The Proof of a Transformed Life

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket (Acts 9:20-25).

Saul was changed by his dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ. He was physically blinded and healed. His life purpose was completely reversed. The results were dramatic and undeniable. While there are many evidences of Christian conversion, here we are encouraged to consider and imitate four evidences of Saul’s new life in Christ that amazed his contemporaries and would later compel him to declare… “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Here we get a compelling illustration of the proof of a transformed life.

The transformed life is marked by public profession. The Spirit compelled Luke to tell us “immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues”. All of Saul’s accusing and condemning words were replaced with a simple, powerful message… “He is the Son of God”. The Spirit moved John to teach that this confession identifies the truly born-again believer… “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). May God give us daily opportunities to make this profession too.

The transformed life is driven by purified passion. Before his encounter with Christ, Saul was passionately driven to protect and defend God and the Jewish religion. Christ purified Saul’s passion with the truth of the gospel and Saul was now driven to obey Christ’s command to… “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). May God purify our selfish hearts daily and fill us with a holy passion to proclaim Christ to our needy world.

The transformed life is infused by prolific power. In his encounter with Christ, Saul was stripped of the power of his position and even of the power to see and to care for himself. He was made weak and empty and ready for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill him and work through him. This was a wonderful fulfillment of Christ’s promise to His true disciples… “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We can expect and trust the Spirit’s power as we are His witnesses every day.

The transformed life is attacked by provoked persecution. Before his encounter with Christ, Saul had his Jewish supporters. He was their champion, defending their misdirected faith. But after his encounter, Saul became their worst nightmare. The power and effectiveness of his Holy Spirit empowered testimony could not be defeated with words. So great was the fear of the Jews that they were provoked to kill Saul. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit empowered and Christ revealing testimony of any true disciple will provoke persecution… “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). But Jesus also promised that holy persecution will produce holy blessings… “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). When we suffer rejection and persecution because of our Christ-reflecting words and life, let’s keep looking up, and let the anticipation of a forever reward in heaven encourage our hearts to endure and persist.

As we grow up into Christ, we are set apart and we impact the world around us with…

The Proof of a Transformed Life. 

The Call that is from God

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus (Acts 9:10-19).

With the words… “Now there was a disciple” our hearts should stir with anticipation of a revelation of truth, because we too are disciples. The Lord had a very special mission for this particular disciple named Ananias. He was to approach Saul, a sworn enemy of the young church, touch him in the healing name of Jesus, whom Saul hated with a passion, and commission him to a new life of preaching and suffering for the name of Christ that he so despised. Ananias was being called to be an instrument of God’s transforming grace in the life of a very well-known sinner, and if we follow closely, we will discover here three truths about how to answer the call that is from God.

God calls those who recognize His voice. Ananias’ response to the Lord when He called his name shows us that he recognized that the source of this voice was his Lord… “Here I am, Lord”. We are not told if this was the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit talking, but the voices are all the same. Years of studying God’s Word, days of listening to Jesus’ teaching, and hours of praying in the Spirit had produced a familiarity with the voice of God in Ananias’ heart. The same is true for any disciple. Because we are born again, we love spending time in God’s Word, listening to the teaching of Jesus, and praying in the Spirit, and these spiritual disciplines help us recognize the voice of the Lord… “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Growing disciples anticipate and recognize the call that is from God.

God calls those who question His voice. Ananias had some justifiable doubts about this call. He did not hide them, but he shared them openly with the Lord. We are reminded of Mary’s response to Gabriel when He appeared with news that she would soon give birth to God’s Son… “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34). God is not offended by our genuine questions. In fact, He loves answering us and helping us to know Him and His divine plans better… “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3) and “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). God has an answer for every question that comes from the heart of an inquiring disciple.

God calls those who obey His voice. Ananias immediately went to Saul and obeyed every detail of the Lord’s instructions. There is still much holy work to be done today, and the Lord is still seeking growing disciples who listen to and obey His voice. Jesus taught that those who hear and keep (observe, preserve, obey) God’s Word will be blessed… “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28). Maturing disciples that are eager to study and obey God’s Word will surely hear His voice calling us to opportunities to apply it every day.

As we grow up into Christ, we become more familiar with His voice and we are eager to answer…

The Call that is from God.

