A Prototypical Conversion

(Article for publication week of 8-28- AD 2014)

 

"And he trembling and astonished said, 'Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?'...." (Acts 9:6).

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is prototypical of every conversion (I Timothy 1:16). There are some things about the way the way the Apostle Paul (the name by which Saul of Tarsus was known after his conversion) was converted that are a pattern , or model of every conversion. The details and exact experience may differ, but the fundamental change is essentially the same.

First, I will have you note well, that the Lord sought out this old sinner. Saul of Tarsus was not seeking the Lord, but rather he was intent on wiping out Christianity. He hated Christ and His people and was going about to kill the Lord's people. On the day of his conversion, he was headed to Damascus with authority to bind and bring to Jerusalem any of the Lord's disciples that he might find. So it is with each of us without the efficacious grace of God. Not that every lost sinner is actively trying to persecute Christians, but no man has ever sought the Lord until he was first sought of the Lord. In Romans 3:11, the inspired apostle quotes from Psalm 14 and 53, "there is none that seeketh after God." Man is totally depraved and will not seek after God in his natural state. When a poor sinner begins to seek after God, it is because he is being effectually called by the Holy Spirit. Our Lord gave us the blessed promise that all who seek shall surely find (Matthew 7:8), and we are commanded and invited to seek the Lord while he may be found (Isaiah 55:6), but the fact remains that none will seek the Lord in his natural state, and when one begins to seek the Lord, he is being called irresistibly by the Holy Spirit. The scriptures plainly declare this solemn and glorious truth, and the conversion of the Apostle Paul (known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion) is a clear example of it.

Secondly, we see from the conversion of Saul that there was a saving change in the man. In I Timothy 1:12-16 the Apostle relates what he was like before conversion, and what he was like after conversion. Every sinner saved by grace has a "before" and an "after." Dear reader, do you have a "before" and an "after"? Can you testify of the saving grace of God in your own life experimentally? If not, I fear you are a stranger to the saving work of Christ.

Thirdly, we see from the conversion of Paul that his faith in Christ included absolute surrender to His Lordship. ("Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?") Saving faith is much more than just "accepting Jesus." In fact, you never find that terminology in scripture. Most of you would not be opposed to Christ keeping you out of hell, but you are bound and determined to live your life like you want. Thus you show that you are not saved, you have not been effectually called, and you are not a true believer in Christ. The true believer in Christ has surrendered all to the Lordship of Christ. He has become a devoted (but very imperfect) slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Dear reader you make an eternally fatal mistake if you suppose that Christ will be your Saviour without being your Lord to rule over you.

Now, none of this is to suggest that every Christian has had as dramatic experience as the Apostle Paul. Indeed, this is one of the reasons we are writing this series on notable examples of saving faith to show that no two converts did or said exactly the same thing. But, every believer has been effectually called by grace and has been truly changed and brought to submission to Christ. Dear reader, have I described you?