Church Sermon - January 25, 2004

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Epistle Lesson; Acts 9:1-22
Gospel Lesson; Luke 21:10-19
Sermon Text, Galatians 1:11-24

Today, we will focus a little more in depth on the conversion of Saul into Paul, and the way the Lord prepared Paul for going out into the world with the Gospel. The main facts of this account in scripture are quite well known to us. It is a lesson we have enjoyed hearing from childhood. We have thrilled to hear the account of how God took the Christ-hating Saul, turned his life around, and turned him into the Christ-preaching Paul! We have thrilled to hear how this persecutor of Jesus, became Jesus’ most zealous supporter!

And so today, I want to look, in somewhat more detail, at how the Lord accomplished this, and prepared Paul for a lifetime of missionary activity. We will look at some of Paul’s background that made up who he was. Then, we will make some applications for mission work today.

Paul was born into a world dominated by Greek culture and ruled by Roman might. It was a world that had seen much movement of peoples, particularly the Jews, who now conservatively numbered six times as many living outside of Palestine, as inside it. Paul was a part of all of this. He was a Jew. He had a good understanding of the Greek culture. He was a Roman citizen. Again, it is hardly by accident that the Lord called this particular man to be His "chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel." Acts 9:15

Saul was a Greek. No less that three times in scripture does Saul mention he was born and raised in Tarsus of Cilicia. Tarsus was a very important and prosperous city in the Greek world. It is said to have had no less than a half million people living in the city. The city was a center of commerce. It was a seaport, but it was also located on the road between Rome and Jerusalem. The Tarsians had built a road through the Cilcian Gates, which helped to make the city (which was already a seaport), also a hub of important land trade, situated, as it was, right between the East and West.

Greek may well have been Paul’s native tongue. He certainly would have grown up and was raised in the Greek culture. He also would have become acquainted with one of the lower elements of Greek culture, with its gross pagan idolatry and worship.

Paul saw the best and the worst of Greek culture and was able to use who he was, later in life, to proclaim God’s name to the Greeks, as he was a Greek. Paul was then able to speak to the Greeks, as a Greek.

Not only was Paul a Greek, but he was also a Roman. And so, Paul could speak to the Romans, as a Roman. In the book of Acts, Luke records this conversation between Paul and the Roman Commander, Claudius Lysias:

Claudius Lysias asks Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?"

Paul said, "Yes, I am."

Claudius Lysias said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship."

Paul replied, "But I was born a citizen."

This account tells us that Paul’s father was a Roman citizen. Therefore, Paul enjoyed all of the privileges of Roman citizenship and used that to his advantage when the situation warranted. And, there were several such occasions.

For example, when Paul and his companion Silas were in Philippi, they both had been beaten publicly. Then, the next day, the magistrates ordered them to be released. But Paul stood up on behalf of himself and Silas and said; "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out" Acts 16:37

It is with these words that Paul demonstrates that he knew the protections afforded by Roman citizenship. Every Roman citizen was entitled to a fair public trail, if he was accused of any crime. And so, he knew that he could not be thrown in prison, without a public trial. He knew that he was exempt from certain punishments, being a Roman citizen. And, he knew that he was protected against swift execution.

Paul took advantage of these same rights later in Jerusalem, following his third missionary journey. Claudius Lysias had given the command for Paul to be flogged. The soldiers were stretching out Paul’s body on the flogging board, and were about to begin the flogging, when Paul brought this activity to a halt by asking, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?" Acts 22:25

Certainly the answer was no! And, the flogging stopped right there!

Throughout his life, Paul knew the advantages of being a Roman citizen, and could speak to the Romans, as a Roman.

Paul was also a Jew. And so, Paul could speak to the Jews, as a Jew. Listen to what Paul says about himself, as a Jew. He says, "I was circumcised on the eighth day, I am of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee." Philippians 3:5

Paul understood what it meant to be a Jew and thus could meet them on their own turf. He could look back on his own life, as evidence, when he wrote about the Jews: "I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge…They did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own" Romans 10:2-3.

He had a heart that longed to evangelize to his own people, with whom he had so much in common. And, because of their misguided zeal, his very heart went out to the Jews. Paul says of the Jews, "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart" Romans 9:2.

Not only was Paul a Greek, a Roman, and a Jew, but he was also a persecutor of Christians. When we first meet Paul in the Scriptures, he is zealously, thought mistakenly, upholding the traditions of his fathers. Scripture records Paul at the stoning of Stephen, where he was guarding the clothes. Paul later said about the stoning of Stephen, "I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him" Acts 22:40

This man, who after being called by Christ, made a drastic change in his life. For a few years, it was anything but God’s service in which Paul was involved. In our text for today, Paul said, "You have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it."

