Take your Bibles and turn with me to Acts chapter 9. We’re going to take a brief interlude from the book of Romans, because I didn’t feel like I could continue preaching Romans without first laying down the foundational conversion that sets the foundation for the very book. So tonight we’re going to look at this historic Christian conversion.

And the conversion we’re going to study actually begins with the death of a Christian. The death of a Christian.

Back in Acts chapter 6, the church in Jerusalem had started, and the church was growing in number. Thousands and thousands of people had been baptized, and the apostles who were pastoring this church realized they had more on their plates than they could handle. So they went to the congregation and said, “Choose from among yourselves seven men” seven men full of the Spirit and full of wisdom, so they could attend to these things: managing the tables, the business of the church (Acts 6:1–6). This is the early framework of the deacons, the very first deacons in the church in Jerusalem.

Now, the first-round draft pick of the first seven of the first Christian church ever was a man named Stephen. The Bible says Stephen was full of God’s grace and full of his power (Acts 6:8). In addition to his duties as a deacon, Stephen was also a preacher, proclaiming the message of salvation and the word of God. And the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees we’ve been talking about, had a really big problem with that.

The Pharisees were Jewish lawyers who were hung up on the law. That’s where we’ve been in the book of Romans, speaking to the obsession with the law that these Pharisees and the Jewish establishment had. So they called Stephen into court and accused him of blasphemy (Acts 6:11–14). The high priest looked at him and asked, “Are these things true?” (Acts 7:1). And Stephen, the Bible says, with a face like an angel (Acts 6:15), just started preaching.

He preached this panoramic sermon, taking the entire Old Testament and showing them how every part of it pointed to their need for the Savior, that they were missing the point, and that they had always missed the point (Acts 7:2–53). Look at Jewish history: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and it is his death, burial, and resurrection that saves us. The people looked back at him gnashing their teeth, they were so angry (Acts 7:54). They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him to death (Acts 7:58). While Stephen was dying, he fixed his eyes on heaven and said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55–56). And he gave up his spirit (Acts 7:59–60).

Now, there was a man named Saul. This is where we’ll start today.

¹ Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. ² Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. ³ Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

-Acts 8:1–3 (CSB)

This man Saul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, a Hebrew of Hebrews (Philippians 3:5; Acts 23:6). He had studied under one of the most prominent Jewish teachers who ever lived, a teacher named Gamaliel (Acts 22:3; 5:34). And Saul hadn’t merely agreed with Stephen’s death. In the Greek, the word carries the idea of wholehearted approval for putting this man to death.[^1]

On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered. That word scattered in the Greek is the verb behind our word diaspora.[^2] It’s like the scattering of seed. How many people’s yards died this summer? Anybody? Anyone other than me? I guess I’m the only one. But when the yard dies, what do you do? You scatter seed on the ground, and eventually it takes and begins to grow. That’s exactly what happened to this church. They were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, and the gospel went with them (Acts 8:4).

Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. However, Saul was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison. These are some of the most intense words you can find in the Greek: the dragging away, the ravaging.[^3] And it only gets stronger.

After this paragraph in chapter 8, we get a brief interlude of what happened in Judea and Samaria through that diaspora, that scattering, and there was fruit. People were saved. Some acted like they were saved and weren’t (Acts 8:13, 18–23). There were encounters with the gospel, and God used all of it (Acts 8:5–40). But when we pick up in chapter 9, we’re back to Saul.

¹ Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest ² and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

-Acts 9:1–2 (CSB)

Intense words. It doesn’t get any stronger than this in the Greek language: the breathing out.[^4] It’s a snarling, hateful heart posture: threats and murder. These are awful words. He asked the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, an early name for Christians, since the word Christian had not yet entered the vocabulary (Acts 11:26; 19:9, 23; 24:14), he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Dragging them out of their houses by any means necessary, snarling the whole way, breathing out murder and threats, taking them from Damascus and dragging them back to Jerusalem.

³ As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said.

“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

-Acts 9:3–6 (CSB)

Remember when God created the heavens and the earth? “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Light existed before the sun (Genesis 1:14–16). And here God, in his Shekinah glory, shows up to this man named Saul as a blinding light.

Saul hears a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Remember, Saul was persecuting the churches. You may recall from our Revelation series that in Jesus’s letter to the church in Ephesus, he says he is the one who walks among the lampstands (Revelation 2:1), and the lampstands are the churches (Revelation 1:20). Jesus Christ is here among us. To persecute the church is to persecute Jesus Christ himself.

Saul responds, “Who are you, Lord?” There’s an immediate confirmation, Saul knows this is the Lord. And the Lord responds, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

One step at a time. It’s a picture of our faith. Remember that Abraham went out from the land he knew to a land he did not know (Genesis 12:1). The book of Hebrews tells us he went out not even knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). In your Christian life, especially when you first come to faith, you take the first step. You might not know what the next step is, but we keep pushing forward in faith.

