"The Great Reversal" (Acts 9:1-22) - The Conversion of St. Paul

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Jesus said to Ananias: “Go, for [Paul] is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

 

Today, the one holy Christian and apostolic Church rejoices to remember the conversion of St. Paul, when Christ brought him out of darkness and began to make him a witness to the Light!

 

Paul had been utterly convinced that it was a fraud, a dangerous fraud. Paul believed that it was his calling and his duty to halt the deception spread by those belonging to “The Way” wherever he found it. Paul was not satisfied in scattering only the Jerusalem believers. He was determined to destroy the Christian Church everywhere. So, he went to the high priest of the Sanhedrin and asked for the authority to round up Christians and bring them back bound to Jerusalem to be imprisoned, tried in a kangaroo court and executed.

 

Paul had already caused so much suffering for the Christians in Jerusalem and in the surrounding area. But in his zeal, it was not enough to stamp out Christianity in Jerusalem. Paul wanted to stamp out Christianity completely.

 

So, with zeal for upholding the honor of the God of Israel, Paul received letters of authority from the Sanhedrin to stamp out Christianity in Damascus, some 150 miles northeast of Jerusalem. And Damascus had a large Jewish population, and it was a city where persecuted Jewish believers in Jesus sought refuge.

 

Just when these Christians thought they were safe, Paul rides toward Damascus with the intention to “bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:2). His intention is go to the synagogues in Damascus, because he would find Christians worshipping there.

 

Yet, as he went on his way, Paul’s certainties soon crumbled. A bright light knocked him flat on his face and blinded his sight. Then, Paul heard a voice. A voice of unspeakable tenderness and mercy addressing him saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4)

Up to this moment, I have been referring to this man as Paul – and he would be known by that name throughout history. One thing to note here, Jesus did not change this man’s name. My name is Peter, but I also know that Pedro and Pierre are also my name in the Spanish and French languages. The same is true about Saul and Paul. Saul is the Hebrew equivalent to Paul in Greek or Latin. So, when this man was among Jews, he would be known as Saul, but among Gentiles, he would be known as Paul.

 

Now, this “Saul, Saul” is like when Jesus said, “Martha, Martha” (Luke 10:41) or “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” (Matthew 23:37). This expression is of loving concern, for Jesus knew Paul believed he was doing the right thing. 

 

In loving concern, Jesus confronts Paul with his sin. The risen, glorified Jesus came to Paul in a flash of blinding light. This blinding light brought Paul to his knees. In his blindness, Paul said, “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5a). Now, this is not an expression of faith by Paul, but of respect. Up to this very moment, Paul was still convinced that his mission was pleasing God.

 

Then the One Paul dared to declare a fraud spoke to him saying, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5b).

 

Although Paul’s physical sight was gone, he began at last to see things clearly. In persecuting Christians, he was persecuting the God he had sworn to defend. 

 

Jesus continued saying to Paul: “Rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (Acts 9:6).

 

The Levite guards who traveled with Paul stood speechless as they heard the voice of Jesus but saw no one. 

 

From this moment on, Paul was under the orders of Jesus. His first order was to go into Damascus and wait for further instructions.

 

Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, was brought down. His proud self-righteousness shattered. His blindness led him toward repentance and contrition. And for three days Paul didn’t eat nor drink in his remorse.

 

“Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias” (Acts 9:10a). In a similar, but much lesser way, Jesus calls out to Ananias – a man Paul was likely to arrest – a man who knew Paul’s reputation – a man who knew why Paul was coming to Damascus – to come to Paul to lay his hands on him and give him a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism, so that Paul would be brought out of the darkness and into God’s marvelous light. For as 1 Samuel 2:6 says: “the LORD kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and rises up.”

 

Jesus reveals to Ananias that this former persecutor of God would become God’s “chosen instrument” to carry out God’s will before the Gentiles and Jews. Paul was an expert on God’s Law, but now he has fully experienced God’s grace. 