It took a mighty miracle of God, however, to change that kind of feeling in Paul’s heart. Notice what God did with Paul. God took someone, changed his life, and used who Paul was to advance His Kingdom. God also does that in our lives, as well.

It is this man whom the Lord Jesus confronted on the Damascus Road. His life was completely turned around from that day forward. In our text today Paul says, "God set me apart from birth and called me by His grace." Galatians 1:15.

He wanted to know Christ. And, he wanted to share Christ. "I was compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" I Corinthians 9:16

Paul now used whom he was, to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, won on the cross, by Christ. He spoke as a Greek, to the Greeks. He spoke as a Roman, to the Romans. And he spoke as a Jew, to the Jews.

Through Paul’s example, the Lord teaches us how He prepares people to be His witnesses. He uses our background and whom we are, to prepare us for opportunities to proclaim His name.

Think about the applications in the life of Saul to Paul, that we can make in our own mission lives, today. We can learn some valuable lessons about preparation for mission work, from the way the Lord prepared Paul, ‘Chief of Sinners’.

First of all, as God uses us for mission work, there needs to be a change in our heart. Paul recognized this. He called himself the ‘Chief of Sinners’. Yet, he knew that God was using him to proclaim Christ’s name to the Jews, Romans and Greeks. God also uses us. He has set us aside from birth, and He has called us by His grace. We too, can say with Paul, that we are the ‘Chief of Sinners’. Just as with Paul, God has changed our hearts, through the calling of the Holy Spirit.

In our congregational life, as we go forth and do mission work, it should not be a ‘must do thing’. "You must go forth and do this." But rather, the best way to instill a missionary zeal is to preach Christ as a ‘has done’, "Look at what Christ has done!" We should let the words of Jesus speak volumes for themselves, when Christ said from the cross,

We should let the words of the angels at the empty tomb on Easter Morning speak volumes for themselves, when they said,

It is a message that changes hearts. It is a message builds up faith. And the result will be, as it was with Paul, a desire to give away to others, what God has so graciously given to us! Therefore, what we have received as a gift from God, being set apart from birth and being called by His grace, is then something that we want to go forth and share with other people.

In addition to having a changed heart, we see the value of being well acquainted with God’s Word and well acquainted with the world in which we live. Remember, Paul was well versed in the scriptures. He was also well versed in the world in which he lived. To the Greeks, he was a Greek. To the Romans, he was a Roman. To the Jews, he was a Jew. Paul was well prepared. He knew the society in which he would be working. He knew the religions. He knew the philosophies. He knew the weaknesses. He knew the glaring deficiencies. To this world he knew, Paul applied God’s Word he knew. May we also be well versed in scripture, through our devotions and Bible studies. But also, let us be well versed in our world and in our environment, looking for opportunities to share Jesus’ name.

Also, in our mission work, we know that it is not in our time frame that God works within. He works within His own time frame. Paul once said,

"I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God made it grow…The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose." I Corinthians 3:6-8

And so, the person who plants the seed and the person who waters the seed both have the same purpose, to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, through our Savior, Jesus.

Lastly, God uses everything in a person’s life to prepare that person to serve Him. God uses whom we are and where we are, to serve Him and to proclaim the name of His Son. That is what God did with Paul and that is also what God does with us. Last week, Pastor Bartels said in his sermon that during his time here at Holy Cross there are certain nooks and crannies that may not be seen by everyone. He spoke of a time when he came across a couple hundred bricks, in one of those nooks and crannies. He said that his heart went out to those bricks, because they would not hear God’s Word proclaimed. They would not hear God’s praises being sung. But let me tell you this morning, that is one of my hiding places! It is one of those places where I often times slip away to prepare for a sermon, or prepare for a solo, or prepare for Chapel Talks. Those bricks do hear God’s Word. Those bricks do hear God’s praises being sung!

What I mean by that is this. God uses us, who we are and where we are, to proclaim God’s name. There are places where you are, that I cannot be. There are places that you are, that Pastor Bartels cannot be. Yet, you can be a missionary just like Paul. Being well versed in God’s Word and being well acquainted with the surroundings you have, you can be like Paul. We can be a Greek to the Greeks, a Roman to the Romans, a Jew to the Jews, proclaiming God’s Word, whether it is planting the seed, watering it or watching it grow. It is in the activity of simply proclaiming Jesus our Savior, who went to the cross and there suffered and died, and yet, rose again, to give to us the forgiveness of all of our sins, that mission work is being done.

May we be zealous missionaries just like Paul, who had been set aside from birth and called by His grace.

Amen.

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