Confronted with Christ
Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsAfter a confrontation with Jesus, Saul of Tarsus will never be the same.
Notes
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Introduction:
Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul is, apart from Jesus Himself, one of the most influential people the world has ever known.
Born as Saul in Roman city of Tarsus
Phil 3:5 - “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee“
The first time we met him was in Acts 7:58 - where he is a key person in the stoning of Stephen. The Bible says they laid their robes at the feet of Saul, and that he was in “hearty agreement with putting him to death” and that Saul himself began “ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison” (8:1,3).
Such was his zeal for his Jewish heritage and tradition (religion) and his determination to snuff out this new and (in his eyes) blasphemous cult of Christianity
Later Paul would become the foremost missionary to the Gentiles, planting churches across the Mediterranean. He would be recognized as not only a disciple of Jesus, but an apostle on par with Peter himself. He would write more books of the new testament than any other Biblical author - the 13 letters to churches we know as the Pauline Epistles.
He would spend his life preaching the gospel, facing the same murderous opposition from the Jews that he’d once taken as his personal mission. For Jesus’s name he would be beaten, flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, snake bit, imprisoned and finally executed.
Why such a change? How does this happen? He was confronted with Christ. He met Jesus.
Read Acts 9:1-31
Saul saw more than what his companions knew - so what did he see? Jesus.
The Glory of Christ
The Glory of Christ
Unmistakably Divine Light (v.3-4) - fell to the ground
Unmistakably Divine Light (v.3-4) - fell to the ground
Similar words - flashing, gleaming, lightening - often called “glory”
“very bright light” - Acts 22:6, “light brighter than the sun” - Acts 26:13
Ex. Angels in Luke 24:4, Presence of God on mount Sinai Exodus 19:16, Ezekiel’s vision of God in Ezekiel 1:28 and Jesus in Luke 9:29.
What does shadow do in the face of pure light? It shrinks, it runs. What else can sinful, corrupted man do in the presence of the Holy One but bow? (Ex. Isaiah 6)
Who are you, Lord? - It was unmistakable that Saul of Tarsus was confronted by Divinity on that road.
Undeniably Personal encounter - Saul Saul...
Undeniably Personal encounter - Saul Saul...
Addressed Saul by name, getting straight to the heart of the matter (v.4)
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”
(v.7) The others heard it, knew something was going on, having seen the light, but they did not see Jesus, nor understand/make out the voice (Acts 22:9).
Often when Jesus reveals Himself to a person, it is barely discernable to those around them. They understand something happened, can see the effects of the encounter, they have a completely different experience:
like a husband and wife in the temperature controlled room
One can hear the same sermon, sing the same songs, be involved in the same gospel conversation and one be awakened to the reality of Jesus Christ and the other just as dead and blind as ever. For the awakened, it is undeniable and personal.
We experience that now - Ex. hearing the same message, reading the same scripture, the Holy Spirit applies it directly to us in different degrees and different ways
Not just a physical encounter
. It is spiritual. Jesus gets directly to the heart.
He introduced Himself personally, impactfully (v.5)
When a person sees Jesus for the first time, when they hear Him speak their name, He shines the light of His glory into the darkest chasm of their soul it is personal and life-changing.
Paul met Him in this confrontation on the road, but most will meet Him in other ways.
Paul met Him in this confrontation on the road, but most will meet Him in other ways.
After a conversation with Pastor on a Saturday morning (me), or hearing a testimony by a music ministers daughter (Jamie)
At the close of a sermon, singing the words of a gospel song, after reading a gospel pamphlet. Sometimes with a desperate cry in a terrible situation - in varying times, places and circumstances - Jesus Christ is revealed to the heart. Always powerfully, undeniably and personally.
Do you remember, brother/sister - when you first encountered Jesus? I mean really saw Him for who He was, got a glimpse of His majesty and glory as the unmistakably divine Son of God?
If you haven’t you can! He is here! He is alive. He knows you by name and if you will look for Him, you will find Him! But beware...
When confronted with the Christ of Glory, it isn’t all pleasant. Saul saw Jesus, but he also saw - maybe for the first time ever...
The Sinfulness of Self
The Sinfulness of Self
To see Jesus is to see yourself
Jesus was Lord - and he was guilty!
Jesus was Lord - and he was guilty!
If Jesus is Lord, he had been utterly, shamefully wrong. All that he’d trusted in and aligned himself with was wrong. His training, his efforts to destroy the Way, the mindset and mission of his companions and fellow Pharisees - what he’d thought was pleasing God was actually just bringing guilt and condemnation as he fought tooth and nail against the very redemption God had brought for His people.
To see Jesus as Lord is to admit that you, and your ways of thinking, no matter how committed you were to them - are wrong. He is the Way. There is no other!
