CHRISTMAS SERIES 2 :: The Promised Son of Abraham (Gen 15:1-21; Gal 3:16,26-29)

The Promised Son of Abraham

Gen 15:1-21; Gal 3:16, 26-29

 

Introduction

I have shared before about the mission trip I went on to Peru when I was in college. Although we only planned to do three weeks of VBS, God gave us opportunities to do all kinds of other things.

One Sunday morning we were visiting a church in the jungle city of Quiabamba. And we were invited to back to the children’s Sunday School and talk with them. And they asked us to teach them an American church song. No one was ready for this, and as all these little grade-schoolers are looking at us, no one can think of anything.

Well, I immediately thought of my favorite song in Sunday School and stepped up and said, ‘I’ve got one!’ I am a notoriously bad singer and the other people just looking me like, ‘are you kidding?’ Undaunted, I explained this song had some motions, and everyone needed to spread out. And then I began to sing,

Father Abraham had many sons,

and many sons had father Abraham

You are one of them and so am I,

so let’s just praise the Lord

Now, I meant that as a little bit of joke. If you know the motions of that song, you know that the class can quickly descend into chaos. But the more I have thought about it – that song is great song. It teaches a profound biblical truth, and it does so in a way that once you learn it, you will never forget it.

This morning, I want us to see the meaning of that song and how it relates to Christmas and the birth of Christ. We are in our second week of looking at four promises God gave to different people about the birth of a son. And how all of these promises were ultimately fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son.

Last week we looked at Genesis 3 and the story of Adam and Eve – the very first people and the very first sinners. They rebelled against God and sinned, even though God had told that to do so would mean death. They still sinned and were given a curse of death. And yet, God did not leave them to die in their sinfulness. But gave a promise of a Son who would come and redeem them. And that son was Jesus Christ.

This week we want to see more of the promise. You see God didn’t just make that promise to Adam and Eve. No, he keeps making the same promise. And each time he reveals more and more of his plan to send a Son to save sinners.

Several hundred years go by after Adam and Eve have lived and we are introduced to a man named Abram, whom God will eventually rename Abraham. And in Genesis chapter 12, we see God calling Abraham to leave his country, his family, all that he has to follow him.

The Lord says to him – Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

Abraham responds to God’s call and begins to disentangle himself form his family, his land, his possession and follow God.

Then in chapter 14, Abraham mounts a rescue mission to save his nephew, Lot, who has been taken captive in a raid on his home town by warring kings. Abraham goes into battle against the kings and is victorious. However, when it comes time to divide up the loot, he refuses his portion.

This was not some noble sentiment on Abraham’s part – God has told him not to take it. You see, God had promised to bless him. If he accepted the wealth, then the king could have said that he was the one responsible for Abram’s prosperity, not the Lord.

After all of this, we come to chapter 15.

Genesis 15:1-18

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” [2] But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” [4] And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” [5] And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” [6] And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

[7] And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” [8] But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” [9] He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” [10] And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. [11] And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

[12] As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. [13] Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. [14] But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. [15] As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. [16] And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

[17] When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. [18] On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land,…”

1. The Promise of the Covenant (15:1-6)

Abraham has answered God’s call, he has just come through a battle he not intended to fight – surely he is worried. After all, he has no home land, he has rejected the wealth that he certainly could have used, and the kings he has defeated in battle may want to come for retribution.

In the midst of all these worries about security, the Lord comes to Abraham with words of comfort: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.

God assures that he will take care of him. He says ‘I am your shield’ – the Lord says that he will be the protection Abraham will need. He also says the Lord that awaits Abraham is greater than any tarnished loot offered by the king.

And yet, what is Abraham’s response? [2] But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

Is this complaining? Doesn’t he trust the Lord? Actually, the answer to both is ‘no.’ It is actually out of his faith that he inquires of God.

He believes that God will keep his promise, but he doesn’t see how. Remember what the Lord had promised him – offspring, descendants that would one day become a great nation. But he and his wife are childless and getting on in age. There appears to be no hope of him and his wife having a child of their.

So, as was the custom at the time, Abraham has already adopted one of his servants – Eliezar – to be his heir. He’s done this so that his wife will be taken care of when he dies. And now he reasons that this must be the one through whom God’s promise will be fulfilled.

But what does God say? “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” [5] And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

God is telling him, ‘Don’t try to help me out Abraham. I know your intentions are good; I know things look a little bleak – but remember the promise. You will have a son. And through that son, you will have many more sons – so many sons, in fact, that to try and count them would be like counting the stars in the sky. And it is through those offspring that I will make you a blessing to the nations of the earth.’

Adoniram Judson was one of the pioneers in the modern missions movement that began in the 19th century. He was a missionary to Burma. While serving, Judson lost two wives and several children to death in that difficult land. He saw very little fruit from his labors, and had many discouragements and setbacks.

To make matters worse, a war erupted between England and Burma. Judson, being a foreigner, was immediately imprisoned. In prison, as Judson lay sick with fever, he received a letter from a friend. In the letter, his friend – not knowing all that was happening – asked, “Judson, how’s the outlook?” You can imagine what Judson could have put in his response!

“Judson, how’s the outlook?” Judson replied, “The outlook is as bright as the promises of God!”

Though Judson could not clearly see what God was doing, he believed God. He trusted him. He trusted him that when the gospel is preached, people will be saved. And so, even in the midst of great darkness, Judson still trusted God.

Likewise, we are told Abraham did the same. Though he could not see how God would fulfill his promise, he believed he would. Verse 6 says. And [Abraham] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Listen to that again, “Abraham believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Now notice what it does not say. The text does not say that …

Abraham was righteous and God recognized it.

Abraham believed and God made him righteous.

