We’re going to talk about Paul’s testimony of conversion today. So let’s open up our Bibles to Acts 9. We’ve been in a series in Acts. I’m just going to read the first 19 verses of this great story. It’s a story of conversion and that’s the theme today. It’s the biblical doctrine of conversion, the experience of conversion. The Apostle Paul’s name is still Saul here in Acts 9.

1 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 shone 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.

May God encourage us today through His Word!

Conversion stories often bring tears of joy to my eyes when I hear them. A biblical conversion story always begins with the person describing how they began their life separated from God. That’s where we all begin life. Some people experience this time of separation from God filled with many willful and enslaving sins. Some tell stories of a life filled with sexual immorality or drug abuse or violence or cursing. Others describe this separation from God in their lives as being sort of a pursuit of a moral life, a pursuit of religion, a pursuit of perhaps improvement through education and just being a good neighbor. But nonetheless, in every conversion story, we begin with a realization of our need because we are separated from God. There is a conflict that our sin creates between us and God. As a result, in genuine conversion, we come to realize, “my life is off track. I am living life without God.” That means living life without hope, without purpose, without true worship, without a security of heaven when I die. I need something to happen.

Then that conversion story is informed by the Gospel. That person, in their desperation and in their need, discovers Christ as being the all-consuming, life-giving Messiah that He is. In seeing Jesus as a good and great Savior in that conversion story, it sort of brings itself to a climactic moment when that person embraces Christ. They turn from sin and they embrace Jesus Christ for themselves. They experience for themselves, this joy of the new life that Jesus provides.

So this conversion story, if it’s biblical, it’s not merely a story of a moral reformation. It’s not merely sort of a change in doctrinal understanding. It’s not certainly a change in sort of church membership. But this conversion becomes a catalyst for transformation of every part of life. So one’s thoughts now become taken captive by Jesus. One’s affections now are directed toward Jesus. One’s will is placed under and submitted to Jesus. Everything changes in conversion.

I never tire of hearing these stories because they point us to the heart of the Gospel experience. They point us to God as the worker of miracles. These are not just sort of miracles in the world abroad, but a miracle in our own life. They point us to the Gospel and to Jesus as saving and delivering us from hopelessness, from darkness, from condemnation. They point us to the glorious grace of God in the face of Jesus. So I want to ask you at the outset as we consider this matter of conversion, do you have a conversion story?

We don’t need to have a dramatic conversion story, the kind that are written in books or even the kind here that is described in Acts 9 with some of the external drama that is associated with some of those stories. But we need to have a dramatic story in that there has been radical life change as the result of our connection to Jesus through faith. So I want to ask you again to look into your own life and ask do I have a story of personal conversion? You see, without personal conversion you can’t enter heaven. Only through personal conversion can we know God and enjoy Him now and forever and ever and ever.

This morning we open up our Bible’s to Acts 9 where we read the story of the conversion of this man by the name of Saul of Tarsus. He once was a hate-filled enemy of Jesus and through conversion he becomes the most effective witness for Jesus that the world has ever known. How indebted we are to this conversion story! From a human standpoint, we might reason that were it not for the conversion of Saul, most of us here today would not have heard the Gospel of Jesus because Saul becomes the instrument that God chooses to bring the Gospel to the western world. Now, of course God is sovereign and the Lord could have raised up another instrument. But the point is, that God uses in a dramatic way, the conversion of Saul to profoundly impact our relationship with God even to this day. So important is Saul’s conversion story that Luke, in this one book, the book of Acts, elects to write it and describe it three different times. It is here in Acts 9, then in Acts 22, and then we’ll see it again in Acts 26.

So as we think about biblical conversion, we first want to ask, what is it? Here’s my definition. Conversion is the gracious work of God in calling a sinner to Christ resulting in the sinner confessing Jesus as Savior and committing to follow Jesus as Lord. So it begins with God. It’s a gracious work of calling a person, convicting of sin and revealing the greatness of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ. Then when that person hears the call of God and sees the greatness of Christ, they then turn from sin and they believe in Him. They embrace Him by faith. So conversion describes this transformation, this effect of a person turning from sin and turning toward God through Jesus Christ. One of the matters that this story teaches us regarding conversion is of its necessity.