⁷ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹ He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

-Acts 9:7–9 (CSB)

We have a map of this on the screen just to familiarize ourselves with where Saul was going. If any of you have been to the Holy Land, you can travel what many scholars believe was the route Saul would have taken up to Damascus. It would have been about a week’s journey on foot, roughly 150 miles.[^5] The Bible tells us this encounter with Jesus happened near the city, so we can estimate he was getting close but wasn’t quite there. Anyone who has hiked a few miles knows: walking 150 miles is a long journey.

And talk about a change of plans. Saul was going there intending to breathe out threats and murder, to gather people up, drag them from their homes, and take them back. And Saul ends up getting drug himself. You could say that’s a drug problem, right? He had to be led in by the hand, because he was a broken man.

Ananias: The Disciple God Sent

But let’s keep reading, because while Jesus is working on Saul, he’s also working on somebody else.

¹⁰ There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”

“Here I am, Lord,” he replied.

¹¹ “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

-Acts 9:10–12 (CSB)

Now, Straight Street is a street you can still visit today.[^6] All of these things we read about are there in this world right now. This is a real place, a real time, and a really significant event in the formation of God’s written word to us.

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

-Acts 9:13–14 (CSB)

Notice the authentic response from Ananias. Ananias was a Christian, a disciple, and he responds to the Lord’s call in an authentic, heartfelt way. He’s not trying to hide his feelings or his emotions before the Lord. He speaks to the Lord the way one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11), because our relationship with Jesus Christ is a personal relationship. By your faith, you are called a friend of God (James 2:23; John 15:15).

Ananias could have responded, “What? The guy who’s killing everybody and dragging everybody out, you want me to talk to him?” But he didn’t stop there, because he had the faith and the trust that wherever God directed his steps was exactly where he would go (Proverbs 16:9). And the Lord answers him with patience:

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

-Acts 9:15–16 (CSB)

That moment of conversion we’ve talked about, it makes no difference to the Lord in what condition you come to him. There are only two types of people in the world: those who are saved and those who are not saved. And Saul is moving from someone who is not saved to someone who is saved.

But the Christian life is not an easy life. It is a good life, but it is not an easy life. Saul will suffer because of his witness, because of his proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord (2 Corinthians 11:23–28). There will be suffering associated with what is about to happen to him.

¹⁷ Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

-Acts 9:17 (CSB)

Notice what he didn’t say. He didn’t say, “I have some problems with the things you’ve been doing, Saul.” He said, “Brother Saul.” The moment anybody comes to repentance in Jesus Christ, we embrace them with open arms. It doesn’t matter what condition they come in or what their past was, their sins are washed away in that moment (1 Corinthians 6:11; Acts 22:16). And all of a sudden, when that person is saved, they are your brother or your sister in Jesus Christ. We celebrate anyone coming to Christ, no matter who that person is (Luke 15:7).

¹⁸ At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. ¹⁹ And after taking some food, he regained his strength.

-Acts 9:18–19a (CSB)

The first thing Saul does in obedience to his faith: believe and be baptized. That’s the pattern of Scripture, and you see it over and over in the book of Acts. Read Acts chapter 2: Peter preaches, thousands of people are pierced to the heart, and they ask, “What must we do?” Peter says, “Repent and be baptized,” and thousands of them are baptized right then and there (Acts 2:37–41). The gospel keeps advancing in Acts chapter 4 (Acts 4:4). It happens in Acts chapter 8 with Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8:35–38). Now here in Acts chapter 9. And keep reading: Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth, when she was saved (Acts 16:14–15); the Philippian jailer, who was baptized that very hour (Acts 16:33). The first thing that happens in the life of the believer is to believe and be baptized.

Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. ²⁰ Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

-Acts 9:19b–20 (CSB)

Now, a few observations about this passage. This will be a three-point sermon.

First, I want you to see the immediate obedience of everybody involved. With Saul, the moment Jesus Christ appeared to him. With Ananias, the moment Jesus Christ appeared to him. There was no hesitation, nothing to lead us to believe they even thought twice about it. They just obeyed right away. Like the old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”[^7]

Second, Jesus Christ was working on two people at the same time. He appears to Saul on the road to Damascus, and simultaneously he appears to Ananias. There is a disciple, and there is a discipler. That is the way God works in the Christian faith. Anytime he is calling somebody to his name, he is simultaneously calling another person to go and disciple them, to show them how this works, to proclaim Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Because the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). If you are having a conversation about the gospel with somebody, the only way to have a gospel conversation is to tell them about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. How will they hear if nobody preaches (Romans 10:14)? That’s in the book of Romans, but we see it playing out right before us in this passage.

