PAULS TESTIMONY BEFORE KING AGRIPPA

Acts 26:9,13-14

Morning Meditation 2/17/2014

Verse 9, 13-14 say, “ I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

It would be good to read all of Acts chapter 26 before you read this meditation. I will not comment on everything. Just a few points to consider. Lets notice,

PAUL’S TESTIMONY TO HIS PRE-CONVERSION BLINDNESS

Paul said, “ I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”

1.Paul was certain that he was right when he was wrong. The word “verily” translates two words “men oun” and is translated by Berry, “indeed therefore,” in his Interlinear translation from the Textus Receptus. This is a dangerous condition for one in authority. He thinks he is doing right when he is doing wrong. He persecuted the saints and even went so far as to authorize the death of Stephen. The unsaved man is blind. This explains the acceptance of the hypothesis of evolution as a fact on the part of unsaved scientist and their followers. They are blind.

2.Paul was a thinker before he was saved. The word “thought” translates “dokeo” and means, “to be of opinion, think, suppose, it seemed to me.” It is an aorist active indicative verb and it means, “It seemed to me at that time.” God did not call many wise men after the flesh (1 Cor. 1:26) to preach His Word and He gives the reason in 1 Cor. 1:29. But He did in the case of Paul. Paul was brilliant and a thinker and he was popular with his peers in his day because he advocated the leading theological position of that time, i.e., He was a Pharisee (Phil. 3:5).

3.Paul was inwardly convinced he was right when he was wrong. The words “with myself” translate “emautoo,” and is an indirect object and means, “in myself.” It is one thing to have a thought, it is another to be convinced within yourself that it is true. Paul was inwardly convinced that he was justified in opposing Jesus Christ and His followers. He was an intellectual but was of the opinion that it was right to use force to abolish Christianity. He didn’t just use REASONING to oppose the follower of Christ, he used force. In other words “If we can’t out argue them, let’s either imprison them and teach them a lesson or kill them. We cannot tolerate this persuasion in our nation.”

4.Paul was convinced that he had an obligation to take action against Christianity. The word “ought” translates “dei” and means “it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper.” It is a present infinitive. This is an action word . The words “to do” translate “prasso” and mean, “to exercise, practice, to be busy with, carry on.” So when you put these words together it calls for action against the Christians.

Paul is giving testimony to the extent of his spiritual blindness before he was saved. The unsaved man is spiritually dead and is blind to the truth of the gospel. This is the reason in 1 Cor. 2 Paul tells us when he came to Corinth the first time, and brought the gospel message, that he determined that he would not attempt to tell them anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul knew that until a man was saved he was blind and it would be a waste of time to attempt to tell him something he could not possibly understand. If you have unsaved friends, it would be well to keep this in mind. Trying to convince them of other things might even be a hindrance to the possibility of winning them. Then next,

PAUL GIVES TESTIMONY OF HIS PERSONAL CONFRONTATION BY CHRIST

He tells Agrippa of the heavenly light and the voice saying in the Hebrew tongue, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”

He tells Agrippa that the Lord knew him by name. Paul says, “He called my name twice!” And He asked me why I was persecuting Him. Paul had never considered that Jesus so loved His disciples that when they were persecuted that He was the One for whom they were being persecuted. Jesus took it personally. The Lord personally confronted Paul.

Salvation is a personal matter. The preacher may preach but the Lord is the One who confronts and makes the sinner realize that he is a sinner and that he needs to believe in Him as Lord Saviour. We see this in Peter’s great confession in Matthew 16:16 where Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus responds and says, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Jesus did go back to heaven after the resurrection. He is at the right hand of the Father. But He does personally confront every person who is ever saved. Salvation is a personal matter. He uses us to get the message out but He is involved personally with all who are saved. Let me say again, there is no salvation without personal conviction of sins and the sinner being convinced that Jesus is God’s answer for his sins, and that He is alive and able to save when he believes. There was a time and place for Paul and the road to Damascus was it. There has to be a time and place.

One more thing before I leave this. I didn’t say that you had to remember the time and place. Your salvation is not dependent on your memory. If it were, a saved person who got a bump on the head and suffered amnesia would lose their salvation! Next,

PAUL GIVES HIS TESTIMONY OF SURRENDER

He says, “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” I believe that Paul’s salvation and call to preach were at the same time. God does not call unsaved men to serve especially to preach the gospel. But we must face the fact that Paul did not go through a long period of struggle over the call to the ministry. In Acts chapter 9 where Paul’s conversion took place, we are told that he went into Damascus and remained blind and fasting. Ananias a disciple was told by the Lord to go and restore Paul to his sight. Ananias was reluctant to do this since Paul had been such an enemy of the church. Then in verses 15-16 we have the words, “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.” Paul was at this time a chosen vessel. It was probably before Paul knew it. But Paul had opened the door for this call when he called Jesus, “Lord.” That means “Boss” in the ultimate sense of the word. It is totally inconsistent for a person to call Jesus Lord then argue if Jesus tells you to do something. You say, “Preacher, are you obedient in everything?” I will put it like this. Not always immediately but ultimately yes. I have struggled with things that took Him time to bring me to the place of obedience.

This is not nearly all of Paul’s testimony. But it is an important part. I hope we have been helped by this short study. Paul does testify that one can be absolutely sincere even to persecuting Christians and think he is right with God in doing it. He also testifies that salvation is a matter of a personal confrontation with Christ. We may not have the drama Paul experienced, but it is no less Jesus confronting us with our sins and the gospel. Then he testifies to the unconditional surrender that every Christian should maintain in his life.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White