The Necessity of Conversion

The story teaches us of its absolute necessity for every person. Jesus taught His disciples the absolute necessity of conversion prior to Acts 9. For instance, in Matthew 18, Jesus says

Matthew 18:3 NKJV Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

He emphasizes “by no means.” There are no other means other than conversion. Unless you are converted, become like little children, humble, repentant, trusting in Christ, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Peter captures this important doctrine in his sermon in Acts 3 when he says

Acts 3:19 NKJV Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Repentance is what is needed in every person’s life; repentance and being converted, experiencing personal conversion. The idea is that without conversion then there is no blotting out of sins. There are no times of refreshing that come from the Lord. The truth of the Gospel is that our sins are forgiven when we experience biblical conversion. If we have not experienced conversion, we have not been forgiven of our sins.

When Paul and Barnabas defend the legitimacy of the Gentiles inclusion in God’s saving covenant in Acts 15, they point us to conversion as the evidence that Gentiles too, receive the blessings of God’s forgiveness, the blessings of new life, the blessings of this community that God is creating for worship. So in Acts 15:3, Luke describes it this way. He’s talking about Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 15:3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

He wants their fellow Jewish brothers and sisters to know that these Gentiles are now part of God’s family, even as they are. So what is the evidence that they’re bringing? They bring the evidence of these stories. They’re telling these stories in detail, of the Gentiles turning from sin and turning to Christ by the grace of God.

We know that God rejoices in conversion stories because He tells so many of them in His Book. I think of Zacchaeus and the woman at the well and the thief on the cross and the Ethiopian eunuch and the Philippian jailor, just to name a few. These are stories God prints for our benefit in His Book, highlighting the necessity of conversion. As we open up our Bibles to Acts 9, we discover this amazing conversion story of Saul.

Do you remember Saul? We learned about him beginning in Acts 7. He is a young man and he is watching over the process of executing Stephen by stoning. He wants to be of assistance to these guys who were executing Stephen, so he offers to watch over their clothes. They’re taking off some of their robes because without these robes, they’re able to pick up heavier rocks and throw them harder at Stephen. They take off their robes and they lay them at Saul’s feet so that they won’t get stepped on, so that they won’t get stolen. Saul is actively participating in this whole execution of this righteous man who just simply believes in Jesus and is preaching Him. In Acts 8 it says

Acts 8:1 And Saul approved of his execution.

We get the idea that Saul smiles with each wretched rock that bounces off of Stephen’s body. We get the idea that Saul is just clapping inwardly with joy with each new open, bloody wound that appears upon Stephen. Even as he falls to the ground, there is a smile. This is Saul of Tarsus. This event, the execution of Stephen lights a fire of religious zeal inside of Saul. He thinks this is what God wants to have happen. So he sees his life mission now is to simply terrorize every person who raises their hand and says, “I’m a follower of Jesus.” So in Acts 8:3 we read

Acts 8:3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

This becomes the focal point of his life now. Acts 9 opens by telling us that this zeal to persecute believers is not a passing fancy for Saul. It’s not as though he went a few days and then got tired of it and moved on. But it becomes all-consuming and an enduring commitment.

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,

He is still doing it. This is days, weeks, months after. He is still breathing threats. Now he

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.

Remember, as persecution breaks out among the believers in Jesus who are living in Jerusalem, they begin to scatter. They say, “We have to find safer places to live.” So they’re scattering. What Saul is realizing is that there are fewer fish in this lake. I want to go to another lake to fish where there are more fish. A whole bunch of them have left 150 miles up north to Damascus. This is present day Syria. So he says, “High priest, would you give me some letters so I can communicate to the elders in the synagogue up in Syria that I’m on official mission? I’ll go up there and I’ll start gathering up believers in Jesus and I’ll bring them back bound to Jerusalem, where we can try them, imprison them and execute them.” That’s his passion. That’s where he is when this story takes place.

