Acts 9:10-19 ‘Results of conversion’

Sadhu Sundar Singh lived at the turn of the twentieth century.  His conversion was remarkably similar to that of Saul.  He too was a young man who vehemently opposed Christianity until he had a vision of Christ that transformed his life.  When his family members, who were Sikhs, realised that his claim to be a Christian was not just a passing fancy, they poisoned him and sent him away from home.  He landed at the doorstep of a pastor, desperately ill.  The doctor who saw him gave up hope that he would recover.  But as he lay there, he received a profound belief that God would not call him out of the darkness to die without witnessing to his faith in Christ.  So he began to pray with all his remaining powers.  He recovered and launched into a life of witness.  Donning the garb of an Indian holy man, he travelled the length and breath of India barefoot, preaching the gospel.  This earned him the name ‘the apostle of the bleeding feet.’  For his feet, unprotected from the hostile elements, sometimes bleed.  When it latter came to his death his realisation was that he had been saved to tell others the gospel. 

Of course the conversion of the apostle Paul was in some senses unique.  People often speak of how they were brought to faith and say, ‘I didn’t have a Damascus Road experience.’  But there is a number of ways in which it is typical.  In every conversion it is God who takes the initiative; in every conversion the spiritual blind are given sight; and in every conversion a hostile mind is turned to Christ.  As we continue to look at this chapter we also see that every person is saved for service—as Sadhu Sundar Singh realised when he looked back on his life as a Christian and realised that that he had been saved to tell others the gospel.

As we continue to look at Acts 9 I want us to realise that conversion transforms our relationship towards Christ’s people and conversion is surrender to the supreme authority of Jesus.

Conversion transforms our relationship with Christ’s people

For those who missed our last look at Acts we saw that a man called Saul, backed by the religious establishment of his day, was filled with hatred of Christians and was on his way to Damascus to take them and bring them back as prisoners to Jerusalem.  But along the way a light from heaven flashed around him and Jesus addressed him personally.  Following this encounter the blinded Saul was brought to Damascus where he fasted for three days and three nights.  This was probably an intense kind of fast, without eating or drinking.  People engaged in such a fast if they were repenting or seeking God’s face.  Both are appropriate to Saul’s situation.  Saul is earnest—he is not going to rest until what began on the Damascus Road is completed! 

Meanwhile, in Damascus, the Lord spoke to a believer named Ananias.  ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Troas named Saul, for he is praying.  In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.’  Ananias has heard about Saul and all the harm he did to the believers in Jerusalem and knows that he was coming to town to arrest Christians.  But the Lord tells Ananias to go to him.

Look at the first words Ananias speaks to Saul: Brother Saul.  The archenemy of the church, the dreaded fanatic, is now welcomed into the family.  Here is Ananias laying hands on someone who had approached this city hoping to arrest people like him.  Saul receives his sight and is baptised—a sign of being incorporated into the body of Christ.

Is it right to welcome former enemies in the name of Christ?  Is it right that someone like Saul should be accepted into the church?  Is it fair to expect Ananias to think of this man as his brother?  Grace says it is!  Barriers are broken down amongst God’s people when we realise the grace which saved us and the mercy the God keeps showing us.  Saul had no right to expect God’s forgiveness, but then neither does any of us.  Saul would later write, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).  By nature all of us were enemies towards God but through the cross we have been reconciled with him (2 Cor. 5:18) and with his people.

Young people, if you don’t get on with your brother or sister it is not just them that you will hurt—it will sadden your parents too.  Parents when your heart is saddened because you children are squabbling just remember that if you don’t get on with other Christians you heavenly Father is grieved.   It’s the same in God’s family.  He cares for each of us and is saddened when we refuse to love one another.  Maybe we don’t think they deserve our love—is our place in the Christian family based on what we deserved?  Maybe they have a habit of doing things that annoy us—don’t we realise that Christ accepts us even though we continue to fail him?  Maybe they have character traits that they really need to work on—have any of us reached perfection yet?  Next time you are about to complain about someone in the church think about how patient God is with you and see if that transforms you attitude towards them.  Grace transforms community.  Like Ananias we are called to accept former enemies as brothers or sisters.        

