Acts 9: Intro - The Radical Salvation of Paul

As we consider the radical salvation of Paul, we must begin with the understanding that Paul is the 2nd abortionist of the New Testament. His sole purpose before his radical salvation was to kill the Christian church in its infancy before it could become fully formed and birthed.

The 1st abortionist of the New Testament was King Herod, who ordered the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem with the same intent.

What better displays God’s glory to man than the choices God makes to implement His will in His creation? In this study we will consider this thought as revealed in His choosing when He spoke two words as revealed in His choice of Paul, which are “… chosen vessel …”.

John’s gospel sets our stage as Jesus says in John 15:16:

“You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”

This matter of choosing harkens us all the way back to Deuteronomy 7 where God told the Hebrews that He had chosen and redeemed them before He required their obedience.

We must consider divine choosing before we consider the radical salvation of Paul.

An interesting component of this radical salvation moment, a most powerful and almost violent moment, is how the event bears witness to the Christian concept of free will.

We are taught consistently by our Baptist preachers that we are created as free moral agents and our free will is a crucial part of both our creation and our spiritual walk. We are well advised by holy scripture that the free will of Paul at the time of his conversion was to do all in his power to gather believers and to harm them by physical punishment, even unto death.

There is no scripture which leads us to know Paul ever considered Jesus Christ as his personal savior before the trip along the Damascus road. We have no scripture that allows us to know that Paul ever entertained such thoughts.

We find strikingly similar episodes with other patriarchs.

We have no scripture that Abram, who was raised in a land and family of pagan idol worship had ever once sought Yahweh. (Joshua 24:2)

Abram gave us no scripture that he was unhappy in the worship of false gods and his complete free will was in doing so until Yahweh chose him and spoke to him that he should leave his land and kindred and go to a land God would later show him. He obeyed.

Scripture is clear that he was not chosen because he believed or with his own free will chose the true and living God. Abram believed because he was chosen. He was not chosen because he believed. (chosen in Genesis 12/believed in Genesis 15)

Moses by scripture showed no unhappiness living in the Midian desert tending the flocks of Jethro, marrying Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. He remained there 40 years and used his free will to stay there and continue that life.

A burning bush gave Moses a new command for his life and his free will choice of being a shepherd instantly became secondary to the will of God, who chose him.

Job was introduced to us by God as the greatest man in the east, displaying a sincere life of sacrifice to God, even extra sacrificing for his ten children. He was wealthy and even Satan was aware of his status as protected by God.

We have no scripture that teaches us that his free will included poverty, disease, or the terrible loss of all ten of his children. Not one verse tells us that he chose those things of his own free will.

God’s will for this man by turning over Job’s entire existence to the evil one  instantly overcame Job’s will, and Job’s will was no longer free for the last 40 chapters of his book.

Job’s free will devotion became secondary to the contest of Satan’s will versus the will of God. 

His free will efforts became subordinate to Satan’s allowance from the Lord to kill all of Job’s children, and to destroy his wealth and his health in spiritual warfare to test the faith of Job. 

While Job passed the test and never cursed God, he also was never told why he had been so cruelly cursed. During all these matters, Job still professed his faith that he himself would one day see his redeemer, but his will was forever changed. Job 42:11 reveals who wrought the evil upon Job and it was not Satan, who disappeared after chapter two.

The point of this consideration of radical salvation is that we are all created by God as free moral agents and we can live in our own free will until we cannot.

It is the sovereign will of God that rules our lives and has since the first man was created. His disobedience made us all sinners and God promised in Genesis 3:15 that a redeemer would arrive and He did in Jesus Christ, incarnated not in human flesh but in the likeness of it (Romans 8:3), thereby inheriting no original sin.

God further showed us in Revelation 13:8 that this redeemer was slain from the foundation of the world. The plan of God’s will to rule all things was arranged from the beginning of all things.

We are free of will until we are not by God’s command.

What was Paul’s free will leading him to do before the great light appeared? How free was his will from that moment onward? From the moment of the light, Paul’s will reflected God’s will only and his will became secondary to God’s will until his martyrdom.

We end this portion of our study by reminding ourselves that no man has ever and no man will ever be able to choose heaven of his own free will.

Our created free will allows us on our own to choose hell if we wish, but only God chooses us for heaven.

John 6:44 is very clear on this matter:

“No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him …”

The first step of eternal salvation is not ours. It is His.

Did Paul seek the Lord or did the Lord seek him? Acts 9:15 is our answer and Jesus makes very clear that the choosing was His decision and did not belong to Paul, as Jesus says Paul is “… a chosen vessel…”

Our final scriptural proof of the proper understanding of the priority of the will of God over the will of man is given us in John 1:13 which reveals how we become sons of God:

“… which were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.”

