To the Galatians Paul writes,
and he wants to convince them that his apostleship is of God
and that his gospel was a divine revelation and he didn't learn
it from any other man. And part of his argument is here
in verse 13 through 15. For ye have heard of my conversation,
that is, my manner of life, or my conduct, in time past in the
Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church
of God and wasted, or literally ravaged it, and profited in the
Jews' religion above many mine equals in mine own nation, being
more exceedingly zealous of the tradition of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. Let's read verse 16. To reveal
His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen, immediately
I conferred naught with flesh and blood. Now, let's go to 1
Timothy chapter 1. We begin in verse 9, and what
Paul is showing here is that the law is under condemnation
and the gospel reveals the way of salvation. And in verse 9,
begin our reading. Knowing this, that the law is
not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient,
for the ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine. according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus, our
Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful,
or trustworthy, putting me into the ministry. who was before
a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, that is violent,
but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. and the grace of our Lord was
exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this cause I obtained
mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering,
for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting. Look at verse 13 again. I obtained
mercy. He repeats it again in verse
16. I obtained mercy. And that's our subject for today. Now, it may not be a stretch
at all to say that the conversion of Paul, aka Saul, was the most
important in the history of the Christian church. This may be
the most important convert that was ever made in the history
of Christianity. In fact, the conversion of Paul
had the greatest impact upon Christianity and influenced more
people than any other man beside Christ Himself. And not only
through His personal ministry, not only going here and there
and preaching the Gospel to many in His day, but also under present
Christendom and Christianity through His written ministry
in the New Testament. Thirteen epistles! Fourteen,
if we count the book of Hebrews, many now consider Paul the greatest
Christian that ever has lived and the most devoted unto his
faith and to his God. Paul, as he tells us here, was
not a, can I call him, home-grown Christian. He was not from a
Christian or a believing family, but on the other hand, neither
was he a pagan worshiper involved in idolatry and the worship of
false gods. Rather, he was a man that had
two very distinguished religious careers. Neither of them was
he a nominal religionist and not before Christ called him
was he a nominal religionist. He was not indifferent and he
was not tolerant of the new and growing Christian movement which
was catching fire rapidly. He opposed it with all of his
fiber, with all of his might, and with all of his being. And
neither was Paul an immoral or an amoral prolificate. who lived
among men before his conversion. He did not live a life given
over to fleshly indulgences and worldly pleasure, standing apart
from any and all religious convictions. No, not at all. In fact, Paul,
in his writings, some of them we have read and will yet read
this morning, honestly and frankly, compares and contrasts his B.C. life and his A.C. life. That is, before Christ and after
Christ. He does that in Galatians 1,
13 through 16. He does it again to Timothy,
1 Timothy chapter 1, 13 through 16. And of course, there is that
place in the 26th chapter of Acts when he stood in a hearing
before King Agrippa, in a king of law. And in that hearing before
Agrippa, Paul sums up his former hostility against Christianity. And in Acts 26, And verse 9,
I'm reading, I verily thought within myself that I ought to
do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Now this is a most interesting
and compelling confession from Paul. concerning a part of his
past history. Reading James A. Alexander, I
thought he handled this verse very well, for he said that Paul's
words, quote, with myself, unquote, suggest the idea that this is
an independent judgment, that it is an intimate conviction
on his part, unquote. And the word ought, by ought
to do, refers to the physical, moral necessity to do things
contrary. And the word contrary, meaning
opposite or antagonistic, literally against, for the word is used
in the gospel of the contrary wind that blew upon the disciple
upon the ocean in Matthew 14, 24. It is again in Acts 27 and
4, and the winds were contrary. And it is the exact word that
we have here in our text. It is against in Acts chapter
28 and 17. That is, in opposition. Blowing in the opposite direction
to help or to do us good. So F.F. Bruce wrote in his commentary
on Acts, Paul thought that it was his duty to oppose and fight
against the name of Jesus of Nazareth and the movement founded
by Him and in His honor. Now, as he says in Acts 26 and
verse 10, which thing I also did in Jerusalem. I thought I ought to do many
things contrary to the name of Jesus, and this I did in Jerusalem. It was not just an inward conviction
