God Loves… Himself

The conversion of Cornelius is another mark in the pace of the progress of the Gospel into the world and taking it out beyond Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the world. It was shocking for the Jews of that time to think that God would give the Holy Spirit to Gentiles, and yet He did it in undeniable ways. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In previous studies we have seen how God took a man who was a very religious Jew in Saul and converted him (Acts 9). The man who hated Christians and persecuted them became a Christian and suffered persecution more than them all. He was a thoroughly changed and converted man. But now, in the very next chapter of Acts, we find a very religious Gentile that also needed conversion. He was a good man and did many good deeds, but his heart needed to be converted.

In the modern day the salvation of a Gentile does not astonish us very much at all, especially in America where we have it drilled into us that all men are created equal. But in the biblical days it was not that way. It is said that there was a prayer of Jewish men who prayed each morning something that went like this: “I thank you Lord that I was not born a dog, a woman, or a Gentile.” The fallen human heart will take certain aspects of Scripture and twist them to fit its own desires to be as God. The things that God set out as distinctions to point to the Gospel and the coming Messiah were taken by some and made as ways to foster and continue pride. It is only if we can grasp something of how Gentiles were viewed can we begin to understand the lengths (so to speak) that God went to in order to bring Cornelius to Himself by getting Peter there to preach the Gospel.

An important point in this account of the conversion of Cornelius is that God also taught Peter, other apostles, and many others that He saves Gentiles. This is also very important for people to hear today. We tend to stay in holy huddles and flee from unbelievers as much as possible, which is the same attitude the Jews had toward Gentiles. But the glory of the Gospel was not limited to those that were converted, but shone out to those already converted and those who are not. The Gospel shines brightly with the glory of God and is to be proclaimed to all who will hear. It is not that anyone deserves to hear the Gospel, but that God deserves for people to hear of His glory. God created all things as ways to manifest His glory and the Gospel declares and manifests His glory more brightly than anything else. In the conversion account of Cornelius we have God taking Peter by the hand (so to speak) and showing him that His Gospel went to the Gentiles as well. The lesson for us today is that God saves sinners and not just those that live in holy huddles. A Jewish person thought that touching a Gentile made them unclean, and that is how some believers tend to view unbelievers today. God taught Peter and is teaching us as well.

The text of Scripture moves from the trials of the newly converted Saul who was sent to Caesarea and then to Tarsus (Acts 9:30) to tell us that “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase (Acts 9:31). Luke, being the historian that he was, wants us to see how Peter arrived in Joppa. He went there to raise a woman from the dead when two disciples visited him and implored him to come visit them. This act “became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord” (Acts 9:42). Then the text takes us to Acts 10 where we are introduced to Cornelius:

“Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (Acts 10:1-4).

What impresses a person first is that Scripture takes the time to tell us that Cornelius was a devout man and then some of his works. He was a man who had some fear of God and this had spread to his household. He was a Gentile but he understood that the Jews were the people of God and so gave alms to them, but he was also a man given to prayer since he prayed to God continually. The angel that came to him in a vision told him that his prayers and alms had “ascended as a memorial before God.” There is much to learn here if we have ears to hear and are willing to hear. We have been taught against good works and the fact that good works cannot save that we flee from telling unbelievers some important points. Cornelius stands as an example of some things that we can and should tell unbelievers. Unbelievers are also under the hand of God and they should fear Him because He is worthy of fear. Unbelievers should engage in good works and do good things because that is better than doing bad or evil things. It is not that good works that are inherently bad, but it is the heart that is bad and trusts in them.

The reason to think that Cornelius was an unconverted man was that God sent an angel to him to tell him to send to Joppa for Peter. When Peter arrived, he preached the Gospel to this man and all who were there. Though Cornelius was a good man, a devout man, and devoted to good works he was a sinner that needed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to be converted. Though he was devoted to prayer, yet he needed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though he gave money to the physical people of God (Jews), he still needed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees were also those who were devout, devoted to good works, feared God in some way, gave alms, and were devoted to prayer. Yet they received the most severe words from Jesus. A man can be devoted to all of these things and not be a converted person. Cornelius was an unconverted man despite his exemplary life.