Let us now discuss Paul.

Paul created about ¼ of the New Testament plus another 1/12 of its pages when his life is discussed in Acts.

He was born between 1 & 5 A.D. into an Israelite family descended from the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5), and we know he had at least one sister (Acts 23:16).

His birth in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia gave him both Israeli and Roman citizenship, as Rome had designated Tarsus as a “free city” (Acts 22”25).

He studied in Jerusalem at the school of Rabbis under the teacher Gamiliel, and his study there led him to become a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). The wisdom of Gamiliel is displayed for us in Acts 5.

He claimed himself to be a “Hebrew among Hebrews”, (Phil 3), showing his standing among the Jews, later bragging he was a “Pharisee and a son of a Pharisee”. (Acts 23:6)

He participates in the early persecution of those “in the way” which was the early name for believers in Christ (Acts 7), and he was present at the stoning of Stephen and consented to it.

He bragged of persecuting, capturing, binding, and delivering believers, both men and women, unto death. (Acts 22:4)

He was holding written documents of indictment from the high priest against all believers he may encounter when he went on the road to Damascus. He intended to seek and capture any who may have faith in Jesus Christ, and to assure their punishment for abandoning the Jewish faith, considering any believer to be a spiritual rebel deserving death.

His salvation by Jesus was a majestic move of genius. 

No man could out Pharisee Paul, and his education prepared him to be able to answer all Jews as to their disdain of Christ and what Christ meant as the Messiah sent by God to the Jewish people.

There was likely no better choice by the Lord to take the mantle of Apostle to the Gentiles and defender of the Christian faith against the constant Judiazers.

We are now ready to consider his radical salvation.

Acts 9:1-8

Paul was breathing out threats and slaughter against those who were followers of Jesus Christ. Later when he spoke to King Agrippa, he told how many of the saints he had put into prison and how he voted for their death.

As a results of this persecution, many believers left Jerusalem.

Paul apparently heard of the successful gospel preaching elsewhere and he determined to do something about it. He went to the high priest for permission to pursue these followers wherever they may be. Some of those who had scattered went north to Damascus which was then part of Arabia.

Paul asked for letters authorizing him to pursue them and bring them bound to Jerusalem, which would mean a trial for them before the Sanhedrin and probably a death sentence.

He called these believers as followers of “the way”, which was an interesting title for them because they taught that Christ was the way of salvation and the way of life.

Damascus was about 140 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Near the end of the road, a great light from heaven suddenly shined around Paul. When Jesus had risen from the dead his resurrection body was transformed and was now immortal, incorruptible, and glorified.

He now appeared to Paul within the light as the risen and glorified Christ.

As the brilliant light shone around him, Paul fell to the ground overwhelmed and he heard a voice saying:

“Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me?” 

Here Luke uses the Hebrew version of the name for Paul, and Paul will later confirm in Acts 26:14 that Jesus spoke in the Hebrew language.

This appearance of Jesus was something special, extraordinary, and beyond  normal.

Paul now answers Jesus and says, “Who are you Lord?”. The answer came instantly. The Lord said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, and it is hard for you to kick against the pricks.” The pricks are the sharp ox goads.

Paul was so full of fury that he seemed only to think of his zealous defense of the Jewish faith and his journey to stop the spread  of the gospel.

But now Paul was faced with Jesus, not just a man, but the divine Lord, and his whole attitude changed and he answered simply, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

In response to this evidence of genuine repentance, Jesus told Paul to rise and go into the city of Damascus where he would be told what is necessary for him to do.

In Galatians 1, Paul made it very clear that he was commissioned directly by Jesus himself, not by any man. That statement proved he was indeed an apostle, meaning one who is sent.

The men who were with Paul on the road stood speechless, likely from fright, hearing the sound of the voice but not the words, and seeing no one. These men saw a light but did not see Christ himself.

The vision was only for Paul, and only he saw Jesus and heard the words meant only for him. Paul continually witnessed in later writing that he had seen the risen Christ and, therefore, was as much an apostle and those who knew Jesus before He went to the cross, and then saw Him afterward. 1st Corinthians 9 & 15 teach this message.

When Paul arose from the ground he was blind. His companions had to lead him by the hand into Damascus. What a contrast this time was to the way he had begun the journey.

• Once leading, now he was being led.

• Intending to arrest others, now he had been arrested by Christ.

• Having authority in his hand from the high priest, 

• he had now come under the authority of the great high priest.

• Expecting to put chains on believers, he was now captured and helpless.

