Paul As a Pattern Convert
(No. 3367)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 1913.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"However for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me, first, Jesus
Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting." 1 Timothy 1:16.
IT is a vulgar error that the conversion of the Apostle Paul was an
uncommon and exceptional event and that we cannot expect men to be
saved now-a-days after the same fashion. It is said that the incident
was an exception to all rules, a wonder altogether by itself. Now, my
text is a flat contradiction to that notion, for it assures us that,
instead of the Apostle as a receiver of the long-suffering and mercy of
God being at all an exception to the rule, he was a model convert, and
is to be regarded as a type and pattern of God's Grace in other
Believers. The Apostle's language in the text, "for a pattern," may
mean that he was what printers call a first proof, an early impression
from the engraving, a specimen of those to follow. He was the typical
instance of Divine long-suffering, the model after which others are
fashioned. To use a metaphor from the artist's studio, Paul was the
ideal sketch of a convert, an outline of the work of Jesus on mankind,
a picture of Divine long-suffering. Just as artists make sketches in
charcoal as the basis of their work–which outlines they paint out as
the picture proceeds–so did the Lord, in the Apostle's case, make, as
it were, a picture or outline sketch of His usual work of Grace. That
outline, in the case of each future Believer, He works out with
infinite variety of skill and produces the individual Christian, but
the guiding lines are really there. All conversions are, in a high
degree, similar to this pattern conversion. The transformation of
persecuting Saul of Tarsus into the Apostle Paul is a typical instance
of the work of Grace in the heart.
We will have no other preface, but proceed at once to two or three
considerations. The first is that– I. IN THE CONVERSION OF PAUL, THE
LORD HAD AN EYE TO OTHERS, AND IN THIS PAUL IS A PATTERN.
In every case the individual is saved, not for himself, alone, but with
a view to the good of others. Those who think the Doctrine of Election
to be harsh should not deny it, for it is Scriptural–but they may to
their own minds soften some of its hardness by remembering that elect
men bear a marked connection with the race. The Jews, as an elect
people, were chosen in order to preserve the oracles of God for all
nations and for all times. Men personally elected unto eternal life by
Divine Grace are also elected that they may become chosen vessels to
bear the name of Jesus unto others. While our Lord is said to be the
Savior especially of them that believe, He is also called the Savior of
all men–and while He has a special eye to the good of the one person
whom He has chosen–yet through that person He has designs of love to
others–perhaps even to thousands yet unborn!
The Apostle Paul says, "I obtained mercy, that in me, first, Jesus
Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe." Now, I think I see very clearly that Paul's
conversion had an immediate relation to the conversion of many others.
I t had a tendency, had it not, to excite an interest in the minds of
his brother Pharisees? Men of his class, men of culture, who were
equally at home with the Greek philosophers and with the Jewish rabbis,
men of influence, men of rank, would be sure to enquire, "What is this
new religion which has fascinated Saul of Tarsus? That zealot for
Judaism has now become a zealot for Christianity–what can there be in
it?" I say that the natural tendency of his conversion was to awaken
inquiry and thought and so to lead others of his rank to become
Believers. And, my dear Friend, if you have been saved, you ought to
regard it as a token of God's mercy to your class. If you are a working
man, let your salvation be a blessing to the men with whom you labor.
If you are a person of rank and station, consider that God intends to
bless you to some with whom you are on familiar terms. If you are
young, hope that God will bless the youth around you. And if you have
come to older years, hope that your conversion, even at the eleventh
hour, may be the means of encouraging other aged pilgrims to seek and
find rest unto their souls. The Lord, by calling
one out of any society of men, finds for Himself a recruiting officer
who will enlist his fellows beneath the banner of the Cross! May not
this fact encourage some seeking soul to hope that the Lord may save
him, though he is the only thoughtful person in all his family–and
then make him to be the means of salvation to all his kindred?
We notice that Paul often used the narrative of his conversion as an
encouragement to others. He was not ashamed to tell his own life story.