 

Paul had been God’s enemy, but now the triune God graciously transforms Paul into a true child of God. It was by God’s grace that Paul was reconciled to God and not only that, but Paul would become Christ’s great apostle as he would bring this gift of reconciliation to the world.

 

Jesus would equip Paul to be an eyewitness to the fact of His bodily resurrection. Through this divine calling, Jesus made Paul an equal among the other apostles.

 

Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul now believes, and now being filled with the Holy Spirit through his baptism into Christ, he would not delay in preaching the good news. Paul would preach that Jesus is from eternity God, who was active in the creation of the universe and took upon Himself human flesh as the promised Messiah, the Redeemer of the world.

 

What happened to Paul when he was blinded and later regained his sight through the washing and rebirth of Holy Baptism was a conversion. And conversion means turning. 

 

In this encounter with the risen Lord Jesus, Paul’s life would begin to turn around. Instead of opposing and fighting Christians, the formerly persecuting and hate-filled man would become the Lord’s “chosen instrument” to bring to all people the joy and light of Christian hope – from a man who would be considered least likely to serve His plan of salvation. “Jesus is Lord” would become Paul’s constant message. “Christ crucified, risen, and returning in glory” would become Paul’s constant theme. Who could have ever imagined a persecutor of Christianity becoming a defender of Christianity? Only the God of grace!

 

Now, you may not have ever participated in the organized persecution of Christians as Paul did, but we are every bit as dependent on God’s saving grace as Paul was.

 

You and I came into this life with a fallen, sinful nature that has a way of always turning toward the self, rather than to the Lord. We, by nature, have a mind that is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law and will never submit to God’s law. We are, by nature, enemies of God.

 

Yet, just as Jesus was not content to let Paul continue on his road to hell, Jesus does not want to see any of us lost. So, like Paul, Jesus has come to us.

 

Just as He did for Paul, Jesus came to you personally to give you the new life that He purchased for you on the cross and through His bodily resurrection. By water and the Word, Jesus shined His light into our dark hearts. And having paid our ransom on the cross, He comes to us personally as He unshackles our bondage to sin and death.

 

Just as Jesus cared for Paul, He also cares for you as He continues to come to us in His Word and at His Table as He comforts us with His forgiveness, which strengthens us in His grace as He gives us peace. 

 

Like Paul, we did not have earn salvation through our merit, since salvation is the free gift of God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus alone.

 

From persecutor of the faith to defender of the faith, Paul would never cease to marvel at this grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in welcoming even a servant such as he. If this “chief of sinners” can be the Lord’s, so can any sinner. If Jesus can turn around someone like Paul, then who is there beyond the hope of repentance? There is not one! Through the work of the Holy Spirit, there is always hope for the unrepentant sinner to come to repentance and faith. For that, all glory to the Savior’s grace, all glory to the triune God alone, who turns and captures hearts to do His bidding! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 5: "Into All Truth" (John 16:12-22)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus said to His apostles: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13a).

Pontius Pilate famously asked Jesus: “What is truth?” (John 18:38). How would we know truth from fiction? From online fact checkers? From the “Ministry of Truth”?

All too recently, we were told to trust the science. But what happens when the science changes? Do we continually trust the shifting sands? Is truth today considered “fluid”? Is it the nature of truth to change?

So, what is Jesus telling us by saying, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth”? Today on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus gives us the answer to the question that is still asked today: “What is truth?”

[The Truth is Out There]

As I have said, there are so many questions in regard to truth. Today, truth has undertaken a new meaning: opinion. Today, opinion seems to matter more than fact. Today, opinion has taken center stage to some big questions, such as: When does life begin? Is it just a clump of cells until I say it’s life? How do I know my sex or gender? Is it assigned to me, or do I choose? What is a woman? What is a man?

In a world without truth, nothing has meaning. But as the television show X-Files proclaims: The truth is out there. It’s certainly out there, but where?

How are we to distinguish truth from lies?

To this, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. He does this to contrast with the spirit of lies – the devil – who turns everything on its head: evil is good, good is evil, and truth is exchanged for a lie. Jesus proclaims that the Holy Spirit will teach the apostles and show them that everything He told them is the truth.

