The Gospel Changes Everything

Introduction

After Saul was saved on the road to Damascus, was baptized, preached the gospel, and confounded the Jews that were there he became a marked man and they desired to kill him. Escaping their grasps in Damascus with the help of his new brothers in Christ they let him down the city wall in a basket so that he could get away from the mob that was now seeking his life.

From there Saul returned to Jerusalem from which he came with the letters to imprison believers; however, he did not return with prisoners to prosecute, but with Christ in his heart and the power of the Holy Spirit upon his life. When he arrived in Jerusalem he went to the very people that he had railed against and to the people from which he took a deacon and had him killed for his faith.

Saul Desired to Join the Church

Acts 9:26 “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples:

Another mark of a believer is found here. Saul got saved and wanted to be baptized. Saul got saved and preached the gospel. Saul got saved and immersed himself in the gospel message and grew in grace through the knowledge of God. Saul confounded the religious leaders of Damascus. Now, having returned to Jerusalem Saul desires to join himself to the church.

The desire of every Christian should be to desire to be joined to a church, to serve in the church, and to be dedicated to attending that church. Church is where we grow in grace, where we are strengthened in our faith, where we are edified and built up in the things of Christ, where we learn how to crucify our flesh and look to the Savior, where we understand what our responsibilities are as Christians, where we learn to serve others and bring others to Christ.

Second to salvation and the Scriptures church is the most important part of a Christian’s life; or is should be. Nothing was going to keep Saul from the church. As we will see there were obstacles that had to be overcome, but Saul was saved and he knew where he belonged, he knew what he needed, and he knew where he could learn more about Christ; the church.

Now listen, you can make all the excuses in the world. You can say all these flowery things like I don’t need to go to church to worship God. You can think that you can do life without the church, but I am here to tell you that is simply not what you will find in Scripture. Time and again we see the pattern is for God to work through the church which means God will work in you through the church. You can say, I can be a Christian without going to church. If you mean you can be saved without going to to church, that is true. If you mean you can be a disciple and follower of Christ without the church that simply cannot be proven true when you see the pattern of the Scriptures.

Saul who would eventually be recognized as one of the Apostles preached the gospel in every place where God led him and each and every time he preached the gospel and people got saved do you know what he did? He started a New Testament church for the people to gather with, learn from, and grow in Christ. Anyone who thinks they are a good Christian because they study their Bible, but refused to be joined to a local New Testament church simply is not examining the Scriptures closely and honestly enough.

There is nothing wrong with having things that you want to do in life. On Sunday, your desire should be to gather with your church. You can have birthday parties and family gatherings. You can go on vacation and have some fun times with family and friends. On Sunday, go to church. It is where a Christian belongs. It is where a Christian grows. It is where a Christian serves. It is where a Christian encourages others. It is where you are encouraged by others to live for Christ and to walk in his ways.

Saul understood the importance of Church. He understood it so much that he was willing to go through the scoffs, the disbelief, the distrust, and the fear that came with his desire to join himself to the church.

The Church Feared the Intention of Saul

Acts 9:26 “but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.”

They were afraid of him. They did not believe him. They were skeptical of him. Before you jump on them too hard I would submit to you that their fears were valid. He had killed one of their own deacons; Stephen as he preached Christ. They stoned him and left him dead in the street. Saul was there. Saul was a participant. Saul was likely the one that spear headed the whole thing. Saul was agreeable to the stoning as well.

The skeptical nature here is at least understandable. Saul was a vicious person toward the church. He left to imprison and kill and now they were expected to believe he had returned with Christ in his life and the Holy Spirit inside of him. In this case a little skepticism is understandable.

However, most of the time a church is resistant to accept someone it is simply out of pride. Many times they just think they are better than them. Such was not the case here. Here Saul was a feared enemy of the church seen as pretending to be one of them to catch them. I will point out a few things though.

God has not called us to fear our enemies

The problem was not their skepticism of Saul, but their fear of the enemy. God calls us, not to fear, but to boldness. Over and over in the book of Acts we see God praising the boldness of the Apostles and the Disciples. When we fear our enemies we miss the understanding that God empowers us and that God is our protector. We need not fear our enemies so long as we are following God in our lives.