I believe God gives us such detail of Saul’s life prior to conversion so that we would see the utter impossibility that such a one could ever be converted. There are no believers coming to Saul and saying, “Saul, I think you misunderstood. Let’s talk about the Gospel.” There are no believers doing that because they know what would happen. They are scattering from him. In fact, later, when he actually is converted, the church is like, “I don’t know. I don’t know if he’s safe. I don’t know if this is some kind of trick that he is playing on us. This is not a trustworthy guy. Have you heard what he has done?” They’ve known the people whom he has done this to. So from a human standpoint, we’re saying this guy is the last guy on earth who would ever be converted to follow Jesus. Yet if Saul is to possess eternal life, he must be converted. It’s an absolute necessity to anyone who would have their sins forgiven. To Saul, to me, to you, it’s absolutely essential. Apart from conversion, there is no forgiveness of sins. There is no entrance into God’s heaven.

From the God-side of conversion, the Bible teaches us that conversion is completely a work of God’s grace. That’s to say that no one can convert themselves. This story doesn’t begin with Saul sort of reflecting on his life and saying, “I think my life is kind of messed up. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but I think I need a change. Maybe I should pursue God for the change.” That’s not where this story starts. This is a guy who is completely satisfied with his life and has found meaning and purpose in chasing after Christians to imprison them. That’s where he is when God meets him on this road. No one can convert themselves. Conversion is always a supernatural work of God’s grace.

Why can’t we convert ourselves? Why can’t we make this change and simply turn from our sins and believe in Jesus just in our own power? There are two characteristics of our natural condition that we see in Saul that are true of every one of us. These two natural conditions will keep us from being able to bring about conversion in our own power. They will keep us from turning from our sin. They will keep us from turning toward Christ.

The first characteristic is that by nature, we believe that we are okay with God right now simply the way we are. Our natural self refuses to believe that we have sinned so badly so as to deserve eternal punishment in hell. If we do believe that our sins are worthy of judgment, we then believe that somehow we’ll be able to make amends for those sins. We believe that somehow, through some efforts, whether it’s goodness or religious activity or loving our neighbor, whatever it is, there is some way, surely, that I can balance out these scales so that the things I’ve done wrong. There may be an admission in the natural heart of having done wrong. But somehow, I’m going to be able to balance out the scales. That’s my hope anyway. That’s what the natural heart always runs to.

Saul certainly thought so! He thought his attention to the Law of God and his zeal for God would certainly earn him a spot in heaven. Our pride can’t let go of the hope that we are the solution to our spiritual problem. Yet God in His Word constantly reminds us of our absolute inability to work our own way out of our sin problem. Yet despite all the times that God brings this to our attention, our flesh just simply says, “I’m not going to listen. I’m not going to listen deeply to that.” We turn from it.

Saul was a man who was a Pharisee to Pharisees. That’s how he described himself. He was taught by the best teacher of the Scripture, of the Bible, in the world at that time. He was taught by a man by the name of Gamaliel. He would have memorized more Scripture than any of us. So as far as meditation and memorization of Scripture, I don’t think there is anyone I’ve ever known that has memorized as much Scripture prior to conversion as Saul did. Saul, for instance, would have memorized Psalm 53. In Psalm 53, God clearly states

Psalm 53:2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

He looks down from heaven to see if there are any who understand who God is and what He requires. The answer is no. There is no one. God looks down and asks “Is there anyone who seeks after me, who really in their hearts wants a life that submits to me?” Here is God’s answer to those questions to his search.

Psalm 53:3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

There are no exceptions! Saul would have read this, and yet, he is living as though he is the exception because that’s what our natural flesh does. We think that somehow it’s going to work out. We just have to believe that. Isaiah says

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

Saul would have memorized this verse. What God is saying is “You take the best that you think you’re going to barter with me in order to gain merit, in order to gain acceptance, gain forgiveness. You take the best of the best of your righteousness and when you bring it to me, it’s like a filthy, stinking rag that is soiled. It actually is an offense that you’re bringing it to me. So not only does it not have any merit and no currency value to me, but it actually is a negative. When you bring it to me, it actually disturbs me. It’s like a filthy rag. Get it out of my sight!” So here’s the truth that the Gospel brings to us. God is not impressed with my righteousness. He simply isn’t.

