When I write a sermon, I always send a copy to Matt. This enables him to pick music that supports the teaching. This week, Matt sent me an email suggesting that I rap part of the sermon (he was joking, of course). Maybe this is because Matt is taking an Urban Ministry class in inner city Chicago this week; or it could be that I had written the phrase “Saul was a gangster, no doubt” in my notes.
While this story make invoke a chuckle (especially the idea of my rapping part of the sermon), the description of gangster is not an exaggeration.
Saul was working for an incredibly violent group of people. He was also a ruthless person. The verb used to describe Saul in Acts 8:3 is a rare word that is only used once in the New Testament. However, it is used in Psalm 80:13 (LXX) describing wild boars devastating a vineyard. It is the sort of word that would have been used to describe a body ravaged by a wild beast. One scholar actually translates the word “mauled”.
Secondly, when Saul is converted and preaching the message of Jesus, the religious leaders try to kill him. Much like a gang, his leaving is not tolerated. Becoming a Christian, for Saul, put him on the hit list.
Saul was a gangster; a violent beast, in ruthless pursuit to kill and destroy the church. That is what makes his conversion so astounding. Only God could do something like this. Join us this week in worship as we study the conversion of Saul (Acts 9).
Matt Headley
That is awesome! I never would have guessed this would go so far :)
I’ve met several guys this week, active pastors and ministry leaders in the class with me, who have conversion stories that rival Saul’s – former “gangsters” that were completly caught up in drugs, promiscuous sex and violence. But when they bumped into Jesus, their life took a complete 180º.
I’ve always carried this notion that people don’t really change, but only adapt… but that’s just not always true. These guys, like Saul, are living proof that Jesus can work miracles out of our mess.
Being transformed into the likeness of Christ doesn’t mean we have to lose all of our personality or our passions in life, but we become who God designed us to be.