Calling the Chief of Sinners

Introduction:

Open your Bibles to the book of Acts this morning

Acts chapter 9 found on page 863 in the black church Bibles that are under the seat in front of you

It has been a couple of weeks since we looked at the book of Acts and our study called “The Unstoppable Mission of the Church”

When we were last together we looked at the second half of Philip’s evangelistic ministry to the Ethiopian Eunuch

We noted how he had walked through the Scriptures (particularly the book of Isaiah) to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of all Scripture

That He was the promised Messiah who would suffer as a sacrificial Lamb to take away the sin of the world

We noted the response of the Eunuch as the example of genuine faith that Luke was contrasting with the False Faith of the magician

Remember the first half of Philips ministry was up in Samaria and resulted in a great many conversions - one of which was a known magician, named Simon, who was seeking fame and fortune - he longed for power and influence and saw the gospel as a means to increase his popularity

The contrast is striking between the Magician and the Eunuch

One was Proud and saw the gospel as a means to personal fortune - the other was humble and saw the gospel as a means to personal forgivness

The genuine faith is an obedient faith that leaves all else behind and follows Jesus

Today, we move into the next transition phase of the book of Acts as we look at another conversion - a shocking conversion

Our text reveals Jesus Calling the Chief of Sinners

Let us look together

I invite you to stand with me now for the reading of the Word of God

Read Acts 9:1–22 (ESV)

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

This is the Word of the Living God

Pray

This passage is now the third passage in a row that deals with sinners being converted

Luke has shown us the difference between false faith and genuine faith to prepare us for the conversion of Saul of Tarshish - the great antagonist of the gospel and vowed hater of Jesus followers

We have seen the contrast of faith, and now Luke will show us the contrast of salvation itself

The contrast of an unbeliever and a believer - the contrast of the sinner and the saint

Not by comparing two different people, but by showing us one changed life

And along the way, introducing us to the man that God has chosen before the foundation of the world to be instrumental in the advancement and establishment of the church

A man who would be radically transformed - and be the evidence that the work of the cross makes even the foulest sinner clean

For that is who Saul was

Later on, after he has come to Christ, he has his name changed from Saul to Paul, and he writes 13 of the 27 New Testament books - all of them are written as letters

One such letter, written to a young pastor named Timothy, contains this statement

1 Timothy 1:15–16 (ESV)

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

This man is regards himself as the foremost sinner - chief among the wicked - and yet, God was patient in mercy toward him as an example for all who would believe

There is no room to say that you are too great a sinner for the gospel to work - For the grace and mercy of God is greater than all our sin

Now, who is this man that claims to be the chief of sinners?

His name was Saul, and he was from the city of Tarsus

Tarsus was the city of his birth, located in the region of Cilicia (southern part of modern Turkey)

He was born to Jewish parents who were Roman Citizens - thus giving him the coveted Citizenship that would eventually lead him to Rome

He was educated in the Greek schools, and it would seem that his family eventually moved to Jerusalem

He was then entered into the training of the most prominent Rabi of the day (Gamaliel) to be schooled in Judaism

His training included the memorization of the entire Old Testament and mastery of the Jewish faith

While there is no record of him ever meeting Jesus before the resurrection, he was certainly familiar with the followers of Jesus

He first shows up in the narrative of Scripture when Stephen is being stoned to death in Acts 7

It would seem that Saul was likely present when Stephen was debating with the Jews from the Synagogues - since the synagogue of Cilicia is mentioned by Luke in chapter 6

It would also seem that he was involved in the trial of Stephen as a member of the Sanhedrin since he cast his vote against many who followed Jesus (Acts 26:10)

He was certainly at the stoning of Stephen and gave full approval of it (Acts 8:1)

In fact, when Luke notes in Acts 7:58 that…

Acts 7:58 (ESV)

… the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

He is giving us the impression that Saul was the ring leader - this Saul was the instigator - he was in charge

A few verses later, we find that this Saul has made it his life purpose to destroy the followers of Jesus