Cornelius believed in God, but so do the devils and they tremble. Many people in the world today believe in God in some way and yet they do not tremble. The devil believes that all the statements of the Bible are true and that God is worthy to be loved, yet he is not converted. The devil deceives people by having them trust in their good works and so he motivates people to good works in order to deceive them. The fact that the devil is behind good works does not mean that he is converted or that the people doing them are converted, yet so many within the professing Church today are deceived by good works. The devil is quite active in the world today though his work is quite hidden. He deceives some away from good works because they do not save, and yet he deceives many by their doing good works and so thinking that those make them acceptable to God. Cornelius appeared to be a man devoted to good works and yet he did not trust in them for salvation.

We learn from Cornelius that it is right for all people to fear God and do what is externally good. The difference between a converted person and an unconverted person is not morality and good works; it is being a new creature in Christ. Believers and unbelievers alike should do good works in the sense that they should live before God as one who knows that s/he will stand before God and be judged by the deeds done in the body. The unbeliever is treasuring up wrath for the day of wrath (Rom 2:4), yet a life devoted to good works is far better than one that is devoted to bad deeds. The external deeds are things that all should do simply because of who God is. While we teach unbelievers that their prayers are an abomination to God apart from Christ, yet if they are praying in a way of seeking God that is still far better than to live without prayer and a total rejection of His commands over them.

We also see that while the works and prayers of Cornelius did not save him nor gain merit, the text is quite clear that God recognized what he was doing. While people sneer at any sign of preparing a heart for salvation today, this text teaches us that perhaps we need to think through these issues again. Sin hardens the heart and takes a person farther from God, while good works have no merit when they are done in the process of seeking God and not trusting in them yet they do not harden the heart as open sin does. It was far better for Cornelius to be engaged in his good works and in prayer while seeking the Lord than it was for him to be given over to sin and seeking the world. It was to this man that was seeking God in good works and prayer that God sent Peter to preach the Gospel to him. It is the fear of God that keeps people from gross and outward sin (Ex 20:20) and is far better than a hardened heart that does not fear God and goes on in sin. Cornelius had the fear of God about him and he was devoted to prayers and good works as a way of seeking God and not to earn something from Him. In his seeking God saved him by grace alone, yet not because his seeking earned anything. He was saved by grace alone.

This is a forgotten message today and yet it is in Acts 10 and it was the message of the Puritans as well. All human beings should be taught to forsake sin and to seek God. All human beings should be taught to fear God, to pray in some way, and then to be given to good deeds. They are to be taught that these things have no merit but that they should do them as creatures living before their Creator. They are to be taught that these things are far better than living in open sin which hardens their hearts and treasures even more wrath up against them. These are things that may enable a person to seek God with less of a hardened heart. After all, they ascended to God and He did send Peter to preach to Cornelius and then sent the Spirit into his heart. This thought is also in line with the sermon of Paul in Acts 17:

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children'” (vv. 24-28).

Paul taught people to seek God and Cornelius tells us one way to do it. Despite all of his good works in seeking God he did not trust in them but needed to hear the Gospel. In one very real sense he was seeking God, while in another he was not seeking God in accordance with the truth and love (Rom 3:10). In one sense he was doing good works and yet in the fullest of senses no one does good (Rom 3:11). In one sense he feared God while in the fullest sense no unbeliever truly fears God (Rom 3:18). We must learn the fine line between these “senses” and teach men to seek the Lord while knowing that in the fullest sense they cannot (Rom 8:6-9).

In dealing with the conversion of Paul, even though very briefly, we should be amazed at the brilliance of the beauty of God in saving Paul. The Scriptures do not give a lot of space to his conversion itself, but in terms of how it fits with the rest of Scripture we have enough to fill out hearts with awe and praise. The chief issue concerning all of life and for all eternity is the manifested glory of God. The very holiness of God has to do with His glory. He is bound to do all for the glory of His own name in all He does. The Gospel itself is the display of His glory. II Corinthians 4:4 speaks “of the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Then in verse 6, in the same context, the text speaks of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” The Gospel is not about how wonderful and valuable human beings are to God; it speaks of the glory of God. We also have I Timothy 1:11, according to a more literal translation, saying “according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” Jesus Christ Himself is the shining forth of the glory of God (Heb 1:1-3) and the glory that shone forth in Him as the tabernacle of that glory was the glory of grace and truth (John 1:14-18).

When the light shone around Saul (later Paul) in Acts 9 this was nothing else but the glory of God shining. It took more than a mere suggestion to take this man who was breathing forth threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1) to go forth and begin writing in such a way that he would break out in praise in the middle of a sentence or paragraph. This man was such a converted man and a changed man that he was now willing to suffer and die so that Christ would be exalted in his body. He was stoned, given the lash, and suffered all kinds of persecution and yet he suffered it willingly. He did not do these things because of an intellectual idea that he had been exposed to, but because he saw the glory of the Lord. He did not go forth and shake the world because of a philosophical system, but because he was the temple of the Lord and he was filled with the Spirit.