No, the text says that Abraham trusted – had faith in – the Lord. And because he had faith, the Lord credited to him, or declared him to be righteous.

Within Christianity, this is what faith is. Faith is simply trusting the promises of God. Faith is not righteousness. But faith is the means by which we receive righteousness from God. It is the conduit by which God gives what we need to be with him.

This is why even once we get to the New Testament, Paul can say in Ephesians 2, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Abraham was man of God not because he earned, not because he was righteous, not because he was born into it – he was part of God’s people because – by God’s grace – he trusted in the promises of God.

2. The Grace of the Covenant (15:7-18a)

God has reaffirmed his promise to Abraham – the promise of offspring. And now he affirms that his offspring will be given the land of Canaan to dwell in. But again, Abraham can’t see how it will happen.

After all, it’s not like Canaan was uninhabited. Imagine God appearing to you and saying that you were going to have so many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that he is going to give you the entire state of Michigan for them to live. Well, Michigan’s not exactly an untamed wilderness. What about all the people?

The same is true for Abraham. He thinks about all the people in Canaan and wonders, how am I going to get all this land? Will I have to wage war for it?

So, the Lord tells Abraham, ‘Okay, I’ll show you how this going to happen.’ And he tells him to gather together some animals. “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” [10] And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.”

What is described here is the cutting of the covenant. Now, I am not trying to be funny with that description. While our English translations say that the Lord ‘made a covenant’ in v. 18, it literally says ‘cut a covenant’ in the original.

And in reading the text, we know why the ancient Hebrews called making a covenant, “cutting a covenant.” But what’s the point? This seems like an awful gory way of sealing a deal. And that’s really the point here.

You see, when we have contracts today, we almost always have built-in consequences for breaking the contract. If you ever get something in the mail, this is the tiny, like 4-point font on the bottom of the last page.

These days, when it comes to marriage, there is a strong suspicion that the other person will not keep the promises they make in the marriage ceremony. So, they layout the consequences ahead of time through prenuptial agreements. There, you might lose a car or a summer home, but that’s nothing compared to these ANE covenants.

When two people cut a covenant, it meant that they were both obligated to do something. It could be to protect one another from invaders (you defend me and I will defend you). It could have been the selling of land; all kinds of things.

After they cut the animals in two, they would both walk (usually hand-in-hand) between the halves of the animals. As you did this, you couldn’t help but look down at the carcasses. The point was – if you break the covenant, this is what is going to happen to you. If you break this covenant, your life is forfeit, and the birds of prey will be seeking to land over your lifeless body.

But notice what happens here – verse 17, When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. [18] On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,

Who walks through the animals? Not Abraham; he’s out cold in a deep sleep. No – in an almost unbelievable turn of events – it is God himself, and God alone who passes through the animals. God is humbling himself before Abraham, placing himself under this threat of death.

God is saying, “Abraham, this is an unconditional covenant. No matter what you do, I alone will be responsible for seeing it completed.” The promises that God make here are not dependent on what Abraham. They are dependent on God and his grace.

And that’s good, because what do we see in the next few chapters? If you read Genesis before, you’ll know that Abraham doesn’t do so well at first. The promised doesn’t come for several years, so Abraham’s wife talks him into sleeping with one of the servant girls to have a son. As he travels, he lies about his wife being his sister, and she almost taken as wife to another man.

Over and again, Abraham’s actions keep threatening to jeopardize the fulfillment of the covenant. But every time he messes things up, God steps in corrects the situation. The Lord proves himself faithful – faithful to his promise; faithful to his covenant; and powerful enough to see it through to the end. Nothing will interfere with it because he has determined to bring it about.

3. The Fulfillment of the Covenant

Here, we must go beyond Genesis 15 to see how God fulfills his promise to Abraham.

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. [2] And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. [3] Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. [4] And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. [5] Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. [6] And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” [7] And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

The Lord fulfilled his promise by giving Abraham a son. And through that son, Isaac, God continued to fulfill his promise to Abraham.

Isaac goes on to have two sons, Jacob and Esau. By God’s grace, though he is the younger of the two, Jacob is chosen by God to receive the promised blessings to Abraham. As a result, Jacob is given several sons who become an extended family.

In Exodus 1, we read that, These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons . . . [And] the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

In fact they become so large that they numbered as many as a small nation. And while living in Egypt, the Egyptians became afraid of them thinking they would take over the country.

God fulfilled his promise to provide a son in Isaac, he began to fulfill his promises to make his offspring as great as the numbers of stars in the sky. God would continue to fulfill his promises and allow these sons of Jacob – now the nation of Israel – to continue to grow in large numbers. However, they still never grew to be a large nation.

And what we see in Bible, is that God doesn’t fulfill these promises to Abraham literally, he also fulfills them spiritually – in ways that Abraham could never have imagined, but will surely cause him to rejoice in forever in heaven with God.

How does God do this? Through Jesus Christ.

The New Testament begins with these words – [this is] The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matt 1:1). In the context of that verse, Matthew is making a certain argument for his Jewish readers. But there is more to it than simply saying that Jesus’ lineage was truly Jewish.

In Romans 15, Paul says, “Christ became a servant to the [Jews] to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.” The patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – those to who first received the promises of God. Paul says Christ came to show God was faithful to those promises.

What does that mean? It means that until Christ came, the covenant promises were not yet fully realized. What God did was simply foreshadowing – pointing forward – to the true fulfillment of the promise.

That’s why in his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes it even more specific. He says, Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. [The OT passage] does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. God said, ‘Abraham, I will give you a son through whom all nations of the world will be blessed.” And in Abraham’s lifetime, Isaac was born and physical line of descent is created. And in that line of decent, comes another Son – Jesus Christ.

