Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-14
saul,s dramatic conversion is the most

important event In connection with the
founding of the Christian faith. after
the resurrection of Christ and the out
pouring of the holy spirit. No event
in connection with the early lie OF
the church and the subsequent develop
ment of Christianity exercised q greater
influence than the abandonment OF ms
pharisaiSm by the prosecutor or the
Christian forces and his acceptance OF
Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lore.
JIu to the hour of his conversion Saul
had prosecuted the followers of Christ
with great zeal. believing that he was
doing his duty to Jehovah, as a junior
member of the Sanhedrin charged with
the duty of supervising and protecting
the faith of the fathers" from every
! form of injury. especially in the perSe-
| cution that broke out i'll Jerusalem fol-
! lowing the death of Stephen.
Saul had taken. a prominent part in
connection with the movement to free
| Jerusalem of all believers in the CHRIST.
| His success had resulted in his being
commissioned by Theophilus, the son OF
Annas. the high priest, to proceed TO
| Damascus to arrest and bring bound
unto Jerusalem" all the followers of this
way, the suggestive name applied at
the time to the Christian believers.
knowing that they would not encounter
any opposition from the Roman au-
thoritieS in the worlds ancient city, for
they always approved the action of the
Sanhedrin, even in criminal matters.
We do not know which one of the two
routes he would take over the desert.
Probably the shorter, which would cause
him to cross over the Jordan near
Jericho. moving up through Perea to-
ward Damascus, a journey of about lSO
miles.
Near the end of the five or six days
that il took Saul to make the trip, we
are told that in moment the vigorous
prosecutor of the Christians ceased his
breathing out threatening and Slaugh-
ter" against the people of the way. and
became a devout disciple OF the LORD
Jesus The importance OF this event
is reflected in the three various &C
counts. given of Saul'S conversion In the
New Testament. two of them drawn
from Paufs personal narratives. Then
there are references to it made by the
great apostle in the epistleS to the
Galatians. Corinthians and the Phliip-
plans. While there exist minor di1er-
enees in someo the subordinate oe-
tails, the agreements in the principal
particulars give the records, according
to Gloag, that mark of internal credl-
bility--substantial truth combined with
circumstantial variety" They were APP
preaching Damascus, the worlds most
ancient city. and one of the most Won
derfrll cities today, being an oasis In the
heart of a desert. 1t is today, as 1t has
always been. a center where all races
and tribes and tongues meet to ex-
change their ideas and experiences and
to barter their goods in trade.
S~u,ss rorv.re;on
Saul's conversion was not universal
type. vet 1t was complete turning
around" In view of the fact that his
conversion was destined Ito have Tar
more influence on the future political,
social and religious history OF the world
than any one of the so-called Is decisive
battles of the world" it was necessarily
different from that of any other per-
sons conversion. 1t illustrates perfect
lv the essential characteristic of CONVEX
sion. for it was marked by "a turning
from sin to the Savior, from opposi-
ton TO Christ to entire surrender to
Him, from a life dominated by the spir-
it of this world to life dominated by
the Holy Spirit of God"
While Saui's conversion was sudden,
it had a period of preparation that
reached back into the past. All OF his
zeal for the service of God and the
knowledge of the Old Testament had
been passing under review during the
journey across the desert. In the sew
enth chapter of Romans We have an
photographed passage that points TO
the fact that at times at least ne must
have felt that his righteousness, though
perfect according to the standards OF
Judaism, was unsatisfactory, II not an
FL fn @AnEin0
to cover up his unrest by his persecu-
ton of the Christians. The relation OF
his conversion to the death Of Stephen
is recognized The conduct of the mar
tyr facing death caused Saul TO think.
Why Stephen had professed no sorrow,
asked for no mercy and prayed for
those putting him to death were prob
lens pressing for solution In Sauls
mind Stephens courage and confess
sion of seeing Christ caused the perse-
cutor TO consider the character OF the
faith which Stephen had profesSed.
Possibly Saul may have been meditat-
ing upon the witnessing OF Stephen
when at MONDAY he was overwhelmed
by the vision Of the light, the voice
speaking from the air, convicted that
he was facing the Lord face TO face-the
Lord who identified Himself with HIS
! followers by demanding from Saul
reason for his prosecuting Him. he
was blinded and shattered by the ex-
perience when he learned that Jesus OF
| Nazareth had Himself called him TO &C
count. 1t was the suffering, humiliating
One who had died upon the cross. yet
| the victorious Master. who conquered
| Saul that day. Christ's soldiers are HIS
captured enemies. Saul was His great
est conquest.
| In seeking TO interpret what Sauls
conversion meant for him. we find that
| it involved at least three things: Ia
| The conviction that Jesus had risen
| from the dead. (bD the faith that Jesus
was the Messiah. the risen, living
! Christ, and (c) the conviction that his
past life was failure and that ne was
| a sinner. His experience convinced
Saul that he could not be saved by the
law. No matter how men may seek to
explain the conversion Of Saul, we have
| in his experience that midday zone OF
the most convincing evidences Of the
truth of christ's resurrection and
| thereby the truth Of Christianity" The
only explanation OF the complete
change wrought in Saul that day Is
the one he has given us--he had seen
Jesus AnaniaS confirmed 1t, when ne
brought to Saul the assurance OF
brotherliness and explained Gods com
! -.usnr.z.. 30 Gail xKyl4n dGrraYi9trafnH his