Paul: Total Commitment - Acts 9

This is a timely lesson in that it is just five more days until it will be our American Independence Day, July 4, 2008. This is one of the most important holidays for all of us older citizens that were born and raised under the American flag. Recently there has been a heavy infiltration of foreigners that did not all come to America for the sole purpose of sharing in our freedom. This freedom was bought with a heavy price; and it has been maintained for over two hundred years because of the millions that have served this country in the armed services; scores of which paid the supreme price. I personally think that our immigration policy should have always demanded that all immigrants swear allegiance to America, its constitution and flag, and agree to speak the English language, and accept our schools, and our police and court systems. They should agree to adjust to our way of life and not ask us to make changes that cater to them. Admittedly many have made this their home of choice and should be commended; but sadly, many have not and should be deported. They should have to pay the price for their non-commitment, and there should be no exceptions. There is no such creature as an “UNCOMMITTED IMMIGRANT:” They are ‘ILLEGIAL ALLIENS.”

Paul is the best example that can be given of a foreigner that paid the supreme price for his privilege to change from a Roman born/Jewish citizen, hired and supported by the Sanhedrin court system, to become a Christian and a member of the Early Church. This lesson is about commitment. I have already stated how important I believe it is to be committed to the USA; and as important as that is, total commitment to Jesus Christ is a far greater cause. And you should note that failure to commit to Him carries a far greater penalty than being deported. The penalty is total separation from God forever.

The scriptures teach that some converts will be saved as by fire. I believe that it is referring to those who repent of their sin of unbelief and accept Christ as savior but never fulfill the total commitment that God expects of each one of us. There are those that are not regular in their attendance at church; many limit attendance to the Sunday morning worship. [For some it may be only at Christmas time or the annual Easter service.] Some never serve the Lord and Church in any capacity, never tithe; and give sparingly; and have never shared their faith with the lost. This is far from total commitment. If you are one that feels some guilt in your lack of meaningful service, I challenge you to read and study the life of Saul of Tarsus before he met Christ on the Damascus Road and then continue to study the apostle Paul and the difference in his life following his conversion to Christ and commitment to the Church of his Lord. Many believe that Paul’s life emulated the life of Christ more closely than any other man in history.

As you study the life of this man remember that he has two names—he was born as Saul, named for King Saul, and remained Saul until his conversion on the road to Damascus when Jesus changed his name to Paul. In order to prevent any misunderstanding, I will use the name Paul continuously.

Paul was the Hebrew of all Hebrews during the AD period. He was specially qualified for his great work. Paul was born in one of the most famous university cities of the Gentile world, Tarsus. He retained the sacred speech of the Jews and maintained the strict Hebrew traditions concerning their holy city, their Temple and their law. He was also an expert in the Greek language and literature and had learned from his child hood about the importance of the trade, culture, religions and philosophies of foreign lands.

Paul was trained from childhood according to Mosaic requirements and received his early education from the secluded school of the synagogue and then graduated from the sacred Jerusalem College. In addition, and one of his greatest assets, he was a free born Roman Citizen. Either his father or grandfather had been enslaved by Pompey, and then was enfranchised by adoption into some noble Roman family. Then by inheritance Paul could say that he was a Roman citizen. Then he could work as a Jew, accepted and trusted by his piers but also protected in a special way by his Roman citizenship.

As a Parisian Paul [Saul] was a legalist, that is he only recognized and practiced obedience to the Law of Moses. According to the law he lived a blameless life. He was dedicated. He practiced what he believed and he honestly thought that he was living a blameless life. He too could say… I thank God that I am not as other men; I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I possess; I am committed. Both as Saul and Paul he obeyed the dictates of his conscience in matters of right and wrong. He was a sincere person from childhood to death. He allowed nothing to beguile him into doing anything that he thought was wrong and was never restrained from doing what he honestly believed to be the right thing to do. Can you honestly say that you follow your convictions without any exceptions? There is no doubt that he was chosen by Jesus as his disciple simply because the Lord knew that he could always be trusted to do what was right. Now the only thing Jesus had to do was to show him what was right under Grace and not law.

