All right, look at those two
verses in Acts chapter 9. They are the two that will get
us on our way. It brings before us Saul. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high
priest and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues,
that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or
women, he might bring them bound unto prison." Now, look at that
statement in the middle of the verse. of this way, or simply this way. Now, in this particular section
of the Scripture, there is brought before us a man who perhaps would
become the most prominent character that we meet with anywhere in
the New Testament. This man was eventually made
an apostle by the Lord Jesus Christ. He was to preach the
gospel to the Jew as well as to the Gentile. He was to preach
God's Word to many people and in many places, and that God
would use this man to rise up many churches known as the New
Testament churches, and that he would This man, under the
inspiration of the Spirit of God, writes several, most of
the New Testament passages that we count so dear today. He was to have the best Christian
reputation probably of any man that we might meet with in the
Bible. He would call himself a servant,
a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then I remind you, it was not
always so with this man Paul. Once he was Christianity's greatest
and most feared and dreaded enemy. He hated it and he opposed it
with all of his might and with all of his strength. He did go
beyond measure to persecute the church of God and to waste it,
Galatians 1 and verse 13. And not only that, but he was
binding men and women and hailing them and bringing them and casting
them in prison as he would later confess in Acts 22 and verse
4. Then there was a time in Acts
26 and verse 9 when he thought, when he was convinced that he
ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus. And because
at that time he lived as a Pharisee. That's the type of religion of
the Jew that he practiced. And as much as in this man was
He opposed the Christian way, the Christian gospel, Christian
worship, and the preaching of Christ. Now, the first time that
Saul, or Paul, is brought before us anywhere in the Scripture
is in the end of chapter 7 of the book of Acts, where, in verse
58, when Stephen was martyred for his defense of the faith,
and called his opponents stiff-necked and uncircumcised in ear and
in heart, Acts 7 and 51. And in verse 52, he charges them
as being the betrayers and the murderers of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and being enraged at Stephen, They rush upon him and they drag
him out of the city. They take him outside of the
city and there they stoned to death Stephen. And as they did,
they laid their clothes, that is the witnesses, laid down their
clothes at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul, as we
read there. Two things. Number one, even
though Saul is called here a young man, yet he was an adult already
in the prime of his life and of his strength. Some think that
Paul, or Saul, was about thirty years of age at this juncture
in his life. Gil said that he was at that
time residing in Jerusalem, and that he belonged to the synagogue
of the Cilician. Now, the second thing, what are
we to make of the fact that the witnesses laid their clothes,
that is, their outer garments down at the feet of Saul. Likely they did so to have freedom
of movement in the stoning, as under the law the witnesses were
to cast the first stone, the one that was to be stoned unto
death. But why did they lay their garments
at the feet of this man named Saul? Was he just a curious and
an inactive bystander? Did he have no participation
in this matter at all? Did they simply lay their cloaks
down as if to say to us all, watch our coats while we go murder
this guy, stone this guy? to death that is a blasphemer,
hang on to these for a while, we'll be back to retrieve them
later. Methinks that they are right
who think that Saul, by this action, was acting in some official
capacity and was overseeing the stoning of the first martyr Stephen. First, because of the way that
that expression is used in the earlier parts of the epistle. For example, in Acts 4, and verse
35, they laid the price of the things that they had sold down
at the feet of their apostle. Again in Acts 4 and 37, some
sold land and they brought the money and they laid it down at
the feet of the apostle. In Acts chapter 5 verse 2, Ananias
and Sapphira sold a piece of land and brought and laid a part
of the price at the feet of Peter and the Apostle." Now, all of
these incidences seem to insinuate that there is some degree of
authority that is being recognized in this action, laying them at
the feet. Again, we have Peter's testimony,
Paul's testimony, in Acts 22 and verse 4. And I persecuted
this way unto death, binding and delivering into prison both
men and women." We have it again in Acts 26, verse 10 and verse
11, where Paul says, many of the saints did I shut up in prison,
having authority from the high priest. And when they were put
to death, I gave my voice against them." And perhaps the clearest
confession of all made before some would be that one of Paul
in Acts chapter 22 and verse 20 when he said, referring directly
to the incident in chapter 7 and verse 8, And when the blood of
the martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consented."