And more than Israel could have ever done, the entire world is brought blessing through that promised Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because Christ lived and died and was raised back to life so that sinners could be made right with God. He gave his life in place of sinners so that they might have their sins forgiven.

And so are back where we started – with that song.

Father Abraham had many sons,

and many sons had father Abraham

You are one of them and so am I,

so let’s just praise the Lord

What does this song mean? It means that we act as Abraham did, and place our faith in God. Specifically, when we believe God when he says Jesus Christ is the substitute for our sins and by trusting him we will be saved from the wrath to come, then we are brought into God’s people.

We are considered to be ‘in Christ’ – to belong to him as one of his people. And in Galatians 3, Paul makes this incredible observation – If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

If you put your faith in Christ, then you become part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Spiritually, you become one of those uncountable descendents that God promised him.

In the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, the apostle John is given a vision of heaven itself and he sees those who are God’s people. Those who from the beginning of time until the end of time have placed their faith in God for salvation. And what does he see? He says,

I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, [10] and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” [11] And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, [12] saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Conclusion

Through Christ the promises to Abraham are fulfilled. Through Christ, God reverses the effects of humanity’s fall into sin. Through Christ, sinners are made righteous. Through Christ we who are separated from God by our sin are made to be his people.

This is what Christmas is all about – the coming of the promised Son.

CHRISTMAS SERIES 1 :: The Promised Son of Eve (Gen 3:15)

The Promised Son of Eve

Genesis 3:15

 

Introduction

With black Friday behind us, the fall decorations gone, and we enter the Christmas season, we are supposed to have an attitude shift. We are supposed to be feeling a sense of joy and of good will towards men.

But if we watch the news, listen to the radio, or read a newspaper, and if we don’t put on a pair of rose-colored glasses, we realize that having that kind of attitude is a little hard to pull off.

Life is difficult. It’s a struggle. There’s pain and suffering and violence and war. Kids are abused and spouses are beaten. Men are made rich by the suffering of others. There is much that makes one not feel very cheery.

But that’s not how God originally created things. In fact, quite the opposite, as you read God’s creation of the world in chapters the whole thing ends with God saying that every was good. In fact, things were very good, he says.

So what happened? How did we get into the state in which we find ourselves? And what has God done about it? Has he left us to ourselves, or is working to fix things?

Over the next four weeks, we want to see how God has not left us to go it alone in this difficult world. Despite our own sinfulness and rebellion against him, God has acted for our good. He has chosen to act so that we might be redeemed from our sin.

What we will see over the next four weeks is that the action God takes to save us from our sin is centered around his own Son. And that the work of his Son comes in fulfillment to a long line of promises God makes to his people.

This week we begin with the first sin and the first promise of a Savior.

Genesis 3:1-24

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, [3] but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” [4] But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. [7] Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

[8] And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. [9] But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” [10] And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” [11] He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” [12] The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” [13] Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

[14] The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. [15] I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

[16] To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

[17] And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; [18] thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. [19] By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

1. God’s Rebellious Creation (3:1-13)

1.1. The rebellion of the serpent

The whole scene begins by introducing the serpent. So, who is this serpent? The most complete answer comes from the very end of the Bible in Rev 12:9. There we read of – “The great dragon [who] was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

We know from the rest of the Bible that the devil was once Lucifer – an angelic being of great might, wisdom, and glory. And yet those things became for him a source of pride. So prideful was he that he wanted to take the place of God himself. Over and over again, we see that pride is perhaps the one sin that God hates the most. And so, as the passage in Revelation 12 said, Lucifer was cast out of heaven along with those angels that rebelled with him.

Many are curious to know how a being that was created good by God, became evil. It is a good question, but an unanswerable one. What I mean is, the Bible doesn’t give us an answer. And to some degree, although it is a good question, it is not a necessary question. In 2 Peter 1, we are told that Bible contains everything we need for life and godliness. So, God doesn’t thinks the answer is not something we need to know. In fact, I think the Bible teaches the how is not nearly as important as the why.

Satan is a lesson on the dangers – the deadliness of pride. It is the root of so many sins. And so, when we read passages that say things like “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” – we had better be concerned to kill pride in our life, and cultivate humility.

But Satan did not simply rebel against God, he also led others to do the same. And, we also need to see in Genesis 3,

1.2. The rebellion of humanity

The serpent creeps into the paradise of creation and begins to tempt our first parents to sin by twisting God’s word and his goodness. With an attitude of astonishment, the serpent asks Eve, ‘Did God actually say?’

Instead of trusting God and running from the temptation, she engages it in dialogue. And very quickly, the same sin that caused Satan to fall, becomes the first sin of humanity – pride. Even reckons she has the authority to doubt God’s word, to stand in judgment of him and his character. Despite that God has said the fruit is deadly, Eve has decided that is good – that it will delight her taste buds, and make her wise like God.

But of course, we cannot lay all the blame on her can we? After all, who is standing there the whole time, saying nothing? Adam. His role as husband should have driven him to step in and rebuff the serpent, to protect his wife – to be the leader God created him to be. Instead, he lets Eve be led into temptation then follows into it himself.

Both rebel against God and eat the forbidden fruit.

And the words of serpent – that they would be like God – is revealed to be only half true and completely false. Yes, they now know good and evil, but they don’t know it like God’s knows it.

Imagine a doctor – an oncologist – who specializes in the field of cancer. He is world’s foremost authority on cancer. He is regularly consulted for difficult cases. He has performed numerous surgeries and led several studies. He knows cancer. He knows its cause, its effects, its treatments, even its molecular structure.

But then suppose this same doctor gets cancer. He doesn’t know more about the cancer, he knows it differently. Now he knows it experientially.