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
One of the most difficult things to give up is the idea of our own rightness. Most people will admit that they are sometimes wrong, but when reality hits and threatens our deepest convictions about ourselves and the world, we have no choice but to give up the fight and repent.
Saul had all the credentials, all the best training. He could argue the law with the literal best of them. And yet, he’d had it all wrong.
Philippians 3:8 “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”
Ex. Deb and her profession - “I had to give up on my way”
His Righteousness was rot
His Righteousness was rot
His righteousness was actually wickedness and ruin - his true heart revealed in all it’s murderous envy, bitterness and hatred
He had killed God’s servant and persecuted the people of God.
How must his conscience have bowed under the weight of what he’d done! How must the tears of men, women and children as he carried them away in chains affected his soul. How must the angelic, serene face of Stephen and his words of mercy haunted him!
To continue to justify your sin and to defend your own righteousness is exhausting. We can try to fool others, hiding what’s really going on -but to convince yourself is much more difficult.
What God has said - and what Saul, and all of us suspect deep in our heart of hearts is true.
as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The murderous hatred that was seething from his mouth was actually a reflection of his heart.
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
The light of Christ had shined upon his heart, revealing what was really there all along.
We’re really not all that different, are we? Lust of our heart. Anger, hatred, selfish ambition.
Some have spent all their energy trying to convince others and themselves that everything is all right with them. And like a wounded animal, when someone or something gets too close to the sin in your heart and life you lash out.
Some are in constant despair, haunted by what their past. By things you’ve said, things you’ve done.
We need, like Saul, to see Jesus - and in the reflection of His glory and righteousness alone can we rightly discern the darkness of our own hearts - and our need for His cleansing work of forgiveness and grace.
Saul saw Jesus, and in so doing he saw his own sinful self. But that’s not all he saw...
The Gospel of Grace
The Gospel of Grace
To really see Jesus is to see God’s grace and love towards you (and want others to see it too!)
If Jesus is Lord, the gospel is true!
If Jesus is Lord, the gospel is true!
Though he’d been wrong, Jesus shows him the Way to favor with God.
It isn’t in keeping the law, but by grace through faith! Saul had been zealous to a fault to keep the law and it had just about eaten him alive.
“Sinfulness of sin”, “sin revived and I died” Romans 7:8-9
He’d been confronted with his own error and sin - but he wasn’t left there. If Jesus is Lord, then the message of salvation through His sacrifice is true!
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
That’s good news! Jesus kept the law that Saul (and certainly you and I) couldn’t. He died the death that we deserve. His humanity ensured that He represented all mankind on that cross and His divinity secured the once-for-all nature of the sacrifice for sin. Then, having died in our place, He was gloriously raised from the dead on the third day!
His righteousness is imputed to us, counted towards us
His sacrifice secures our escape from the eternal wrath of God
His resurrection secures our eternal life in glory
Jesus died for a sinner like Saul. Like you. Like me. When you get that, you understand grace
How was this grace manifested in this text?
Saul confronted with grace
Saul confronted with grace
Saul was called by God as His chosen vessel (v.15)
He was blinded by grace. Led by the hand by grace. Called and chosen by the grace of God.
He deserved none of it. He wasn’t chosen because of his capability, He was given capability because He was chosen! (Who providentially gave him his gifts but God?)
Undeserved favor. Grace alone! That’s what is offered to you through Christ Jesus!
Saul was accepted into and later commissioned by the Church (v.17)
Called Brother - Stayed with the disciples, was healed, given the Holy Spirit, Baptized
He, who had persecuted Christ’s church = persecuted Jesus.
In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent Me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
Now he too was loved. He would suffer, but not as punishment. as a demonstration of Gods great love.
He would go off into the wilderness to spend time with Jesus. He would preach Christ to the Jews and when they refused to hear anymore He would go to the Gentiles, bearing the name of Jesus through the testimony of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.
God was show His love and grace through Saul:
Trading in his self-righteousness for the true righteousness that comes by grace through faith in Christ alone
Exchanging his mission of destruction for a mission of salvation, from separation of families and churches to reconciliation with God and men
From making Christians suffer to willingly suffering all things for the sake of Christ and His people that they might find peace.
He who started out in v.1 breathing threats and murder towards Christ and His church, would be a vessel used to bring about what we see in v.31
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
This was to show the grace of God in Christ, who can turn a murderer into a missionary and bring peace through such a persecutor as Saul. What friend, can’t he do for you or those you love?
Pray
Conclusion:
Have you been confronted by Christ?
Light of His glory revealed your heart, your need?
Have you seen Him as Lord, and Savior?
Something happened to change the murderous Saul to the Apostle. Something happened that is undeniably significant. The world will answer.