A Radical Change

I have often heard people say that God can not forgive them for the things they have done? Those that say this live with a tremendous guilt load on their back. They have resigned to the thinking that they will go to hell and they will pay the price for the things they have done. This is one extreme of people while the other extreme end, people claim: "I have been a good person" with the belief that they will go to heaven because they have been good. They may believe they are living a God pleasing life. The error of this thinking is that they too are on the road to hell and don’t know it. Today’s gospel lesson is on the great Apostle Paul. We all need to be reminded of Paul’s conversion to Christianity. Paul, who was known as Saul, was a murderous Jew who rejected Christianity with a passion before His conversion. Scripture places Saul at the scene when Stephen was stoned to death for his Christianity.

Acts 7:58-60 [They] dragged [Stephen] out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

Today’s Gospel lesson describes Paul as a persecutor of Christians.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. [Acts 9:1-2]

Saul [Paul] was a bloodthirsty murderer and wanted to have all Christians wiped out. Saul was an educated Jew, who believed in salvation through the Law. He asked and received a letter giving him permission to arrest followers of Jesus (known as the Way), both men and women, and to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Paul is fervently trying to protect the Jews, God’s Law, and his religion. Paul is convinced that he is carrying out the will of God. He is convinced that by his actions, he is pleasing God! He wants to eliminate followers of Jesus who claim you cannot be saved by the Law of Moses, but rather through the crucified Christ. This was blasphemous to Paul’s ears and he was going to stop it for God’s sake!

Paul thought he was carrying out God’s plan and he wasn’t! You need to look at your own life and see if you are living a God pleasing life. Remember, I said earlier that some will say "they live a good life", yet are on the road to hell. Well if you think you are living a God pleasing life, I am here to tell you that you aren’t. Every time you sin, you are turning your back to God. Sin brings death! Paul thought he was living a God pleasing life. He felt in his heart that God was proud of him for standing up for God. Many people today are proud of their lifestyle and think that it is God pleasing. Paul is guilty of breaking the 5^th commandment "Thou shall not murder". Paul IS a murder. Paul is a sinner. Paul thought he could be saved by living a Godly life. Paul was wrong! Paul was on the road to hell!

Last week’s sermon talked about Jesus’s first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. I told how it is impossible for man to change water into wine, but anything is possible with God. To turn water into wine is a "radical change" in the elements. Man cannot turn water into wine, it is too radical of a change. But God can and does cause radical changes. I also mentioned that Jesus greatest miracle to you is when he causes a radical change in your heart and turns you from an lost sinner to a saved child of God. This great miracle takes place with Paul in today’s lesson. Let’s listen to the Scriptures.

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

The great miracle takes place because Jesus has different plans for Saul. It is not Saul seeking Christ, but Christ who seeks Saul! When Jesus appears with light flashing around Him and says "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? This must have been instant confusion to Saul, because He thought he was carrying out God’s will! Paul is blinded by the light and calls out "Who are you Lord?" He knew it was God, but he is confused in that he was NOT persecuting God, but Christians! When he says "Who are you Lord?", he receives a gut wrenching answer! "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," [Jesus] replied. Paul is crushed by the prospect that Jesus is God! Paul is having to come to the terms that he was wrong and people have died because he was wrong. Oh! The guilt that must have been laid on Paul! I do believe Paul could probably taste the burning pains of hell as the guilt fell on him! Luther stated in his sermon "Thus the sin is pressed into his conscience and he is weighted down with all the blood that had been shed, so that it’s a wonder Paul didn’t succumb and die right there."

Jesus had told Saul to get up and to go into the city. Paul, blinded by the light, is now totally dependent on others to help him get to the city. Scripture states "Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything." The guilt was so strong that it took away Saul’s appetite and he did not eat for three days. I want to point out that it was Jesus that came to Saul, not the other way around. Now the Lord works through a believer to carry out his will and sends a man to Saul. Notice that it is the Lord’s work, not Saul’s work or our work. Scripture states:

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus 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." "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man 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."

Ananias is scared and fears for his life. He has heard of Saul and doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. He doesn’t want to face Saul, because he knows that Saul was coming to kill him and the other Christians. But the Lord said "Go"! How many of you would want to go and look death in the face, to meet your killer? Remember how Jonah acted when God told him to go to Nineveh? Jonah jumped on a ship and went a different direction. Are you ready to die today? Would you go to Straight Street and see Saul or jump on the nearest ship?

The Lord told Ananias "[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." What does that mean to us today? It means that we need to be willing to lay down our life for Christ, even if it means dying! Remember that Stephen, a Christian, was stoned to death! The Bible does not say that being a Christian is easy!

Ananias carried out God’s will by going to Saul. He laid his hands on Saul and calls him "brother"! Ananias says:

"Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he got up and was baptized. After taking some food, he regained his strength. He had received the forgiveness of sins! Saul, who today is known as Paul is a Christian. The greatest miracle for Saul was that miracle that changed his heart! Saul who was an enemy to God and Christians, became Paul, the great Apostle. Much like turning water into wine, Paul was changed from a lost sinner to a child of God. This is through the power of Jesus, not Paul. It is Jesus who came to him on the road, it is Ananias that came to him while he was at the house. If God can forgive Paul, He too can and does forgive you of everything you have ever done. That same radical change comes to you today through His Word and Sacraments. We rejoice in our Baptism that we are saved. We have been washed clean! You too, have had a radical change in your heart... you are a child of God! Eternal life is yours! Amen!