See…

Acts 8:3 (ESV)

…Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

That ravaging, is to lay it to waste - it carries the imagery of a wild bore tearing through the forrest - destroying everything in sight

This man is the great enemy of the church - he is the chief persecutor who imprisons and kills followers of Jesus

No mercy… men and women are dragged out and thrown in jail to face the court and ultimately death

This led to many scattering across the regions of Samaria and Judea

After showing us the spread of the Gospel and the divine plan of God to fulfill the mission of the church by scattering the church - we now find Luke taking us back to this great antagonizer

The Chief of Sinners

This man who is such a hater of Jesus - will become the most influential follower of Jesus and lover of Jesus that has ever lived

He will become…

1 Timothy 1:1 (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope

That is the title he offers in the opening line of 1 Timothy

He who sought to stop the church will spread the church

He who was the leader and authority in hunting Christians, will become the leader and authority in making Christians

He who was the persecutor will become the persecuted

The contrast that Luke wants us to see here is the contrast of the gospel on the life of the sinner

The effect of lame being made well and the one who is cut off being united - the effect of the blind being given sight

Thus far we have seen Luke highlight two spiritual pictures of the reality of the gospel work through physical shadows

The first was the lame beggar in chapter 4 - the one who was excluded from the Temple is now included through the work of This Jesus who is the Christ

The second was with the Ethiopian Eunuch (in chapter 8) who was cut off from communion until the gospel united him with Christ

Both pictures of those who were far of being brought near - outside being brought in

Now we will see a third picture - one who is blind to his own need - blind to the true Christ - receiving his sight

We will look at the Salvation of the Chief of sinners

And along the way we will see three phases of every salvation - the way that God works in every Christian

Let’s start with the first….

1) The Calling of Saul - vs 1-9

Every testimony begins with the “before” - where I was and who I was before I met Jesus

So too, Luke’s record of the salvation of Saul includes such a past

Drawing us back to the Saul who was going house to house in Jerusalem searching for followers of Jesus - so that he might drag them out - Luke begins this section with “but Saul still”

The persecution had imprisoned a great many of the Jewish believers and dispersed a great many more

But Saul was still not satisfied - his anger raged on

And Luke describes it like that of a dragon

Acts 9:1–2 (ESV)

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

The imagery of breathing here is the image of a dragon

It reads “breathing threats” - the Old King James adds “breathing out Threats” - and that is exactly hat we think of when we we think of breathing threats - like visceral warnings coming out of the mouth of a tyrant

But the word actually implies breathing in - sucking in the wind - which if you are to exhale fire, you must first inhale

But what are you breathing in that would enable you to breath out such a ferocious fire

This I think is the heart of what Luke is trying to get across - Saul was so consumed with a hatred of the followers of Jesus - so consumed with stopping the spread of the gospel that it was the air he breathed

It was an anger that consumed him - It was his one thought

In a more placid way, a hound dog breaths in the sent of his prey and once he has found the sent, he cannot be pulled off of it

It consumes him to the point of losing all other faculties - in fact, hound dogs are fantastic at finding things, but they can often get lost - because they get the sent of what they are looking for and it is all they think about - they breath in and out the sent of the object they are searching for - they will follow it until they find it or the sent is lost - but then, they often find that they themselves are lost and cannot find their way back home.

Saul was breathing in and out hatred for the church -

AS he breathed in, his anger raged and when he breathed out it was like a dragon with the fires of hell

It was not enough that the Christians in Jerusalem were being arrested and killed - he wanted those that had escaped to Samaria

he wanted to stop the spread of the gospel - stop the mission of the church

So he asked the council to give him papers that would allow him to arrest any christians he might fined in Damascus and bring them back in chains

Like a hound on the sent with the fire of a dragon - Saul went after them

But what he did not know, was that the Hound of Heaven was hot on his trail

The Hound of Heaven is a poem by a 19th century English poet it describes the relentless pursuit of God for his chosen vessel

The poem is written in the first person with the speaker as the one being pursued - in part it reads…

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears

I hid from Him.