And I look, and the NIV version has it, giving my approval. When Stephen was martyred, I
consented. I gave my approval unto his death,
and I kept the raiment of those that slew him. So it does seem
that even in the end of chapter 7 of the book of Acts, that he
is acting in an official capacity. Now, can we conclude from the
whole record that Paul was not a lone independent renegade in
his animosity against the church, since he acted under the authority
of the high priest, Acts 9 and verse 1, and in Acts 22 and 5
he mentions his having gotten letters from the high priest. some kind of official authority
from the Jewish high priest, and the avowed enemy of the gospel
and of Christ and his church set his sights upon the city
of Damascus." You have that in Acts chapter 9. which some say
is the world's oldest city, or among the oldest cities mentioned
in the world. Mentioned in connection with
Abraham was this city in Genesis 14 and 15. Damascus had been
the capital of Syria, and some place it in the range of 140
to 160 miles from the city of Jerusalem by land. Well, it must have been that
word got back to Jerusalem that there were a great number of
Christians in the city of Damascus. Most of them, many of them Jews,
who confessed the Lord Jesus Christ and caused Paul to procure
letters to the synagogues in that city to take care of the
matter. And we see his intended targets. In Acts 9 and verse 2, notice
though that he would target, that if he found any of this
way, Margin says the Greek is of the way, that if he found
any of the way, whosoever they might be, Jews, Gentiles, whether
they be men or women, what was his intention toward them? Did
he intend to fellowship before them and strengthen them in Christ? Oh, not by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin. He would bring them bound unto
Jerusalem. The if The King James Version
does not imply doubt, but the idea seems to be this. Any following
in that way, not if there be any, but any following in that
way, whosoever he found doing so, he would act against them. Now see the words used to describe
those who live under Christ and who live in the Christian way. The practice of Christianity
Here in Acts 9 and verse 2 is called for the first time, the
way. And this is not the only or the
last time that the phrase is used in the epistle of Acts,
as we shall see. The way, or this way, or that
way, referring all to the same thing. This is what for a time
the New Movement was called. Soon after the pouring out of
the Spirit at Pentecost, the ascension of the Lord back into
heaven, this was the way in which those who served and followed
Christ were referred to, whether from the opposers of the disciples
or whether by they themselves. It is too hard for me to say,
but it is used decisively and again and again. It is a, is
it a derogatory name? Or is it one that they had given
themselves that signified that they were followers of Him who
was the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Since this is the first
of several mentions of it in the book of Acts, let's see now
to define exactly what can be meant by it, the Way. It was
not Judaism, as any could plainly see, nor was it only a new way
to practice Judaism, as any could say. It was not Judaism under
a new name, dressed up in new clothing and cosmetics. It was
a new and a distinct way, constituting a way of life and a doctrine
and setting forth a way of salvation in and through the name of Jesus
Christ. And this way depended not on
earthly priests, depended not on the shedding of the blood
of animals sacrificed. It needed no central earthly
temple. It was not confined to one nation. It consisted not in outward ceremony,
in that it could be practiced under a tree or in a house. or in private as well as at the
synagogue or at the temple. It had no special days and it
had no burdensome do's and don'ts as they had been accustomed to. Now there's quite a bit of latitude
in the meaning of the word that we have here, the way, as seen
in the many places where the same word is used, not referring
at all to the Christian life. The word is hados, and can mean
all of these things, a road, a pathway, it can mean to make
progress, to follow a route, it means to travel, and refers
to a journey. All of those, the word can be
expressed in that way. For example, it is the same word
used in John chapter 4 and verse 28 of the Samaritan woman who
went her way into the city. Same word that we have here.
