Article 2018-06 Two Remarkable Conversions
Chapter 45: Two Remarkable Conversions
Introduction
This chapter deals with the conversions of two believers in their own right. Although they were believers, both needed conversion. The one from the fanatic religious practices he directed against the church; the other from rigid legalistic practices that prevented him to reach out to the Gentiles. From the first we learn that it pays off to pray for religious fanatics who persecute the church: they are needed to speed up world missions. Saul, the new man among the apostles, was trained, away from ministerial action, by the Holy Spirit Himself. From the second man, Peter, we learn that the Holy Spirit can engineer complicated situations to make people meet. Prior to his new cross-cultural ministry, Peter’s understanding of God’s plan was stretched. He learned to ignore his cultural and religious prejudices and accept what previously he would have rejected.
Scripture reference
Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples … As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied (Acts 9:1,3-5)
The story
Saul of Tarsus was a religious fanatic Jew, who increasingly persecuted the church since the deacon Stephen’s death. With the high priest’s permission he even went to Damascus to perform these religious duties, but on his way there something happened that he would never forget! When he had come close to Damascus, a heavenly light flashed around him, brighter than the sun. Saul fell from his horse and desperately tried to shield his eyes from the dazzling light, when he heard a Voice demanding why he was persecuting Him. He rubbed his now blind eyes. Confused, he asked the Voice to identify itself and to his horror he found out that he was dealing with Jesus Himself. He then was told to go to Damascus to await further orders. The men with him were terror-stricken. They had heard the sound but saw nothing. They led Saul to Damascus. He was so thrown off balance that he refused to eat or drink for three full days.
In Damascus another disciple had to be prepared for a task he didn’t want to do, because he was dead-scared. ‘Ananias, go to Judas’ house in Straight Street, and pray with a man called Saul of Tarsus, that he may regain his sight. He is praying.’ Ananias knew that the Lord was speaking to him, but argued nevertheless. ‘Don’t You know Lord, how dangerous that man is? Maybe he’ll kill me and all the rest of us!’ But the Lord calmed Ananias’ heart, saying ‘Don’t worry. He is My chosen instrument to preach My name to the Gentiles and kings, and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he has to suffer for My name’s sake.’ Ananias then did as he was told, still trembling. But when he found the situation exactly as God had explained, he took courage, spoke with Saul, prayed with him so that he was healed from his blindness, and asked the Lord to fill Saul with the Holy Spirit. Right after that, Saul, able to see again, was baptized. In the mean time, our second man also headed for some sort of conversion.
Scripture reference
Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry … and while the meal was being prepared … He saw heaven opened and … a large sheet being let down to earth … It contained … four-footed animals … reptiles … and birds … Then a voice told him, “Get up Peter, kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean … The voice spoke … “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times (Acts 10:9-16)
The story, continued
With all the new churches in Judea and Samaria Peter finally started to travel more than he used to. One day he visited the coastal town of Joppa, where he stayed with Simon, the tanner. Recently, Philip had been evangelizing in that area and Peter had heard about the beautiful works which God had done.
One morning, Peter was on the roof of the house to pray. Simon’s wife had started lunch preparations, and the smells that drifted upwards were mouthwatering. He felt his appetite increase, but knelt down to pray first. That was harder than he thought, because hardly had he uttered his first words of worship or he saw a vision, even one that had to do with food. His appetite stopped abruptly, because what he saw on that sheet, suspended between heaven and earth, were all unclean animals. To his amazement and horror he heard a Voice that he knew well. It told him ‘Rise up, Peter, kill and eat.’ Peter, who had often argued with that Voice when still on earth, did so again. ‘No way, Lord, I have never eaten anything unclean!’ After he had been told to kill and eat and refused a second time, the Lord explained ‘What God has cleansed and proclaimed clean you must not declare unclean!’ This happened three times and then the sheet disappeared again. Before he could figure out what it meant, the Holy Spirit said to him that three men were looking for him and that he needed to go with them.