The second characteristic about our natural condition that keeps us from turning from sin and following Jesus on our own is that we are willfully blind to God’s truth about Jesus. Saul for all of his Bible study thought of Jesus as a fraud. He had read all the Scriptures prophesying the Messiah to come. Jesus fulfilled all of these, or at least most of them in His first coming. He was lining up with these prophecies even in His death, burial and resurrection. Yet, for all of the knowledge that Saul had of these prophecies, he looks at Jesus and he sees nothing but a fraud. He sees the Gospel, the good news that Jesus preaches, as the great big lie.

Remember that Paul listened to Stephen deliver an amazing message filled with Scripture about Jesus being the Righteous One, the Messiah whom God sent to bring salvation. He listened to that message and it only stirred more hardness, more unbelief in his soul. How might we explain such profound spiritual unbelief from one who was so learned, who was so moral, who was so religious and who had such advantage of hearing the Gospel spoken? How do we explain that unbelief, that hardness, that blindness? The answer that Paul later is going to give is that Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. To the church at Corinth, Paul is going to later write

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

There is a spiritual blindness that naturally is set upon our soul and that is empowered by Satan that keeps a person from looking at Christ and seeing anything of value, anything of worth, anything worth embracing. How does a blind man become free of his blindness? A blind man doesn’t have access to simply will himself to see. There must be some action taken from the outside upon him. In this case, it’s the action of a miracle to open eyes that are permanently blinded in an absolute sort of desolate way. That work must be a work of God’s supernatural power or eyes that are blind simply will never see Christ for who He is.

The Christian life begins with conversion. From the God side of the conversion, the Bible teaches us that conversion is completely a work of grace. No one can convert themselves. But from the human side of conversion, God holds us responsible for our refusal to repent of our sin, for our refusal to believe in Jesus, for the hardness of our hearts. Our blindness is a willful blindness. We want to remain blind. That’s why it’s important for us, if we’re seeking conversion and if we’re helping others to find conversion, to bring the Gospel call of God to our own souls and to others’ lives. Here’s the Gospel call in Isaiah 55.

Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found;

Get active!

Isaiah 55:6 …call upon him while he is near;

If He’s prompting your heart then call upon Him now. Don’t wait until tomorrow.

Isaiah 55:7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,

That’s what the Lord does. Everyone who turns to Him, everyone who truly seeks Him as a result of His own gracious work, God has compassion on every one, regardless of what the sins of the past have been.

Isaiah 55:7 and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

That is the hope of the Gospel. It’s the promise of the good news. So conversion is absolutely necessary if we are to have sins forgiven, if we are to have life with God. But now let’s talk about

The Experience of Conversion

Saul’s experience now with God through conversion is very interesting. Some of the details of Saul’s conversion will be very different from yours and my experience, but the core of his experience, every person who is converted experiences.

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Again, conversion begins with God. God calls Saul to Himself. Keep in mind that Saul is not seeking God when God meets him. In fact, Saul is actively resisting God. He is actively opposing God when God stops him in his tracks on his way to Damascus. The Gospel truth is that our salvation always begins with God’s initiative and not ours. It’s not as though Saul on his way was starting to get convicted about what he had been doing and the cruelty that he had been imposing upon believers. He didn’t say, “Maybe I shouldn’t be doing it that way. Maybe I should talk to God or read the Bible or find out what God would have me to do.” Those are not his thoughts at all. His thoughts are, “I’m on my way to Damascus to capture some Christians. This is going to be great! I’m going to bind them up and I’m going to take them back to Jerusalem, where they’re going to be tried, imprisoned, or executed. Either way, this is fantastic!” That’s where he is. He is opposing Jesus. Yet right there, God stops him. In the midst of his heart of opposition to Christ, God in grace reaches down to redeem him, to bring conversion to his soul. Now, few are called in the same manner as Saul. God sent a light from heaven to physically blind him and God spoke with an audible voice. But if you are converted it’s because God called you when you were not seeking Him.