Everything Jesus taught is the Truth, for He said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Now, many men have told us the truth, but no Man ever embodied it except for Jesus Christ. You see, if a man proposes to teach moral truth, his character makes all the difference in the world. Moral truth cannot be conveyed solely in words; it must be conveyed by example. Many people could say: “I have taught you the truth.” But only Jesus says: “I am the Truth.”

But how did the unbelieving world react to Jesus? They called Him a blasphemer. They called Him a liar. They said He was crazy. They shouted, “Crucify Him!”

What did Jesus say of Paul being His chosen instrument in proclaiming the Gospel? “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name” (Acts 9:16).

How is this any different from today? It is the fate of every Christian to suffer for the truth because Christ suffered as the Truth. We are to suffer whatever grief the devil and the world can inflict upon us. The question then is: why would anyone want to be a Christian? Who would want to be a Christian if there is guaranteed suffering? Human reason says, “No way!” But the Holy Spirit says otherwise. He is the Spirit of Truth because in spite of what may appear to be suffering – when we are mocked and ridiculed for speaking God’s Word – He strengthens and preserves our hearts in the one true faith.

Without the Holy Spirit, no one would have believed in Jesus for any length of time, or would still believe today, that Jesus is the Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father, and who was crucified as a criminal by His own people is the true God.

It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to live and to die by the truth. The Holy Spirit is the guide who leads us into all truth. The Holy Spirit occupies Himself in how to rescue men from sin and death by making them children of God, righteous and heirs of eternal life. The Holy Spirit is about building the kingdom of God and destroying the kingdom of hell. He teaches us how to fight against the devil and overcome him. He gives us comfort, strength, and support to a believing conscience. The Holy Spirit does all of this so we may remain alive in the midst of death and may be able to keep a good conscience even when we are aware of our sins, so that we confess those sins to God our Father and receive reconciliation.

It is certainly necessary to fight and grapple with the devil and sin. Here nothing but eternal things – eternal life or eternal death – is at issue. As Baptized Christians, Satan constantly goes after us with all his fury. He wants us to denounce our inheritance as children of the heavenly Father. So, in this life, we are faced with either gaining the victory over the devil and sin by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, or being their captives and lost forever.

As Christians, we are opposed by an enemy who is not interested in our temporal knowledge which we possess. No, he struggles and strives to hold our consciences bound in sin and to plague us from the eternal terrors of hell and with despair to drag us down with him from the kingdom of God and from all communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and into eternal damnation and the fire of hell. Such battles cannot be fought and such victories cannot be won without the Holy Spirit. Our reason and strength alone get us nowhere, as all temporal things will pass away.

Therefore, let us cling to this truth which the Holy Spirit teaches: how we can retain faith in Christ; tread the devil, sin, and death underfoot; bear and overcome the world’s wrath and raging; build God’s kingdom and gain eternal life. And where does the Holy Spirit work in us to retain this? It is only through His Means of Grace.

[Holy Spirit in Means of Grace]

When we hear God’s Word proclaimed and preached, receive Christ’s forgiveness in holy absolution and in receiving Christ’s very Body and Blood under the bread and the wine, we receive forgiveness of sins, which is supplied through Christ’s work of reconciliation, hence God’s grace. It is through these Means of Grace that God reveals and declares to believers that he or she is fully reconciled through Christ. The efficacious power of the Means of Grace consists of this, that through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit works and strengthens faith, faith in the very forgiveness, God’s love and grace, which these means declare and reveal.

So, when we avoid the Means of Grace, we are depriving the Holy Spirit from awaking and strengthening our faith in Jesus Christ. For, as Martin Luther has said, “God does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and Sacraments. It is the devil himself who is extolled as spirit without the Word and the Sacrament.”[1]

It is through the Means of Grace that the Holy Spirit works through us the preservation of the pure doctrine and of faith; victory over sin, the devil, and hell; and also love and obedience to God and our neighbor.

