Author: Gary Witcher

Characters Seven

As we conclude our series of discussions of various Bible characters, we would like to repeat our hope that you have been able to gain something that will be helpful in your life. We hope you are learning to look seriously at what you have been taught, and that you are taking steps to eliminate that which does not agree with what God has requested while strengthening those things in your life that are pleasing to the Father.
One man who finds himself facing this situation is Saul, the great persecutor of the church.
We meet Saul in Acts 7:58 at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
"And when they had driven him  (Stephen) out of the city, they began stoning him,” this verse tells us, "and the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul."
The next chapter begins by saying,  "And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death."
"Saul began ravaging the church," according to Acts 8:3, "entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison."
"Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,” we are informed in Acts 9:1,2, "went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."
But is Saul really sincere in all this? He is quoted in Acts 23:1 as claiming, "I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day."
So it is entirely possible for a good person to feel he or she is serving God when, in fact, the opposite is true, if that person is going on what he THINKS God wants instead of comparing his actions with what the Bible has said.
Saul the persecutor sincerely feels he is serving God, but he is mistaken because he is misguided.
	In 2 Corinthians 11:22-28 we have the statement of a man who has found himself on the other side of the Jewish   persecution   of Christians.
"Are they Hebrews?'' he asks.  "So am I," he replies.  "Are they Israelites?  So am I.
"Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if insane) I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.
"Five times I received from the Jews thirty nine lashes.
"Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
"I have been in frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;
"I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in   cold   and exposure.
"Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches."
Who is this man?   He is Paul, formerly known as Saul the persecutor of the church.
What has happened in his life that has resulted in such a tremendous change?   Many people would turn to Acts 9:3-8 for the answer.
As Saul is traveling to Damascus in search for Christians to cast into prison, he encounters a great light.  A voice asks, "Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul responds.
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,” is the answer.  "But rise, and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."
	But this is not the point where Saul’s life actually changes.  He spends three days without his sight and without eating and drinking.  He still doesn't know what the Lord wants him to do, so his life cannot yet be changed.  The change has begun, but he is still Saul the persecutor of the church.
	Saul doesn't know yet what the Lord wants him to do, so he cannot make the necessary changes in his life.  He has to wait for a man named Ananias to come with a message from the Lord.
Ananias tells Saul that he is a chosen instrument of God, and that he will do many things for the Lord.  Now Saul knows what he needs to do, but the change still hasn’t taken place.
Saul recounts this story in Acts 22:16. "And now why do you delay?" Saul quotes Ananias as saying.  "Delay for what?" we might wonder. Ananias is telling Saul to go ahead with the change that he knows he should make.  "Arise, Ananias instructs Saul, "and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name."
And NOW the change takes place, since Saul does just what Ananias has told him to do.

	"For not knowing about God's righteousness," we read in Romans 10:3, "and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God."
This verse talks about those who know about the righteousness of God, but who choose to establish a righteousness of their own instead of subjecting themselves to the righteousness of God.  
	"But what does it say?" the passage continues in verse eight, "'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart'-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching."
This verse implies that real righteousness is connected with following the Word of God.
In the verses that follow, we find various things that are conditions for salvation, including hearing, believing and confessing Jesus.  
	"That if you confess with your mouth Jesus {as} Lord," verses 9-13 note, "and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.'  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same {Lord} is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for 'Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
This last verse mentions "calling on the name of the Lord" which, as we have seen in Acts 22:16 and can see in Acts 2:21 and 38, is connected with the act of baptism.   
	"And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Peter promises in Acts 2:21.
	"Now when they heard this," verse 37 adds, "they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?'"
This verse shows we must be touched in our hearts to the point of action.  This is the meaning of faith or belief.   The next verse says that this action involves repenting and being baptized.
	"And Peter {said} to them," verse 38 reveals, "'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
The motive of baptism, according to this verse, is the forgiveness of sins.  As we have seen in Acts 22:16, it is to wash away our sins.
"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" Romans 6:3 asks.
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body," 1 Corinthians 12:13 notes.
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus," Galatians 3:26,27 points out. "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
Colossians 2:10-12 talks about our being made complete in Christ, and   about   our receiving a spiritual circumcision.
"Having been buried with Him in baptism," verse 12 explains,  "in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."
"And corresponding to that," 1 Peter 3:21 states, "baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
John 3:5 makes it clear that one must be born of water and of the Spirit in order to enter the kingdom of God.
	"Truly, truly, I say to you," Jesus explains, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
What is our prayer for you as you face many of the same questions that Saul faced in his life?  Please listen to the words of these passages for the answer:  Ephesians 3:14-21; Colossians l:9-20, and 1 Peter 5:6-11.
	"For this reason," Paul expresses in Ephesians 3:14-21, "I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; {and} that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him {be} the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." 
	"For this reason also," the apostle writes in Colossians 1:9-20, "since the day we heard {of it}, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please {Him} in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.  For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say}, whether things on earth or things in heaven." 
	"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God," 1 Peter 5:6-11 urges, "that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.  Be of sober {spirit,} be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in {your} faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen {and} establish you.  To Him {be} dominion forever and ever. Amen."
We pray that you will choose to be like Enoch, who walked with God.  We pray that you will be like Moses, who chose to suffer with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of this world.  We pray that you will be like Caleb and Joshua, the great men of faith, and that you will say with Joshua,  "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
We pray that you will be like the Jews on the day of Pentecost, who were touched in their hearts.  We pray that you will be like the woman, who had the courage to go to Jesus alone.  We pray you will be like Barnabas, who gave everything.  We pray you will be like Apollos, the great teacher who was ready to be the great student.
We pray you will be like Zaccheus, who was ready to accept Jesus’ teaching.  We pray you will be like Cornelius the soldier who saw a risen Jesus through the preaching of Peter and who depended on this Jesus for salvation.   We hope you will be like the Apostle Paul who, as we have seen today, changed his life   in accordance with God's will.
But, most of all, we pray that you will be like Jesus, the only One to win the victory over death.
We pray that you will know the Truth, and that it will make you free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."