that lay dormant. It was something that Paul carried
out into action. He did not keep his animosity
closed in or to himself. He gave vent unto his animosity
and that by his action. And he did not stop at vocal
criticism and opposition of Christianity, but he literally took up the
sword against the Lord's disciple. He considered them, those Jews
that followed after Christ, to be apostates from Moses and from
the prophet, and therefore worthy of death at his hand. Now, the first time that this
man Saul, a.k.a. Paul, is brought before us in
the Scripture is in Acts chapter 7 and verse 58, when Stephen
became the first recorded Christian mortar. And we read something
interesting there, quote, and the witnesses laid down their
clothes, that is, their cloaks or their outer garments or their
robes, at a young man's feet whose name was Saul. Now, what is the significance
of this being mentioned in the Scripture? Is Saul only a guardian
of their garments? to keep them safe and to keep
them sorted? Is it that he might watch their
garments and keep them until they had finished the business
of stoning Stephen to death? Or could it signify that Saul
was in a position of authority, having some charge or oversight
of the stoning of the martyr Stephen? Now, on the words laying
their clothes at Saul's feet. Consider the same word again
in Acts 4.35 and 4.37 and Acts 5.2 where the disciples sold
property and they lay it at the feet of the apostle. Beside in Acts 26.10, the last
part of that verse, having received authority from
the chief priest, and when they were put to death, I gave my
voice against them." Proclaiming the crime of Stephen and his
punishment. Then again, we meet Saul in Acts
chapter 8, verses 1 through 3, pursuing his violence against
the saints of God. In verse 1, consenting to the
death of Stephen, agreeing, approving, was pleased with it and thought
it ought to be carried out. And in verse 3, as for Saul,
he made havoc, or he ravaged the church, entering into every
house and hailing, literally dragging men and women and delivering
them unto prison. Even in their private home, He
invaded and put them under arrest and carried them to the high
priest. It was Saul that seemed to spearhead
the movement and the persecution against the church. In Acts 9,
verses 1 and 2, We find his opposition there under the church in full
operation mode. We read of him breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. And
he was carrying on his person letters of authority signed by
the high priest of Israel at that particular time in their
history. And then he begins to expand
his persecution beyond and outside of Jerusalem. And he set his
sight upon the synagogues in the city of Damascus. Some say that this was the ancient
capital city of Syria in olden times. And we read in Acts 26
and verse 11, quote, I persecuted them even under strange cities
That is, to foreign and outside cities beyond Jerusalem's bounds. Some think that these were Christians
who had fled the heavy persecution in Acts 8 and 1. They were scattered
abroad throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria under the
persecution, the torture, and even the murder and imprisonment
at the hand of Saul. And not a few of these who fled
Jerusalem took refuge in Damascus. It was quite a ways from Jerusalem,
quite a ways indeed. And as Saul was nearing the city
of Damascus to continue his persecution against the church, the Lord
Jesus Christ crossed His path and conquered Him by His grace
and power. You have that record in Acts
chapter 9. You are no likely You are likely
familiar with it. But before we consider his glorious
conversion, let us hear more testimony from Paul about his
persecution against the churches, which was so great. Now consider
this. Saul's persecution against the
church was so great and had such an effect that after Saul was
converted by Christ, We read in Acts 9 and verse 31, Then
had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Samaria, and were
edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort
of the Holy Ghost or Spirit were multiplied. When Paul's enmity
was brought to an end, then had the churches rest that he had
been persecuting. Now, using our text, if you flip
back to Galatians chapter 1, and we're looking there at verse
13 and 14, if you don't mind if I read it again, You've heard
of my conduct in time past in the Jews' religion, how that
beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it. And notice something else, profited
in the Jews' religion above many, mine equals in mine own nation,
and being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father. Now, conversation is literally
conduct or manner of life or behavior and refers to his time
in Judaism. And he tells them, you have heard
this. You know it. You know it to be
a fact. You know my history. You heard. It is neither rumor or you heard
it directly. Paul at times spoke. of his former
persecution of the churches. And it's important for us that
we understand the purpose of Paul in referring unto this. It serves a dual purpose. It's not that Paul, like some
of these little Banny Rooster preachers that we've had in the
last 25 years, want to tell how mean, how bad they were, before
they were converted. Paul has another purpose in telling
this. Number one, it is intended to
