Evening star., 1930-12-13
Sunday School Lesson
Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson.

kings and the children Of Israel y
Christianity had up to this time been
confined within the Jewish race, but
the hour had come when II was TO lay
OF its swaddling clothes and start on
its career among all nations. Before
any great truth can win its way tri-
umphantly among men It has to become
incarnate In some great personality. 1t
derives from that fervent heart the
living passion that enables 1t to master
men.
In Saul the Lord had a man who by
birth, education and experience was
specially prepared to emancipate Chris
tianity from the restrictions of the ma
ton that had considered the new faith
as its own. He was born In Tarsus,
which was q university and CONNER
cial center. 1t was located upon the
great highway to Rome from Syria and
Eastern Asia. His father was Roman
citizen, so Saul was not only a Jew by
birth, but also citizen of the Roman
Empire. He was at the time Of his
conversion q Hebrew who could claim
to belong to the tribe Of Benjamin by
blood and that he had been reared as
q Pharisee
He had matriculated in the school OF
Gamaltel, one Of the leading scholars
and teachers Of his day. During his
student days Saul had outstripped his
fellow students. He had an intense
earnestness that made him q zealot for
Judaism. He was strict in observing
the mosaic ritual and could claim for
himself that his righteousness, which
was of the law, was blameless" In his
work of prosecuting the church he be-
lieved that he was doing Gods will
He considered that the claims of Chris
tianity were antagonistic to the lofty
ideals of his faith. During his boy
hood days in TarSus Saul had learned
the Greek language and become IA
niliar with Greek literature. He loved
his gentle neighbors and appreciated
their worth. He learned the value oi
not only his Roman citizenship, but
also to appreciate Roman methods OF
colonial administration and the good
points OF Roman laws and systems OF
administering justice.
Eject Of SauTs Conversion.
Immediately after the visit of Ana
MAS, Saul identified himself with the
church in Damascus by baptism. A
mighty revolution had taken place in
the apostles life. In all probability he
saw it symbolized in his baptism. He
mad passed from darkness to light
from death to life, from being a perse-
SAOOA VI bAAC ChuACA W DcCOIue n CQanl-
pion OF its gospel. Possibly Paul may
have recalled his own conversion
when he wrote to the Corinthians: III
any man be In Christ, ne is new
creature; old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new"
There was revealed to Ananias In
vision the mission the Lord had as
signed to Saul. This was communi-
Gated to the new disciple. The destined
dignity of the apostolate and the ex-
ceptional character of his work as the
apostle to the gentiiles were plainly in
eluded in his appointment as a mission
ary to the heathen nations. He pre-
ferred to return to Jerusalem to win
his own nation for the Lord. He rec
ognized the difficulty he faced when he
tried to tell the brethren in the Da-
mascus church about how Christ had
revealed Himself to him and spoken
to him the words that changed his
whole life and program. Before he
could enter upon his great missionary
work Saul had to have an opportunity
to restudy the Old Testament, especially
the passages referring to the Christ.
He needed solitude to think. through
his new views and to readjust his ideas,
so that he could carry out Christ's COM
mands. He found It near where God
had revealed Himself to Moses and to
the nation of freedmen whom he had
brought out of Egypt through the
waters OF the Red Sea. There, aE Mount
Sinai the work of his conversion was
completed and Saul was ready to 70
where Christ wished him to 20 and do
what He wanted him to do.