Eminent soul-winners, such as Whitefield and Bunyan, frequently pleaded
God's mercy to themselves as an argument with their fellow men. Though
great preachers of another school, such as Robert Hall and Chalmers, do
not mention themselves at all, and I can admire their abstinence, yet I
am persuaded that if some of us were to follow their example, we would
be throwing away one of the most powerful weapons of our warfare! What
can be more affecting, more convincing, more overwhelming, than the
story of Divine Grace told by the very man who has experienced it? It
is better than a dozen tales of converted Africans and infinitely more
likely to win men's hearts than the most elaborate essays upon moral
excellence! Again and again, Paul gave a long narrative of his
conversion, for he felt it to be one of the most telling things that he
could relate.
Whether he stood before Felix or Agrippa, this was his plea for the
Gospel. All through his Epistles there are continual mentions of the
Grace of God towards himself–and we may be sure that the Apostle did
right to argue thus from his own case–it is fair and forcible
reasoning and ought by no means to be left unused because of a selfish
dread of being called egotistical! God intends that we should use our
conversion as an encouragement to others and say to them, "Come and
hear, all you that fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for
my soul." We point to our own forgiveness and say, "Do but trust in the
living Redeemer and you shall find, as we have done, that Jesus blots
out the transgressions of Believers."
Paul's conversion was an encouragement to him all his life long to have
hope for others. Have you ever read the first Chapter of the Epistle to
the Romans? Well, the man who penned those terrible verses might very
naturally have written at the end of them, "Can these monsters be
reclaimed? It can be of no use whatever to preach the Gospel to people
so sunken in vice." That one Chapter gives as daring an outline as
delicacy would permit of the nameless, shameful vices into which the
heathen world had plunged! And yet, after all, Paul went forth to
declare the Gospel to that filthy and corrupt generation, believing
that God meant to save a people out of it! Surely one element of his
hope for humanity must have been found in the fact of his own
salvation–he considered himself to be, in some respects, as bad as the
heathen, and in other respects even worse! He calls himself the
foremost of sinners (that is the word) and he speaks of God having
saved him foremost, that in him He might show forth all long-suffering.
Paul never doubted the possibility of the conversion of a person,
however infamous, after he had himself been converted! This
strengthened him in battling with the fiercest opponents–He who
overcame such a wild beast as I was can also tame others and bring them
into willing captivity to His love!
There was yet another relation between Paul's conversion and the
salvation of others, and it was this–It served as an impulse, driving
him forward in his lifework of bringing sinners to Christ. "I obtained
mercy," he said, "and that same Voice which spoke peace to me said, "I
have made you a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name among the
Gentiles." And he did bear it, my Brothers and Sisters! Going into
regions beyond that he might not build on another man's foundation, he
became a master bui1der for the Church of God. How indefatigably did he
labor! With what vehemence did he pray! With what energy did he preach!
Slander and contempt he bore with the utmost patience. Scourging or
stoning had no terrors for him. Imprisonment, yes, death itself, he
defied–nothing could daunt him! Because the Lord had saved him, he
felt that he must, by all means, save some. He could not be quiet.
Divine love was in him like a fire and if he had been silent, he would,
before long, have had to cry with the Prophet of old, "I am weary with
restraining." He is the man who said, "Necessity is laid upon me, yes,
woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel." Paul, the extraordinary
sinner, was saved that he might be full of extraordinary zeal and bring
multitudes to eternal life! Well could he say–
"The love of Christ does me constrain
To seek the wandering souls of men! With cries, entreaties, tears to
save,
To snatch them from the fiery wave.
My life, my blood, I here present,
If for Your Truth they may be spent!
Fulfill Your Sovereign counsel, Lord!
Your will be done, Your name adored!"
Now, I will pause here a minute to ask a question. You profess to be
converted, my dear Friend. What relation has your conversion already
had to other people? It ought to have a very apparent one. Has it had
such? Mr. Whitefield said that when his heart was renewed, his first
desire was that his companions with whom he had previously wasted his
time might be brought to Christ. It was natural and commendable that he
should begin with them. Remember how one of the Apostles, when he
discovered the Savior, went immediately to tell his brother? It is most
fitting that young people should spend their first religious enthusiasm
upon their brothers and sisters. As to converted parents, their first
responsibility is in reference to their sons and daughters. Upon each
renewed man, his natural affinities, or the bonds of friendship or the
looser ties of neighborhood should begin to operate at once, and each
one should feel, "No man lives unto himself."