confirm that he was not taught the gospel by any man as seen
by the inn in verse 13, or the word far. in verse 13. And secondly, it leads to the
explanation of the great change and the great sentiment and thinking
and the great change in the direction of his life that had come over
him. No man had convinced him. No man had changed him. It did not occur while he was
under the preaching of another. Paul is declaring unto us that
his conversion can only be traced to the fact that it is or was
a sovereign act of God. I want to share with you a paraphrase
from J.B. Lightfoot in his commentary on
Galatians, quote, I was brought up in the rigid school of ritualism,
directly opposed to the liberty of the gospel. I am from age
and from temper, a staunch adherent of the principles of that school. Acting upon them, I relentlessly
persecuted the Christian brotherhood, end quote. Now, verse 13, beyond
measure, he said, I persecuted the church of God, I wasted it. Let's think of the word excessively,
abundantly, for he wants to emphasize it. He means it in the absolute
sense. And to get it across, he uses
two verbs in order to describe it. Persecuted and wasted. Both of them beyond measure. That is, beyond or out of measure. To get a proper view of how excessive
was Paul's opposition to the Church of God, we need only to
read how this word is used in other places in the Scripture. Measure. Measure is the word
huperbole and means a throwing beyond the usual or the standard
mark. In other words, we could say
superimmanent, out or beyond measure. For example, get an
idea of that word. It's the same word that Paul
uses in Romans 7 and verse 13 in describing the exceeding sinfulness
of sin. That sin might become exceedingly
sinful. Sinful to the excess. Sinful
out of measure, beyond measure, or in abundance. The word is
again in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 17, and is translated there,
far more exceedingly. And it's the word that Paul uses. And it is the same word Paul
uses in 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 7, when speaking of the abundance
of the revelation that was given unto him, the abundance beyond
measure, the excessive revelation that was given unto him. No wonder
it was not lawful for man to hear these words uttered that
Paul had seen. Then he said, he uses another
verb, he said, I wasted the church of God. Wasted, this is not the
same sense or the same word as the prodigal who wasted his substance
in riotous living in Luke 15 and 13. He wasted his substance. He became a spin thrift. He squandered
it. He was separated from it. He
scattered it onto the wind in every direction. He dispersed
it. He spread it around and it was
gone. But the Word In Galatians 1.13
is like the word porthio, to destroy, to ravage, to pillage,
to lay waste, to sack and to loot. The concordat lists the
word three times in the New Testament, Acts 9.21, Galatians 1.13, and
Galatians 1.23, that Paul now preached the faith which once
he destroyed, wasted, or ravaged. Paul does not exaggerate. Let
us not think so. His violent opposition to the
churches is in no sense an exaggeration. That church or that worship was
called the way, or the way, and Paul literally hated it. Consider, for example, in Acts
9, when the Lord commanded Ananias to go and pay a visit to the
newly converted Saul. What did Ananias say? Yay, Lord! Gladly I go. Ananias protested
his mission to the Lord And in verse 13 and 14, Ananias said
this in chapter 9, Ananias knew that. Ananias had heard about
it. And then later, when Saul began
to preach Christ in the synagogues in Damascus after his experience,
those who heard him there stand up and preach that Christ is
the Son of God. They said in Acts 9 and verse
21, Is not this the one that destroyed them which called upon
this name in Jerusalem, and came here for that intent, that he
might bring them bound unto the chief priest." They had heard
about that as well. Then here are Paul's own words
in Acts 22 and verse 4. And again, these were spoken
in the temple court in Jerusalem to a Jewish audience that had
almost dragged Paul limb from limb. And he stands and speaks
to them and he said, and I persecuted this way unto death, binding
and delivering into prison both men and women, having no more
respect for the women than for the men, laying the same persecution
and suffering upon them." Again, in Acts chapter 22, 19 and 20. And I said, Lord, they know that
I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed
on you. And when the blood of the martyr
Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consented unto
his death and kept the raiment of them that slew him." Paul
on numerous occasions confesses his former strong enmity against
all and anything Christian and that he had committed murder
in defense or rather against Christianity and in defense of
his Judaism. So with all of that in Paul's
background, all of it in the open, all of it fully confessed,
the question becomes, What is the likelihood that such a one
would exchange his former religion for Christianity? What is the
likelihood that one like that would voluntarily forsake Judaism
and espouse Christianity? What is our expectation that
such a one like that would ever be converted? Is this man beyond
the pale of grace? Is there forgiveness and mercy
for such a violent enemy of Christianity? Will Christ have one such as
