“Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. (Acts 9:17-18)
There is no greater illustration in the Bible of a complete and total conversion than of a man by the name of Paul. In fact, it may be the most famous conversion in history. His conversion is well documented. It is talked about in detail three times in the Book of Acts. In fact, the story of Paul’s conversion occupies more space in the New Testament than any other event except the crucifixion of Jesus. It may be the most intense, in-your-face, radical encounter with Jesus in all of the New Testament.
But even though Paul has one of the most talked about conversion stories of all time, that doesn’t mean our own stories of conversion are any less miraculous. With that in mind, I want us to look at two things that happen anytime someone experiences conversion. We’ll talk about the first one today and the second one tomorrow.
The first thing that happens when you experience conversion is that you see the light of truth. When Saul had the encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he finally saw the light of truth and believed, saying, “Jesus Christ is alive! He is the risen Lord!” In that moment, not only did everything change about Saul, but everything changed in Saul.
The game changer was the resurrected Jesus. It wasn’t the virgin-born Jesus that changed Saul. It wasn’t even the crucified Christ that changed Saul. It was the resurrected Lord that changed Saul. At that moment, Saul changed his mind about everything he had ever thought about God, Jesus, and the church.
I promise you if you will simply ask this question, “Who are you Lord?” and you are truly open, you will find the right answer. He is the Lord. He is the resurrected, risen, reigning Lord and you will see the light of truth when you see God for who He is.
You see, Paul had always believed that everyone else was living in spiritual darkness, but all of a sudden, he realized he was the one living in spiritual darkness. He realized that it wasn’t his religion or his righteousness that mattered. It was the resurrection of Jesus that mattered.
Dear Lord, I don’t want to walk in spiritual darkness anymore. I want to step into your light and see the truth of your Word for what it is. Please open my eyes to what you want me to see and open my mind to what you want me to know. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Salvation