Likewise with Adam and Eve, yes they are like God in that while previously innocent, they now know good and evil. Yet, they are nothing like God in that they have become evil. They have embraced sin, and that rebellion against God brought consequences.

2. God’s Judgment on Sin (3:14-19)

Immediately, they know something is different. Though in chapter 2, we were told that they were both naked and not ashamed, now what are we told? [7] Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

They feel ashamed. Not so much for the nakedness, but for the sin of rebellion. They begin trying to cover themselves, to cover over the guilt and shame of their sin. But God knows exactly what has taken place. Asking where they are only makes evident the futility and stupidity of trying to hide from him.

We note again who takes the initiative in salvation. Is it us? No, Adam and Eve run – they try to hide from him. Yet, even in their sinfulness, God pursues them. He goes to them. At the same time, re-establishing the relationship they have broken is not without consequences.

Adam tells God, “‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ [God] said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ [12] The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ [13] Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”

It’s the old blame game. Now, we know how old it really is! As the leader, the head of the marriage, the servant-king who was serve God yet rule creation, God goes to Adam first. What does he do? Blames Eve – ‘it was that woman you gave me!’ God looks at Eve. What does she do? Blames the serpent – ‘the devil made me do it!’

Over six thousand years of human history and we still do this! My own clumsiness didn’t get me burned, the coffee was too hot. I’m not gluttonous and lazy, the fast food companies made me fat. I didn’t know what was going on, the coach just said take these vitamins and suddenly I broke a homerun record. It’s always the other guy’s fault!

In the end, though, there is no one to blame but ourselves. And the same was true for Adam and Eve. Thus, we see [God’s],

2.1. Judgment on humanity

Through the sin of humanity a curse comes upon all of creation. Why is the world bad? We made it that way.

Originally, God blessed Adam and Eve, and commanded them to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28).

Now, because of their sin, these things become difficult to do. In v. 16, we see that now women must endure hard labor while giving birth. And v. 17-18 tell us that now men must endure resistance from the earth. The plow won’t slide through the earth as easily. Weeds of every kinds will grow up along with the crops. Thus, the entire create order is dragged into humanity’s sin.

What’s even worse, though is the relationship between husband and wife will also be affected. God says to Eve, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” What does this mean?

When we look at Genesis 1-2, we see it that the plan for the husband to serve the wife as the leader, provider, protector. The wife was to help him fulfill his duties. Now, however, all of that becomes twisted because of sin.

Now, the wife desires to be the leader. She wants to be in control. And the husband doesn’t want to lead – to deeply care for his wife – he wants to give up his responsibility. So, instead of leading, he bosses and bullies.

Have you wondered why it is so easy to fight with, and say the cruelest things to the person you love the most? It’s because of sin. It distorts everything, including human relationships. There is no more special a relationship in all the world than that between a husband and wife. And yet, because of sin – even in the best of marriages – it will be a struggle.

But, God also brings judgment upon the serpent.

2.2. Judgment on the serpent

In verse 14, God says to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.”

Sometimes God takes something that already exists and gives it new significance. After the flood God brings upon the earth in Genesis 9, he tells Noah that will never destroy humanity by worldwide flood again and the sign of this promise is the rainbow. Now, the rainbow was probably always there – but now it had new significance.

When God established his covenant with Israel, he says all the males must be circumcised, and that the act of circumcision would be the sign of the covenant. Circumcision existed before this, but then it was given new significance.

I think the serpent was always a serpent. But now the fact that it crawls on its belly wherever it goes, eating dust – these things serve as a sign that it is a cursed animal. People would always see the serpent and be reminded that it was the instrument of Satan’s temptation of humanity.

God goes on to curse, not just the serpent, but Satan himself in verse 15. Yet, here in this cursing, we also see blessings. For in this curse we see,

3. God’s Promised Victory (3:15)

Satan had possessed the serpent – used it to tempt Eve. And now God says to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall [crush] your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This enmity, this conflict, serves to help protect the woman from the enemy of her soul. It is barrier of battle whole ultimate victory is promised to the women. Notice that this enmity occurs on three fronts.

3.1. Victory of the woman

“I will put enmity between you and the woman” – not just any woman, but Eve herself. God is establishing a certain protection for Eve from Satan.

Pastor Ligon Duncan explains why God did this – “First of all the woman was the first [one led into temptation]. And so the Lord immediately begins to apply His remedy against Satan’s strike. He immediately begins to heal that which had first been touched by the grimy hands of Satan.”

More than that though, God also establishes the woman’s role in salvation of humanity. Though she was instrument through which the world fell, God will use her to be the instrument by which he counteracts the Fall and brings redemption.

We see this more clearly in the next line of the promise.

3.2. Victory of the woman’s offspring

God says to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.”

It’s more than just her, but her offspring – her descendents – that will also experience enmity with the devil and his offspring. Of course, this begs the question – who are these offspring? Who are the descendents of Eve and who are the descendents of the devil?

The Bible says that there are two lines of descent from Eve – a godly line and ungodly line. The godly line is made up of those whom God has redeemed out of the world and has placed in divine enmity against Satan. Essentially, it is all those who have ever lived by faith in God and in obedience to him.

The rest of humanity is that ungodly line; the offspring of Satan. And the two have been in conflict since the beginning – even Adam and Eve’s first sons, Cain and Abel. If you’ve read the next chapter, you know that while Abel delights to worship God, Cain begrudges it.

Eventually Cain kills his brother Abel. Later in the New Testament, the apostle John reflects on this battle of the offspring and says that Cain was of the evil one. Specifically, he was the first of Satan’s offspring.