Acts 9:9-19

Paul remained three days in the house where he was taken. Unable to see, he neither ate nor drank. This time gave Paul a long period of consideration and prayer. 

It was also a time when the Holy Spirit was revealing the understanding of the Messiah to his heart, mind, and soul.

Now Paul knew he was wrong about Jesus and the believers and could not help but realize that he had been wrong about the Old Testament teachings and its prophecies.

Paul now knew that what he had said and done against Christ was blasphemy. He was in physical darkness, but the light and love of Christ was being shed into his heart.

On the third day, the Lord appeared in a vision to a disciple named Ananias. This was a supernatural moment, not a dream. Ananias responded by saying “Here I am, Lord” and showed he was willing to obey whatever God may command.

Later, in Acts 22:12, Paul will reveal that Ananias was a devout Jew converted to the Lord and still kept a good reputation among the Jews in Damascus.

Jesus told Ananias to rise and go to the street called straight and find in the house of Judas a man named Saul of Tarsus. Might we mention how detailed were the instructions given to God’s messenger?

Ananias was told Paul was praying, meaning that Paul was humbled and waiting before God. Ananias was told that a vision had been given to Paul identifying by name the man commanded to come to him, who would lay hands on him and restore his sight.

God was preparing Paul even before Ananias arrived.

We notice here that Jesus did not call Peter or John, nor was it necessary for any other apostle to lay hands on Paul. Ananias was a godly man but was not an apostle.

This instance was so that Paul did not get his commission from any other apostle, but from the command of Jesus himself through a humble helper who was simply a believer.

Though Ananias originally expressed his willingness to obey the Lord, he grew concerned when given the name of the man to whom he was to be sent. He knew about this man and that he had done many terrible things to believers and to the church in Jerusalem. 

But Jesus told him to go as commanded and that this man was a chosen vessel unto Christ, to bear His name before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel.

Jesus further said that He would show Paul how great things he must suffer for the name of the Lord.

Ananias went as ordered and found Paul and laid his hands upon him, calling him “brother Saul”, and confirmed to Paul that he knew Jesus had appeared to Paul and that he had come to Paul to restore his sights and to deliver to him the Holy Ghost.

At that moment the scales fell from the eyes of Paul and with his sight restored, Paul rose and was baptized. Paul ate and gained strength and stayed with the Damascus believers for several days.

He went and preached in the synagogues, preaching Christ as the son of God.

We have no scripture that gives us any information about Ananias before this moment, nor do we have any scripture that teaches us what he did after this moment. 

This man, and his faithful devotion, reminds us of the time when Elijah was hiding in fear of the death threat of Jezebel, and he told God he was the last one faithful to the Lord. God replied that he had 7,000 who had not bent the knee to the false god Baal, and by this moment assured Elijah, and us, that God will always have His own people ready to accept His commands and do His will.

Acts 9:20-32

Paul immediately became a part of the body of disciples and believers in Damascus. He did not wait to begin to preach the gospel, and he did so at the very synagogues where he had originally intended to arrest Christian believers.

He preached boldly that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior, as well as the Son of God. This was the first time in Acts that the phrase “Son of God” was used to describe the Lord. 

He used the Old Testament to make his preaching points, as well as preaching the fact that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Romans 1:4 certifies this factor.

Those in the synagogues were astonished that this one who had so strongly persecuted those in “the way” now brought his zeal to preaching that same message they believed. Now Paul was worshiping the One he had hated.

Paul was filled with more and more supernatural power, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus, proving from scripture that this Jesus was indeed the Christ, the anointed One.

Many were upset by his preaching and his scripture proofs from the Old Covenant angered them even more, exactly as the preaching of Stephen had done in Jerusalem.

Believers were encouraged and were strengthened by what they saw and heard, and they realized they were seeing proof of the power of the gospel.

The unbelieving Jews now began a plot to kill Paul.

Paul later told the Galatians that he had left Damascus and went to Arabia.

The death plot became known to him and the Jews were watching the gates to capture him and put him to death. The believers put Paul into a woven basket and let him down over the city walls so he would not have to leave through the city gates.

Paul went south to Jerusalem and tried to join in with the disciples there who feared him and wanted nothing to do with him, for his reputation was known to them.

They were justifiably extra cautious.

It was hard to believe that the one who was most furious was now a follower of Christ. In time, they did learn that the gospel has the power to save even the worst enemies of the Lord.

Barnabus was sympathetic toward Paul, living up to the literal meaning of his name, which was “son of encouragement”. He investigated Paul and the change in him, and came to feel Paul was truly converted and, therefore, brought Paul to the apostles and vouched for Paul.