So, we know the truth from the Holy Spirit working within us through His Means of Grace. But does truth change with the times? Can men become women? Does life begin at conception or at birth, or even after birth?

[The Guide into All Truth]

To that question, Jesus says: “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13b-c).

Here, Jesus defines the Holy Spirit’s office. The Holy Spirit is the guide into all truth.

There are two kinds of teachers. There are some who speak on their own authority by evolving their message from their own reasoning and judgment. And, there are those who do not speak on their own authority.

The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority, and His message will not be a human dream and thought like those who speak on their own authority of things which they have never seen nor experienced. The Holy Spirit’s message has substance: It is certain and absolute truth, for He proclaims what He has received from the Father and the Son.

We recognize the Holy Spirit by the fact that He does not speak on His own authority – as the spirit of lies, the devil, and his mobs do – but will proclaim what He will hear. The Holy Spirit speaks exclusively of Jesus and glorifies Jesus, so that people would believe in Jesus as their crucified and risen Savior.

In this way, Jesus sets the bounds for the message of the Holy Spirit Himself. He does not preach anything new or anything else than Christ and His Word. Thus, we have a sure guide and touchstone for judging false spirits.

Christ teaches His followers: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). We come to know the truth through the nature of the Scriptures. You see, the entire Scriptures – the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments – are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Everything in the Scriptures has its origin in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. These are the very words of Jesus that have been preserved by the Holy Spirit.

So, all who imagine that they have found truth elsewhere are deluding themselves, because as Psalm 119 proclaims: “the sum of Your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160).

So, what does the Spirit of Truth say to some of today’s questions?

• On Life: Jeremiah 1(:5a): “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” and Psalm 139 (:13-14a, 15-16) “For You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. … My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
• On Sex or gender: Genesis 1(:27): “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them,” Matthew 19(:4) “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,” and Jesus Himself says in today’s Gospel lesson that only women give birth as He compares the birth of a baby to the joy of His resurrection (John 16:21).

We can only be adequately informed of the truth in God’s Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament.

Although, we aspire to be perfect in following God’s commandments, His Law is impossible for us since we are all sinners. We all do what we should not do, and we all forget from time to time on the things we ought to be doing. Thanks be to God that we have Jesus who is perfect and He gives us His perfection that He won for us upon the cross. He gives us reconciliation through repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

It is the Holy Spirit who takes all things that belong to Jesus and gives forgiveness of sins, life and salvation to us. So, do not be deceived by the spirit of lies, who is at work within the sinful hearts of humanity, who attempts to deceive us into lies. Instead, always remember that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers through their Baptism into Christ, through the Lord’s Supper, and in the Scriptures that “are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5b), which reveal to us God’s love and salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who supports and comforts believers with Christ’s gift of peace! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Portions of the Sermon cited from:

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works American Edition: Volume 24, Sermons on the Gospel of St. John, Chapters 14-16 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1961), 357-371.

---

[1] Trigl. 495, Part III, Art. VIII, 3-10

Sermon for Pentecost 3: "Don't Look Back!" (Galatians 5:1, 13-25)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

[Intro]

 

When the Holy Spirit brings us to faith, He sets us on the path to eternal life.

 

The early Christians described that path as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 24:14), because Jesus is the Way. We walk on that path through our earthly life to the destination of eternal life, but this path is not always easy.

 

As we follow the path, we can become disoriented and end up going in the wrong direction.

 

One such thing happened back in 1995. A Detroit bus driver finished his shift on his route and was heading back to the terminal. But somehow he took a wrong turn. He didn’t arrive at the terminal and a short time later his supervisors started looking for him.

 

Meanwhile, the bus driver’s wife called the terminal to report that her husband might be disoriented from the medication he was taking.

 

For six hours, the bus and its driver could not be found. Finally the state police found the bus and driver – 200 miles northwest of Detroit. The bus was motoring slowly down a rural two-lane road, weaving slightly from side to side.

 

The police pulled the bus over, and the driver said he was lost.

 

The police news release later stated: “The driver had no idea where he was and agreed he had made a wrong turn somewhere. Apparently this had not occurred to him during the four hours he drove without finding the bus depot.”

