Meet Saul-sermon text version

Part of what I do in my life outside of Plymouth is to answer people’s Bible questions over email and through a web site called AllExperts. Oh, I get all kinds of questions. Dear Abby sorts of questions about relationships. Questions about what God thinks of homosexuality, tattoos, Christian hypocrisy, etc.

One of the more frequent questions I get is, “What is the unforgivable sin and did I just commit it?” Related to that one, I suppose, is “Can God ever forgive me for what I’ve done?”

Why would God ever forgive me knowing that I’ve done so much to slap Him in the face? And then there’s usually a parade of things that ought to make any Christian cringe and maybe that’s why some people write it out…just to get a reaction…especially with the public questions. But most, particularly the private ones, I think are really trying to find out if they’ve crossed some imaginary line between God being willing to save a wretch like me and Nope. No dice. Not even the blood of Christ can deal with that one. You crossed the line into unforgivable territory.

Let’s be clear: The Unforgivable Sin from Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10 ( “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him”) isn’t that easy to commit. It takes a thoroughly depraved heart to commit this. Lots of people say bad things about Jesus and He says those can be forgiven. But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (to say that the work of God is credited to Satan) means that there is no sacrifice left. If Satan did the work of salvation, there is nothing left since only the blood of Jesus covers sin. You deny God’s proof of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice—the coming of the Holy Spirit—and you’ve denied your only way. You’ve closed your only door. That’s why that sin of attributing God’s work to Satan is “unforgivable”.

To the questioners on AllExperts who are really worried, I spend a lot of time talking about the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and haul out my list of people whom God loved and saved and even used for ministry in a powerful way.

• Adam. He was told “Don’t do this one thing” and what did Adam do? He did the one thing and started all humanity on a crash course to hell. It’s because of Adam that all men die. But then again, it’s from sinner Adam that perfect Jesus came to redeem us.
• Abraham. He was hand-picked by God to be the great patriarch and he was given the wonderful covenant promises of a chosen people. But he was willing to lie to Pharaoh and deep-six him, simultaneously selling out his wife as just his sister… out of fear for his own life. Patriarch lies and sells out Matriarch. Hmmmm.
• Moses. He was a murderer and a coward and told God to make someone else do it. He rebelled a lot, made God so angry that God was going to bump him off until his wife Zipporah made Moses a “bridegroom of blood” by circumcising her son and throwing the foreskin on Moses’ feet. Yikes. Whatever. The Bible’s got some weird stuff in it. Anyway, God was going to kill Moses and then relented and did what? Made him the deliverer out of Egypt and the receiver of the Ten Commandments inscribed by the finger of God. Moses is called God’s friend and spoke with God face-to-face. A big turnaround for Moses!
• David. King David. After God selects him to be king out of nowhere and gives him a wonderful life, David wants more. So he broke half of the 10 commandments including coveting, adultery, and murder. Yet he was later called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).
• The Apostle Peter. He was a lyin-three-times-denyin’ braggart turned coward whom Jesus restored to leadership and the one who would carry the Church into its new beginning as Jesus’ hand-picked leader of the disciples.

Then there’s Saul. Today’s Saul. In his own self-assessment, later on in life he writes, 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst.

Saul. There are few people in Christendom who are held in higher Christian regard than the Apostle Paul (the Roman citizen with the Greek name Paul) whose Jewish given name was Saul, the same person who identifies himself as the worst of sinners.

Saul exemplifies for us what is the answer to “Can God ever forgive me for what I’ve done?” Saul, Paul, worst of sinners knows that the answer is YES! Praise God, Yes! God is supremely forgiving!

To give Saul some context, let’s read what the Scriptures say and then let’s apply it today with a few principles and responses. We left off with Stephen saying

Acts 7:56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Today in our continuing adventure of the Acts of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles, Stephen is dead, stoned to death by the Sanhedrin while the false accusers laid their clothes at the feet of Saul. Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts introduces the principal character of the remaining chapters. Luke introduces him as a killer and a persecutor. Because that’s who Saul was.

Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Remember how Jesus said that the disciples would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth? It’ starting.

Remember our old cycle: Pure Church, Powerful Church, Growing Church, Persecuted Church? It’s continuing. With Saul.

I’d like for you to view Saul, for a moment as being like Jihadi John, the terrorist who beheaded the journalist James Foley. Or like one of the terrorists who beheaded the Coptic Christians in Libya. Saul not only approved of Stephen’s death, but he began a systematic persecution of every Christian he could find. (Not at all unlike what we see with ISIS today!)

• For some, the persecution would be captivity like those Japanese hostages held by ISIS before their murders or the Christian school girls like with Boko Haram a full year ago now!
• For some the persecution would involve being driven from their homes and scattered from their homeland like what we have recently seen with the Nazarenes, the Iraqi Christians and even the Yazidis (who are not Christians at all!)
• And for others it would be death by stoning. We don’t see that in this passage per se, but later on, as the Apostle Paul is describing his life, he says Acts 22:4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
• And Paul also says this about himself. Acts 26:10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
• And yet, Paul later on says 1 Timothy 1:13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

Could God ever save someone who had persecuted Christians and put them to death?

Yes. And then God could make him the most powerful evangelist to walk the planet, send him to the entire Gentile world, and have him write 13 epistles comprising nearly half of our New Testament and appearing as a major character in Acts and writings of the other apostles.

Could God ever save someone who had done a whole bunch of awful things? Yes. And furthermore, it’s why Jesus came.

Let’s take a look back at our first encounter with Saul and notice a few things. Principles and Responses

Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

• Principle 1: People who don’t know Jesus cannot be expected to live like those who are redeemed.
• Response: Our response to them needs to be prayer and grace even while we cling tightly to our faith.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem,

• Principle 2: Since its inception, the Church has always been persecuted.
• Response: Expect suffering and pray for the persecuted Church.  Even better, this week think of someone you hate.  And pray for them.  Every day!

and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

• Principle 3: God uses suffering for His purposes, even to spread the Gospel
• Response: Trust in Him

2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

• Principle 4: It’s OK to mourn our losses and it’s not a lack of faith when we do.
• Response to losing pillars of faith: Mourn but don’t worship them. I’m convinced that’s why we don’t have Stephens’ bones or Moses’ bones or Abraham’s. The temptation is always to make a shrine out of them. Mourn but don’t worship them.

3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

• Principle 5: Destroying the church on earth doesn’t destroy the Church in the spiritual realm.
• Response: Press on! In spite of persecution and intimidation, stand up for Jesus! God’s Kingdom continues to advance and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

• Principle 6: Scattering is actually beneficial in God’s economy.
• Response: You’re not too tiny to make a difference. The work of God is not done in the huddle of the Church, it’s done on the field as we each defend and advance, run plays and score big. Yes we’re a team…but a team of individuals.

No one is beyond recovery until that final moment. Saul could tell you that.

As the Church was watching and fearing Saul, the great persecutor of the Church, they had no idea they were witnessing the formation of a brilliant theological scholar, a missionary even more zealous for Jesus than he had been against the Church, and a heart thoroughly broken because he knew how awful he was.

May we be quick to recognize our own sins and be thankful as Paul was when he wrote:

1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.