And in Luke chapter 15 verse 20, when the prodigal son was
yet a great way off. Same word that we have here in
Acts 9 and verse 2. Luke 18 and verse 35. of the blind man that sat by
the wayside." Again, the same word that we have here in Acts
9 and verse 2. So while the word can refer to
a natural path, as it so often does in the gospel, It is also
a metaphor. It is also a figure of speech
and, of course, of conduct. It refers to a certain way of
thinking, the path or road which one follows or which one travels
upon. Kittles or Cattell's New Testament
dictionary said, not only is the word a designation for a
road or a street, but it even includes the route taken by ships
on the ocean and the course or the way of a river. And in Scripture
we read of a narrow way and a broad way in Matthew 7, 13 and 14,
where the Lord Jesus said to those who heard Him, enter in
at the straight, or literally the narrow gate, for wide is
the gate, broad is the way, or the road, that leads to destruction,
many there are which go in thereat. Because straight, or small, or
narrow, is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads unto life,
And few there are that find it. And we notice something else
in Acts 9 and verse 2, which is the translators have capitalized
the W in the word way in this particular place. It refers to
one, and maybe even has the article the way or that way, and refers
to one particular way. and only one, not two or more. There can be no doubt that it
refers to what we now know are called Christianity, the practice
and worship of Jesus Christ and following after Him. The worship
of God through Christ is here called the way, salvation through
Him. Only such did Paul set his wrath
upon. He had no intention against those
still practicing full Judaism. He had no quarrel with them at
all, nor did he go against the heathen, though they worshipped
idols and they made many blasphemous representations of a deity. But his eyes were single. They
were focused in only one direction, the followers of Christ, whosoever
any, as many as, such as live the way Saul considered to be
a heresy." It could be Saul would not have reacted so violently. to the new way had it caught
fire among the Gentiles rather than in Jerusalem among the Jew. If it had been only Gentiles
that practiced this new way, it is to be doubted if Paul would
have vented his anger against them. But it made its first inroads
in Judaism this way, which we would soon learn was according
to the eternal sovereign purpose of Almighty God, to the Jew first
and then also to the Gentile. But when it made inroads into
Saul's beloved lifetime religion, when he saw it as a threat to
Judaism, how zealously he opposed it with all of his might and
how violent he became. Do we need to remind ourselves?
Do we need a refresher course on Saul's fanatical attachment
to Judaism before he was called by the Lord? Do we need to be
reminded how steep that he was in it? He reminds those at Philippi
in Philippians chapter 3 in verse 5 of his birth and his breeding,
that he was of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, which
was the beloved tribe. He was a pure Hebrew as to his
bloodline. There was no mixture of Gentile
blood in his birth line. What's more, his circumcision
was done on the appointed or prescribed day. That's the eighth
day. Again, in Acts 22 and verse 3,
brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God. This is Paul's description of
himself. Now, Gamaliel was a highly, highly
regarded and respected Pharisee. He was also a member of the Jewish
Sanhedrin, as seen by his action, and Saul had been his star pupil. Saul had excelled at the feet
of Gamaliel, and Gamaliel was known as a doctor, a teacher
of the law. Add this to his resume, two other
accomplishments. Now, A, as he informs the Galatian
Epistle, chapter 1, verse 13 and 14, and verse 14, he was
the head of the class among all of those that were his own age. He had advanced in Judaism. He
left his contemporaries behind in the dust. Again, he says to
them, as he informed them, I was the head of the class. I outstripped
all of those that were my age. But then, verse 13, he was famous
for his persecution of those that espoused the new way. He means the church, and he characterizes
his persecution of them in two phases, that being Galatians
1.13. Intensely, beyond measure, excessively, he said, did I persecute
the church. And he wasted it. He devastated
it. Intense on destroying it and
doing away with it altogether. This is confirmed by the words
of Ananias. You remember in Acts chapter
9, 13 and 14, when the Lord directed Ananias, Go to a certain street
and ask for a certain house, and there you will find Saul,
and he is praying. And Ananias answered, and this
gives us a good view of Saul's reputation early, even before
his conversion. Here it is, Lord, I have heard
by many of this man, how much evil he has done to the saints
that are at Jerusalem, and how he has authority from the chief
priest to bind, to arrest all that call upon your name." Yes,
the reputation of Saul was such. But let's go back to the name,
the Way, which was taken by the disciple, maybe patterned after
the words of the Lord just before there's death, I am the way,
I am the truth, I am the life. And this designation, the way,
is used later in the book of Acts several more times. Everything
needs a name to identify it. How can you have something without
a name? We're just nothing. But I'm amused
at the folks who claim that they or non-denominational, that they
are opposed to denominationalism, and yet they are denominational.
