Witness With Purpose: The Power Of A Changed Life

“And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”… “And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.” Acts 22:7,10

Paul is standing before his fellow brethren who sought to have him arrested and imprisoned for his faith in Jesus Christ. They accused him of basically defiling the Temple of God with a new doctrine that they thought went against Moses and the Law. Even though his fellow Jews people sought to kill him, we see in him a passion and compassion for the Jewish people, much like that of our Lord.

Paul gives, as a defense of the Gospel, a personal testimony of his conversion on the Damascus Road. (Acts 9) This must have been a common witnessing tool for Paul because we see he will share it again before King Aggripa shortly before he leaves for Rome. (Acts 26) I am sure with Paul’s knowledge of the Law he could have given an eloquent lecture on how Christ didn’t come to destroy the Law but fulfill it. They might have been impressed, but this was not Paul’s intention. He wanted them to know about the power of a changed life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. There are a couple lessons we can learn from this defense of the Gospel.

First, we learn that you don’t have to be a scholar to be a powerful witness for Christ. Paul was a scholar, but he didn’t rely on his scholarship as much as he relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to use his conversion story to exalt Christ. The Jews might would have argued with his new doctrine, but they could not argue with his changed life. It’s hard to deny the power of the Gospel when you see it’s life changing effects on someone you know who was wretched sinner.

Second, in Paul’s testimony there are two questions that he asked in his meeting with Christ on the Damascus Road. These two questions are the two most important questions that one can ask and the answers that are given to them are even more vital in order to be a believer. The first is “Who are you Lord?” It is vitally important that we ask this question and answer it correctly, because how we answer it alone will determine the difference in Eternal life or Eternal Death. The right answer is as Peter said ”You are the son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) The next question is “What shall I do? God has given each of a mission and commission for which he has gifted us to bring glory unto him. The answer to this question begins with “Repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) and then “Follow him.”(John 21:19) In order to have peace and fulfillment in life we not only have to know God’s will, but also do it. This is what Jesus meant in John 10:10 when he talked about “Having life” (Who are you Lord?) and “Having life more abundantly” (What shall I do)

Paul accepted Jesus for who he said he was which demonstrates faith and accepted God’s will for his life in witnessing and suffering for his names sake, which is works. When you and I know Jesus and live for him it gives us the confidence we need in being a witness for him. People may argue with was we believe because the may have “eyes that cannot see or ears that they cannot hear and hardened hearts that they may not understand” (Isaiah 6:9,10) but they cannot deny the most notable characteristic of the Gospel…The power of a changed life!

Pastor Robby