Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-03-11
Obedience to the Heavenly
Vision.


Obedience to the Heavenly
Vision.
Saul of Tarsus-the Jew and the
Pharisee-Was once a violent perse-
cutor of Christians, at the time think
ing that he was thereby doing God
service. His opinion then was, that
he fought to do many things con-
trary to the name of Jesus of Nazar-
ath." False views and a false con-
science governed his conduct. This,
while it explains why he acted as he
did, does not justify that conduct or
make it innocent. He afterwards
bitterly condemned himself and spoke
of himself as the ''chief" of sinners
because he had prosecuted "the
church of God"
When and how did this c%onscien-
tious prosecutor discover his error?
This question is fully answered in the
speech which he made to Agrippa,
detailing the circumstances of his
conversion. The Lord Jesus came
from Heaven and met him when he
was on his way to Damascus. He
saw him and heard him, and had no
doubt that Jesus was then and there
present and he at once changed his
course and became a Christian. This
fact he stated to Agrippa in these
words "Whereupon, o King Agrip-
pa, L was not disobedient unto the
heavenly vision"
The "vision" to which the Apostle
referred consisted in what he saw
and heard, and this he had just de-
tailed to Agrippa. The facts were
supernatural and real to him. A
light above the brightness of the sun
did at midday shine round about him
and them that journed with him.
Saul did hear q voice speaking to him
and saying, "Saul, Saul, why perse-
cutest thou me?" He did hear the
other words spoken ; and Jesus did
speak those words. 1t vas then and
there that God revealed his Son in
him and to him, and called him by
his grace, and gave him his commits
sion as an apostle of the Lord Jesus,
There is no record of any other con
version in the apostolic age, or in any
other age, that is the exact parallel
ing it. These circumstances were
peculiar, and have never been dupli.
Gated in any other known case.
And yet Saul's conversion, consid.
cred as a mental and moral change OF
the man himself from the wrong te
the right, as obedience on his part tC
the "heavenly vision," and as a new
course of action, founded on new anC
different views, is not to be regarded
as distinguishable from other CONVEX
sions. 1t was Saul himself who
having had the ~''heavenly vision" Of
which he speaks, and having thereby
become satisfied that he was wholly
and awfully wrong in prosecuting
Christians, obeyed this s'vision." L
was Saul who, being convinced tina
Jesus of Nazareth, though ~crucifieC
by the Jews, had actually risen from
the dead, and was indeed the grea
personal reality which he declared
himself to be, at once became a fol
lower of this Jesus, identified himsel
with him, and devoted his life there
after to his service. His vas a UOl
untdry obedience in the outset, an
voluntary to the end. There is n
sense in which his conversion was
physical coercion, or in which the OIL
binary laws of free agency that exis
III HuIldH HdGuI0 WSI6 dCoudlIy o"H
pended. He stated the exact trut
when he said to Agrippa 81 was nc
disobedient to the heavenly vision.
He yielded his mind and heart to tn
evidence presented to him, and
once followed the new light giver
His obedience was not miraculous
but was his oaUn action as q sinner
, seeing his error and forsaking it.
This is precisely what every ma
L does and must do who becomes
9 Christian, no matter under what CT
cumstances the change may occu
$ A sinner hears the call of God
grace in the soul, and prehaps heal
) it very loudly. He is made senslb
ID of the fact that he is a sinner an
a the knowledge of this fact haunt
u; him with its condemning sentenc
= He is not on good terms with II
t. own conscience. He IS wrong an
he knows it,. The future LIE do'
2 not promise well for him. lie NJ
le wants which he cannot meet. vi
is being in such a state of mind may
Y. sure that God is at work within nj