If Divine Grace has kindled a fire in you, it is that your fellow men
may burn with the same flame! If the eternal fount has filled you with
Living Water, it is that out of the midst of you should flow rivers of
Living Water! You are blessed that you may bless–whom have you
blessed? Let the question go round. Do not avoid it. This is the best
return that you can make to God–that when He saves you, you should
seek to be the instruments in His hands of saving others! What have you
done? Did you ever speak with the friend who shares your pew? He has
been sitting there for a long time and may, perhaps, be an unconverted
person–have you pointed him to the Lamb of God? Have you ever spoken
to your servants about their souls? Have you broken the ice
sufficiently to speak to your own sister, or your own brother? Do
begin, dear Friend.
You cannot tell what mysterious threads connect you with your fellow
men and their destiny. There was a cobbler once, as you know, in
Northamptonshire. Who could see any connection between him and the
millions of India? But the love of God was in his bosom and Carey could
not rest till, at Serampore, he had commenced to translate the Word of
God and preach to his fellow men! We must not confine our thoughts to
the few whom Carey brought to Christ, though to save one soul is worthy
of a life of sacrifice–but Carey became the forerunner and leader of a
missionary band which will never cease to labor till India bows before
Immanuel! That man mysteriously drew, isdrawingand willdrawIndia to the
Lord Jesus Christ! Brother, you do not know what your power is! Awake
and try it!
Did you never read this passage–"You have given Him power over all
flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given
Him"? Now, the Lord has given to His Son power over all flesh, and with
a part of that power Jesus clothes His servants. Through you, He will
give eternal life to certain of His chosen–by you and by no other
means will they be brought to Himself! Look about you, regenerate man!
Your life may be made sublime. Awaken yourself! Begin to think of what
God may do by you! Calculate the possibilities which lie before you
with the eternal God as your helper! Shake yourself from the dust and
put on the beautiful garments of disinterested love to others and it
shall yet be seen how grandly gracious God has been to hundreds ofmen
by having converted you!
So far, then, Paul's salvation, because it had so clear a reference to
others, was a pattern of all conversions. Now, secondly–
II. PAUL'S FOREMOST POSITION AS A SINNER DID NOT PREVENT HIS BECOMING
FOREMOST IN
GRACE AND, HEREIN, AGAIN, HE IS A PATTERN TO US.
Foremost in sin, he became also foremost in service! Saul of Tarsus was
a blasphemer and he is to be commended because he has not recorded any
of those blasphemies. We can never object to converted burglars and
chimney-sweepers of whom we hear so much, telling the story of their
conversion. But when they go into dirty details, they had better hold
their tongues! Paul tells us that he was a blasphemer, but he never
repeats one of the blasphemies. We invent enough evil in our own hearts
without being told of other men's stale profanities. If, however, any
of you are so curious as to want to know what kind of blasphemies Paul
could utter, you have only to converse with a converted Jew and he will
tell you what horrible words some of his nation will speak against our
Lord! I have no doubt that Paul, in his evil state, thought as wickedly
of Christ as he could–considered Him to be an imposter, called Him so,
and added many an opprobrious epithet. He does not say of himself that
he was an unbeliever and an objector, but he says that he was a
blasphemer, which is a very strong word, but not too strong, for the
Apostle never went beyond the truth. He was a downright, thoroughgoing
blasphemer who also caused others to blaspheme. Will these lines meet
the eye of a profane person who feels the greatness of his sin? May God
grant that he may be encouraged to seek mercy as Saul of Tarsus did,
for "all manner of sin and blasphemy" does He forgive unto men!
