Most Bible students readily admit that the apostle Paul was one of the greatest workers for the cause of Christ that we read about in the New Testament. One can cringe at all the pain and suffering this man endured and marvel at his steadfast conviction that motivated that endurance. Yet, the apostle Paul was not always that stout defender of the gospel of Christ, but was instead a devoted enemy of Christ.
So, what changed? A conversion took place. Paul was converted from Judaism to Christianity. Christianity is not a religion into which one is born when they are born into this world. Thus, every one of us must be converted if we are to be Christians. Let us take a closer look at Paul’s conversion so that we can see what we need to do as well. When we are first introduced to him, the name “Saul” is used (Acts 7:58) but later the name Paul is mostly used (Acts 13:9), We will use Paul except when quoting scripture in our review of his conversion.
The inspired historian, Luke, recorded the conversion of Paul in Acts, chapter nine. Later, on two different occasions, Paul retold that account (Acts 22:5-16: 26:12-19). From these accounts we find three steps that Paul took in reaching salvation.
First, Paul came to realize a few things. When Paul asked, “Who art thou Lord”. The Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 9:5). It was at this point that Paul realized that Jesus was just exactly who He had claimed to be when living and just who the Christians he was persecuting said He was. Paul realized that Jesus was the Son of God. Such realization elicited from him, “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Such a realization is indispensable for us as well, if we are to secure a home in heaven after this life is done. While in the temple, Jesus told those present, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). When the Ethiopian treasurer responded to Philip’s instruction to believe in Christ, he said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). Paul was not saved yet, but now he realized he was lost.
This brings us to his response. He responded with a question, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? (Act 9:6). When one realizes that Jesus is the Son of God, they should immediately, as did Paul, realize they need to be obedient to Him. Jesus once asked a rhetorical question, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6:46). As the Son of God, Jesus had authority. Just moments before ascending back into heaven, from when He came, Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18). The Hebrew writer said that he is, “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb. 5:9). We, like Paul, need to seek to find what is required of us. It is noteworthy that the Lord did not tell Paul what he needed to do, but sent him to a preacher who told him. When the Holy Spirit instructed Philip to go join himself to the chariot of the Ethiopian treasurer, He could have just as easily told the Ethiopian Himself, but he sent a preacher to teach him what to do. Paul told the Corinthians, “…It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21). To the Romans, Paul wrote, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Rom. 10:13-14). We have to do just what Paul did, go to where the truth is revealed. Paul still was not a saved man. We have heard many speak of Paul being saved on the road to Damascus, but he was still lost when he went into Damascus. Ananias told him that he had to, “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
We now see Paul’s reaction to God’s instructions given to him. When Paul was told to be baptized, to wash away his sins, he did not argue that water could not wash away sin. He did not argue that he was already saved. He realized that Jesus was the Son of God and that he was the One who had authority that said that baptism would wash away his sins, and he obeyed. Just that simple, He obeyed. As a penitent believer in Christ Jesus, he had no options but to obey the gospel or reject it. Obedience was the turning point, the point at which he was converted. Peter used the word, “converted” in his second recorded sermon (Acts 3:19). But other terms are used for this same change of spiritual states. Jesus called it being born again. Whatever the term used, a conversion must take place if one is to have eternal life in heaven.