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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (23-7-2000 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
Arriving at Jerusalem, Paul was
arrested. The Jews were concerned that he spoke against the Jewish law and
Jerusalem Temple, and he was almost lynched until rescued by the Roman soldiers.
On the steps of the Castle of Antonia, a Roman stronghold, Paul gave his defence
and explanation of his life. He beckoned the people with his hand, and they
reluctantly listened to his defence. He told them how he was once a bigoted Jew
and a persecutor of Christians, and how his life was transformed by Christ’s
manifestation to him. And how in his new life he had spent his time willingly
preaching and commending all the things he had once hated and sought to destroy.
Man’s best defence is not
intellectual arguments he has leant off by heart, but his own knowledge of the
Lord’s dealings with him. I was this, and now I am that. The change is so
great it has changed me in hundreds of ways which I alone know. This enables a
man to speak with conviction and authority, and to glow and express warmth and
gratitude to the Lord. This carries weight with other men.
F.B.Meyer’s criticism of a
sermon he heard – the exegesis was correct, the illustrations were apt, the
spirit was sincere, it was an above average sermon. But it failed to move
because the preacher was not moved. It did not kindle because the preacher did
not glow. There was no passion in it.
Unlike Luther, of whom it was
said he preached as if Christ died yesterday, rose today and is returning
tomorrow. There is need for truth and clarity and passion in a sermon.
The preacher only has passion when he is speaking with conviction, coming from
the Lord’s dealings with him.
Paul gave a description of what happened when he personally met with Christ, and the affect it had. We all must have an encounter with Christ if we would be saved. The way we meet Him, and the following effect, will vary from person to person. Paul’s life was dramatically changed, but other people have a very different experience, far from dramatic. But we all need to meet that same person and follow in His steps.
Some people think that the only ones who need a
“conversion experience” are the real moral outcasts, the violators of all
the commandments, the jailbirds, the atheists, those who sow their wild oats.
Not so. Conversion is required for every man.
Look at Paul. He was born in the
university city of Tarsus (Acts 22:2), sat at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the
finest and most highly honoured of the Jewish teachers (Acts 22:3). Paul was
taught perfectly in the Law of the fathers, and was zealous towards God, devoted
to His law. As far as outward obedience and compliance to the law was concerned,
he was blameless. He not only complied with the Ten Commandments, but the oral
traditions explaining it, e.g. the 1521 regulations about Sabbath observance
(Philippians 3:6). He was so eminent in conduct and life that he was sure he
could be saved by the kind of man he was. And to prove his commitment and zeal
he spent his life getting rid of the impostor Jesus Christ and his deluded
followers. He persecuted Christians to death. He threw them in prison, in
Jerusalem and in Damascus. He stood by watching as the first Christian martyr
was stoned to death (Acts 22:20), looking after the clothes of those who did the
stoning. He was certainly religious, moral, sincere, zealous, and a vigorous
opponent of all he thought was opposed to God and His truth and way. He was no
moral outcast, no atheist, and no abandoned defaulter. His life commended itself
to many Jews who must have wished they were half as good. And he was sure his
life commended itself to God. If anyone was sure of earning a ticket to heaven,
it was Saul.
But he had to learn a painful
lesson – and many others have had to learn it since. No man can save himself.
However religious and moral, he will never reach the total perfection that God
requires. Whether a man is on top of Mount Everest, or down in the deepest
coalmine, he is still millions of miles from the stars. And he can never wipe
away the past – the many times he has tried and failed. The good we do is only
our duty (Luke 17:10). God requires total, absolute, unfailing perfection, 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.
The lesson every man has to
learn is that he is utterly guilty before God, bankrupt, and there is no reason
why God should have any pity on him. History has many examples of people who
thought they were good enough, and had to be brought up short. Luther said
prayers by the hundred, day and night, he nearly starved himself to death to
make atonement for his sins, he climbed the steps of Pilate’s staircase in
Rome on his hands and knees to get forgiveness – and then, halfway up, “The
just shall live by faith” suddenly dawned on him. Charlotte Elliot was at
first incensed when she was told by a man of God “I thought as I heard you
play the piano how greatly God could use your talents if you gave them to Him.
But I have to tell you that you are a sinner as much as the outcast woman on
Scarlet Street. But the blood of Jesus will cleanse you from all sin.” The
high society girl did not accept that sort of truthfulness, but when she went to
bed she could not sleep. Eventually she got up at 2a.m. and penned the words of
her great hymn, “Just as I am without one plea”.
What man cannot do, God alone can do. “Thou must save, and Thou alone”.
This is yet another Bible story making it clear that there must be personal dealing with the living risen Saviour. About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' (N.B. that actions committed against a child of God are the same at committing them against Jesus Himself) 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. (N.B. immediate submission) 'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' (Acts 22:6-10). Through Ananias, Paul received his sight again and he heard that God has chosen him to know His will, to hear His words, and to witness to them (Acts 22:14,15).
Becoming a Christian involves first hand dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a complete about turn. It involves forsaking all we once were and once did. It is not merely changing ideas, changing ways of worship, or even beliefs and standards. It is a personal relationship with a Person, the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose from the grave. It means personally knowing Jesus the Saviour, knowing His will, hearing the words from His mouth and bearing witness to others. We become under His control – no longer our way or will or purposes or programme. The crown is placed on another head, and we come under His control and direction.
In his letters Paul used many description to show how radical the change was in his life. God was pleased to reveal His Son in me (Galatians 1:15,16). I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20). For me to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21). Christ Jesus took hold of me (Philippians 3:12). If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17). God has made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). The murderer of saints became the Apostle of the Gentiles. He was a burning witness of all that this conversion meant to him. Not just a scholar, a philosopher, an advocate or a theologian, but a witness. By direction and personal experience he could speak of what he knew.
How powerful a personal testimony is when the heart is filled with the love of Christ, the mind saturated with His teaching, conscience sensitive to His law, and whole nature aglow with the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being a Christian is not just signing a card, saying a prayer, assenting to a list of doctrines, or rolling up the sleeves to try harder or change habits. It is total revolution and redirection of life. We no longer have our back to God, but our face to God. It is not enough to believe all the facts; you must forsake your old ways. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon (Isaiah 55:7).
Many people today say they are Christians, but there is no change observable. They still run their own lives. They have just given lip service to the texts, and have been told they are Christians. Christ has never possessed their whole being, and they have never forsaken what is against His will. They have never yielded heart and will. What is the state of your heart? Have you yielded your will to Him? Do you know God’s purpose for your life?
Now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name (Acts 22:16). Note that the New Testament never says be baptised if you feel like it. It is not optional. It is a command, just as believe, repent and obey are commands. The inward experience has to be matched by the outward expression. When we call on His name and receive salvation, it is to be signified by the outward act. God ordained the act of baptism as a sign of the end of the old life and the beginning of the new life. It is a symbol of cleansing from sin. It is not the relationship itself, but a symbol of it – just like the wedding ring is a symbol of the marriage.
Paul obeyed the command immediately. And his life continued to bear witness to the wonderful miracle God had wrought in this sinner’s life.