What causes our conversion? Again, from a human standpoint, as we experience it, we might point to a witness of a friend. We might point to a sermon we listened to. We might point to some trial that humbled us or some Bible verse that God revealed to us in our reading. These are wonderful instruments that God uses to bring the Gospel to our hearts. But the cause of our conversion is always the grace of God working in a hard heart that is blind to God’s glory. In this way, it removes all cause for boasting and it causes us when we experience it, to bring all praise and honor to God who rescues us even in the midst of our own rebellion.

What strikes me most in this story is Saul’s complete resistance to Christ and God’s sovereign grace pushing through Saul’s opposition and resistance to bring Saul to faith. We see Jesus deciding to save Saul before we see Saul deciding to ask Jesus to save him. Do you catch that? Right away He says this is the purpose. I’m going to make you an instrument in my hands to bring the Gospel to the Gentile world. That’s God’s purpose and God fulfills every purpose that He embraces. How does He do this? Well, He asks Saul a question.

4 … “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

That question pierces Saul’s hard heart with conviction.

4 … “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

I love the story of a Sunday School teacher. God bless Sunday School teachers! You have a special stewardship in training up young people with the Gospel of Christ and attending and caring for souls. There was a Sunday School teacher and he was teaching a lesson of the Gospel. He asked the question of the second graders, “What part in your own salvation did you play?” Johnny was all excited because he had the answer. He raised his hand and raised his hand. “Okay, Johnny.” Johnny says, “Well, I did my part and then God did His part.” The Sunday School teacher is thinking, what do you do when you have an answer that is not orthodox and not right? He did what was right. Instead of correcting him, he asked another follow-up question. He says, “Well Johnny, what was your part and what was God’s part?” Johnny smiled and he said, “My part was the sinning and God’s part was the saving.” (Laughter!) Isn’t that great?! That is exactly our part. If you want to say I did my part in the salvation, my part was the sinning. I was the one that got myself in trouble. I’m totally responsible for that. God’s part, He deserves all the credit. It’s all of grace. He was the one that did the saving from beginning to end. He sought me out when I was not seeking Him and He rescued me.

The Apostle Paul, I think all of his life and his letters reflect this if you think of his testimony of conversion and what he writes later about salvation, this is a theme that rolls through almost every book that he writes. One of those passages is in Philippians. The Apostle Paul is talking about how now his life is all about Christ. He’s pressing on to know Christ more and more. He has received this salvation, but now he wants to enjoy it to its fullness. So he is pressing on to receive all the benefits that his salvation would bring him now and forever. So he says

Philippians 3:12 NIV I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Do you catch that? He says, “I’m actively pursuing to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of me.” Who is the actor? Christ Jesus has taken hold of me. That word actually means apprehended. What’s ironic here is what is Saul doing on his way to Damascus? He’s on his way to take hold of, apprehend Christians, bind them up and put them in prison. He says, “While I was in the midst of pursuing, apprehending, taking hold of Christians, Christ Jesus apprehended and took hold of me and now I’m His prisoner for His glory, for His honor.” Beloved, if we are converted, it’s because Christ Jesus has taken hold of us by His grace.

The reason why this is so important and so encouraging, it’s important and encouraging for a number of reasons. But some people ask the question, “My life seems like it’s so far gone. I’ve already stepped down that road of sin so far that I’m not sure if there is any hope for me anymore. I feel dead to God.” Well, you always were dead to God. Here is the truth of the Gospel. If there is to be conversion, if there is to be change, it’s because of God’s grace. And guess what? God’s grace offers that. So the answer is absolutely yes, there is hope. If you’re wondering if there is hope for you, regardless of what the past has been, the answer is yes, yes, a thousand times, yes, because God’s grace is sufficient.