Non-denominational is a denomination. Now, concerning Saul's persecution,
even putting some of them to death reminds us of the words
of the Lord. in John's Gospel 16 and verse
2, that the time will come when he that kills you will think
that he does God's service. But I have digressed. We want
to see how this description is used for several years as seen
in the book of Acts chapter 19 verse 9 and chapter 19 verse
23 when Paul was at Ephesus. as he taught in the synagogue
for three months of Sabbath. And then in verse 9, divers were
hardened, they believed not, they spoke evil of that way. That way. Again, in verse 23,
there arose no small stir about that way. Great dissension came
over that way. The same way, the same way meant
in Acts 9 and 2. Again in Acts 22 and verse 4,
Paul confesses, I persecuted this way unto death. That is, his enmity was so great,
he committed murder in the name of his religion. He so hated
the new way that he killed and he persecuted those that he found
practicing it. How ironic it is, I think, that
Paul was arrested for doing the thing that he was so strongly
and violently opposed. You'll find that in Acts chapter
24. And in verse 5 and verse 6, the prosecutor arises to lay
out the charges against Paul. And he says to the governor,
quote, we have found this man, a pestilent man, a mover of sedition
among the Jews throughout all the world. and a ringleader of
the Nazarene sect who had also gone about to profane the temple."
That's the charge lodged against Paul at that particular time. In verse 14, Paul confesses,
and this is very important that we see this. Paul confesses. He said, I do confess. that after the way which they
call heresy, I worship God." He stands accused of being an
apostate from his religion. He stands accused of forsaking
Moses. Yea, of forsaking the Lord God
of Israel. Paul's reply. there in that chapter
of Acts, I confess, I admit, I acknowledge before you all
that after the way which my accusers are calling heresy, I worship,
I serve God. Now Paul's defense is a masterpiece
here, and you must catch it. Let's consider it. He says, when
I worship God according to this way, When I worship God according
to the way, when I worship as a Christian, I am still worshiping
the ancestral God of our forefather, and that he believes all that
Moses and the prophets did right, that in espousing Christ he was
following the Scripture, that Moses was to give way unto Christ. Judaism was to be replaced by
Christianity, known for a time simply as the designation the
Way. James A. Alexander, explain Paul's
defense this way in his commentary on the book of Acts. Quote, he
still worshiped the same God, still believe the same sacred
books and still cherish the same hope." This is a masterpiece
by the Apostle to show that in following Christ, he is simply
following the Scripture and the law and the prophet and the psalm. This is something which Saul
did not understand before he was converted by the power of
Christ. he had been enlightened, he espoused
it wholeheartedly with soul and life, as being in full accordance
and harmony with the law, the prophets, and the Psalms. Yes,
Paul says, I do worship according to the way And though my accusers
consider it heresy or a sect, the same word is nine times in
the New Testament, and five of the nine it is translated sect,
S-E-C-T. Paul contends that though many
called it heresy, that he yet lived in a good conscience before
the God of heaven. Now, this designation, the way,
all but disappears after the period in the time covered by
the book of Acts, and is not prominent as a descriptive name
in the epistle. Also remember another title,
which is the disciples were called Christians first down at Antioch. That's in Acts chapter 11 and
verse 26. For the first time, Christians began to be called
Christians. The disciples, the followers
of Christ began to be called Christian. No doubt for Christ
taking the name from the Lord Jesus Christ. Also in Acts 26-28,
the word Christian. You see it again in 1 Peter 4
and verse 16, if any man suffer as a Christian. And this name
caught on although some frequently still refer to the people of
the Lord as believers. Of course, the designation Christian
refers to such as follow and are the servants of Christ, though
it is used very loosely. in our day and in our time, a
Christian professes Christ. A Christian worships in this
way. A Christian professes to be saved
only by Christ and only Him that they serve. Now, in closing,
think of Hebrews 10 and 20 where the author says there that by
the death of Christ, He has consecrated, the margin has it, new made,
that by the death and blood of Christ, new made that He has
opened a new and living way, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is new compared to the old. It's living as contrasted to
the dead letter of the law. And the new and the living way
is through Christ. It is by faith in Christ and
through direct approach to God we have only through the Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. So the way is the way of salvation
through Christ. It is Christianity. It is gospel
worship. It is being in the way of worship
prescribed in the Scripture taught by the Lord and taught by the
Apostle. So when we see that designation,
the way, the way, if he saw any in this way. And for years they
referred to it by that title. But it is the new and the living
way. It's Christianity. It's the gospel. It's Christ. And it's following
and serving after Him. Yes, we like Paul do confess
we worship after this way and believe it to be the true and
only way. that God has appointed.