Thus, what the Bible presents is all of humanity in two categories – those of a godly line (the seed of the woman), and those of an ungodly line (the seed of the serpent). These lines are no dependent on physical descent, but spiritual life.

The godly line is those whom God has chosen in his grace to save – to redeem from their sins. Thus, they live a life of trust in God. While the ungodly line are those that remain in their sins, rejecting God, and allowing themselves to be led by Satan.

Thus, even in the midst of the rebellion of the man and woman, even in the midst of God’s judgment on them and creation, he gives grace. God is merciful and chooses to save a people for himself.

How that will be possible comes in the last part of this promise.

3.3. Victory of the woman’s promised Son

God says to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall [crush] your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The salvation of Eve and her godly offspring is made possible, because from her godly line will one day come a Son – and he will win permanent victory over Satan. The long battle of enmity comes to a close as the serpent tries to kill the Son, but only manages to bruise his heel. Though the Son does more than that – he crushes the head of the serpent and wins the victory.

The fulfillment of this promise of the Son is Jesus Christ. And his victory over the enemy of the woman’s offspring was won on the cross. There, the serpent seemed to have won. Having come through an unjust trial, having been beaten near to death, Jesus was hung a cross like a common criminal between two criminals.

There was the promised Son – bloody, degraded, mocked, seemingly defeated. And yet, as he died on that cross what no one understand was that he was not defeated, but wining victory over the serpent. There he took upon himself God’s wrath against sinners.

In Romans 5, Paul says, Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned . . . [15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many . . . [19] For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Conclusion

This was the victory the promised Son won on the cross – the defeat of the serpent and his battle against God’s people.

Through the death of Christ, we can be made right again with God. All must do is reach in faith and trust in Christ and his death for sinners.

(Acts 9:19b-31)

Faithful Steps of New (and Mature) Believers

Acts 19b-31

Introduction

What’s the first thing you did after becoming a Christian? Do you begin strong? Did you rush out and tell everyone you knew about Christ? Did you simply slide into Christianity, taking it slow and easy?

What those of you who have been Christians for a while – are you running strong? Though, possibly – probably filled with ups and downs – do you continue to grow? Are you still amazed by grace? Has your love for God become dull and commonplace?

From Paul we learn not just what should evident in the life of new believers, but a pattern of continual discipleship that show that should be present in mature believers as well.

Acts 9:19-31

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. [20] And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” [21] And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” [22] But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

[23] When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, [24] but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, [25] but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

[26] And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. [27] But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. [28] So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. [29] And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. [30] And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

1. Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ (9:19-22)

Some people kind of slide into Christianity. They get saved out of a terrible life of sin with no knowledge of God or Christ, and it takes some time to reprogram the wiring of their worldview – to get them thinking along biblical lines.

Others have a familiarity with Christianity, and the transition is quicker and, in some ways, easier. Previously they have known all the right things intellectually, but now they know them experientially. It is not a dead orthodoxy, but a living orthodoxy that is not drives their life and worship.

And of course, there are a dozen different stages in between.

Paul, in many ways, fell into that second group. He has been brought up learning the Scriptures. He has been around God’s people all his life. But he has been blinded to the reality of who Christ was because of the sinfulness of his heart.

Now, God has dramatically lifted that veil of sinfulness and brought Saul to faith. And what does he do? Luke says,

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. [20] And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Saul’s first impulse after becoming a Christian was to proclaim Christ. Specifically, he went to the synagogues – to his fellow Jews – to tell them that Jesus was in fact the Son of God.

The title ‘Son of God’ is one of the Old Testament titles for the Messiah. It comes from 2 Samuel 7, and we see it in Psalm 2 and Psalm 89. Already, Saul – whose has been soaked in the Scriptures – is now beginning to see who the pieces fit together. He is seeing how Jesus has come in fulfillment of the foreshadowings and prophecies of the Old Testament.

And what was the response? [21] And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”

The atmosphere in the synagogues in Damascus must have been incredible. You’re got some Jews shaking their heads saying, ‘What’s going on? Isn’t this the same guy who came here with papers to around up and arrest these Jesus-worshippers? Now he’s saying they were right all along?’

And surely there were others who were Jewish Christians still attending the synagogues. They would have been confused as well. Some hopeful that Saul’s conversion was real; others surely believing that he was a spy of some kind. A mole sent in to find and uproot the Christians in the synagogues.

Despite all of this, God was at work, already blessing Saul’s ministry. Luke says, Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

He was using the Scriptures and convincing many Jews that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah that God had promised to send to his people.

I think Saul provides a good picture of the kind of thing Christians – all Christians, but especially new Christians – should do after their conversion: preach Christ.

All of us – whether a new Christian, or a well-seasoned one – have a circle of friends and family, some of whom need to here the gospel. They need to hear of the great love of God that reaches out to sinners in grace and brings forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ.

2. Learning the Lordship of Christ (9:23)

In the first part of verse 23, Luke says, When many days had passed.

With these five words, Luke skips over two years of Saul’s life. You see, over in Galatians 1, Paul says,

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, [16] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; [17] nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. [18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. (Gal 1:15-18)

In a few minutes we are going to see Saul going to Jerusalem for that fifteen days visit. Therefore, somewhere between Saul preaching Christ in Damascus in vv. 19-21 and his visit to Jerusalem in vv. 26-29 is a three year stay in Arabia and a return to Damascus. Luke gives us the window for this with his comment that many days had passed between verses 22 and 23.

And all of that is okay – Luke isn’t trying to hide anything, nor is he a bad historian. Luke knows Paul went there. Instead, he is not concerned with these events for the story he is trying to tell. Just as when we tell stories, we eliminate non-essential details to the make the story more understandable or to emphasize our point, so Luke is doing the same here.