From blasphemy, which was the sin of the lips, Saul proceeded to
persecution, which is a sin of the hands. Hating Christ, he hated His
people, too. He was delighted to give his vote for the death of
Stephen–and he took care of the clothes of those who stoned that
martyr. He hauled men and women to prison and compelled them to
blaspheme. When he had hunted all Judea as closely as he could, he
obtained letters to go to Damascus, that he might do the same in that
place. His prey had been compelled to quit Jerusalem and flee to more
remote places, but "being exceedingly mad against them, he persecuted
them unto strange cities." He was foremost in blasphemy and
persecution! Will a persecutor read or hear these words? If so, may he
be led to see that even for him, pardon is possible! Jesus, who said,
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," is still an
intercessor for the most violent of His enemies!
He adds, next, that he was injurious, which, I think, Bengel considers
to mean that he was a despiser. That eminent critic says–blasphemy was
his sin towards God, persecution was his sin towards the Church, and
despising was his sin in his own heart. He was injurious–that is, he
did all he could to damage the cause of Christ and he thereby injured
himself. He kicked against the pricks and injured his own conscience.
He was so determined against Christ that he counted no cost too great
by which he might hinder the spread of the faith! And he did hinder it
terribly–he was a ringleader in resisting the Spirit of God which was
then working with the Church of Christ. He was foremost in opposition
to the Cross of Christ!
Now, notice that he was saved as a pattern, which is to show you that
if you also have been foremost in sin, you also may obtain mercy as
Paul did! And to show you yet again that if you have not been foremost,
the Grace of God, which is able to save the chief of sinners, can
assuredly save those who are of less degree! If the bridge of Grace
will carry the elephant, it will certainly carry the mouse! If the
mercy of God could bear with the greatest sinners, it can have patience
with you! If a gate is wide enough for a giant to pass through, any
ordinary-sized mortal will find space enough. Despair's head is cut off
and stuck on a pole by the salvation of "the chief of sinners." No man
can now say that he is too great a sinner to be saved–because the
chief of sinners was saved 1,800 years ago! If the ringleader, the
chief of the gang, has been washed in the precious blood and is now in
Heaven, why not I? Why not you?
After Paul was saved, he became a foremost saint. The Lord did not
allot him a second-class place in the Church. He had been the leading
sinner, but his Lord did not, therefore, say, "I save you, but I shall
always remember your wickedness to your disadvantage." Not so! He
counted him faithful, putting him into the ministry and into the
Apostleship, so that he was not a whit behind the very chief of the
Apostles! Brother, there is no reason why, if you have gone very far in
sin, you should not go equally far in usefulness! On the contrary,
there is a reason why you should do so, for it is a rule of Grace that
to whom much is forgiven, the same loves much–and much love leads to
much service. What man was more clear in his knowledge of Doctrine than
Paul?
What man more earnest in the defense of the Truth of God? What man more
self-sacrificing? What man more heroic? The name of Paul in the
Christian Church stands, in some respects, very next to the Lord Jesus!
Turn to the New Testament and see how large a space is occupied by the
Holy Spirit speaking through His servant Paul! And then look over
Christendom and see how greatly the man's influence is still felt–and
must be felt till his Master shall come! Oh, great sinner, if you are
even now ready to scoff at Christ, my prayer is that He may strike you
down at this very moment and turn you into one of His children–and
make you to be just as ardent for the Truth as you are now earnest
against it, as desperately set on good as now you are on evil! None
make such mighty Christians and such fervent preachers as those who are
lifted up from the lowest depths of sin and washed and purified through
the blood of Jesus Christ! May Grace do this with you, my dear Friend,
whoever you may be.
Thus we gather from our text that the Lord showed mercy to Paul. That
in him, first, it might be seen that prominence in sin is no barrier to
eminence in Grace, but the very reverse! Now I come to where the stress
of the text lies.
III. PAUL'S CASE WAS A PATTERN OF OTHER CONVERSIONS AS AN INSTANCE OF
LONG-SUFFERING.
"That in me, first, Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering
for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe." Thoughtfully
observe the great long-suffering of God to Paul. He says, "He showed
forth all long-suffering." Not only all the long-suffering of God that
ever was shown to anybody else, but all that could be supposed to
exist–all long-suffering–
"All Your mercy's height I prove, All its depth is found in me,"
as if he had gone to the utmost stretch of his tether in sin–and the
Lord had strained His long-suffering to its utmost!