 

We all have made a wrong turn in our life, but we should all strive to get back on the correct path. For this driver, and us, sometimes it takes an intervention to get us back on the correct path.

 

[The Situation in Galatia]

 

In our epistle lesson, the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul intervene to get the Galatians back on the correct path. He wrote: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:1, 13).

 

So, what was going on at the Galatian Church? Well, we heard last Sunday that many of the Galatian Christians were focusing upon their differences. So, the Apostle Paul reminded them that through faith in Jesus they have all become adopted as children of the Heavenly Father. 

 

Now, that wasn’t the only issue within the Galatian Church. In today’s epistle lesson, we learned that there were many in the Galatian Church who thought God’s moral law didn’t matter. They thought that the gospel meant that they could live any way they wanted as a Christian.

 

Now, Paul never taught them this. So, where did this idea come from? Well, after Paul left Galatia, some people began persuading the Galatians into accepting a different teaching. These persuaders, whom Paul called “trouble-makers” and “agitators”, convinced many in Galatia to abandon God’s moral law to instead follow their own personal desires.

 

In short, these persuaders were perverting the true Gospel of Christ. They were teaching the Galatians to focus upon their self-interests rather than care for each other. On top of that, they were trying to convince the Galatians to conform to worldly desires, rather than trusting in Jesus.

 

Does this sound familiar? Some things never change. Today, the world desires Christ’s Church to conform to the world. At the same time, our sinful flesh wants to give in to worldly desires.

 

We often want to compromise with our sinful flesh thinking, “It’s really not that bad.”

 

Our sinful flesh has an arrogant pride that resists the one true God. It is our natural tendency to desire to control our lives without direction from God Himself.

 

When we abandon what God reveals in the Scriptures, we make gods of ourselves. When we respect the opinions of others instead of God’s Word, we elevate their ideas above God.

 

This all leads in the wrong direction. Instead of following Christ, we look back and desire the works of the flesh.

 

You see, the sinful world is constantly bombarding us and trying to persuade us into thinking that sins against God are not all that bad. In fact, they say they are not bad at all. The world says following your every desire makes you free. In reality, remaining in sin only separates you from God and shackles you to Satan.

 

It used to be that it would be shameful to make many sins public. Today, many people announce their sin publicly. They are proud of their sin. They take pride in their sin.

  

They identify themselves by their sin, rather than acknowledge themselves as a child of the Heavenly Father. They become wrapped in their sin, rather than wrapped in Christ’s righteousness.

 

This was the attitude that was spreading within the Galatian Church. They believed that since they were free in Christ that they could act in any way they wished. They believed freedom to mean: “I can do what I want and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.” Now, this is not what Paul taught. This is not what Jesus taught Paul. This was not the freedom won by Christ.

 

[Works of the Flesh]

 

Paul is reminding the Christians in Galatia and us here today that we are not to use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but instead through love serve one another.

 

You see, by focusing on their sinful desires, their focus was upon themselves. They were thinking inward, rather than outward. They were thinking only of themselves rather than their neighbor.

 

This is what Paul was most upset about. You see, these persuaders, whom Paul called “trouble-makers” and “agitators” were infecting the church with lies. And these lies would only lead the Galatian Church away from salvation in Jesus and to damnation.

 

As the under-shepherd of this flock, Paul was not going to let this happen to his sheep.

 

So, he warns them as a loving father would warn his dear children of the works of the flesh. He writes a long list of self-centered vices that do nothing to support and care for one’s neighbor: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

 

And as we know from Jesus, when we even think of committing a sin, we are guilty, because all sins come from the heart. When we hear Paul’s list of the works of the flesh, each one of us is guilty. Our sinful flesh wants us to follow the works of the flesh, rather than serve our neighbor.

 

Each of the works of the flesh separates us from the love of God. And don’t be fooled, it is not God leaving us, it is us leaving God. By following our sinful desires, we are choosing our own self-centered interests first.