Now please do not misunderstand. God does not crash through the gates of our human will in a manner that forces us against our will to believe in Jesus. That’s not what I’m saying. Rather, God acts so that our wills are softened and changed so that we joyfully turn from sin and toward Christ. God acts to open up our eyes to see in Christ what we never saw before, that He is the person of infinite value, all value, and that we would run to Him because we desire the value that He offers us. The first matter Jesus speaks to Saul is about the sinfulness of his sin.

4 … “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Saul previously thought his life was absolutely righteous. If you asked him, “Are you obedient to the Law?” His answer would be, “Absolutely! I’m obedient to God’s Law. I’m fulfilling God’s requirements.” His world told him that he was doing something that was good and noble. All the other religious leaders were saying, “Keep going! This is fantastic!” But now that he’s listening to Jesus describe his life, Jesus describe his behavior, Jesus describe his heart, suddenly he has a different view of his sin. That’s what Jesus does. That’s where conversion is.

As long as you listen to the world tell you about your behavior and your thoughts and your life and your actions, you’ll never be convicted of sin. Because the world always says, “Everybody messes up. And by the way, look at all the reasons why you’re acting that way. There was somebody in your past. There is somebody in your culture, some other group over here. That’s the reason why you’re acting the way you are. Here are some ways to have some therapy to kind of just sort of manage that better.” Beloved, if you’re wondering if you have experienced personal conversion, the first place to begin is listening to what Jesus says about your sin. If we listen to the world tell us about our sin we will never be converted. It wasn’t until Saul like a razor, because of God’s grace, heard Jesus say,

4 … “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

That’s what this is. Suddenly Saul realized that “This Jesus who I thought was dead and gone is actually alive. If He’s alive, then He is who He claimed to be, which is the Judge of all the earth. I am going to stand before Him one day and give an account to Him of my life. I’ve been persecuting, I’ve been opposing the king of glory!” Like a surgeon’s scalpel, it cut to his heart in order to bring healing.

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.

Now he is blinded. His eyes are open, but he can’t see physically.

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.

He is consumed by this experience of conversion and he needs another person to come alongside him to help him. So God sends Ananias, this believer, this follower of Christ, to meet Saul and lay hands on him, to minister to him. At first, Ananias initially resists God’s call upon his life to come alongside Saul because Saul is a Christian-slayer.

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.

So this guy is going to make an impact on the whole world. So then we read

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.

If you are converted, you have experienced something of what Saul is experiencing here in this story. If you’re converted, at some point Jesus meets you and points to you your sin and its sinfulness. He points out that you’re not prepared to stand before the infinite, righteous Judge, the one who sees all and knows all and will lay everything wide open and announce it thoroughly before all. That’s convicting. But the Gospel doesn’t narrow us into this dark corner. In bringing us to the corner, it’s so that we would open the door and see the Savior who is able and willing to bring forgiveness and to bring life and to bring a relationship with God so that we would enjoy Him now and forever and ever. Saul is a changed man because of conversion. It’s a work that is a miracle of God’s grace through Christ. This conversion brings him into a whole new identity.

I want you to observe in this story the terms that are used to describe a Christian because this is very interesting. What conversion does is it doesn’t just sort of reform our morality or change some of our liturgy and our religious activities. It changes everything about us. Our whole person is made new. Paul will later describe old things are passed away. Everything becomes new. So in this one story, there is a number of ways that God uses to describe Christians that will help us understand this change of identity.

Look at verse 1. Christians are described as “disciples of the Lord.” They are people who follow Jesus. That’s a whole new identity. They’re no longer following their own way. They’re following a new master, Jesus.

Then in verse 2 they are people “belonging to the Way.” Jesus taught that the way that leads to life is narrow and few there are who are on that path. But these people, they’re the ones that are on that path. They’re not on the wide road that leads to destruction. They’re on this narrow path. They’re not in the majority, in other words, and they’re committed to this path, the Way.

Then look at verse 13. They’re called “saints.” Of course we’re sinners. That’s where we all begin. But there is such a transformation that when we stand before God, we stand before Him faultless. We stand before Him as absolute saints because the righteousness of Jesus is applied to us. It’s amazing!

