The Apostle
Paul was an extraordinary man as far as men go. I may even go as far as to say
that he was a freak of nature; “One in ten thousand”, a man full of zeal, with
a determined drive to achieve his objective, regardless of the opposition he
faced. Prior to salvation he believed that killing Christians was to do God’s
bidding and so he was motivated to back the high priest and the Jewish rulers
of the day and it would have surprized me to ever seen him idle; his mind must
have been hard pressed with thoughts of action twenty-four seven. A man
originally miss guided in his zeal but God graciously helped him turn that
corner; he had a radical conversion, God called out to him it was not the other
way around; it is God who graciously woes men and women unto himself. Scripture
is clear with many of its instructions, like; “seek the Lord whilst he may be
found”. The mystery of salvation is like the wind; “The
wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where
it comes from or where it goes. So it is
with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)
Saul became
Paul, a change of name as well as a change in character with a determined grit
to realign the error of his ways. His transformation was not a simple “I’ll put
my hand up” to an altar call. Something most of us did somewhere along our
Christian journey. God struck him with blindness; hard to ignore such an
experience. But for us it was never so radical, maybe that is why so many of us
lack his measure of faith, God knows! This is why we need to be tested in so
many areas of our lives to eventually arrive at a place of total dependency
upon God’s provision. Unless this has become your experience it would be hard
for me to convince you that it is needful for the Christian to suffer in order
to increase in the measure of your faith. It is a blessing when we endure
hardships for the sake of the gospel; God is glorified in and through them when
the world witnesses our obedience and our commitment to the Lord in spite of
the onslaught. Remember Job!
Paul heard God
speak to Him from the heavens, immediately understanding that it was the Lord
who now addressed him and the One he was in fact persecuting; “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus,
and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground
he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And
he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And
he said, "I
am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:3-5)
God breathed life into Saul’s spirit in the same
manner in which it happened to us, the Christian! Eyes opened to the truth of
Jesus Christ as the one and only true Messiah, Praise God!
When I stand naked before the Lord many thoughts
travel through my mind convincing me of my crimes before God, breaching His
Commandments, unwanted thought and the like, but it was not so for Paul
and this is a phenomenal declaration that he pens; “This is how one should
regard us, as servants of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required
of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But
with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human
court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of
anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the
Lord who judges me.” (1Corinthians
4:1-4) – Can you claim this type of
testimony, I know I cannot but I most certainly want to arrive there. God help
all those who cry Abba Father. He learnt that all fall short of the glory of
God even if they are unaware of any rupture of God’s law in there own lives; “as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one
understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have
become worthless; no one does good, not
even one."” (Roman 3:10-11)
Ezekiel pens this, by which he illustrated the mind
of God concerning three other remarkable men; “even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would
deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel
14:14) – Men of faith who stood out in a time
debauchery being notice and commended by God, phenomenal individuals and yet
they could only ever spare their own lives if God brought judgement; “And the word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I
stretch out my hand against it and break
its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and
beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their
righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 14:12-14)
It is God who makes an appeal to all too repent of
the error of their ways in and through His mercy on display in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved."” (Romans
10:13) – Paul’s response to his conversion
was manifest by the way he lived the rest of his life, so let us learn from his
example as we seek out God’s forgiveness in the areas of our lives that lack
obedience. We have the mind of Christ and so we have no more excuses to
continue in sin so that grace may abound. Do not be fooled into believing that
salvation has now bought us a ticket to live like we once did.
This was one of the reasons the Lord got John to
pen his instructions to the differing churches in the book of Revelation. We
must examine our lives and repent where and when needed. Lord willing will
continue with the instruction to the church at Laodicea in the next post.
Signing off
Tyrone
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