 

But, remember, the Detroit bus driver? The police intervened to save him. Likewise, God intervenes to save His children. When Paul warns the Galatians and us about the works of the flesh, he is intervening for us to save us. Paul is writing this as a loving father would to his children.

 

Paul isn’t saying that if you have done works of flesh that you are bound to hell. But, Paul is warning all Christians that if we would continue in sin, we have chosen a different path from that of Jesus.

 

Now, all of us are guilty of works of the flesh. We constantly look out for our own self-interest above our neighbor. What are we to do?

 

Well, Paul is not talking about a single outburst of these sins, but rather an ongoing, characteristic pattern of behavior. So if you see yourself drenched in sin, also know that God has given you the Way out and His name is Jesus. You see, through His death and resurrection, He has forgiven the sin of all people who repent and follow Him. He died and rose so everyone who trusts in Him would inherit the kingdom of God.

 

But, if you do not confess and repent of your sin, you are refusing to follow Jesus and instead you have chosen a different path. You are refusing your inheritance of eternal life that has been won for you through Jesus Christ.

 

This is what Paul is warning his church about. Paul does not want to lose his flock to self-centered sinful desires. He wants his entire flock to inherit the kingdom of God.

 

[Fruit of the Spirit]

 

Now, as both saint and sinner, our faith and sinful flesh are constantly struggling with each other. We want to live as children of God, but our sinful desires often sneak into our lives.

 

What are we to do? How do we grow and become stronger in the Christian faith? How do we remain on the right path?

 

Through Baptism, we have become children of God. At your Baptism, the Holy Spirit also created a new attitude within us. This new attitude is the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

 

So, instead of putting the focus on our own sinful desires, the Spirit guides us in serving our neighbor, which is our God-given vocation, as we bear fruit and grow in the Christian faith.

 

And, in case we don’t know what exactly the fruit of the Spirit looks like, we can look to Jesus.

 

You see, Jesus unselfishly did what we could never do for ourselves. “For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He gave Himself for you and for me.

 

With the Spirit’s help, we live and act different from the sinful world. We follow a different path from the world. We follow Jesus who suffered the fierce punishment of our sins and rose again to provide victory over death. So, whoever repents and follows Jesus receives forgiveness, eternal life and salvation.

 

Now, our path following Christ is never easy. Jesus never said being a Christian is easy.

 

Our path is a struggle, our sinful flesh wants to look back, but God gives us strength knowing that whenever we fall into sin, He is there to pick us back up when we ask Him for forgiveness.

 

God also gives us His Means of Grace, which forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith. So when we hear and follow God’s Word and receive His true body and true blood in the Sacrament, we are put back on the right path. We are forgiven and our faith is strengthened. We are right back on the path to eternal life as we follow Christ and love our neighbor. Amen.

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Sermon for Easter 3: "Chosen Instruments" (Acts 9:1-22)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

[Intro]

 

Two chosen instruments of God: one a fisherman; the other, a Pharisee. The first man was with Jesus during His entire ministry, but later denied being one of His disciples. The second man believed he was devoutly loyal to God, but later God revealed to him that he was persecuting God’s people.

 

Our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ summoned these men and countless others, including us, to confess the name of the Lord. Despite the unworthiness of Peter and Paul, Jesus redeemed them and all believers through His death upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the grave. Jesus died, so that everyone who believes in Him would be redeemed and receive God’s grace of forgiveness. Jesus rose, so we would be certain of our hope.

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

 

[Paul, the Persecutor]

 

In the earliest years of the Christian Church, it would have been difficult to find a more dedicated opponent of Christ than Saul of Tarsus. From supporting the stoning of Stephen to rounding up and imprisoning Christians in Jerusalem, Saul did his best to destroy the Christian Church. 

 

Why would Saul do this? Well, at the time he believed he was fulfilling the will of God. You see, Saul was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He boldly spoke God’s Word as he knew it. And, what he believed was that Judaism was the true faith and Christianity was totally fake. What he couldn’t get over is why anyone would follow a man who died a criminal’s death — death by crucifixion.