In verse 14 they’re called people “who call on your Name.” In other words, they are people who are looking to Christ and Christ alone for life, for guidance, for truth. They call on your name.

I love verse 17. Ananias immediately, because he believes in the effectiveness of conversion, he calls Saul, “Brother Saul.” We’re brought into a new family. God is now our Father and everyone else who is adopted in the family are brothers and sisters. There is a whole new identity, a whole new family, a whole new reality that takes place.

So I want to ask you again, have you experienced conversion personally? It’s the most important question that anyone could possibly answer. If you say, “I’m not sure,” I would say call upon Jesus to do this work. God listens to our cry. If you cry out, “God, I need you to do a work. I can’t refashion my own heart. I trust Jesus though, and I believe He can fashion my own heart. I need Him to. Would you have mercy upon me?” If you call upon the name of the Lord, God promises to do this work. That can happen now.

If you say, “Yes, I have a conversion story. I have experienced conversion personally,” I want to give two applications. First, think clearly about your conversion story. I know everyone is different. You don’t have to have a date or a day or a week or a month or you know all the details. A conversion story simply says, “Here’s where I started off in life. I was going my own way and at some point, I came to realize that my sin was standing in between me and God. There was a separation between me and God and I didn’t know God. I needed to know God and I needed to have forgiveness of sin. I wanted to have security of heaven forever. But more than that, I want to have a real relationship with God, who is the author of life. God showed me Jesus and I embraced Him. I turned to Him. I trusted Him as my Savior, as my Lord. Now my life is about following Him.” That’s a conversion story. There may be a lot of different details that you would describe, but that’s the essence of a conversion story. Think clearly about your story, as clearly as you can. I know some of those details aren’t clear and that’s okay. But as clearly as you can, take some time and say, “I want to be confirmed that God has done this work and I want to think clearly about my story.”

The second application is to tell your conversion story and tell it often. That’s why you have to think clearly about it; so you can tell it. But tell your conversion story. It is meant to be one of the most powerful tools you have to open doors to share the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s not just a doctrine. It’s not a church. It’s not a denomination. That’s not what I’m talking about. Let me tell you how Jesus changed my life. Guess what? People start leaning in. Let me tell you what Jesus has done for me. He’s changed my life! They’ll start leaning in.

I’ve had the privilege of doing a lot of funerals over the years. One of the things I’ll often do when an older saint dies is I’ll talk to their children. Oftentimes I’ll ask, “Hey, tell me your mom or your dad’s conversion story. I know that they have professed Christ. Tell me their story.” A lot of times, the children look at me and say, “I’m not sure about it.” Moms and dads, I want to tell you, it is a tragedy if your children live with you day in and day out and they do not hear your conversion story. They need to hear it over and over and over again so that they would know the transforming nature of the Gospel applied in your life. Is it possible that if someone else were to ask your children today, “Tell me your mom and your dad’s conversion story,” would they be able to tell it? Or would they say, “I don’t know exactly. I know they believe in Jesus, but I don’t know anything about it.” I would say to moms and dads, make it your mission this week to share your conversion story with your children, with one another, with your brothers and sisters, with your mom and dad, so that it becomes absolutely clear and it becomes an encouragement. I love hearing conversion stories! It always strengthens my faith. It strengthens the church. The last issue I want to talk about is

The Transformation of Conversion

We’re going to go through this rather quickly, but there are four changes that Paul experiences that accompany his salvation. These four changes accompany ours, too.

A new conversation.

In other words, there is a whole new real relationship with God. At the end of verse 11, Ananias is told

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,

Then here is the description that comforts Ananias that Saul is genuinely born again. He is genuinely a child of God. He is genuinely converted. What’s the description?

for behold, he is praying,

I love that! Now, Saul is a religious man. He prayed a lot of prayers all throughout his life. But he has never prayed like he is praying here. Suddenly, God is his Father and he’s calling out “Abba, Father,” because the spirit of adoption is now in him. He is praying. He is praying in a real way to the real God, calling out. “I’m blind. I want to see. God, what are you doing? I’ve sinned against you. I’ve persecuted your church.” He has all this conviction. “Forgive me. Help me to rise up so that I could serve you.” We don’t know the exact content, but we know he is praying. He is conversing with God. You see, where there is no conversion, relationship is broken and prayer is absolutely impossible. The moment there is conversion, reconciliation takes place and now prayer explodes in the life of the one who says, “I’ve never known God. This is like a whole new relationship and I want to talk with God.” So prayer is one of the changes that conversion creates in the heart of a man or a woman.

