2013 Acts #15: an exposition of Acts 9:1-21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 25, 2013.
Intro:
Do you sometimes wonder why our faith is such a target for attack in our culture? Do you wonder why Christianity is seen as a threat when Islam, or Buddhism is not? Do you wonder why we are mocked and ridiculed? It is because we are not politically correct. And we are not politically correct because we actually believe our faith is true! In fact we believe it to be the only truth. We dare say, “There is only one way to be right with God and that is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Such a narrow, dogmatic position in our open and “tolerant” society is not to be tolerated!
Further we believe it is true not just for us but for everyone. We believe that all have sinned against the one and only holy God, and that his one and only Son has come into the world to die once for all in the place of sinners so that anyone and everyone who repents and believes will be reconciled to God and have eternal life and those who do not will perish. Now because we believe that, we believe the most loving thing we can do is to pray and witness and live so as to persuade others to change the way they think and feel and live, and become Christians. This is not to be done by force or coercion but through a loving witness empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Christianity is a “converting” religion. Biblical Christianity does not seek to help people feel good about themselves. It is not concerned with assisting them to find their unique pathway to God. Biblical Christianity seeks to so live and declare the Gospel of Christ that men and women, boys and girls will be brought to the end of themselves and by the work of the Holy Spirit be made new in Christ.
I do not want to be misunderstood so I will state it plainly – Biblical Christianity is not about making decisions – it is about being converted. It is about being changed. Born from above. Born again. Made new. It is not about adopting a new philosophy of life or moral reformation – it is about radical, fundament change. And we have a prime example of it in the 9th chapter of Acts.
Text: Acts 9:1-21
Over the last few chapters Dr. Luke has be introducing key figures in the history of the church. In chapter seven we witnessed Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin and then his murder by an angry mob. In chapter eight we saw the ministry of Philip as the Gospel, through persecution, spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria. Now we come to Saul of Tarsus who will become the key figure through most of Acts. Here in chapter nine we find the historical account of Saul’s conversion. We hear it again from Paul in Acts 22 and again in Acts 26.
Saul’s experience on the Damascus Road serves to remind us that:
Thesis: Conversion stands at the heart of biblical Christianity.
There are three things I want to call to your attention from our text.
- Conversion demands a divine encounter. (9:1-6)
- Conversion results in a radical transformation. (9:13-14, 19b-22)
- Conversion leads to a heavenly commission. (9:15; 1 Timothy 1:15b-16)
Conclusion:
Make no mistake – salvation is found in Christ and in Christ alone.
But that salvation is not about deciding to make some changes in your life.
It is not about moral reformation or spiritual house cleaning.
It is about conversion. It is about radical change from the inside out that begins with a divine encounter and leads to a heavenly commission.
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