 

Now, Saul believed that Jesus’ death was justified. He believed that Jesus was a fraud. He believed that Jesus was leading people away from the true God.

Saul was also well aware of the claims that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead, but he thought those claiming this were crazy. He thought everyone speaking of His resurrection was delusional.

 

So, Saul considered it his holy duty to persecute the Christians without let-up and without mercy. He felt this was his godly duty to protect the Jewish faith from these delusional and misguided followers of Jesus.

 

In doing so, Saul was filled with righteous rage and righteous hate. Saul believed it was his duty to arrest Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

 

Today, persecution of Christians continues. Christians in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia deal with persecution every day. Islamist and communist governments murder Christians and destroy churches just because they can. Here in the United States, we typically don’t see the physical persecution, but we do see a sinful culture that daily identifies Christians as haters and lifts up Islam as a true religion, which it’s not.

 

This constant fear of death, but hope in Christ’s promises, is similar to what the First Century Christians faced with Saul. Instead of one Saul, there are many Sauls. This is what the Christians in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia face today. They each know they may have to suffer and die for their faith in Jesus. But, they also know that they will enter paradise for their faith in Jesus. As North American Christians, this should also be our expectation. As Christ was persecuted, we should expect persecution.

 

This is how we can picture Saul. First Century Christians knew what to expect when Saul entered the area. They expected to become a martyr.

 

[Jesus Appears to Saul]

 

Now, one day, Saul received permission from the High Priest Caiaphas — via the Sanhedrin — to expand his persecution to Damascus, so he could arrest Christians there and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

 

Jesus, though, had other ideas.

 

As Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4b) Saul responded: “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5a). “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (Acts 9:5b-6).

 

Everyone traveling with Saul witnessed the bright light and heard sounds, but it was only Saul who experienced the fullness of this revelation. Only Saul heard the voice of Jesus.

 

Immediately, Saul’s eyesight went blind, but he began to see things clearly. He realized that in persecuting the Christian Church, he had been persecuting the true Messiah. He realized that he had been persecuting God.

 

With this knowledge, Saul was led by his men hand-in-hand to Damascus to await what he was to do.

 

While in Damascus, Saul neither ate nor drank, but only prayed to God for he now knew that the Scriptures testified about Jesus.

 

[Jesus Appears to Ananias]

 

Jesus also appeared to Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, who lived in Damascus — a man that likely Saul came originally to arrest. Jesus told Ananias to visit Saul so that he would regain his sight. But Ananias knew of Saul. He knew Saul’s reputation. He knew that Saul could arrest him. He was puzzled. He was confused.

 

Jesus later said to Ananias: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). 

 

Later Ananias came to Saul, laid his hands on him, and baptized him in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Through God’s gift of healing, Saul’s eyes were opened to see, and through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, Saul was brought out of darkness into God’s marvelous light.

 

Saul had been Christ’s enemy, but Christ graciously forgave him and transformed him into a friend. 

 

By God’s grace, Saul had been unconditionally forgiven and unconditionally restored by Christ. Jesus then sent out Saul as his chosen instrument to bring that same gift of reconciliation to the world. He received grace and now Saul proclaims this grace to all people.

 

Through God’s wisdom, our Lord chose to send the message of grace to sinners through sinners. Who better than Saul, who called himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), to speak the comfort that Christ is the friend of sinners?

 

[Forgiveness Isn’t Easy] 

 

Even though Saul was forgiven by God, forgiveness from fellow Christians wasn’t as easy. You see, they remembered how Saul terrorized them. They remembered his threats against them. Eternally, Saul was forgiven, but temporally, he was seen as the same old Saul. Even Ananias wasn’t rearing to visit Saul, until Jesus calmed his fears by calling Saul His chosen instrument.

 

We might not have participated in the organized persecution of Christians, but we are every bit dependent on God’s saving grace as Saul.

 

We each come into this life with a fallen, sinful nature that looks in toward itself rather than up to the Lord. We, by nature have a mind that is hostile to God and we do not want to submit to God’s moral law. In short, we are all by nature enemies of God.