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 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.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized. (Acts 9:10-18).

Saul was in Damascus for at least three days because the text tells us that he went without food or drink for three days (Acts 9:9). What would a man do for three days after the glory of the Lord had shone around him and in him? We know that “immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God”” (Acts 9:17). Saul, the man who hated Christ and persecuted and murdered believers in Christ, had a revelation of Christ on the road to Damascus. He who was on his way to Damascus to persecute and perhaps murder believers in Christ within just a few days later began to preach this Jesus Christ as the Son of God in Damascus. He was so effective in preaching Christ in Damascus that the Jews plotted to kill him (Acts 9:23) and he had to escape the town by night being lowered in a basket through and opening in the wall. When the persecution was turned up on him within a very short time of his conversion, he did not cave in and turn back. Instead he went to Jerusalem where he spoke out boldly and in the name of the Lord. The Jews once again attempted to kill him (Acts 9:28-29).

Paul was not just a man who prayed a prayer and made a commitment, he was a man who was completely converted and totally changed. He was now a man who was a temple of the living God and the temple of the Holy Spirit. He was a man who was no longer his own and he followed Christ as His Lord and King. Paul was no longer the selfish and proud Pharisee, he was now a humble man who followed Christ. He was now a man who was willing to live and die for His Lord. By grace alone God took this man and turned him from his sin to Christ. By grace alone God took this man and gave him a new heart. By grace alone God washed this man’s sins away and filled Him with the Spirit of love. Paul was now constrained and compelled by the love of God in Him and all he did now was done from the strength of grace. No longer did this old Pharisee pray for the honor given him by other men, but now he prayed for the glory of God in others. No longer did this old Pharisee seek honor from others in his religious deeds, but now whether he ate, drank, or whatever he did he did to the glory of God. This man was a new creature in Christ on the inside and was indeed a new man. Therefore, his name was changed from Saul to Paul and he was now a chosen vessel to take the Gospel of the glory of God to the Gentiles.

When Ananias we told by the Lord to go to Saul and lay hands on him and be used so Saul would regain his sight, Ananias was hesitant. This is very understandable considering what Saul had been doing. But the Lord told him to go because Saul was a chosen instrument of His and that Saul would bear His name “before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). While it is of interest to focus on Ananias and his willingness seen in obedience to lay down his life in his view to go to Saul, we can simply note that he went because he was told to by the Lord. We don’t have to understand completely and we don’t have to have all the troublesome circumstances removed, but we are to simply obey the Lord in trust. What we do want to do, however, is to focus on the logic of God. Saul, as he was at that time before he was renamed Paul, was not aware of the plans of God for him. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians and now he had met the Lord. He did not seek the Lord, but instead he was sought. He did not know what was going on, but Ananias was told that Saul was a chosen instrument of God. Before Saul knew anything about what he was called to do God had already chosen him to do it. Saul did not choose to do this, but he was chosen to do so.

What follows is the logic of God in how He makes men and women of God. Look at this vital text: “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16). Ananias did not want to go, but he was told to for Saul was a chosen instrument of God to bear the name of God to many people. What a blessed position to be an apostle bearing the name of God like that! But the text goes on to show how Saul was going to be prepared for his job and how he was going to be brought before many of these people. Verse 16 starts off with the word “for.” It is linking verse 15 with verse 16 and shows that verse 16 is how Saul is going to bear the name of God before these people. He was to be a chosen instrument of God to suffer in order to bear the name of God before these people. In order for Saul to carry out what he was called to do in verse 15 he was going to have to suffer according to verse 16. Suffering was the means he was given to carry out his call.

In Saul who was to become Paul in Acts 13 we find an amazing story of conversion. God took a Pharisee who was intent on destroying the Church through suffering and persecution and made him a man who through his own suffering was used of God to establish His Church throughout the known world. In His beautiful sovereignty God had this great persecutor of the Church hear the Gospel by a man that Saul was having put to death. In his faithfulness in death Stephen preached the Gospel to Saul who was then converted by God and whose own suffering was used to proclaim the Gospel to the known world. It was God who took this man and changed him by grace. This man who threw so many in jail was now forced to spend a lot of time in jail, but he also wrote a lot of the New Testament while in jail. This man who had others beaten for preaching the Gospel now endured beatings to preach the Gospel. Saul heard the Gospel through a man who was beaten and stoned, so he now knew the value of preaching the Gospel while suffering. He now understood that he had a priceless treasure in his body of clay and that it was the glory of God in the Gospel of Christ that was important.