Galatians 1:18-24 tells us that Paul stayed only 15 days on this visit.

Barnabus explained how Paul had seen the risen Lord and how he was now speaking freely and boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. 

When the believers in Jerusalem found out about the plan to kill Paul by the Jews, they took him to Ceasarea and then sent him onward to Tarsus.

Acts 22:17-21 teaches us that Jesus himself appeared to Paul and told him to leave the area. His move to Tarsus allowed him to move and preach openly, as it was his original home city.

Acts makes no further mention of Paul until 11:30 and Luke began a sequence of writings to explain the movement of the gospel directly to Gentiles, with Peter called by the Lord to preach and witness to the Roman centurion Cornelius, who was converted and was actually seen by Peter to receive the same Holy Spirit that had been gifted to the disciples at Pentecost.

Short of death, Paul likely suffered more for Christ than any other messenger.

His suffering was painfully physical for many years but those sufferings never deterred or delayed Paul from the duties given him by Christ.

Several ancient writers were forcefully writing of his work.

Jerome wrote: “He is the vessel of election, the trumpet of the gospel, the roaring of our lion, the thunder of our nations, the river of Christian eloquence.”

Eusebius wrote: “Paul was the athlete of Christ, taught by Him, anointed by Him, crucified in spirit with Him, glorious in him, a man who lawfully maintains a great conflict in the theater of his world in which he became a spectacle for angels and man. Him, I say, we joyfully behold with the eyes of faith as he presses onward to the prize of his high calling.”

Paul’s work brought to all believers of his time, and to all Christians since. a profoundly new understanding of man’s relationship with God and God’s will implemented among His creation through mankind.

Paul’s experience of the resurrected Jesus led him to reframe the message of God’s reign as the Lordship of Christ, God’s Son and Messiah, and of the life of the believer IN HIM!

According to Paul, the Gospel is an account of the planned and executed intervention of God into the history of Israel, and further to the Gentiles, in order to set right the ways of the world gone wrong.

God’s gift of His own Son demonstrates for Paul that God is both faithful to the covenant and righteous, finding a way to deal with the matter of human rebellion and sin (Romans 3:21-26), even when we were enemies of God (Romans 5:6-10).

In Paul’s eyes, this work of God was amazing grace and amazing love.

In terms of Paul’s teaching on Christ’s death on the cross, Paul taught that:

“In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself.” (2nd Cor 5:9)

“His death was God’s act of love.” (Romans 5:8)

“God did not withhold His own Son, but gave Him up for all of us.” (Romans 8:32)

“God put Christ forward as a sacrifice of atonement by His blood.” (Romans 3:25)

Paul’s work can be summarized as the fact that the believer actually participates in Christ’s death and rising, and thereby are:

1. Justified, or restored, to a right covenant relation with God and others.

2. Incorporated into a particular manifestation of Christ’s body on earth, which is the true church.

3. Infused both individually and together by the Spirit of God’s Son, gifted to all who believe in faith, so that they may lead lives focused upon His first coming, and look ahead to His second coming based upon:

Cross shaped faith

Hope toward God

Love toward both neighbors and enemies

Paul taught that this event was the conclusion of the human story of Jesus, a life story of self-emptying, self-giving obedience, and of self-giving love. Paul viewed the work of Christ as utter abandonment of self in service to God, called in the Greek word “kenosis”, which is the noun form of “to empty”.

For Paul, the cross is an act of God’s love, being God’s loving sacrificial gift and Christ’s sacrificial loving obedience, all planned from the foundation of the world.

Paul was certainly the foremost teacher of the subject of justification by faith. It is on this teaching that almost all Bible preachers and teachers have rested in the 2,000 years since Paul. 

Paul’s most powerful teaching is that God’s grace means that those who have become His through this gift are restored to Him and will be eternally spared, from conversion onward, from His coming wrath. (Romans 5:1-11 & 8:1)

Paul clearly believed that all believers will be transformed from a mortal existence into one of immortality. This transformation will occur at the time of the removing from the earth both the dead in Christ and those still living in Christ, which is known as The Rapture, a preview of the second coming.

“Listen, and I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die but we will all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”  (1st Cor 15 & 1st Thess 4)

Paul says that the person who says “YES” to the Gospel, and is justified into co-crucifixion with Christ in the experience of faith and baptism, makes a spiritual move from being outside Christ, and the covenant peoples of God. to being inside Christ and God’s people.

To be in Christ is to have Christ within.

“It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20)

Justification and participation in the life of Jesus Christ are to Paul the opposite sides of the same coin, the coin of relationship to God in Christ and the believer.