 

Our sinful nature wants to withhold forgiveness. Our sinful nature likes having a sense of power over one another.

 

Likewise, our sinful nature doesn’t like saying, “I’m sorry,” either. Our sinful nature always thinks of itself as always right.

 

Our sinful nature does not want to forgive others who wrong us. This is how the early Christians thought about Saul.

 

So, when someone who has terrorized you suddenly desires to be your friend, how would you react? Wouldn’t you be cautious? Would you wonder why? Would you forgive them if this person said they were truly sorry for what they had done?

 

In time, Saul was trusted by the fellow Christians since he never wavered when he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues saying: “He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

 

As a sinner forgiven by Christ, Saul received God’s grace and we too, receive God’s grace. The Holy Spirit inspired Saul to write about God’s grace more than a hundred times in His epistles, which gives every Christian confidence that through Christ’s death and bodily resurrection, everyone who trusts in Jesus as Lord is eternally saved by grace through faith in Jesus alone.

 

[Chosen Instrument]

 

Now, Jesus continually calls those considered least likely to serve His plan of salvation. No one expected Saul – a persecutor of the faith – to become a messenger of the gospel. No one also expected a ragtag group of fishermen, who didn’t always understand Jesus, to become messengers of the gospel. No one would expect Peter to be forgiven for denying Jesus three times as his Lord faced trial. But that is exactly what Jesus does.

 

Jesus said to Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:15, 16, 17). And for three times, Peter responds in repentance saying, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you” (John 21:15, 16, 17). Jesus absolves Peter saying: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).

 

In His threefold exchange with Peter, Jesus restored His disciple to service to Him and His flock. Jesus gave him grace.

 

You see, our own past sins and failures often make us feel unworthy to serve God. We may think, “Why would God ever forgive me? I wouldn’t forgive myself.” But Jesus continues to comfort our souls with forgiveness of sins and with compassion. He gives us grace.

 

This is extremely true for Saul. Saul was on the fast track to influence and power among the Jewish authorities. He was rounding up Christians that he believed deserved what they received by the Sanhedrin. Saul may have eventually become a leader among the Jewish authorities, but instead God chose him to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

In proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles, Saul uses his Greek translation of his name, Paul. As now God’s chosen instrument, Paul becomes a special messenger of the Gospel.

 

As a Roman citizen, Paul is now able to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide throughout the Roman world. At the same time, Peter continues to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ among the Jews.

 

[Our Call]

 

Today, the Christian Church continues where the apostles left off.

You see, all of us here today are also chosen instruments of God. Just as Christ did for Saul and Peter, He came to each one of us personally to give us the new life that He purchased for us upon the cross and in His resurrection. By water and the Word, He shined His light into our hearts. Having paid our ransom upon the cross, He came to us personally to free us from sin, death and Satan.

 

Just as Christ cared for Paul and Peter in their mission work, Christ continues coming to us to give us forgiveness and strength for our weak faith in the Lord’s Supper. He comes to us through His Body and Blood in the bread and wine to restore us as His chosen instruments.

 

Though we have not earned this, it is given to us as God’s free gift in Christ through His death and resurrection. This is grace. 

 

As forgiven, redeemed and justified like Paul and Peter, we are chosen instruments of God. As chosen instruments, we live out the one true Christian faith in our words and actions. We live our lives forgiven and tell others of the grace we have received.

 

We were enemies, but through Jesus Christ, we have been transformed from enemies into friends. We have been transformed into Christ’s chosen instruments.

 

So, if someone asks you about your hope, we are to proclaim like Paul and Peter that everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus is no longer God’s enemy, but is God’s friend. It doesn’t matter the sin of thought, word, or deed. Through repentance, we are forgiven!

 

For this, we should celebrate God’s grace! This is exactly what we do each Sunday morning in the Divine Service. We celebrate what God has done for us and what God continues to do for us! In response to God’s grace, we tell others what God has done for you and for me as His chosen instruments! We were enemies of God, but by grace through faith in Jesus, we are forgiven!

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T