this? Is there forgiveness for such
a vile wretch? Can such a one ever be saved
and drink at the fountain of the grace of God, the salvation
in Christ? Now before we consider how it
came with Paul, let's make an observation that I think is pertinent
under our study. And that is that as you look
around and behold things in the world and look at history, that
the conversion of such fanatical zealots steeped in false religion,
open enemies to Christianity, holding contrary views to the
Christian faith of the Bible, leaders of other religions, their
conversion is extremely rare when we check it out in history. For the longer they practice
it, the deeper they sink, the harder their hearts become against
God. And it could be that the Lord
has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart and sent them strong
delusion, according to 2 Thessalonians 2, and sealed them up in their
unbelief. But what about the apostle Paul,
the man in our text? Let's go now to 1 Timothy chapter
1 again and verse 13 through 16. We saw in Galatians 1, 13
through 17, when we put them side by side, as he tells young
Timothy, having been a blasphemer, having been a persecutor and
injurious or violent, but I obtained mercy." He says it again in verse
16 as we read, for this cause I obtained mercy. In 1 Corinthians 7 and verse
25, he refers to himself again in that place, quote, as one
that hath obtained mercy to be obedient and faithful," as great
as his sin had been. And on top of that, considering
the nature of his sin. The nature of his sin had not
been murder or thievery or adultery or such like. When we consider
the nature of his sin, He had been an enemy of Christ and of
Christianity, not a prolific immoralist. who lived under the
power of sin, but he had been a religious enemy of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He fought against the work of
God with all of his strength and with all of his might, but
he obtained mercy. He was shown mercy. He was what
he calls in Acts 9, a vessel of mercy. and as great as he
considered his former sins to have been, yet they were not
unpardonable. Christ took them to his cross. Christ bare those sins in his
own body on the tree that Paul or Saul would commit. And Saul,
that fanatical Pharisee and religious zealot, was shown mercy. Not just mercy, but saving mercy. He was given mercy. God was merciful
and compassionate unto Saul. Rather than cast him down into
hell for his sin or cause the earth to open up and swallow
him up, he showed mercy to this God-hating rebel that we have
considered here this morning. Look at the word obtained. It is according to W.E. Vine,
in his words, studies, and pictures in the New Testament, in the
passive voice, and is a word something like L-A-A-O, and does
not suggest any effort, does not suggest any act on Paul's
part whatsoever in obtaining the mercy of God in all of his
accounts of his conversion. And I want you to check this
point And think about it, in all of his accounts regarding
his conversion, Paul says nothing, nothing whatsoever about his
actions being a factor in his conversion. He does not say,
like moderns say all the time, I found the Lord." Or, he does
not say, like they do, I accepted the Lord. He does not say, I
at a certain point turned my life over to the Lord. And he does not say, I discovered
that God had a wonderful plan for my life and I align myself
up with it. No. Paul, as Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord, Genesis 6 and 8, so Saul found the same
grace and mercy in the eyes of the Lord, coupled with divine
compassion. Imagine, if you can, the greatest
enemy of the gospel of that day and time. made an ambassador
of Christ. Imagine that! The greatest enemy
of Christianity made the greatest ambassador for Christianity. Imagine the most zealous legalist
becoming a champion are free and sovereign grace. He that
once destroyed the faith is now proclaiming it. He that was once
respected in jury is now by them considered a traitor against
their old religion. And the question is, we must
deal with it, what brought about such a drastic about-face and
change in the life of this man? What caused this complete and
absolute turnabout? A complete about-face. Why did he change? Why did Saul
become Paul the Apostle? Why did Saul the Pharisee become
the Apostle Paul of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Well,
he speaks about it in Acts chapter 22. He speaks about it again
in Acts chapter 26 in those two hearings. But one of my favorite
accounts of it is found there in Galatians chapter 1. where
he traces his calling to the sovereign purpose of God towards
him. By the way, check in Acts chapter
9, if you will, for any sign, any sign, the least sign of free
will. Check there in Acts 9 in Saul's
conversion for any sign of free will. Now, to refresh our minds,
remember the passage that Galatians is meant to establish. Number
one, the divine commission to apostleship. He was an apostle
called by the Lord Jesus Christ. Number two, he's establishing
the authenticity of the gospel which he had preached unto them.
Or in verse 11 and 12, he received it by direct revelation from
Jesus Christ. And as John Eady said, it had
no medium of human conveyance whatsoever, none. And his first
two proofs of this are, number one, his former fanatical attachment
to Judaism. Verse 13 and 14, we read it.