The question remains, though – why did Paul go to Arabia? Again, I think the answer lies elsewhere in what Saul would eventually write.

That the risen Christ “appeared to” him, and that he received “visions and revelations of the Lord [being] caught up to the third heaven . . . [where] he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter” (1 Cor 15:8; 2 Cor 12:1-4).

It was most likely during this time in Arabia that Paul was being taught by the risen Christ himself. Unlike the other apostles, he had not benefited from the first-discipleship of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Paul had not. And so Christ revealed himself in a unique way to instruct and disciple the man who would become the apostle to the Gentiles.

One of the things we should take away from this is the need to grow as disciples. Far too often, I think – whether it is done intentionally or not – new believer and old believers alike try to live the Christian life on experience and excitement.

But that isn’t the biblical pattern of a disciple – one seeking to live under the lordship of Christ. Instead, that is the pattern of a weak, immature Christian who can quicker find himself far from God. Learning gives rise to true emotion and makes sense of experience. Without a solid grounding in a knowledge of God, we will never live like disciples; we will never grow and mature in our faith.

At the same time, we don’t check out of ministry. In 2 Corinthians 11, Saul says that he upset the king in Arabia. How would he have done that if he was held-up in his room all-day, in prayer and study? He couldn’t! Instead, he was both learning to live under the lordship of Christ, and engaged in ministry. That’s the pattern we must follow.

Both on our own and through the teaching ministry of this church, we are to devouring God’s word like hungry beggars who have found a loaf of bread. Fellowshipping with God through a prayerful study of his word. And at the same time, we are to be engaged in service to him. We are to serving our King in gospel ministry – both encouraging his people and evangelizing the lost.

3. Fulfilling the Will of Christ (9:23-25)

Do you remember what the Lord told Ananias about Saul? Back up to Acts 9:15-16 – Luke says, the Lord said to [Ananias], “he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. [16] For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Inherent in Saul’s call to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ is a call to suffer. If you want to see the impact that has on his ministry, read his second letter to the Corinthians.

For now, though, you can get a chance by looking back to our passage and seeing what happens to Saul when he returns to Damascus. He picks up his preaching again and Luke says, “the Jews plotted to kill him, [24] but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, [25] but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.”

Saul scoots off to Jerusalem, but gets the same response – preaching boldly in the name of the Lord . . . [Saul] spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. [30] And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Paul hasn’t even moved out into a ministry to the Gentiles at this point, and everywhere he goes, he boldly proclaims Christ, and suffers the wrath of those who don’t believe.

Thus, as Derek Thomas says, “Not only did [Saul] accept Christ’s divinity and Christ’s commission; he even accepted Christ’s suffering.” While there is a unique element of suffering in Paul’s ministry, it too is something that we should expect in our own lives.

This is not anything most of you haven’t heard from me before. But it’s important to repeat for two reasons. First, it is the repeated note through Acts. If we are to be faithful to God, we must listen to what he is saying to us through his word.

The second reason it’s important to hear this message again is that we have largely forgotten in it our culture. We live in a culture obsessed with ease and comfort. If some is difficult, you try to get away. If something requires hard, strenuous work, you try to get out of it.

I can remember working a summer with my parents during college. It was a factory job. Being a temp, meant you got the bad and boring jobs – cleaning up, stocking up. The factory made all kinds of condiments – ketchup, mustard, jelly, etc. And I was always amazed at how bad some of those ingredients could smell considering how good they tastes when they’re all put together.

Well, one day, a guy I went to school with shows up as a temp as well. He left before the day was out. He just didn’t want to deal with the kind of work that was expected of him. It didn’t matter that he was only a temp – the lowest end of the totem pole, or that he was going to be paid pretty well. It was not going to be an easy job; it was going to be difficult and he didn’t want it.

The Christian life will be difficult. Think about it – if we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we will be swimming upstream our whole lives. We will be living counter to the flow of the culture and it will not be easy.

But it’s part of being a disciple of Christ. And if we are going to live according to his will, we have to be prepared to live with hardship and suffering.

4. Experiencing the Fellowship of Christ (9:26-30)

R Kent Hughes is senior pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. Several years ago, while he was a youth minister at another church he heard about the last surviving member of the Bonnie and Clyde gang – Big Jim Harrington. Apparently, he had been saved and was giving his testimony to amazing results.

Hughes arranged to have him speak at a youth rally. Hughes says he was unbelievable. For two hours the 80-year old man told the youth of his wasted life of crime with Clyde Barrow and exhorted them to not waste their lives, but commit them to Christ.

Everyone at the church – including Hughes – was thrilled at how well the event went. But then just two days later, Big Jim’s agent called and he had just learned that Big Jim wasn’t who he claimed to be. He never ran with Bonnie and Clyde, but was instead a well-meaning alcoholic who lived out in the desert with his daughter and suffered delusion about an uneventful past.

Well, apparently the Christians at Jerusalem thought Saul was some kind of Big Jim. They didn’t trust him. For when Luke says when “he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.”

I’m sure they thought the same kinds of things Ananias did earlier in the chapter – this is the guy who was trying to kill us and now he claims to be a follower of Jesus? Perhaps some even said, this man carried away my brother, my parents and got them thrown into prison. Surely, he can’t be one of us now?

But then there was Barnabas. Luke says, Barnabas took [Saul] and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

Barnabas was God’s means of grace in Saul’s life. He brought encouragement to Saul and helped bridge the gap between him and the wary Christians of Jerusalem. It was Barnabas who brought Saul into the fellowship of God’s people.

Fellowship is more than just a church word for parties and socializing. It is about partnership. It’s about common efforts for the cause of Christ. It’s about sharing life with others. And it’s God’s will for his people.

