Saul went right out and started preaching Jesus as the Son of God with the same zeal and determination he had when he persecuted the followers of Jesus. That would prove to be a dangerous thing for him, but the Christians ultimately came to trust him.

"Before and after" pictures can provide convincing proof of change. Fitness and diet companies know this very well as evidenced by the number of television commercials that employ them effectively. The Bible uses before and after pictures, too - contrasting snapshots of the way people were before God was given His rightful place in their lives - and after. One of the most striking of these contrasts is that of Saul of Tarsus.

This man first appears on the pages of Scripture as a violent persecutor of Christians. He is the ringleader in the murder of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, and then goes on a search-and-destroy mission to wreak havoc without mercy on every follower of Christ he can hunt down. But then, remarkably, almost unbelievably, he is turned. He meets Jesus Christ on the Damascus road, is taught the gospel three days later, becomes a Christian, and the resultant contrasting picture is one of the most striking in the Bible. Before: Persecutor Saul. After: Apostle Paul.

Last Sunday morning we began looking at his story as it told in the first part of Acts 9. What we saw there was the "before" picture. In this sermon I want to consider the "after" picture. We will also see the balance of the events that led to the change in his life. Please join me in your Bibles at Acts 9.

We covered the first nine verses of this chapter last time. Let me quickly review them to bring you back up to speed.

These verses describe how Saul’s persecution spread beyond the city of Jerusalem. With written warrants of arrest issued by the high priest, he set out for Damascus, a city 135 miles northeast Jerusalem.

We learned last time of the severity of Saul’s hatred for the church. Acts 8:3 says that Saul "began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them into prison."

Also, in one of Saul’s recollections of his actions in Acts 22:19, we read, "... in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed..."

And again in Acts 26:10-11 we found these words:

That was all part of the before picture. These passages make up Saul’s personal "this-is-what-I-was-like-before-I-came-to-Christ" portfolio. Then He met Christ, as we are told in verses 3-9 of Acts 9:

That’s where we stopped last time. This morning as we continue in our Acts of the Apostles Series, we’ll look at verses 10-22. Today’s message is called, A Killer Comes to Christ: Part 2.

Though Jesus did speak directly to Saul on the Damascus road to get his attention, it is important to note that He did not tell him what to do to be saved. That message would come to him though a man. Saul was told to go into the city and wait where he would hear from a disciple of Jesus named Ananias. So we’ll consider first:

Acts 22:12 tells us the only other facts we know about this man Ananias. In that place it says he was "devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there." He was a Christian. Luke doesn’t tell us why God chose him to be the one who would teach Saul the gospel. Ananias is not seen anymore in the Bible beyond this incident.

Certainly this is consistent with accounts elsewhere in the Bible of the way God often works. He uses relatively obscure but devout people to carry out His plan. Perhaps we can say with a good degree of certainty that if you want to be used by Him, don’t worry about being obscure. Worry about being faithful. God uses people who are fully committed to Him.

Apparently Ananias wasn’t one of those who had fled Saul’s persecution in Jerusalem. We are told next that news of the persecution in Jerusalem was only hearsay to him.

As a side note, look closely at verse 12. Ananias was going to come and lay hands on Saul. The stated reason for that action is, "...so that he might regain his sight." Obviously, Ananias had the gift of healing.(1) While we find no record of how he received this gift, it is my conclusion from studying the New Testament that he must have had hands of an Apostle laid on him at some point. As can be seen in every case in Acts prior to this, that is how the miraculous gifts that existed in the church during the first century were imparted. It is even so stated in Acts 8:18. Start in Acts 1 and track this issue up to this point. You’ll see that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (except for the special case of the Apostles on Pentecost) were received through the laying on of Apostle’s hands. There is no mention of the recipient of these gifts passing them on to someone else.

Now back to our text... Notice how Saul occupied himself in Damascus while he waited. He was praying and, as we were told back in verse 9, he was fasting. Those are good things to do if you find yourself on the wrong side of God’s will. When a person is brokenhearted over his sin, losing his appetite can be the natural result. Depending upon the magnitude of the sin, there is often a deep and intense remorse that shows up in the actions. "Business as usual" is suspended until the issue is resolved with God. The Bible speaks of two kinds of sorrow - the sorrow of the world which leads to death, and the sorrow according to the will of God which produces repentance without regret.(2) The sorrow of the world is the sorrow that one has gotten caught and now has to stop his ungodly actions. The sorrow according to the will of God is sadness that one’s sin has hurt God and others. How can a person know which he has? The sorrow according to the will of God always produces changes in attitude and actions, along with a new dedication to do what is right even when it hurts. That is an important issue because it will ultimately determine whether or not a person goes to heaven.

