Immediately, as I read of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9, I felt my spirit stir. I was being re-mind of the indescribable honor and blessing and privilege, the literal and instant transformation, from death to life, which occurs within us each when we first hear Jesus say, “Follow Me”, and we obey. And I rejoiced! If I close my eyes, or not, I can still see that sacred moment in my own life so clearly. As instantly and surely as light came forth from the darkness when Jesus stood over the void and said, “Let there be light” so too did I go, do we who believe in Him go, from being dead in our sins to fully and eternally alive in Christ Jesus, that very nanosecond He awakens us. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ –2 Corinthians 4:6.
Paul also describes this “twinkling of an eye” transformation in 1 Corinthians 15:52 when describing our Lord’s return: “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
Instantly, Jesus takes our filthy vessels of clay, our hearts, hard and dried out by chronic sin, and by the Water of His Spirit, transforms—reshapes them, into carriers instead of the image and likeness of His Son. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” –Ezekiel 36:26-27. The hearts of men are like this dark terraqueous globe, having no light in them; God is as the sun, the fountain of light, which shines upon them and in them; so as to give them a true sight and sense of sin, and of their lost state and condition; so as to cause them to see the fullness and suitableness of Christ as a Saviour; so as to warm their affections, and draw out their desires after Christ, his ways, truths, ordinances, and people –John Gill.
Immediately, we have gone from sinner to saint, from orphan to beloved child. Straightaway, our sins are washed away. So completely removed from us, it’s as if they had never existed. Listen to how God Himself describes this removal of those sins in Isaiah 43:25: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” I don’t know about you, but I could easily spend the rest of my days pressing into the enormity of such love, such Truth, and still walk away, at the of those days, not having been able to fully take in the depth and breadth of such love—of such a gift.
And yet, as I read and delighted and rejoiced in this Truth, I was also awed by the Holy weight of its reminder…
Why Saul and not those men near enough him to have also, “heard the sound of someone’s voice?” Those souls who have yet to hear His Voice for themselves, and our part in their hearing. I was left pondering the flawless Providence of God: This privilege of our election. And the ‘why’ of this man being chosen and not that one? Why was I chosen and he/she/ they/ were not? Why weren’t they, those standing so near to Paul, swept up, instantly transformed too, in Jesus’ Shekinah Glory—His manifested glory, His presence?
This is a question that has been pondered for centuries—discussed, dissected, debated over by minds far greater—far more versed in Scripture and doctrine, than my own. Here, in fact, is Charles Surgeon’s esteemed conclusion as to what the Word of God teaches us concerning this: I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine. Said Scripturally: “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” –Titus 3:5.
I humbly agree with my brother’s conclusion, am satisfied to accept this, in part, as the possible reason why these men, standing so near Paul, so near me that wonder-filled day He called my name, were not saved, as Paul and I each were.
I believe in the Sovereignty of God—in His perfect timing. I believe that at the exact right moment, and according to His will and plan for any man’s life, He will come in such a sure and undeniable way that His effectual call will neither be missed nor able to be denied. Once again, I turn to Paul, who, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, states this Truth this way: “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” –Philippians 2:13. And, it is because of this same deep-seated belief, this fire that burns within me, this hunger that will not be denied that I also, though not considering myself their equal in any way, save our common faith and Father, must share with you what God has given me. I deeply believe too, that God’s Sovereignty in salvation no way cancels out His mandate spoken to His friends: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” –Matthew 28:19-20.
At the time of our Scripture, Paul knew of God certainly, yet He did not know God. Listen to a small part of His testimony: “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” – Philippians 3:5-6. By the grace and mercy of God he goes on to say in verse 7: “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”
Such is the case with many men today. Both their knowledge of Him, but having no intimate relationships with Him, and, once they have come into this knowledge, considering all those things they once valued as worthless, for Jesus’ sake…
Much like Paul, those who were with Paul that day on the Damascus road, may have known of God, may have spent large parts of their youth in the Temple, perhaps even faithfully attended Bible study? The Bible does not make that clear to us. Yet what it does make clear is this: if we who have heard the voice of God, have been chosen in Him, called as ministers of His Word, do not make it our lives work to tell every soul we are able about this loving, patient, kind, merciful, gracious God who gave His only Son that they—that all of us, might be restored to right relationship with Him—be His eternally, then we will be left having to give an account of our failure to God when we meet Him face to face. And, live in the knowledge now, that had we been faithful, as we are mandated by this God we profess to love, then perhaps He would have used our love, our actions or kindness or words, our sharing of His Word, our knowledge of Him through our testimony, so that that one He has been wooing would be washed too, in the saving Blood of His Son, Jesus. If we neglect this sacred charge, pass this opportunity by, deliberately or otherwise, He will bring another along who will be faithful. Mere man cannot thwart the will and plan of God.
Beloved, do the work the Lord gives you, win souls, preach Christ, expound your Bibles, pray men to be reconciled to God, plead with men to come to Christ. This kind of work will stand the fire; and when the last great day shall dawn, this will remain to glory and honour –Charles Spurgeon.
Brothers and sisters, you have heard His Voice—His effectual call. Now, as a result of that hearing, you are responsible, as a result of knowing Him, to fulfill His mandate. “Beloved, cling to the great truth of electing love and divine sovereignty, but let not these bind you in fetters when, in the power of the Holy Ghost, you become fishers of men” – Charles Spurgeon.
We are not certain whether all those men standing near to Paul, his companions, ever came to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus, but we can, by God’s grace, make it our lives work to ensure that no one walk away from our company without having been told of who our Jesus is, and His great love for them. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” –1 Peter 2:9.
Friend if you are here today and have heard of Jesus, but want to know Him in a deep and personal way, won’t you take a moment, right now to ask Him to come into your life, and make Himself real and alive in you? He’s present with you now—and He’s waiting. “Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled” –Hebrews 3:15.
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