God has not called us to judge one’s salvation

When we hear about someone getting saved and our first reaction is, “yeah we will see” is not an appropriate response. Maybe this reaction of the church is why Paul wrote later in Philippians that he is glad about wherever the gospel is preached and recieved; no matter the intentions of those preaching the gospel. He is glad for others to be saved. We should not stand in judgment saying, “I am not really sure that will stick,” or any kind of comment like it. The Bible says here that they did not believe that he was a disciple.

I mean, their reaction given the circumstances were at least understandable, but it serves as a warning that we are not the judge of a person’s salvation and we have no right to be dismissive of a person’s profession of faith. We don’t have anyone trying to kill us for believing in Christ so their excuse is not our excuse. Yet, there are times when I have seen people be dismissive or skeptical or judgmental about a person that gets saved and while their deeds may produce a caution within us to trust them we must celebrate their conversion, welcome them into the church, and let God deal with the heart of that person as he sees fit.

We hear about such a man in the next verse.

Barnabas brought him to the Apostles

Acts 9:27 “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”

Barnabas was not an apostle. Barnabas, however, was an encourager. He lived up to his name. Barnabas means, “Son of Encouragement” Barnabas grabbed Saul and took him straight to the Apostles. He told them what happened on the way to Damascus, and he told him about how Saul had boldly preached the gospel in Damascus. Barnabas was a man who saw potential in people and encouraged them in their walk with the Lord.

Now imagine, what a difference a Barnabas can be for some new Christian that is being treated with skepticism, fear, and disgust. We ought to all strive to be a Barnabas. Instead of acting like the rest of the church; scared, skeptical, and suspect we should be an encourager like Barnabas.

How to be an encourager:

Barnabas Took Time to Listen

Acts 9:27 “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way...

How did he know what happened to Saul? He listened to his testimony. How did he know what God had done in the heart of Saul? He heard him tell the story of his conversion. How did he know that he preached Jesus in Damascus? He listened to Saul’s account of the events.

Barnabas Took the Opportunity to Trust

I am not sure if Barnabas was a risk taker or if he had at some point been given a second chance. I am not sure what caused Barnabas to do what he did, but took Saul at his word and trusted the Lord with the results. He took him to the Apostle Peter and he introduced him. After that Saul was accepted and began preaching in Jerusalem.

Saul Proved His Conversion by his Boldness

Acts 9:27–29 “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.”

Once again we find Saul going out in public preaching Christ to the Grecian Jews that were there. The Bible says he disputed with them. Here again, we find a Christian, in public, disputing with unbelievers about the truth of the gospel. Christianity is to be publicly declared to unbelievers whether they are receptive to the message. Our concern with the gospel is not whether people are receptive to it, but that we are obedient to declare it and able to share it.

Saul was determined to show how that God had changed his life by preaching publicly for everyone to hear. It did not take long for the Jewish leadership to take notice and get tired of hearing from him. It also did not take long for the church at Jerusalem to realize that this was a true conversion story about this man that once persecuted their church.

How about you? Are you converted? Have you been saved? Would anyone know it by your speech, by your message, by your boldness, and by the life that you live? The disciples in Jerusalem quickly realized it was genuine. So did the Jewish leader. They began to try to kill him soon after he started preaching. His boldness in proclaiming the message and his skill at confounding them was so excellent that killing him was the only way they knew of to get him to shut up.

The Church Protected Saul from Death

Acts 9:29–30 “And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.”

He spoke boldly of Christ, got the leadership of the Jews to take notice of him and seek his death. When this was known the disciples in Jerusalem escorted him safely from Jerusalem to his hometown of Tarsus. The people he once persecuted, imprisoned, and killed now helped him escape (AGAIN) from death.

Saul had went through a transformation in his life, but it is evident that the church was transforming too; they were becoming what Christ meant for them to be. They were proclaiming the gospel, accepting those that believed the gospel, and working in unity to advance the gospel at any cost.

The Church protecting Saul shows us that the gospel changes things; in the life of one believer and in the life of the church. The gospel is the transforming power that the church has at its fingertips to proclaim the truth and see lives transformed through its power.

Won’t we trust Christ to flex his power before our community by spreading the gospel to others.

Conclusion

Saul changed

Barnabas encouraged

The Church changed

In short, the gospel has the power to transform lives, churches, and communities.

What will the gospel do in your heart, in your church, and in your community?

The answer is up to you!