That long-suffering was seen, first, in sparing his life when he was
rushing headlong in sin, breathing out threats, foaming at the mouth
with denunciations of the Nazarene and His people. If the Lord had but
lifted His finger, Saul would have been crushed like a moth! But
Almighty Wrath forbore and the rebel lived on. Nor was this all–after
all his sin, the Lord allowed mercy to be possible to him. He
blasphemed and persecuted at a red-hot rate–and is it not a mar-
vel that the Lord did not say, "Now, at last, you have gone beyond all
bearing, and you shall die like Herod, eaten of worms"? It would not
have been at all amazing if God had so sentenced him. But He allowed
him to live within the reach of mercy and, better still, He in due time
actually sent the Gospel to him and laid it home to his heart. In the
very midst of his rebellion the Lord saved him! He had not prayed to be
converted, far from it! No doubt he had that very day along the road to
Damascus profaned the Savior's name and yet mighty mercy burst in and
saved him purely by its own spontaneous native energy! Oh mighty Grace,
Free Grace, victorious Grace ! This was long-suffering indeed!
When Divine Mercy had called Paul, it swept all his sin away, every
particle of it–his blood shedding and his blasphemy, all at once, so
that never man was more assured of his own perfect cleansing than was
the Apostle! "There is therefore now," he says, "no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus." "Therefore, being justified by faith,
we have peace with God." "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's
elect?" You know how clear he was about that– and he spoke out of his
own experience! Long-suffering had washed all his sins away. Then that
long-suffering, reaching from the depths of sin, lifted him right up to
the Apostleship, so that he began to prove God's long-suffering in its
heights of favor. What a privilege it must have been to him to be
permitted to preach the Gospel! I should think sometimes when he was
preaching most earnestly, he would half stop himself and say, "Paul, is
this you?" Especially when he went down to Tarsus, he must have been
surprised at himself and at the mighty mercy of God. He preached the
faith which once he had destroyed! He must have said many a time after
a sermon, when he went home to his bedchamber, "Marvel of marvels!
Wonder of wonders, that I who once could curse have now been made to
preach–that I, who was full of threats and even breathed out
slaughter, should now be so Inspired by the Spirit of God that I weep
at the very sound of Jesus' name and count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord!"
Oh, Brothers and Sisters, you do not measure long-suffering unless you
take it in all its length from one end to the other and see God in
mercy not remembering His servant's sin, but lifting him into eminent
service in His Church. Now, this was for a pattern, to show you that He
will show forth the same long-suffering to those who believe! If you
have been a swearer, He will cleanse your blackened mouth and put His
praises into it! Have you had a black, cruel heart, full of enmity to
Jesus? He will remove it and give you a new heart and a right spirit!
Have you dived into all sorts of sins? Are they so shameful that you
dare not think of them? Think of the precious blood which removes every
stain! Are your sins so many that you cannot count them? Do you feel as
if you were almost damned already in the very memory of your life? I do
not wonder at it, but He is able to save to the uttermost them that
come unto God by Him! You have not gone farther than Saul had gone and,
therefore, all long-suffering can come to you and there are great
possibilities of future holiness and usefulness before you! Even though
you may have been a street-walker or a thief, yet if the Grace of God
cleanses you, it can make something wonderful out of you! Full many a
lustrous jewel of Immanuel's crown has been taken from the dunghill!
You are a rough block of stone, but Jesus can fashion and polish you
and set you as a pillar in His Temple!
Brother, do not despair! See what Saul was and what Paul became–and
learn what you may be! Though you deserve the depths of Hell, yet Grace
can lift you up to the heights of Heaven! Though now you feel as if the
fiends of Hell would be fit companions for such a lost spirit as
yourself, yet believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall one day walk
among the angels as pure and white as they! Paul's experience of
long-suffering Grace was meant to be a pattern of what God will do for
you–
"Scripture says, 'Where sin abounded, There did Grace much more
abound.' Thus has Satan been confounded, And his own discomfit found.