No matter what the pursued one does, the Hound of Heaven will get his choice vessel - the poem continues

Still with unhurrying chase,

And unperturbèd pace,

Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,

Came on the following Feet….

And as it concludes…

Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?

Ah, Fondest, Blindest, Weakest,

I am He whom thou seekest.

The Hound of Heaven always gets His vessel - He always gets his chosen one

Here Saul thinks himself to be the agent of God - purifying Judaism and serving the LORD - but he was breathing in hatred and out murder against the disciples of the LORD - and that is when the Hound of heaven caught up to him

Acts 9:3–7 (ESV)

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Here is the incredible scene - with witnesses to prove it

Saul is caught by Jesus - a bright light shows from Heaven - when Paul tells his testimony in chapter 26, he includes that it was about noon and that they light was brighter than the sun

A light that can only be the light of the Glory of God - A light that is Holy

In the midst of the light he hears a voice but does not know whose it is

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Interesting that he repeats the name of Saul - there is emphasis when a name is repeated - there is an implied personal compassion

There are about 15 occasions in the Bible when this occurs and each time there is a deep sense of personal affection

Jesus is recorded on three other occasions using this repetition

“Martha, Martha” on Luke 10 as he gently rebukes her

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem” in Matthew 23 when He weeps over the lost city

And “My God, My God” in Mark 15 when He hangs on the cross

This is the fourth occasion - and it implies a deeply personal call

A weighty grief over the persecution that Saul is inflicting

The sword of persecution that Saul believes himself to be wielding in honor of God is in fact piercing the very Lord he claims to serve

Notice too what Jesus says about the persecution - that He is the one being persecuted

Acts 9:5 (ESV)

… “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

So closely does the Bridegroom relate to His bride, that to wound her is to wound Him

You cannot love the Bride groom and hate the bride

You cannot say… “I love Jesus, but I can’t stand the church”

No… to kick against the church is to kick against the Savior

So, Saul, now caught just outside of the city of Damascus is told to enter the city and wait

This whole event is a miraculous event and onte that would be hard to beleive - certainly, as we will see, it is hard for the church to believe it

But, as Luke notes… there are witnesses

Men traveling with him who heard the voice but did not see the savior

here again Luke uses imagery for us - the sound of the voice and the sight of the GLory

and now the great contrast is being shown to us

Acts 9:8–9 (ESV)

Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

He who thought he could see clearly the Glory of God - he who was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee who kept the Law, righteous and blameless according to their rules - he was as committed to Judaism as anyone could be - Certainly he could see the glory of God

And yet the physical illustration here reveals the spiritual reality

Where ass the other miracles recorded to this point heal, this one wounds

It reveals the true state of this mans spirituality - in all his boasting of holiness - he was lost - he was blind

The call of the gospel always begins with exposing the reality of our blindness - our spiritual deadness - our sin si brought before us

So too, The Hound of Heaven has caught His prey - and He has shown him the spiritual state of his heart - blind

The second phase of salvation is conversation

Here we see….

2) The Conversion of Saul - vs 10-19

Now, remember when I said that the book of acts is both prescriptive and descriptive - here we have a scene unfolding that is unique and yet is common

The commonality is in that all who come to Christ are supernaturally converted - the unique nature is in the special and divine work of God through a vision

It is not the normative way for a person to be converted - this is a unique situation where God works through a vision

Yet the normative action is that conversation is alway a divine work - a supernatural work

Throughout the whole encounter, we do not find Saul seeking God - we do not find Saul earning God’s grace

What we find is the sovereign work of God in the salvation of a sinner - this is true for every sinner who comes to Christ

No matter what it appears like, it is a supernatural, sovereign, divine work of God

Now, it has been the prevailing thought by many that God was preparing Saul for this moment - that the murder of Stephen was the softening oil that began to work on the heart and conscience of Saul to prepare him to recieve

