When I think of people in the Bible whose lives have been changed through having faith in Jesus Christ, one person comes to mind more often than any other. I think of the man who was once called Saul, when he was still an unbeliever, a persecutor, and an enemy of Christ, but who would later be called Paul, when he became a believer, a follower, and an ambassador for Christ. Paul's dramatic conversion that began on the road to Damascus is one of the most iconic stories in the New Testament. It is a story that gets our attention and tells us that God can indeed save and change the life of anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ, no matter who they are or what they have done. As we southern preachers say, the story of Paul's salvation will flat preach! And that is what Paul often did concerning his testimony; he talked about it, he preached about it, and he wrote about it. It would do us all good to hear what he had to say.
Toward the end of the book of Acts, in chapter 26, we find Paul standing before King Agrippa, having been given the opportunity to defend himself against his accusers. But even though he had already been unjustly imprisoned for over two years, Paul did not plead for his freedom, but instead he mainly preached about how his life had been changed by Jesus Christ. He told the king how he had been an unbeliever who actually fought against those who believed in Jesus, having been a part of not only imprisoning believers, but also executing believers (see Acts 26:9-11). But then he told the king how God chose to have mercy on him, though it took being knocked flat on his back and being temporarily blinded before he would listen to the voice of the Lord Jesus (see Acts 26:12-15). He finally told the king that God had given him a new purpose for his life, to tell the world that anyone can "receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith" in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:16-18). Paul's life was turned upside down when he began to follow Jesus Christ, but for the better. It's no wonder that he changed his name from Saul to Paul, because he was a totally different person from then on.
Up to that point, Paul had been a rising star in the religious establishment of Jerusalem. He had been considered a faithful Jew and a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had been trained by the great Jewish teacher, Gamaliel, and had quickly become a force to be reckoned with in teaching and enforcing the Law of Moses. He had been both respected and feared, but when he became a follower of Jesus Christ, he became an outcast and a traitor. All that he had worked so hard for all of his life went up in smoke that day on the road to Damascus. You might think that such a loss pained Paul to think about and gave him regrets about his choice, but you would be wrong. Paul's perspective was changed just as much as his life was changed. Paul wrote to the Philippians, saying, "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:7-9, NKJV). The New Living Translation explains Paul's point quite well, saying, "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith." To Paul nothing from his old life could compare with his new life with Jesus. In fact, his old life without Jesus had simply been a waste of time full of things to be discarded in contrast to the rewards of knowing and having faith in Jesus Christ. Paul went on to say that his goal in life was to be "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV).
One of the main things that made Paul who he was and determined what God could do with him was that he never forgot or got over the change that God had made in his life. Toward the end of his ministry, Paul wrote once again about what God had done in his life. He told Timothy, his adopted son in the faith, that he thanked "...Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:12-15, NKJV). The New Living Translation puts that last verse a little stronger, saying, "This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' -- and I am the worst of them all." Paul looked back at his life before he came to know Jesus and said that the only way that he could have been saved was through the grace and the love of God that Jesus came to provide for all sinners, even the worst like him. Paul went on to explain, "However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (1 Timothy 1:16, NKJV). Paul said that his life was meant to stand as an example of what God can do with anyone who comes to have faith in Him, as the New Living Translation puts it, saying, "...God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life." Paul was saying, "If God can save and change somebody like me, He can save and change anyone!"
Paul's perspective was the perspective of a changed man, the perspective of someone whom Jesus Christ has changed from the inside out. Though the particular details of his story are unique, his experience is not. I too have experienced the change that God can make in someone who chooses to believe in and follow Jesus. About 10 and half years ago, I was still basically an atheist or an agnostic, alternating between someone who denied that there is a God and someone who wasn't sure that there was a God. I was a self-centered, sin-ridden man of this world, just one of the crowd. But all of that changed on the day that I gave my life to Jesus. I told Him that I believe what the Bible says about me and about Him, or in other words, that I was a sinner and that He died to save me from the punishment of my sins. Then I simply asked Him to save and change my life, surrendering it to Him to see what He could do with it instead. Just like Paul, I wasn't the same man anymore after that. In fact, I'm glad that my past is my past and that the old me is dead. Paul's life goal is now my own: "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV). That's the perspective of a changed man. Is that your perspective?