Christ has triumphed! Spread the glorious news around! Sin is strong,
but Grace is stronger! Christ than Satan more supreme! Yield, oh, yield
to sin no longer, Turn to Jesus, yield to Him– He has triumphed!
Sinners, henceforth Him esteem."
Again–
V. THE MODE OF PAUL'S CONVERSION WAS ALSO MEANT TO BE A PATTERN. And
with this I shall
finish. I do not say that we may expect to receive the miraculous
Revelation which was given to Paul, but yet it is a sketch
upon which any conversion can be painted. The filling up is not the
same in any two cases, but the outline sketch. Paul's conversion would
serve for an outline sketch of the conversion of any one of us. How was
that conversion worked? Well, it is clear that there was nothing at all
in Paul to contribute to his salvation. You might have sifted him in a
sieve without finding anything upon which you could rest a hope that he
would be converted to the faith of Jesus! His natural bent, his early
training, his whole surroundings and his life's pursuits all lettered
him to Judaism and made it most unlikely that he would ever become a
Christian. The first Elder of the Church that ever talked to him about
Divine things could hardly believe in his conversion. "Lord," he said,
"I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to Your
saints at Jerusalem." He could hardly think it possible that the
ravening wolf could have changed into a lamb! Nothing favorable to
faith in Jesus could have been found in Saul–the soil of his heart was
very rocky, the plow could not touch it and the good Seed found no
root-hold. Yet the Lord converted Saul and He can do the same by other
sinner, but it must be a work of pure Grace and of Divine power, for
there is not in any man's fallen nature a holy spot the size of a pin's
point on which Grace can light! Transforming Grace can find no natural
lodging in our hearts–it must create its own soil and, blessed be God,
it can do it, for with God all things are possible! Nature contributes
nothing to Grace and yet Grace wins the day! Humbled Soul, let this
cheer you! Though there is nothing good in you, yet Grace can work
wonders and save you by its own might!
Paul's conversion was an instance of Divine power and of that alone,
and so is every true conversion. If your conversion is an instance of
the preacher's power, you need to be converted again! If your salvation
is the result of your own power, it is a miserable deception from which
may you be delivered! Every man who is saved must be operated upon by
the might of God the Holy Spirit–every jot and tittle of true
regeneration is the Spirit's work! As for our strength, it wars against
salvation rather than for it. Blessed is that promise, "Your people
shall be willing in the day of Your power." Conversion is as much a
work of God's Omnipotence as the Resurrection–and as the dead do not
raise themselves, so neither do men convert themselves!
But Saul was changed immediately. His conversion was once done and done
at once. There was a little interval before he found peace, but even
during those three days, he was a changed man, though he was in
sadness. He was under the power of Satan at one moment and in the next
he was under the reign of Grace! This is also true in every conversion.
However gradual the breaking of the day, there is a time when the sun
is below the horizon and a moment when it is no longer so. You may not
know the exact time in which you passed from death to life, but there
was such a time, if you are, indeed, a Believer! A man may not know how
old he is, but there was a moment in which he was born. In every
conversion there is a distinct change from darkness to light, from
death to life, just as certainly as there was in Paul's. And what a
delightful hope does the rapidity of regeneration present to us! It is
by no long and laborious process that we escape from sin! We are not
compelled to remain in sin for a single moment. Grace brings
instantaneous liberty to those who sit in bondage. He who trusts Jesus
is saved on the spot! Why, then, abide in death? Why not lift up your
eyes to immediate life and light?
Paul proved his regeneration by his faith He believed unto eternal
life. He tells us over and over again in his Epistles that he was saved
by faith, and not by works. So is it with every man! If saved at all,
it is by simply believing in the Lord Jesus. Paul esteemed his own
works to be less than nothing and called them dross and dung, that he
might win Christ, and so every converted man renounces his own works
that he may be saved by Grace alone. Whether he has been moral or
immoral. Whether he has lived an amiable and excellent life, or whether
he has raked in the kennels of sin, every regenerate man has only one
hope–and that is centered and fixed in Jesus alone! Faith in Jesus
Christ is the mark of salvation, even as the heaving of the lungs or
the coming of breath from the nostrils is the test of life. Faith is
the Grace which saves the soul and its absence is a fatal sign. How
does this fact affect you, dear Friend? Have you faith or no?