And that may have been true - but I do not see any evidence of this in the text - in fact, I see the opposite - after Stephen, it is as though Saul was emboldened and enraged all the more - there is a hunger for blood that seems to well up in him

And it takes a supernatural blinding for him to see the Christ It is a total divine work of God

In this account, God chooses to work in the lives of two men

One for Salvation and the other for Submission

One to overcome sin and the other to overcome fear

See now verse 10…

Acts 9:10–12 (ESV)

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house…

Ananias was understandably fearful of the man named Saul - he was aware of the reputation of the man - perhaps he had known some of those that had been arrested by him

He clearly knew why Saul had come to Damascus

But here is the wonderful working of God - not only is He going to save Saul of Tarsus, he is going to clear the path of fear in the hearts of the church and enable the to forgive also

Notice the language that is used in verse 17…

Acts 9:17–19 (ESV)

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul…

There is something tender in that title - certainly there was a Jewish connection - but this is not the brotherhood of ethnicity - this is the brotherhood of Christ

It would have been a special title to receive for Saul - for the ones that he came to destroy were now welcoming him in

The verse continues…

17 …the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.

The conversation is completed when the scales fall from the eyes - when the blind man sees

The man who thought he could see was blinded by the glory of God to reveal his spiritual blindness - now he sees

Not only do the physical scales fall, but more importantly, the spiritual scales fall

The hound of hell who breathed in rage and out murder had his fires quenched when the Hound of Heaven caught him

He who was blind could see

But how do we know that this conversion is true

There are many false conversion - as we have seen with Simon the Magician - another famous man - how do we know that Saul’s conversion is genuine

Especially if you are part of this fledgling church

That answer shows up in…

3) The Confession of Saul - vs 19-22

This is the final phase of salvation

True salvation is not a secret - it is not something that can be hidden like a lamp under a basket

There will be a confession of what Christ has done - of what you believe - and it will be marked by a transformed life

One that walks in the opposite direction

And you cannot get any more stark than that of Sual of Tarsus

Acts 9:19–22 (ESV)

…For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

This is a different man - he was going to the synagogues to arrest the followers of Jesus - now he stood in them proclaiming Jesus

He was “with the disciples at Damascus” - that is a little phrase, but an important one

Christianity is not a solo venture - we are to be with the body - part of the body

And the true convert remains “with the disciples”

The stark transformation is the confessionary evidence that this man is a Christian

He now spent his time proving that Jesus is the Christ

Conclusion:

Now, much more could be said about the salvation of Saul - we could spend more time examining the details of the conversion - three days in darkness and fasting, a Bright light and voice from Heaven, the use of a Christian to lead a sinner to Christ, the call of Christ for salvation includes a call to suffer

But Id don’t think those are the main points of the text - and I think some of them might lead us to places the author never intended us to go

What I want to do is bring us back around to the mercy of Christ - the grace of God

I want us to see the vivid picture of longsuffering that God endures for the salvation of all His children

Saul had been given the Oracles of God - he had been trained in the best school and taught the Scriptures from birth - yet he persecuted the Holy One of God

His life was one of rebellion against Christ - in the foulest form

It serves as a vivid picture of how Christ is patient in calling each of us to Him

If you are in Christ, then you can look back at your own conversion and marvel at the patience of God - the Mercy of Christ - and rejoice in the Soverign love of God that has been placed on you

If you are not in Christ, then see the example here - the Calling of the Chief of Sinners

For no matter the weight of sin that you bear, it is not too great for the weight of Glory and Grace that God bestows - the chief of sinners has already been converted - you cannot be any worse an offender

Many years after his conversion, Saul (now Paul) would write these words to the church in Rome

Romans 5:20–21 (ESV)

… where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Everyday your sin increases, but it can never increase more that God’s grace is able to cleanse

So come to Jesus and receive eternal life

Come to Jesus and be forgiven

Come to Jesus and see the Glory of God

Pray

Benediction:

1 Timothy 1:16–17 (ESV)

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.