The only thing in this story that must have come close to the panic that Saul felt on the road to Damascus would have been the fear Ananias felt the moment he was commanded by God to go lay hands on a killer! If Ananias occupied any place of prominence in the Damascus church it wouldn’t take much in the way of brains to figure out that he might be near the top of Saul’s hit list. Not only did he know of Saul’s persecutions, he also knew the ominous reason for his presence in the city this very day – which apparently had been leaked to the Christians as Saul came near the city. Such news tends to travel ahead of a Gestapo officer. Ananias is understandably rattled at God’s request.

Have you ever found yourself saying similar words to God when things go differently than you envisioned, perhaps in even the opposite direction than what seems to make good sense? Of course, God always knows exactly what He is doing. The problem is with us and our inability to see beyond the present and our own limited perspective.

If you are the kind of person who has to have everything spelled out for you ahead of time before you’ll move on God’s will, you’re not going to go far in the Christian life. The name of the game is trust. Though that is certainly a tall order, it is what God requires. Characteristically, God gives Ananias just enough information to reassure him of His intent, then He says "go."

Keep in mind that Saul is still blind from the brilliant light on the road, he has been praying and fasting for parts of three days, and he has seen a vision of Ananias coming and laying hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

We need to stop there and make some determinations. Let’s deal first with the issue of the Holy Spirit that this brings up. According to verse 17, Ananias was sent to Saul for two reasons: 1) So that he could regain his sight and 2) So he could be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ananias laid hands on Saul so that he could regain his sight. It doesn’t say that here, but it does back in verse 12 that I’ve already pointed out to you. Ananias was simply using his gift of healing. As to the part about being filled with the Holy Spirit, it seems that happened when he was baptized, just as it does in every believer according to Acts 2:38.

There are three different measures of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament. There is the baptism of the Holy Spirit received by the Apostles on Pentecost as described in Acts 2. That event was accompanied by spectacular and noticeable miracles. I don’t see that happening here. No rushing wind sounds, no speaking in tongues. Then there was the miraculous gifts measure. That involved the laying on of Apostles’ hands to pass on miraculous gifts. The clearest picture of it is probably Acts 8. I don’t see that happening here. Ananias wasn’t an Apostle and Saul didn’t do any miracles at this point. Third, there was the indwelling measure of the Holy Spirit promised to every believer in Acts 2:38-39.

Some have suggested that since verse 18 says Saul "arose and was baptized," that baptism of the Holy Spirit is what was in Luke’s mind. I don’t think so because in the description of this same event in Acts 22:16, it says that Saul was told, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins..." Baptism of the Holy Spirit is nowhere connected up with the forgiveness of sins, while baptism in water is. If Saul received the baptism of the Holy Spirit like the Apostles on Pentecost in Acts 2 it must have happened at a later time than this.

Now a question: When was Saul saved? Was it before his baptism or after? The answer to that question is very important to our understanding of salvation and enters a very controversial area, so please listen up.

Let’s break the question down into parts. First, was Saul saved before Ananias came on the scene? Some say he was as I pointed out in the last message because he called Jesus "Lord" in verse 5 of this chapter. That cannot be true, however, because Saul didn’t even know who he was speaking to when he called Jesus "Lord." You cannot be converted to Jesus if you don’t know who Jesus is! As I showed you in the last message, the word "Lord" there could just as well be translated "Sir."

Second, was Saul saved by the time Ananias came to him three days later? There are those who believe he was based on the fact that Saul called Ananias "brother" in verse 17.

Certainly Ananias wouldn’t have called Saul ‘brother’ if he weren’t a Christian, would he?

Sure he would. The term "brother" and its plural form, "brethren" was a common salutation among the Jews of the first century, Christian or non-Christian. Both Ananias and Saul were Jews. (If you’d like to check me on that, I would direct you to Acts 2:37; Acts 22:1; and Acts 23:6 as examples.)

Ananias wasn’t referring to Saul as a Christian brother. He was referring to him as a Jewish brother, using the common salutation of the day.