Paul was very positively and evidently saved. You did not need to ask
the question, "Is that man a Christian or not?" for the transformation
was most apparent! If Saul of Tarsus had appeared as he used to be, and
Paul the Apostle could also have come in, and you could have seen the
one man as two men, you would have thought them no relation to one
another. Paul the Apostle would have said that he was dead to Saul of
Tarsus, and Saul of Tarsus would have gnashed his teeth at Paul the
Apostle! The change was evident to all who knew him, whether they
sympathizes in it or not. They could not mistake the remarkable
difference which Grace had made, for it was as great as when midnight
brightens into noon. So it is when a man is truly saved–there is a
change which those around him must perceive. Do not tell me that you
can be a child at home and become a Christian, and yet your father and
mother will not perceive a difference in you! They will be sure to see
it. Would a leopard in a menagerie lose his spots and no one notice it?
Would an Ethiopian be
turned white and no one hear of it? You, masters and mistresses, will
not go in and out among your servants and children without their
perceiving a change in you if you are born-again! At least, dear
Brother or Sister, strive with all your might to let the change be very
apparent in your language, in your actions and in your whole conduct.
Let your conversation be such as becomes the Gospel of Christ, that men
may see that you, as well as the Apostle, are decidedly changed by the
renewal of your minds!
May all of us be the subjects of Divine Grace as Paul was–stopped in
our mad career, blinded by the glory of the heavenly Light of God,
called by a mysterious Voice, conscious of natural blindness, relieved
of blinding scales and made to see Jesus as one All-in-All. May we
prove in our own persons how speedily conviction may melt into
conversion, conversion into confession and confession into
consecration!
I have done when I have enquired how far we are conformed to the
pattern which God has set before us. I know we are like Paul as to our
sin, for if we have neither blasphemed nor persecuted, yet have we
sinned as far as we have had opportunity. We are also conformed to
Paul's pattern in the great long-suffering of God which we have
experienced. And I am not sure that we cannot carry the parallel
farther–we have had much the same Revelation that Paul received on the
way to Damascus, for we, too, have learned that Jesus is the Christ! If
any of us sin against Christ, it will not be because we do not know Him
to be the Son of God, for we all believe in His Deity because our
Bibles tell us so. The pattern goes so far–I would that the Grace of
God would operate upon you, unconverted Friend, and complete the
picture by giving you like faith with Paul. Then will you be saved as
Paul was! Then, also, will you love Christ above all things, as Paul
did, and you will say, "But what things were gain to me, those I
counted loss for Christ. Yes, doubtless, and I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord." He
rested upon what Christ had done in His death and Resurrection, and he
found pardon and eternal life at once and became, therefore, a devoted
Christian!
What do you say, dear Friend? Are you moved to follow Paul's example?
Does the Spirit of God prompt you to trust Paul's Savior and give up
every other ground of trust and rely upon Him? Then do so and live!
Does there seem to be a hand holding you back and do you hear an evil
whisper saying, "You are too great a sinner"? Turn round and bid the
fiend depart, for the text gives him the lie. "In me, first, has Jesus
Christ showed forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on His name." God has saved Paul. Back, then,
O devil! The Lord can save any man, woman or child and He can save me!
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is mighty to save and I will rely on Him. If
any poor heart shall reason thus, its logic will be sound and
unanswerable. Mercy to one is an argument for mercy to another, for
there is no difference, but the same Lord over all is rich unto all
that call upon Him!
Now I have set the case before you and I cannot do more. It remains
with each individual to accept or refuse. One man can bring a horse to
the trough, but a hundred cannot make him drink. There is the
Gospel–if you want it, take it–but if you will not have it, then I
must discharge my soul by reminding you that even the gentle Gospel
–the Gospel of love and mercy has nothing to say to you but this, "He
that believes not shall be damned."–
"How they deserve the deepest Hell, That slight the joys above! What
chains of vengeance must they feel Who break the bonds of love!"
God grant that you may yield to Almighty Love and find peace in Christ
Jesus!