Conversion is a surrender to the supreme authority of Jesus

We are saved for service.  It is our great privilege that God has given us gifts to use and has things for us to do.  Before sending Ananias to Saul, Jesus explains to him that Saul ‘is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’  Sri Lankan Bible commentator Ajith Fernando writes, ‘While Saul encountered more suffering than many other obedient Christians, we must remember that suffering for Christ is a normal part of Christianity and it should come into standard introductions to Christianity for new believers.’ ‘Not to present the need for total surrender to Christ is to present the gospel without a key aspect of Christianity’ (Fernando).  German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, “When Christ calls a person he bids him or her, die”.

Since the summer I have been trying to underline this theme of sacrifice.  Part of the reason is because in our culture we are constantly being tempted towards half-heartedness.  The Christian in school is being told that if you want to be happy then you must fit in, so the temptation is to keep your head down and not tell anyone that you belong to Jesus.  The Christian student is being told (sometimes by Christian parents) that the key to fulfilment is achievement of grades, so study becomes everything, and so there is no good time for church or fellowship or Christian service because they are stuck in the books.  The Christian in the office or factory sees the next wrung up the career ladder and believes that will bring satisfaction, so they become a workaholic who ignores their Christian duty towards their home.  The Christian single is being bombarded with messages that say you need to have a partner to be happy, so if there is no suitable Christian to go out with they are tempted to go out with someone who is not a believer.  The Christian shopper sees the advertisement and the glitz and is fooled into thinking that they need that next purchase.  Then add the temptations to gluttony (whether that is to spend all our time in the fridge or in front of the TV), selfishness and laziness.  Our search for joy is so often misdirected.

But then there are the complimentary themes of God’s glory and our joy.  Everything that we are being told is that we will have joy if we put ourselves at the centre of our world.  God calls us to put him at the centre of our world.  God’s glory is to be our chief aim.  But, as John Piper says, ‘God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.’  So when I speak of sacrifice I am not trying to rob you of joy.  I am trying to help us realise the place to find our greatest joy.  I am trying to show us the fullness of life that we were saved for.  Half-heartedness will steal the joy that is on offer.  When Saul set out on a life in which he would suffer for Christ’s name he was not been given second best, he was not to be pitied, he did not have reason to regret being confronted by Christ.  Let’s not deny ourselves the joy that is to be found only in wholehearted service of Christ.  At the end of Sadhu Sundar Singh’s life, as he looked back and realised that he had been saved to tell others the gospel, I am sure he did not think ‘oh if only I could have had a comfortable home, a few foreign holidays, and a nice car, then life would have been a delight.’  I am sure he looked back on his life of sacrifice and thought ‘what joy!’  Add to that the heavenly reward for his service.

Conclusion

Ajith Fernando writes, ‘the fact that the worst of sinners could be converted is a sign that the least likely people can be saved.  Such realities should encourage us to dream about, pray for, and work toward the conversion of resistant people and enemies of the gospel.’  I want to finish with the story on another hostile person who was converted—I read about this guy in a sermon.

Peter was a student in one of the best universities in the England.  He was studying law and was extremely bright.  He had everything going for him.  In fact he thought he was the bee’s knees.  He was also very good at arguing.  He was able to argue against anything his Christian friends could throw at him.  He wasn’t the sort that people expected to become a Christian.  He was too set in his ways and too arrogant.  Well one day, after Peter had had several long discussions with friends about Christianity he sat down and read a book about Jesus.  He read all that night.  At the end of that night he gave his life to Jesus.  That might not be a Damascus Road conversion but it is also amazing.  Jesus had met with him and turned him around.  He rescued this bright young law student who thought he was too clever for Jesus.  Now he is a beautiful Christian who seeks to live for Jesus Christ in his office in London.

Thank God that he is still recuing people today.  Thank God that he rescues some of the least likely people.  Thank God that he rescued us—which is amazing, for by nature we were spiritually dead, blind and hostile to God.  Thank God that as his rescued people he has a great desire to use us in his service.

Copyright note:

Unless otherwise stated all Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE,

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission.