Paul

To know for sure that your saved is a growing process with most Christians as they exercise three things. First of all a greater trust in the promises of God. That's your bedrock of assurance. The second thing is by the inward evidences of grace are the marks of fruits of grace in your life and the third is a direct testimony of the Holy Spirit that he speaks directly to your soul through the word. I am thy salvation or bring some of the promise to play into your life in such a way that you can't deny that he is assuring you that you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to you. Take those three things the promises of God, evidences of grace, testimony, the Holy Spirit and then put over them all.

God's faithful track record over the years, God's people can have full and infallible assurance of faith. Assurance of faith by Joel B visit Lincoln here.org/teaching series to learn more coming up next on Renewing Your Mind us all in his amazement is dumbfounded. He doesn't know who's speaking to him. He doesn't recognize the voice, he knows it's in Hebrew, and he knows whoever it is, is the Lord who is it for the crime and the voice says I am Jesus whom you are persecuting horses may have been the least likely convert to Christianity hated Christians and persecuted themselves the is were going to learn today all that was about to change with joy. Dr. RC Sproul. Now, as he tells us how small the persecutor became Paul the apostle in biblical days. The social structure of Israel was made up of several different groups there were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and there were the God-fearing Gentiles, and so on. But one of the most prominent groups of people that we encounter in the New Testament, not because of their size, but because of their significance was a group called the zealots at least one of the 12 disciples, and possibly two were called from this group of people. The zealots the zealots were called zealots because of their great zeal for political liberation.

These were the men who were committed to an armed revolt against the Roman occupation but there was another group of people in Israel who could also be called zealots, though there is a relativism was not necessarily linked to political goals or ambitions, and those were the Pharisees, these men were zealots for the law of God. We don't hear anything about the Pharisees in the Old Testament because they didn't exist in the Old Testament. It was during the inter-test of mental. That the Pharisees as a distinct party as a group within the nation were formed and they were formed by a group of conservative Jewish people who were extremely concerned about the radical secularization of the nation that was taking place. They were trying to swim against the tide of secularism and to call the people back to their roots into the ancient law forms of Israel and so they called themselves the separated once or the set apart ones or the Pharisees, and they were personally singularly zealously devoted to living out obedience to the law of God perfectly in their lives, not even within the Pharisees there was a subgroup of Pharisees who were the most zealous of the lot.

There was a little group of Pharisees that develop who summarize all of the laws that they could find in the Old Testament and had a list of 1001 of those laws and it was their belief that if any one of their group.

Any one of their number could keep all 1001 laws of the Jewish faith perfectly for 24 hours, but God would send the Messiah now during the time of Jesus there was one of these zealots whose life was totally devoted to the zealots because of Pharisaism. He was reared in a home that was committed to the law of God. He was given singularly great education where he studied at the feet of the greatest rabbi of the century. Gamma Lail at the most important theological school in Jerusalem and this young man by the time he was 21 years old had the equivalent of what we would consider to be to PhD's and was considered the most learned young Pharisee of his day, but with his learning and his brilliance. There was a match of zeal. He hated anything that even smacked of a departure from the rigorous orthodoxy of the pharisaic code and he began to hear reports in and around Jerusalem about a new set that was developing a second that he considered heretical sect that he judged to be a clear and present danger to the purity of the Jewish religion was a sect of people who were Jews who were following after this man called Christ and who had the audacity to claim that this man was the Messiah, and this young zealot was enraged by this and he developed a consuming hatred for Christians and for the Christian church. His name was Saul Saul of Tarsus man whose Greek name was Hollis who is known to us by the name Paul later in his life. Paul was reflecting of his own experience.

He acknowledged in his writings that he was a sinner and this is an acknowledgment that comes from somebody who was a Pharisee of Pharisees who was part of the pharisaical elite who sought to live the law perfectly every day of their lives. This man finally acknowledged that he was a sinner. Not only that he was a sinner but his own self designation was that he was the chief of sinners, the captain of sinners, the arch center. The number one sinner of the world. When we look at the life of Paul. From the vantage point of the 20th century and think of the tremendous exploits that this man performed in the cause of Christ.

When we think of his apostolic ministry. We are not prone to think of Paul as the chief of sinners and when we read that statement in which he incriminate himself to that degree. We have a tendency to dismiss it and say all this is just a characteristic good example of Paul's humility. No, Paul was not being humble when he called himself the chief of sinners. He never forgot the gravity of his sin which sin was expressed by violent, passionate, zealous religious hatred for Christ and for his bride, the church. When the early church. A merchant Paul was commissioned by the Sanhedrin by the ruling body of the Jews to go and find those people who were involved with this corrupt sect of heretics known as Christians. And Paul would seek them out and bring them in for prosecution at times dragging people from their homes and taking them to jail that he took fiendish delight in his task that fact he was so zealous in this enterprise that he volunteered to carry out this purge of Christians beyond the confines of Jerusalem up the Damascus Road into Syria to hunt them down, track them down to root them out to get rid of this cold that he considered it to be. Let's look at the narrative that we find in the New Testament in the book of acts, beginning in the ninth chapter chapter 9 of acts, verse one reads as follows. So let me just say before read it with just a couple of chapters before this, we have a brief cameo appearance of this man saw where he happens to be in the crowd. But here's the sermon of Stephen in which Stephen with great courage and boldness proclaimed the deity of Christ, his crucifixion and his resurrection and railed against the Jewish authorities calling them stiffnecked people who had killed the son of God, and we read that when Stephen gave that speech that the religious leaders who listen to it. Teeth began to hash as they stared out hatred and reached for stones to destroy Stephen and some of them were so zealous in this, that they had a kangaroo court and disregarding the Roman prohibition against executing anybody without Roman law in their midst. These people what I had anyway and began to pelt Stephen with deadly stones, and as these missiles were being hurled one man who was particularly eager to get in the fray handed his coat to this bystander and it was Saul who stood there consenting watching Stephen be murdered in front and the thing that we have to understand, beloved, when we later hear Paul saying that he was the chief of sinners is that Paul enjoyed that experience and now we read in chapter 9 verse one then Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord listen to that description. Breathing threats.

He was so utterly hostile to Christianity. They didn't just give an occasional critique against the church. He couldn't take a breath without that breath expressing venom hatred right against the people of God breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the way it interesting that here. Luke tells us in the book of acts. The Christians before they were called Christians at Antioch called themselves the people of the way an interesting designation is and it comes from the Greek hey Hoda, us, which means the road or the way and certainly harking back to the teachings of Jesus himself when he said that broad is the way in wide is the gate that leads to destruction, and many are those who go in there at but narrow is the way and strait is the gate that leads to life, and few there are who find it. And later on speaking to the disciples in the upper room, he said to them, I am the way the truth and the life and so that the early Christian community as they followed after Jesus said he is the way and they called themselves the people of the way the first on the record. Christians was at Antioch and there it was a term of derision and we notice that here in chapter 9 that Paul is asking letters so that if he could find anyone in Damascus who were all the way and noticed this parent that a statement, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem he didn't care whether they were kids.

If they were women. If they were elderly if they were involved in any way with this corrupt heretical Jewish sect of people who called themselves the way he was going to put them in chains and is going to drag him back to Jerusalem for trial for imprisonment and hopefully for execution. Now, as he journeyed, he came near the Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven, and then he fell to the ground and he heard a voice saying to him when we look at the other accounts in acts elsewhere of this episode we get the added detail with the voice that he hears on this the mask and highway speaks to him in Hebrew.

I heard the voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me and he said who are you, Lord. And then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the go's. What an incredible encounter as it is recorded for us here. Luke tells us that just before Paul arrives in Damascus having a growing sense of gleeful anticipation of continuing this harassment of the Christian community. Suddenly, the noonday sky is filled with the light that is brighter than the sun that is blinding in its dimensions that it knocks people to the earth and all terror stricken now suddenly here's this voice coming from heaven speaking to him by name and not only speaking to him by name but repeating his name saying his name twice which Paul is an expert in Jewish culture and customs understood to be an address of profound personal intimacy. A tender form of address.

A gracious form of address. A loving form of address so so why are you persecuting me images comment on it briefly we know is the text indicates who the speaker is. We know that Saul is hearing audibly the voice of Christ you would expect Christ to set on that occasion, Saul. So why are you persecuting my church because Saul had never laid eyes on Jesus during Jesus earthly ministry, but it's important for us to realize in this statement of Christ that Jesus considered an attack upon his church as an attack upon him to persecute his church was to persecute his own body to rail against his bride was to rail against him. Thus Saul and his amazement is dumbfounded. He doesn't know who, speaking to him. He doesn't recognize the voice, he knows it's in Hebrew, and he knows whoever it is, is the Lord who is it floor Accra and the voice says I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Is it not hard for you to kick against the go. What a reference that Jesus uses to Paul, who is so proud of his brilliance of his erudition of his education of his mastery of the deep things of theology, Jesus is just now called him stupid ox because the goats are the ox goad was a heavy board, a thick board that was placed behind oxen that were yoked to draw a cart and in that block of wood. There were sharp spikes that stuck out so that when the stubborn oxen wouldn't move and they would try to get them to move along in their resistance and in their hatred for their task in the onerous burden that they had that ox would kick their feet back against the cart and when they kick their feet against the cart their feet would come in contact with these jagged spikes that stuck out this go by here Saddam the ox for that when they would strike their feet upon the spikes they would become furious and they would kick it harder and the more they kick the ox goad, the bloodier their feet became, and the angrier the auction became in the harder they would kick like somebody that beats her head against the wall and keeps on doing it harder and harder. Jesus, in which the matter with you why you keep kicking Cassie ox, why he fight me.

So Paul Trembley and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do and I can kick anymore. I'm not going to Damascus to carry on anymore persecutions you tell me where you want me to go. You tell me where what you want me to do, and Christ gave instructions on where to go and to wait until further instructions would come and Paul's mission would be spelled out or Paul would be called to be the apostle to the Gentiles, the chief missionary for the people of the way for the same people that he had hated so bitterly and who would try to exterminate from the face of the earth. He became the missionary the champion of the early church going across the known world planting churches wherever he could. Suffering all kinds of affliction for one cause and that was to build up the body of Christ to build the church. The church that he had hated the church that he sought to destroy he considered himself the chief of sinners because he had been in his religious zeal engaged in passionate treason against Christ. He knew that the only way he could live from that day on, was by grace, by mercy, and after one face-to-face encounter with the living Christ. The chief of sinners became the chief apostle with God all things are possible because Jesus Christ intervened the church's fiercest opponent became its greatest advocate you're listening to Renewing Your Mind on this Thursday by we Webb, thank you for being with us. We hope you enjoyed today's lesson from Dr. RC Sproul from his series face-to-face with Jesus between 12 video messages. This series offers vital lessons from our Savior's encounters with people like John the Baptist and Pontius Pilate would be happy to send you this series for your donation of any amount to later ministries log on to Renewing Your Mind.org requested torticollis at 800-435-4343 and in advance let me thank you for your gift.

Be anxious for nothing.

Those are the words of the apostle Paul found in his letter to the Philippians, and over the last few months we've needed to be reminded of his exhortation, but many times we find it easier said than done.

This month's edition of table talk magazine deals with anxiety and if, like me, you're a table talk subscriber. I trust you're fighting the articles helpful if you're not a subscriber would be happy to start a free three month trial subscription for you. Or maybe you'd like to introduce it to a family member or friend as a gift we be happy to do that for you as well. Just contact us at 800-435-4343. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow and we'll see what happened when our Lord paid a special visit to the man described as his beloved apostle suddenly start hearing a voice calling to him from behind the loud voice that sounds like a trumpet says I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last what you see you right in the book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamon, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. When John understood instantly whose voice was because the voice identified himself as being alpha and omega. What did that appearance of Christ mean for John and for today's church is what will examine tomorrow here on Renewing Your Mind. Please join us