Third, this man named Saul spent some time in Damascus getting discipled, but immediately he began proclaiming Jesus. He didn’t wait. There was no eight-week class. There was no, “Oh, I would like to do that; I just wish I knew a little more first.” Your testimony is the way Jesus Christ has transformed your life, and there is nothing better to start a gospel conversation than telling people the good news of how Jesus Christ has made you a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 9:25). You don’t have to take any classes to tell that story. You don’t have to wait until you have all the head knowledge secured to get out there and start proclaiming Christ and him crucified. It is a very simple message: “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). There’s no reason to wait. We’re called to do this immediately.

Now, some of you may be familiar with this passage, and some of you may not. This man Saul, this murderous man, this slanderous man, this man breathing out threats, dragging people from their homes, throwing them into jail, is Paul (Acts 13:9). He is Paul, the author of the book of Romans, the author of most of our New Testament letters, the epistles. He’s the one telling us everything we need to know as we go through the book of Romans. And when Romans speaks to the law, it’s because Paul himself had experienced the legalism of trying to put the law first (Philippians 3:4–9).

But do you notice the order of salvation here? When he believed, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the message of the book of Romans, and it’s why I felt we couldn’t go any further without talking about Paul’s conversion story. What Paul is saying in Romans is that when you’re full of the Holy Spirit, you don’t need to be legalistic about the law, because the Spirit of Jesus Christ is going to direct your steps (Romans 8:1–4, 14). In fact, if you try to focus on the law first, over the conviction of the Holy Spirit when you’re outside of his will for your life, you’re going to get it backwards (Galatians 3:2–3). And Paul was speaking from experience.

Paul continues to be called Saul until he is sent out from the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1–3, 9). So the pattern for Paul from this moment forward is this: he spends that time in Damascus being discipled while simultaneously proclaiming Jesus Christ and him crucified (Acts 9:19–22). Then he ends up in the church in Antioch (Acts 11:25–26). They send him down to Jerusalem, and right back to Antioch (Acts 11:29–30; 12:25). And that is when he begins his missionary journeys and plants churches all across the known world (Acts 13:2–4).

Now, this conversion story is not very different from any of ours. We might not have physically drug people from their homes. We might not have murdered anybody or stoned anybody. But sin is sin, and no one is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10, 23). Without faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the outcome for the nonbeliever is the same as it would have been for Saul had he not accepted the invitation from Jesus Christ on that road to Damascus (Romans 6:23). And Jesus Christ works the same today as he did two thousand years ago (Hebrews 13:8).

Even recently in American history, there was a man named Chuck Colson. Some of you might be familiar with him. He was known as Richard Nixon’s “hatchet man.” He was the one who did the dirty jobs on behalf of the president, a black mark on American politics. Chuck Colson was one of the most corrupt figures in American political history, so much so that when the Watergate scandal broke, he was the first member of the administration to go to prison.[^8]

There’s a second character in Chuck Colson’s story. His name was Tom Phillips. Tom Phillips was a businessman, a supporter of the campaign, and a friend of Chuck Colson. Before Chuck was hauled off to jail, Tom had him over, shared the message of the gospel, Christ and him crucified, and the Christian life of surrender, and it didn’t seem to have any effect at all on Chuck. But Chuck reportedly walked back out to his car that evening and just began to weep, and he couldn’t stop saying two words: “I surrender. I surrender.”[^9]

Chuck Colson paid the consequences for his past. He did go to prison. But while he was there, and after he was released, he started a ministry called Prison Fellowship that has become integral in sharing the gospel with inmates, with people who are incarcerated.[^10]

But there’s a third person in this conversion story. Her name was Mary Kay Beard. Mary Kay Beard was locked up in a women’s prison, where she was presented the gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and she found Him. When she got out, she realized there was really nothing available for the children of incarcerated parents. They were going through Christmases and birthdays without getting any gifts. She wanted to share the love of Christ by blessing these children at Christmastime.

You might be familiar with Angel Tree. You’ll see these angel trees at malls and at churches and all over. Mary Kay Beard was the one who started that ministry, which has blessed more than ten million children while sharing the gospel with them.[^11] And it all started because a man named Tom shared the gospel with a man named Chuck, who was headed to jail. So never underestimate the gospel impact of anything God uses you to do (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Now, maybe you walked in here tonight thinking, “I’ve never been a part of a gospel impact, because this is the first time I’m hearing the gospel, that Jesus died because of my sin (Romans 5:8). And I’m just now hearing that my sin is no different than this man Saul, who was dragging people from their homes and murdering them.” Sin is sin. And so you say, “I surrender. I surrender,” just like Chuck.

I want to invite you to make that decision tonight: to put your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ, and to know that by his wounds you are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).