Am I Paul?

As Saul watched over the cloaks of those around him, did it ever enter his mind that he was participating in the killing of one of God’s children, one of His chosen? He begged for the authorization to eliminate the Christ-followers in all Israel and he received it. The world of the Christians community was about to get a lot tougher but God had other plans.

…“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:4-6 NIV

Saul had, in the moment He followed Christ’s command, become a follower of Christ and his ministry to the lost had taken birth. God chose His messenger perfectly and began to prepare Saul for a new way of life where love and forgiveness superseded the oppression of the Sanhedrin of the time. In fact the congregation in Jerusalem was very skeptical of Saul’s conversion that they feared to meet with him.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 

So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Acts 9:26-30 NIV

When Jesus came to forgive He forgave completely. People feared the old Saul yet the new Paul spoke boldly to the nation. He spoke of love and forgiveness and he spoke of the salvation of the Messiah with such power and conviction that the believers had to remove him from the area upon fear of death. Still, Paul preached on. With his past firmly anchored in the past, Paul preached the salvation message and was one with the Christian leadership.

Life is too short to dwell in the rear-view mirror. Let the sun set on not only other’s past but also on your own. Re-born in Christ means a new start and a new life in the presence of a merciful Father. This Sunday we conclude the forgiveness series but this message continues on.

Blessings

Pastor Todd