You see, new believers especially need to be welcomed into the people of God and discipled, helping to firmly root them in the faith. This means they need people like Barnabas to come along side and be an encouragement to them.

“Take the challenge of getting involved in the lives of others. It may be a new believer or visitors to our church or even members of our church. Take the time to be spiritually involved in their lives. Go beyond [simply] exchanging pleasantries. Get close enough to discover the reality of that person’s faith in Christ. If you cannot see the reality of true faith, then begin to take the time to explain the gospel to that person and challenge them with the claims of Jesus Christ.”

Conclusion

The Miracle of Conversion (Acts 9:1-19a)

The Miracle of Conversion

Acts 9:1-19a

 

Introduction

 

The story of John Newton’s conversion – from slaver trading sea captain to committed Christian pastor.

Acts 9:1-19a

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest [2] and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. [3] Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [4] And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” [5] And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [6] But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” [7] The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. [8] Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. [9] And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

[10] Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” [11] And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, [12] and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” [13] But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. [14] And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” [15] But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. [16] For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” [17] So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [18] And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; [19] and taking food, he was strengthened.

1. Transgression of God’s Glory (9:1-2)

Luke tells us that “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest [2] and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

The last time we saw Saul it was in chapter 7, there approving of the execution of Stephen – the first Christian martyr. Saul then participated in a great persecution against the Christians that drive them out of Jerusalem into the surrounding regions.

Now, Luke tells us that Saul has acquired from the high priest letters that he could take to the synagogues that would give him authority to seek out the Christian Jews who had scattered and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial, and most likely execution.

And all of this was, in Saul’s mind, a good and godly thing. Later he will write in a letter to the Philippians how he took pride in everything from his pedigree to his murderous zeal as evidence of his devotion to God. He says,

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6] as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.” (Phil 3:4-6)

And yet, his life was in fact not one filled with righteousness. Certainly on some level he was keeping the law, but in his heart, Saul was still a sinner.

More than that, he had heard Stephen’s message of Jesus – how he fulfilled the word of God, the true temple, and was the long-promised Messiah. And yet, he had rejected him. Left to the sinfulness of his heart, he willfully chose not to see Jesus as the Christ.

And it was this sinfulness – both the sinfulness of his nature, his heart, and thus the sinfulness of his actions. As well as his sinful rejection of Christ – the refusal to give him glory as God – that merited God’s wrath. It was his sinful transgression against the glory that displayed his need for salvation.

This wasn’t just true for Saul. Because of Adam’s first sin, all of humanity is sinful by nature and fails to give God the glory he deserves as our all-sufficient Creator. This is why Saul will later write “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23).

This is the reason it wasn’t just Saul that needed salvation, we all need salvation. All of us need to be forgiven of our sins, and have our sinful hearts transformed so that we can be brought into right relationship with God.

But more than that, this should give us encouragement. Look at who Saul was – a killer of Christians. In our minds, a man guilty of a horrible sin. And yet, a man not beyond redemption. Salvation is possible even for the worst of sinners, so we should take hope – for our family and friends who do not yet know Christ.

2. Initiative of God’s Calling (9:3-4)

It’s important that we notice in our passage that Saul was not seeking God.

In fact, he thought that as a Jew – as part of the covenant people – he was already in with God, that he was already accepted by him. Saul will even tell us later in one of his epistles, he thought that by killing Christians he was doing the Lord’s work.

Although Saul wasn’t seeking God, God was seeking Saul. Luke says, Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [4] 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.”

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul says that for those who are Christians, God “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” This is exactly what God does here in Saul.

Derek Thomas explains that, “what’s taking place here was something not just external, not just the blinding light, not just a voice that he hears, but something internal; something that challenges his heart, something that affects his soul, something that affects his spirit. Christ is being revealed to him. He’s becoming aware of who Jesus is, the identity of Jesus Christ, the glory of Jesus Christ, the deity of Jesus Christ, the messiah-ship of Jesus Christ. He’s come to appreciate that and see that, and that affects him internally, in the inner recesses of his heart and soul.”

The Bible teaches that we act according to our greatest desires. As sinners, our greatest desire will always be for sin. Thus, left to ourselves, we will never chose to believe the gospel, we will never choose Christ.

But God does a spiritual work in our hearts whereby he brings life where there was before only spiritual darkness. He overcomes the sinfulness of our hearts, regenerating us by the power of his Spirit so that we may behold the glory of Christ. Because when we behold that glory without the blindness of sin, we will believe.

Saul will later write to the Roman Christians and quoting the Old Testament remind that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Rom 3:10-11). And yet, God seeks sinners. God seeks us because we have neither the desire nor the capability of seeking him.

And when he opens our eyes to the glories of Christ, what we see there is so captivating, so beautiful, we cannot help believe. And so, we can sing the great hymn,

My Lord, I did not choose you, for that could never be;

This heart would still refuse you had you not chosen me:

You took the sin that stained me, you cleansed and made me new;

For you of old ordained me that I should live to you.

Unless your grace had called me, and taught my opening mind,

The world would have enthralled me, to heavenly glories blind:

My heart knows none above you; for your rich grace I thirst.

And know that if I love you, Lord, you have loved me first.

3. Submission to God’s Lordship (9:5-9)

When I was in college, a debate within evangelicalism was reaching its zenith. On the one side were men like John MacArthur and on the other, men like Zane Hodges. The debate was over the issue of lordship in salvation.

One side said that the gospel was a message of grace only. There should be no call to live a life of lordship under Christ. It was simply about having sins forgiven. Making Jesus Lord of your life was secondary and usually came later than accepting him as Savior. In fact, you could have Christians who never made Jesus their Lord, only their Savior.