The Encounter that Transforms the Heart

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank (Acts 9:1-9).

The Holy Spirit gives us a dramatic description here of a life-changing encounter between Jesus Christ and Saul, one of His most active enemies. In the midst of a blinding light and a heavenly voice we see the grace of God released into the heart of the most powerful persecutor of the early church. The results are amazing as this former enemy of Christ became a serious disciple and leading apostle, making disciples, planting churches, and writing nearly two-thirds of the New Testament. When we meet with Christ, a similar transformation will occur. The Holy Spirit goes to work in us, transforming us into His image, making us more like Christ… “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). I pray that Saul’s Damascus Road experience encourages you to create a daily sacred place where you too can experience the encounter that transforms the heart.

An encounter with Christ will light up the heart. Before this encounter, Saul saw himself as a devout Jew, and defender of the faith against the heresy of what became known as the Way… “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (Acts 22:3-4). Overwhelmed by… “a light from heaven” Saul was blinded to the natural world around him and freed to see himself as Jesus saw him, as a servant and a witness to the One he was persecuting… “But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you” (Acts 26:16). In our intimate meetings with Him, Christ will remove the world’s distractions and help us see ourselves as He does, as God’s children… “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). A daily heart shaping encounter with Christ helps us see that we are growing children of the King!

An encounter with Christ will speak to the heart. When our heart anticipates hearing from Christ, our ears become sensitive to His voice as we read His Word. He once taught… “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:23), and He went on to explain… “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you” (Mark 4:24). The heart that hungers for more of His Word will hear His voice and be transformed by a close encounter with Him.

An encounter with Christ will humble the heart. Saul’s encounter with Christ left him blind and dependent on the very people he was persecuting, but now he could see and hear the truth more clearly than ever before. Near the end of his life, Saul, who became known as Paul (Gk. Paulus meaning little) described himself like this… “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews” (Acts 20:18-19). Saul was permanently humbled by the encounter that transformed his heart.

As we grow up into Christ, and we meet with Him daily, we are becoming more like Him through…

The Encounter that Transforms the Heart.

The Good News that Compels a Respnse

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea (Acts 8:35-40).

Have you shared the good news with someone recently? Many Christians have never shared the gospel. A recent study conducted by LifeWay Research found 80 percent of those who attend church one or more times a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith. Yet despite this conviction, 61 percent have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the previous six months. A recent Barna study found that three in 10 Christians say evangelism is the local church’s responsibility. Jesus gave the responsibility for sharing His gospel to His close disciples… “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table… And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mark 16:14-15). Evidence that we are growing up into Christ as a true disciple is an increasing desire to share the good news that compels a response.

Philip was compelled to share the gospel with the eunuch. God had sent Philip into the wilderness where he encountered a seeking Ethiopian eunuch. Hearing the eunuch striving for understanding about God’s Word touched Philip’s heart. Listening closely to the eunuch’s questions moved Philip to enter into the eunuch’s life and show him how the words of the prophet Isaiah proclaimed the good news about Jesus Christ. The love of Christ revealed in the gospel that had transformed Philip’s life now compelled him to tell someone else… “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). When Christ’s love gets a grip on our heart, we too are compelled to go, listen, and share His gospel with others.

The eunuch was compelled to be baptized. As he had not already been baptized, the eunuch obeyed the Spirit’s impulse and he asked Philip to baptize him. When we respond in faith to the gospel, we are transformed from death into life… “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). Our new, forever life begins… “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Baptism is a glorious illustration of this new life experience… “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). New disciples have a fresh, compelling desire to obey Christ’s command to be baptized.

Philip was compelled to continue preaching the gospel. Overwhelmed by the joy of leading someone to faith in Jesus Christ, he went on to preach all the way to Caesarea! The gospel is God’s saving and destiny-altering power… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Seeing someone come to faith in Christ is seeing God’s amazing grace in action… “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Even more amazing is the truth that God loves to include us in His wonderful plans for reconciling the lost to Himself… “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). We can experience God’s grace-in-action and share in His joy when others come home to Him as we preach His gospel.

As we grow up into Christ, we seek the blessing and experience the grace of God at work as we share…

The Good News that Compels a Response.