A new family.

The converted life is a life of active communion with God. But now a new family. Again, look at verse 17.

17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him

He is convinced of the genuineness of his conversion.

he said, “Brother Saul,

The converted life is a life of active communion with other believers. Look at the end of verse 19.

19 For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.

He is with other brothers and sisters. Paul hated these folks prior to this day. But now he loves them. He loves them to such an extent that they are brothers and sisters. He’s their family. Conversion doesn’t isolate him in an individual relationship to God. Conversion includes him in this whole new family, this whole new community, this whole new fellowship.

A new boldness.

There is a new mission in life.

20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Paul’s witness for Jesus begins at his conversion and it carries on throughout his life. But it begins right away. The converted life is a life of bold witness for Jesus. Here’s the issue. Oftentimes, it is new believers in the church that don’t know yet that they’re supposed to be a little more quiet and demure about telling others about Jesus. They don’t know that yet. They haven’t been in the church long enough to know that they shouldn’t be acting like a crazy person who is always talking about Jesus. So they’re always talking about Jesus. Why is that? It’s because they’ve experienced conversion. They’ve seen Jesus for the glorious Savior that He is and they’re excited about it. They can’t keep it quiet! Beloved, the whole church ought to be this way. Maturity ought not to lessen our zeal and our boldness. It ought to increase it. So what do we need? We need a supernatural work. We need conversion and then we need to feed that converted life with all of these means of grace that God gives us, part of which is just us being together and spurring one another on to our witness.

A new suffering.

Paul’s conversion transformed him from being the hunter to being the hunted. He knew very well that this would happen. Saul has been in these meetings where they discuss “how are we going to capture the Christians and what are we going to do to them?” He knows the mentality. He knows the mindset. He knows that just because he steps out and becomes a Christian, the group is not going to say, “Well, Saul is not here any longer. I guess we’re going to give up. We don’t need to be hateful anymore.” That’s not going to happen. He knows that group is just going to now come at him with a fury. Yet, what does he do? He continues in the faith. He says it’s worth dying for. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I’m willing to suffer. That’s the nature of conversion. Yes, I’m going to take some hits. It might be economic. It might be friends. It might be family. I’m simply willing to suffer because Christ suffered for me and He died in my place and He gives me life. There isn’t any other life apart from Him. That’s what I know. The worst that they can do is kill my body, which only means eternal heaven and joy. So I’m going to follow Jesus.

I do believe the converted life is a life of suffering for Jesus. I believe this is a truth that often has been a bit removed from the experience of Christians in America because of good things, of blessings. We’ve been in a country where there have been a lot of other Christians, in a country that has entered into freedom and those kinds of things. I believe it’s right now, unless there is revival, and I pray for revival, it’s a country that’s turning. It’s a community that’s turning. I believe we as Christians need to be ready for what we always should have been ready for, which is suffering. We need to train up our children to be ready for suffering so that they can follow Jesus and have eternal life. That’s what conversion does.

So again, I want to close by asking the same questions I asked. First, have you experienced conversion personally? That’s the most important question you could discern for yourself. If so, there are two applications. Think clearly about your story. Do it today. Before you lay your head down tonight, I want to think my way clear about my conversion. If there is a lack of clarity and you want to talk to someone else, some elders, it’s a great joy to talk about conversion stories and to help gain some clarity by asking questions and being a listening ear. I love to do that. Other elders are here to do that as well. But think clearly about your story so that then you can tell your story and tell it often. Take some time to tell it to someone even today. Tell several people this week and see what God does. It’s an amazing story! Let’s tell it.