The side said, ‘No, it Christ is not made Lord, then the gospel has not been preached and it’s possible that men have not been saved.’ Jesus is Lord.

While it is certainly true that no Christians will ever be perfect, nor perfectly submit to Christ’s lordship this side of heaven, it is wrong to not see Lordship as part of the gospel. Central to the gospel message is a turning away from sin towards God. Of acknowledging that he is the Creator as well as the Savior, and as Creator is owed our worship and our service.

Pastor Roy Clements says, he doesn’t “use the phrases ‘decided for Christ’ or ‘committed to Christ,’ though decision and commitment are certainly involved. . . . [he goes on to say] Conversion is at root not a decision, nor a commitment, but a surrender to the supreme authority of Jesus.”

This was certainly true for Saul. Look at what Luke tells us –

And [Saul] said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [6] But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” [7] The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. [8] Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. [9] And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Look at how Saul is presented by Luke – a broken man. Everything he has believed about Jesus, everything he has tried to destroy because of Jesus, all of his efforts at zeal religion were gone.

More than that, physically, he’s rendered helpless. Can you imagine? This once unstoppable Pharisee has been knocked to the ground by the glory of Christ, blinded, and forced to be led around by his associates. “In the twinkling of an eye, God brings him down from all his lofty arrogance and haughtiness and defiance, and hatred of the things that God really is concerned about.”

While it is certainly true that no Christians will ever be perfect, nor perfectly submit to Christ’s lordship this side of heaven, Lordship is part of the gospel. Central to the gospel message is a turning away from sin towards God. Of acknowledging that he is the Creator as well as the Savior, and as Creator is owed our worship and our service.

The truth, when you go to Jesus for salvation, you cannot come with provisos. You cannot come with your pride intact. You cannot come haughty with your head held high. No, you must come humbly, realizing your weakness. Realizing that salvation of the Lord. You didn’t earn or deserve it.

And now that you have been brought to God through the death of his son, Jesus Christ, the only fitting response is to surrender your life in loving, worshipful service. That is what you were created for – that is your true purpose in life.

And the reality is, the best life you will ever have is one lived under the Lordship of Christ. Surrendering to his will and his wisdom will mean that even in the midst of pain and suffering, you will know joy and peace.

4. Communion with God’s People (9:10-19)

Something we sometimes fail to think about is that when God calls people to faith in Christ, he is also calling them into the community of faith. He is calling them to be a part of his people. From our text here in Acts 9, this means two things –

4.1. God’s people will love the rest of God’s people

Take yourselves out of the Acts 9 for a second, and think about our current situation. Think about this guy the police whom have just caught – he’s abused something like seventy children. It’s horrible. Now suppose God saves this man; converts him. And he desires fellowship at this church. How would you receive him?

Or perhaps, one of the men who were part of the 9/11 attacks is saved by God in prison. He is genuinely converted to Christianity and shows up one Sunday looking to worship with us and join our fellowship. How would you respond?

Now, let’s go back to Acts 9. God has miraculously saved Saul and now he tells Ananias of Damascus, the guy you were hiding from has been saved, and waiting for you at Judas’ house. Lay hands on him so he will regain his sight.

Your response would probably be similar to Ananias’ response – ‘Lord, this is the guy we’ve been hearing about. This is the guy who’s been persecuting us in Jerusalem and is hunting the rest of us down. Are you sure you want me to go see this guy?’

But then here is where our paths might differ from Ananias. God assures him that he is a Christian now. And Luke says, “Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”

Ananias welcomes Saul – even calls him ‘Brother Saul.’ Can you imagine the love in Ananias that allowed for this? It could only be the very love of God welling up from within him.

And what about Saul? Can you imagine how he must have felt? All the many ways he imagined being received by the Christians he once tried to kill? And what does he hear – ‘brother.’ It’s amazing. But it’s also true Christianity.

The apostle John writes, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling . . . . If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” 1 John 2:9-10; 4:20).

God’s people will always love the rest of God’s people. Because God loves his own people and his love is supposed to dwell in us. So, if there is no love for God’s people in your heart, then you may not be one of God’s people.

4.2. God’s people will serve the rest of God’s people

More than just a Christian, God called Paul for a very special purpose. In verse 15, the Lord says,

“[Saul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. [16] For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Not many of us will be called to be apostles. In fact, none of us will be called to be Apostles in the same way that Saul was an Apostle.

Nevertheless, each of us is called to serve the body. Whether it is those who are already in the people of God, or those who will one day be among God’s people, all of us are called to serve. All of us have been given gifts for the building up of the body of Christ.

When God brings about our conversion; when he changes our hearts so that we behold the glory of Christ and grant us faith to believe, he always sends his Spirit to dwell within us. The Spirit of Christ not only guides and strengthens us for godly living, he also grants us spiritual gifts by which we are called to serve other Christians.

Thus, as those miraculously brought to faith in Christ, we must understand we are not saved to an individual Christian. We are saved to be part of God’s chosen people. Thus, we are to love them and visibly demonstrate that love by serving them with our lives and the gifts God has given us.

Conclusion

This is the miracle of conversion. That God can take a murderer and change his heart so that not only be a man of God, but an apostle for his Church.

Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that encouraging? How many people do you love and care for but believe that they are beyond hope? That they are too far gone to be saved?

Here, God gives us hope that no one is beyond the grace of God. No one is too sinful to be saved. For in the end, Jonah 2:9 still rings true – salvation is of the Lord. From beginning to end, He is the one who saves.

He is the one who from eternity chose to set his affection, and plan to save and call out a people for himself.

Christian brothers and sisters marvel at God’s work of conversion, be encouraged by knowing that your salvation does not depend on you.

Rejoice and proclaim the gospel of God’s grace to those that do not yet know him.