our Lord called four of His disciples from their fishing boats to
the labors of His ministry. His first selection fell upon persons
from the humble walks of life, plain, unlettered fishermen, toilers
for their daily bread in a lowly occupation. There was divine wisdom
in the choice. Being of the common people, they knew the thoughts,
feelings, and habits of the common people, and so could best adapt
themselves and their preaching to the general masses. But the time
came when God, for the propagation of His saving Gospel, for the
upbuilding of His Church, needed another sort and stamp of man,
a man whose learning, eloquence, and boldness should elevate the
Gospel before the eyes of all the world. And then as now He was not
at a loss to secure such a chosen vessel. We shall regard in these
moments sacred to devotion the call or conversion of St. Paul.
About the time that the boy Jesus was found in the temple seated
among the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions,
far to the northwest of Jerusalem, in the heathen city of Tarsus,
there was born a babe, born of strict Jewish parents, of the tribe
of Benjamin, but also, because his father in some way had become
a Roman citizen, also born to the rights and privileges of Roman
citizenship. Being a bright child, of great natural gifts, he was
given careful training at home in the schools of his native city,
and then sent to Jerusalem, to finish his education under the care
and tuition of Gamaliel, the most renowned rabbi of the Jewish land
then living. His family, apparently well to do, spared no expense to
make him one of the most learned men of his day; nor did they fail
in their attempt, as his writings, masterpieces of composition and
logic, abundantly testify.
The first mention that we have of Paul, or, rather, at that time
Saul, is in connection with the scenes that led up to the murder of
Stephen, the first Christian martyr. When the Christian religion
began to spread in the very center of Judaism, Jerusalem, great
disputation arose between its followers and the Jews. And Saul,
who belonged to the strictest sect of the Jewish religion, the
Pharisees, and was a man of strong feeling and enthusiastic in
temper, soon became involved in these discussions, and so we find
that when the mob took Stephen and ignominiously stoned him to
death, it says of Saul: "He was consenting unto his death," and that
the murderers "laid down their clothes at a young man's feet named
Saul."
Nor did he stop here. His whole being was so aflame with religious
zeal that he knew only one purpose of life, and that was to blot
out the name of that detestable Founder of the new religion and His
followers. Accordingly, we read in Acts that "Saul made havoc of
the Church, entering into every house, and haling men and women,
committed them to prison." And not satisfied with his work at
Jerusalem, he began to extend his persecution to distant cities. The
opening verses of this chapter read: "And Saul yet breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went
unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the
synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men
or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." Damascus, in
Syria, now the oldest city in the world, had opened its gates as a
refuge to the Christians, and provided with legal papers from the
high priests, he set out at the head of an armed and mounted force
to bring those Christians at Damascus to terms. But he did not. In
the affairs of men it ever remains true: Man proposes, God disposes,
and most wonderfully did He dispose in the case of Saul of Tarsus.
It was high noon in Syria, the sun standing in its zenith. On
the road leading from Jerusalem to Damascus could be heard the
clattering of horses' hoofs. The horsemen could already see the
beautiful city rising upon their sight and its gates swinging open,
when, suddenly, there came a flash from the sky, and "a light
above the brightness of the sun" shone round about them, with such
overwhelming effect that it struck the chief with blindness, smote
him to the ground, and filled every man with terror and dismay. And
to this brilliancy of light was added a clear and distant voice
ringing through the air, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"
Like pointed steel these words went down into Saul's heart. He had
been persecuting the Christians, and now comes a voice from heaven,
saying, "Why persecutest thou Me?" What! could it be possible that
God identifies Himself with these people he, Saul, was seeking to
destroy? Could it be true that He whom His nation had crucified
was indeed the Messiah, risen and alive? Overcome with remorse,
Saul raises his sightless eyeballs on high and asks, "Who art
Thou, O Lord?" And back comes the quick reply, "I am Jesus, whom
thou persecutest." That was too much for him. Here was the voice
of Jehovah Himself,--what could he do but submit? Trembling and
astonished he said, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" The
victory was won. The Galilean had conquered. "Arise," said He, "and
go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." For
three days Saul lay sick in Damascus unable to see, to move, to eat
and drink by reason of the great convulsions that had shaken up his
body and soul, but during that time undergoing a change which has
placed his name among the great and noble members of the kingdom
of heaven. At the close of these never-to-be-forgotten days God
sent to him one of the faithful disciples, or Christians, living
at Damascus, Ananias by name. Ananias at first was very reluctant
to go, having heard such evil report of the man, but the Lord had
said, "Go," and that settled the matter. He found the dreaded Saul
lying on his couch, addressed him with brotherly kindness, told
him why he had come, and laid his hands upon him. "And immediately
there fell from his eyes as it had been scales; and he received
sight forthwith, and arose and was baptized." This interesting
narrative shall we view as to the subject of conversion and as to
its significance to the Church.