There is even more conclusive evidence than this however, that Saul wasn’t saved at this point. Remember, this isn’t the only place where Saul’s conversion is described. It appears in three other places. One of those is Acts 22. There we read this same story from Saul’s (Paul’s) perspective as he made his defense before the Jews at Jerusalem.

Considering Paul’s words here, was he saved when Ananias called him "brother?" No, because verse 16 implies he was still in his sin. A person isn’t saved before his sins are forgiven. Forgiveness of sins is what salvation is all about! Notice also the manner in which the sins were washed away: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins…."

If the washing away of Saul’s sins came at his baptism how could it be said he was saved before he was baptized?

But there is one more point we need to deal with. Verse 16 says, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name." Some say that he was saved at the point he called on His name and that this had nothing to do with his baptism. Again, if this were the only passage that we had to deal with, perhaps such a conclusion might have some merit. But it isn’t. Join me in 1 Peter 3:21 for a moment. Speaking of the water of the flood that saved Noah and his family, and comparing it to water baptism Peter says, "And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…."

Notice what Peter says baptism does and what it is. What baptism does is that it saves us. Those are not my words. They are Peter’s. No, it’s not something mysterious or magical about the water. Baptism saves us because of what it is. Peter says baptism is "an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ...." Baptism is the point at which the penitent sinner appeals to God or, as Ananias put it, baptism is the point at which a person "calls on the name of the Lord."

When Ananias told Saul back in Acts 22:16, "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name," he was equating the being baptized with the calling on His Name. Therefore, baptism is the manner in which we call upon the Name of the Lord. As Peter put it, baptism is our "appeal to God for a good conscience..."

Quite significantly, there is no "Sinners Prayer" in any of the accounts of Saul’s conversion. Rather, we find a penitent man who is baptized for the remission of his sins just like the 3000 on Pentecost in Acts 2.

There is a lot not said in verse 19. Luke mentions nothing of the difficulty the disciples had in accepting this former persecutor into their fellowship. Maybe it was easier for the Christians in Damascus to accept Saul than it would be for those in Jerusalem. Let’s peek ahead to Saul’s return to Jerusalem to see how it went.

Can you blame them? We’ll have to leave an involved discussion of this for another time. Let me just say here that it is neither easy nor automatic for Christians to forgive and accept someone who has hurt them deeply. It takes time. There is often a struggle. Yes, when the sinner repents, forgiveness is necessary, even commanded. But even after forgiveness is granted, there has to be time to rebuild trust. The person forgiven must get right to work proving his sincerity and determination to change. The way Saul did that is described in verse 20:

Saul went right out and started preaching Jesus as the Son of God with the same zeal and determination he had when he persecuted the followers of Jesus. That would prove to be a dangerous thing for him, but the Christians ultimately came to trust him.

This is our first glimpse of the "after" picture of Saul. Saul did what every new Christians should do and continue doing after conversion: He began to tell others about Jesus and he "kept increasing in strength...." In other words, he grew. He got stronger in the word. His conversion wasn’t the end of his involvement with God. It was the beginning.

That person who has a conversion experience and then disappears from the church, never to be heard of again, thinking that he now has his preparation for eternity all taken care of and he need no longer think about is deluded. Conversion is the beginning of a life of growth and change, not something done once and then forgotten.

Of course, Saul went on to become Paul the Apostle. He spread Christianity far and wide across the Gentile world. The same zeal he had once unleashed on the church was now brought against the strongholds of Satan. God, working through the man who once was a killer of Christians, would now use that same man to save many.

Soon after surrendering his life to Christ, fourth century bishop and theologian, Augustine, was walking down the street in Milan, Italy. As he rounded a corner, he met a prostitute whom he had known and been involved with before his conversion to Christ. She called out to him as she had done many times before, but he would not answer. He kept right on walking. "Augustine," she called again, "It is I!" Without slowing down, he answered, "Yes, but it is no longer I." Another contrasting snapshot.

Paul the Apostle, years later would write the following words in Galatians 2:20 as he reflected on his own conversion and the difference between what he was before and after:

In a sense, as we who are Christians consider the "before" and "after" snapshots of our own lives, we should, in time, be able to say something similar. Looking at that old "before" picture, our words might be "I’m not that person anymore. It is not longer I...."

Footnotes: Please use your back button to return to your place.

1. 1 Corinthians 12:9
2. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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