Just imagine the nerve and pure guts it required for Paul to admit to all the world [especially the Jews] and I quote him: “Though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief.” Then continued saying: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifices for sins…[Hebrews 10].”

Before conversion, Paul held Stephen’s coat and approvingly watched as he was stoned to death. Then in 2 Corinthians eleven and early in Paul’s ministry—Christ said “I will show him how great things he must suffer for my sake.” Then a list of those sufferings appear; “In stripes above measure..,
Five times the Jews whipped me with thirty-nine lashes; Three time I was beaten with rods; I was stoned [like Stephen was] but not to death; I suffered three shipwrecks and spent a night and a day in the water; I suffered the perils of rivers, robbers, my countrymen, the gentiles, the city, the wilderness, the sea, and false brethren. I have gone hungry, thirsty, cold and naked. Then he said that these things that were without were nothing compared to the suffering daily with anxiety for all the new churches.

Christ was in the garden only one time when he prayed “let this cup pass” but Paul had a thorn in his side too, and he prayed three times that God would remove the thorn...the thorn was never removed…but he did receive a promise that God’s Grace would suffice. Finally, do you realize that Paul wrote his own gospel without the aid from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John because they had not been written for him to read? The rest of the lesson.

9:1- Following the stoning of Stephen, Paul went zealously about the persecution of the church. One may ask why? a] To return those that had broken the Jewish law and fled to other countries. b] To prevent the spread of Christianity to other cities. c] To prevent Christians from causing trouble with Roman rule. d] To build Paul’s career as a Pharisee. Or e] To unify the different factions of the Jews by giving all a common enemy.
9:3- On his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, Jesus Christ met and greeted Paul in an unforgettable way and he continued on with blinded eyes and a broken spirit; and thus he remained until he was greeted by Ananias, a Christian who called him brother; and then explained what had happened to him and why. God uses different approaches to get a sinner’s attention. A good man, and our friend, Fred Gachot, was my fishing buddy—and one day while we were fishing he told me about his conversion. He gave his life to Christ while one leg was hung under a bush-hog with part of his foot already missing. The motor was still running when he went under the mower, then it stopped miraculously. When help came the key was still in the on position, Many times conversion comes as a quiet experience; however it comes it brings the beginning of a new life of TOTAL COMMITMENT.

Paul tells us that this was the beginning of his new life. He did not experience a vision, but instead he actually met and talked to Jesus—for this reason he was made blind, because the bible teaches that no man can look into the face of God and live [1Cor. 9:1, 15:8. Gal. 1:15-16 and Acts 9: 17]. True conversion never comes without a personal encounter with Jesus Christ that leads to a personal relationship with the Savior. Saul thought he was arresting heretics—but he was persecuting Jesus. Listen…any one who persecutes Christians today are also guilty of persecuting Christ because we are the body of Christ on earth today [Matt. 25: 40-45].

Be very careful who you condemn, the first thought Ananias had was that there was no way Paul could be coming to him as a Christian; but he did and about this we can have no doubts. There is no place in God’s word where we are assured that true salvation will prevent the hardships of this life. In contrast the life of Paul proves that the more zealous one is, the more he may be asking to bear. The meeting between these two men proves that we who are experienced in the way are obligated to meet, greet and provide a caring shoulder on which they may lean. There is no mention of Paul being filled with the Holy Spirit but there is no way Paul could have done the things he did without the power of the Spirit in and on his life. When a sinner is saved the Holy Spirit enters his life; with some it may be a spectacular event, but more often He is viewed when you watch a life of commitment, when you see a heart of compassion and love and when you experience the helpfulness that comes from Christian hands.

9:20-Immediately after his conversion Paul went to the synagogue and started witnessing to his Jewish friends who were unbelievers. New converts may not know the bible well enough to preach or teach but they know what has happened in their life, and sometimes that is all that it takes to reach the lost. The last part of this chapter is a recount of how the disciples in Jerusalem were at first afraid of Paul, but became convinced. The Grecian Jews plotted to kill him and he had to make his first escape to save his life. Then it closes with the stories of Peter’s healing of Aeneas, a polio victim of eight years; and raising Tabitha [Dorcas] from the dead.