Taking up some practical lessons on the subject of conversion: What
was there in St. Paul's case that need not be looked for in other
cases? And what was there in it that is common to every case? Let us
look at St. Paul's case. He was called in a miraculous manner by the
Savior. It was a miracle to prove the truth of Christianity in that
early day. But now we have no ground to look for like circumstances
in the conversion of any one in our day. If Saul of Tarsus saw Jesus
appearing to him in the way, the sinner must not, for this reason,
also expect to be visited by some remarkable call, dream, vision, or
supernatural impression upon his mind.
Again, Saul fell to the earth, and was in great distress of mind
and body for three days. It does not follow from this that every
unconverted person must be in such distress before he can take
a step in the right direction. The Ethiopian eunuch, of whom we
read in the preceding chapter, received the Word without any such
process, and "went on his way rejoicing." Of the three thousand who
were converted in one day it is merely said: "They gladly received
the Word and were baptized."
Sometimes true Christians feel much uneasiness and anxiety because
they cannot point to any such distinguishing moments in their
experience. They have never passed through the mental anguish that
others speak of. They have never felt as Saul of Tarsus must have
felt those three days of blindness. Such persons forget that in most
of the cases recorded in the Gospel there were no experiences of
this kind, but conversion consisted simply in the cordial and quiet
acceptance of the Lord Jesus.
Again, in Paul's case there was something to fix the precise time of
his conversion. He could name the day, the very hour, when he fell
upon the ground trembling and afraid. Is it, therefore, necessary
that every believer should be able to designate the precise time of
his conversion? Not one Christian out of ten can tell the date of
his conversion.
It is generally the case that the grosser the sins are, the more
marked will the change be. When any one who has made himself
conspicuous in crime and wickedness is converted, it is like the
lighting of a candle in a room utterly dark. There is a sudden
change from darkness to light. It is, therefore, easy to fix the
precise time when darkness ceased and light prevailed. But the case
is very different from those who have been molded and influenced
from youth up by religious teaching and training.
How was it possible for Timothy to tell when he commenced to
be a Christian? He was instructed from his youth in the Holy
Scriptures. He could not remember the time when he was not pious
and God-fearing. He always belonged to the Lord--in his childhood,
in his youth, in his manhood. The same is true of John the Baptist.
How could he tell when he was converted? He was sanctified from his
birth, we are told. Where, then, was there room for a sudden and
marked change in him? Yes, I am free to remark that it is just what
God wants in the case of each one. He does not want us to know the
precise time of our conversion. He does not want any one to give a
part of his life to sin and Satan, so that a sudden, marked, and
definite change seems necessary. He does not want you to act the
part of an infidel for awhile, in order that you may be able to tell
us the day or the hour when you became a believer. No, God wants
your whole life; from beginning to end it is to be consecrated to
God, our Savior. And does it not follow from this, that the more
faithfully our children are instructed in the doctrines and duties
of our holy religion, in the family, in the Sunday-school, and in
the catechetical class, the less the number will become of those who
can point to the particular time of their conversion? The whole work
of the Sunday-school throughout and the whole work of the pastor
in the catechetical class has this grand object in mind, to make
a Timothy out of every child, one who is instructed in the Holy
Scriptures from his youth, and who knows no time when he did not
belong to the Lord.
