Stephen Phillips

Church Army

 

The apostle Paul was one of the greatest scholars of his day, having been taught by Gamaliel the Elder, who was himself leader of the Sanhedrin, the religious elders of the Jews. Paul had spent his life studying the scriptures (that is, the Old Testament), but only the infilling of the Holy Spirit helped him know the truth, and then he began preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. If we saw what Paul saw we too would begin to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul was a changed man after his encounter with the Risen Lord on that Damascus Road, and after that encounter he gave his entire life over to his Saviour, and never looked back. We have the same opportunity today. Give your life to Jesus and you will be changed. But you must yield to the Holy Spirit, and you must surrender your all before you can truly understand the goodness of God. Paul went through beatings, prison, shipwrecks, stonings, but he never once renounced his faith. He could not, because he had met the Risen Saviour, and he knew the beauty and the truth and the future glory that would be his once he had shaken off “this mortal coil”. He knew that Jesus had died for him, and not only for him, but for the sins of the whole world. He knew Jesus is alive, and is interceding at the right hand of God for him. Paul could not deny his Saviour, because to deny Him would be to deny the truth, and Paul   now knew the truth - “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Free from his old life of sin and selfishness, free now to serve the Lord he loved and who had set him free by paying the ultimate price – the sacrifice of His life on the cross. How can you not love a God who does this for you?