Two domestic servants and a soldier met Peter and told him the remarkable story of a Roman Centurion, Cornelius. He had received a vision in which an angel told him about Peter, being in Joppa in Simon the tanner’s house. Cornelius was told to invite Peter to visit him and listen to what he had to tell. Peter promised to go with them to Caesarea, where the men came from.
The next morning he went with them and upon arrival found that Cornelius had invited quite a crowd into his house. After hearing Cornelius’ version of the angel-story, Peter preached the gospel. He hadn’t even finished when there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that reminded Peter strongly of that first day of Pentecost, years ago. Cornelius and his household spoke in tongues and Peter wondered why they shouldn’t be baptized, now that the Holy Spirit had come over them. And so, Gentiles received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, followed by the baptism in water, all based on their faith in the Lord Jesus.
Comment
While Peter left Caesarea to go back to Jerusalem, Paul went through tough times, right from the beginning of his new walk with Christ. Every converted sinner is a miracle, but converted opponents of the gospel are big miracles! Saul was one. How many persecuted Christians would have prayed, like Jesus had said, for Saul, their enemy? There must have been so many prayers for him, that God eventually dealt with him. Of course God had a plan with him from before his birth, but the Judaism had led him away from it instead of to it. For a while he had become the devil’s instrument, but one that God used to awaken the church for cross-cultural missions. The beginning of that work had been accomplished through Philip. Now was the time for this zealot to re-direct his drive into the right direction – for which he had been divinely ordained.
Scripture reference
After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan … his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him … He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus (Acts 9:23-26,29,30)
Comment, continued
Paul had trouble from day one, just as Ananias had announced. A first attempt on his life was made by the Jews in Damascus to whom he had preached, and he fled. In Jerusalem he found people who were too scared to meet him because of his former reputation, but after a while that changed. Then Grecian Jews who disagreed with him made an attempt on his life. He escaped again and went back to his home town Tarsus, at Turkey’s south coast. He spent a few years in Arabia, where he learned to understand the Old Testament Scriptures which he knew so well, through the new, revealing light of the Holy Spirit.
Paul comes back into the story, when Barnabas visits him in Tarsus with the exciting news about a Gentile church in Antioch, and the request to help him minister there. (Did you ever wonder where that church came from, as it was not planted by the Jerusalem church? Wait for some interesting things we will discover about that mystery!) But first we look at what the Holy Spirit was doing in and through Peter.
We may have lived with the Lord for years, have preached the Word and seen great miracles. (Peter even raised a woman from the dead). We may enjoy a great reputation and still not understand what God’s assignment for us entails. The Lord needed to work even in Peter again before He could continue to work through him. He needed to learn now that after Christ’s death and resurrection, people should no longer be regarded as privileged because they belonged to a certain race. Peter had still not quite understood that the world did not revolve around Jews and non-Jews, but around those truly with Christ and all the others – without Him. He had to grasp, that there could be Jews without Christ and Gentiles with Him. The former he knew by experience. He had been in their prisons and received their beatings. The latter he had to meet personally now, to understand God’s measuring rod in Christ.
Scripture reference
While Peter was still speaking … the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers … were astonished that … the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles … Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have” (Acts 10:44-47)
The best proof was that Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, similar to how the Jews had received Him. Paul would state it later too: the Spirit is given because of Christ, not because of the Law. In other words: the Spirit would not dwell on law-abiding Jews outside Christ, but live with Gentiles that became obedient to Christ.
Another ends-of-the-earth missions encounter had taken place, not in a geographical but in a cultural sense. Cornelius came from another continent, spoke another language and grew up in a cult of emperor-worship, although he had left that behind. For Peter this was a new development. After his encounter with John, with the Samaritans, the meeting with Cornelius went a step further. Peter had grown further into doing cross-cultural missions. Slowly he learned to bypass his longstanding cultural and religious habits, hindering as they were for the spreading of the gospel.
Discussion & dialogue
- Discuss whether God’s cause of world missions would be served well, if the church would pray for the conversion, biblical training and calling of Muslim terrorists, to become Christian missionaries
- Discuss with your study group, whether you know of people groups that you would definitely not go to, to share the gospel with, and give reasons
- Which 7 of the 10 themes reoccur in this chapter? How? (Answer: see Teacher’s Guide)