Finally, we may observe that Saul's conversion was unsought by
himself. He set out on his way to Damascus full of hatred against
Christ and His disciples. He had not a single desire to become His
follower. In this also his conversion is singular. We are not to
expect, as some seem to do, that we may carelessly continue in our
worldly affairs, or in sinful pleasures, or in other opposition to
God; and nevertheless some time Almighty Grace will strike us to the
ground, and raise us up Christians. God may do that, but the general
rule is that God does not do that. The general rule is that God is
found by those who seek Him. The eunuch was reading the Scriptures
when Philip preached Christ to him. Nathaniel was meditating and
praying under the fig-tree when he was led to the Savior. Lydia
was at the place of prayer when the Lord opened her heart, and she
attended to the things spoken by Paul. The Samaritans were listening
to Philip's preaching when they were brought to believe. All were
using the means of grace, and were brought to a saving knowledge
of the truth. So with us this day,--by the Word of God, in private
reading, in public preaching He converts souls. In this particular
conversion, Paul's case differs from others.--What, however, do we
find in every case of true conversion, no matter how varied the
circumstances are? Conversion is to turn from the love and practice
of sin, and through faith in the Son of God to the love and practice
of holiness. When a man has conviction of sin, believes in, and
depends on, Jesus as His Savior, he is converted, and it matters not
how, when, or where. Never could there be such a conviction, such a
belief, such a striving, unless there has previously been a change,
and that change we call conversion. Believe it that when a man can
look up like the man Saul of Tarsus, and say, "Lord, what wilt Thou
have me to do?" he is a converted man.--
Viewed as a public event in its significance to the Christian
Church, the conversion of Paul is one of the strongest external
proofs furnished us in the Bible for the truth of the Christian
religion. If it can be established that Saul became Paul, then the
Gospel must be true, and all that it tells us of Jesus as our divine
Lord and Redeemer must be true. And there has never yet been a man
who has dared to deny the historical truth of this conversion, or to
contradict that Saul _did_ become Paul.
At the beginning of the last century Sir Gilbert West and Lord
Lyttleton, two great literary lights of England, determined on a
masterstroke for the suppression of the Gospel. It seemed to them
that the two greatest miracles of the Christian religion were
Christ's resurrection and Saul's conversion. Gilbert West agreed
to write a refutation of the resurrection of Christ, and Lord
Lyttleton a refutation of the conversion of Saul. At the conclusion
of their work they met by appointment. Lord Lyttleton asked, "What
is the result of your work?" The answer was: "I have thoughtfully
investigated the resurrection of Christ, and have come to the
conclusion that He who is said to have come forth from the sepulcher
of Joseph's garden was, as He claimed to be, the veritable Son
of God." And Lord Lyttleton said: "I have fully investigated the
narrative of the conversion of St. Paul, and am satisfied that this
man, on his journey along the Damascus highway, really saw Jesus
of Nazareth, and that this Jesus was the very Christ of God." No
other conclusion can be reached as we enter upon the study of the
character of the man, and the results that have come from that event.
To finish our meditation with a personal application: St. Paul,
whose conversion we have considered, wrote much for the instruction
of all after ages, but he never penned more memorable words than
these, words which perhaps have been oftener quoted than any
sentence of any writer that ever lived--may God enable you to take
the words home to your heart--: "This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of which I am chief." Paul's conversion is a
beacon-light to encourage us never to despair for the worst and most
hopeless of sinners.
If Grace could take a blasphemer and persecutor like Saul, then
there is hope for you and for me. May we realize it! Amen.