He ravaged the church. He extended it or ravaged it
beyond measure. And secondly, he traces it to
the sovereign election of him in Christ, whereby he was called
by the grace of God in Christ. If you read Acts 9.15, you'll
see the Lord Jesus Christ saying this, He is a chosen vessel unto
me. Now, the phrase in Galatians
1, separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace,
are meant to express the truth. He was ordained to the ministry
before he was ever born, before he ever saw the light of day,
before he grew up in Judaism, before he opposed Christianity. And as one expositor expressed
it, Paul's point is, quote, the sole agency of God as distinct
from his own efforts, unquote, are brought into play here. Now,
the same truth is expressed of Jeremiah, the prophet. Have you
read Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 5? It said, Before I formed you
in the womb, I knew thee. Here is foreknowledge. And before
you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you and ordained
you a prophet unto the nation." Jeremiah 1, 5 and 6. J. B. Lightfoot wrote on Galatians
chapter 1, here are three stages of the apostle as to his ministry. Looking at them quickly. Number
one, his full ordination. unto salvation and ministry by
the sovereignty of God. Number two, in actual experience,
is calling and conversion, commission to apostleship and the gospel
ministry. And number three, is actually
entering the ministry as the fulfillment of God's eternal
purpose for him, which he knew not until he was apprehended
by Christ on Damascus Road. Literally, he says in Philippians,
he was laid hold of by the Lord Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, until
then, the long suffering of God awaited and endured the sinful
life of Saul. And at the appointed time, when
it pleased God to take this mad fanatic in his net, when it pleased
the Lord Jesus Christ to take him and the forbearance and the
longsuffering of God had come to fruition in the conversion
of Saul of Tarsus. Forbearance and longsuffering
are used together by Paul in Romans chapter 2 and verse 4. And Peter said something, 2 Peter
chapter 3 and verse 15, he tells us to account that the longsuffering
of our Lord is salvation. God does not always punish as
soon as one sins, even if the sin be great and out of measure,
even when it assails God and His Son directly. He holds in
His wrath and holds in His judgment. And in Saul's case and so many
others, Rather than wrath, there came mercy. While some do treasure
up wrath, others are mercy after a time of great sin. And to the more appreciate the
saving mercy of God, we had best remember a biblical fact, and
that is that showing mercy is the sovereign option of God Almighty. Whether to show mercy or not
is the option of God. You remember when Moses asked
a great favor of God saying, show me thy face. God's answer,
Exodus 33 and verse 19, God said to Moses, I will be gracious
to whom? I will be gracious, I will show
mercy to whom? I will show mercy. And when Paul
uses that text in the context of Romans chapter 9, he makes
a double-edged sword out of it, saying in Romans 9.18, would
you listen carefully or read it? He has mercy on whom he will
and whom he will he hardens. And he takes his examples out
of the Old Testament. There is Moses, there is Pharaoh,
and Paul draws the conclusion he has mercy on whom he will
and whom he will he hardens. Thus Paul's mercy was freely
and sovereignly bestowed upon him in accordance with the purpose
of God. And Paul is ever, ever thankful
for that, that God had made him a minister of the gospel, that
God had counted him trustworthy, appointed him to a ministerial
employ in the name of Christ. that while the law was a terror
to sinners, the gospel of Christ, worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ came into the world and saved sinners. That the great
inn for which God mercied Saul and called him was to preach
the unsearchable riches of Christ, And in Galatians 1.16, to reveal
His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen. And amazed
at that honor and at that mercy and grace bestowed upon Him,
Paul confesses his unworthiness and gratefulness to so weighty
a calling, especially after the way he had persecuted the churches
and opposed Christianity. Let's get personal and close. Can we each see ourselves in
the words of Paul, once ignorant of the things of God, even daring
to blaspheme the holy things of God, sinning, having enmity
toward the church, living riotously, prodigals were some of us, wayward
we were, having neither a desire or an intention to leave that
way of life and come on to Christ. Some of us were adherents unto
Arminianism, calling the doctrines of grace heresy, doctrines of
devils, out of the pits of hell, making fun of the sovereignty
of our God. What changed us? What brought
us over to a new way of thinking? How did we become of another
mind? The answer is simple. God called
us, God enlightened us, God revealed His Son in us and to us, and
He gave us a heart to know Him. Oh, the mercy of our God! Oh, the shame when we think what
we were, and yet He has given us grace He has mercied us, He
has called us into His fellowship and the great salvation in His
blessed and only Son. From what we were and what we
did, God has called us away and into a new life. We obtained
mercy and found grace in His eyes. Thank God for that wonderful
bestowment.