The lessons from this are numerous. We can certainly see that God used suffering in the life of Saul/Paul to both temper and train him and also to display His glory through. The Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ, yet it is this Gospel that was lived through and preached about in Paul. As Jesus learned obedience through suffering, so Saul/Paul learned obedience through suffering as well. As the glory of God shone forth through Christ on the cross as the Son of God suffered the wrath of the Father, so the glory of God shone forth as Paul suffered for the Gospel. Paul stated that he wanted to share in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil 3:10), and the Lord granted that to him. As Jesus agonized in prayer in the Garden before He bowed in submission to the Father and yet for the joy set before Him He endured the cross, so Paul counted all things but rubbish to in order to gain Christ (Phil 3:8) and rejoiced in all things. The suffering he endured showed the extent of his conversion.

The glory of God shone through Christ as He suffered on the cross and the glory of God in Christ shone through Paul because it was Christ who was the life of Paul. Paul said that he had been crucified with Christ and that he no longer lived, but instead it was Christ who lived in him (Gal 2:20). In this we understand, then, how the glory of God works in the conversion of sinners. He changes sinners from living for self to where they die to self and it is Christ who lives in them. His glory is such that they behold that glory and are changed into that glory from one degree to another (II Cor 3:18). As sinners are changed more and more by beholding His glory, they become more and more like Him. As they suffer in their flesh it is His glory that shines through them more and more. Paul suffered so that the glory of God would shine through his crucified self. The same is true of us. Until self is crucified the glory of God will not shine through us no matter how much personality we have and no matter how well we speak and no matter how much we know. If we wish to see the glory of God shine through the Gospel, we must be willing to suffer so that the glory of God would shine through us. His glory will not shine through men who do church and preach for the honor of self. But instead we are to look to Saul and understand that God really converts sinners so that His glory would shine through them. That is, after all, the reason God converts sinners in the first place. If that is the reason for conversion, then it helps us to understand what must happen in conversion. Paul was truly a converted man since he was willing to suffer so much for the name of God and not self. In conversion he died to self and Christ was truly the life in him. The kingdom was in him and it must be in us too.

In this article we will look at Saul’s conversion to a new creature in Christ who became the apostle Paul and compare it to some of his writings. In modern America we tend to think of conversion as something that just happens rather than striving to know how conversion really happens. The theology of the apostle Paul is not something distinct from his conversion, but instead his theology explains his conversion. Saul did not become Paul just because he intellectually understood some facts about grace, but because the grace of God overcame his heart and he became a new creature because of who God was and not because of what Saul/Paul had done. We must learn to drink at the well of living water rather than just read about it. A human being can die of thirst on the shores of a large body of water if s/he does not drink. So just reading about grace and the theology of grace can leave a soul with a lot of information but without the life of God in the soul.

“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:1-9).

One of the passages that Paul wrote about was drilled home to the heart of Paul. “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET” (Rom 7:7). While it may sound strange to some, covetousness is the command that reaches the heart with all of the other commands. It is the grasping and covetous heart that desires to be god rather than bow to God. It is the covetous heart that wants to worship as it wants to worship rather than as God commands. It is the covetous heart that desires its own name to be honored rather than not take God’s name in vain. It is the covetous heart that does not keep the Sabbath holy and the one that follows its own heart rather than honor its parents. It is the covetous heart that is describes as lusting for other people, the property of other people, and will lie to cover its own tracks. When the light shone on Paul and then in Paul, he knew then who and why he was persecuting. He was persecuting Jesus Himself in persecuting Christians and that meant that he was an idolater who was coveting honor for himself.

Paul found out what the teaching of grace really is. He knew that he was dead in his trespasses and sins and even while he was very religious he was following the ways of self and the world. He knew that nothing would have turned him from his very religious and self-centered course other than grace. He was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” He was intent on what he was doing and it was grace that took Paul from his route to Damascus and changed his heart. It was grace that took a man who was so covetous in heart and made him a man that loved the Lord and His followers. Paul was a man committed to his good works and to zeal for the Lord (he thought) in his ways according to the Pharisees. But he later knew that it was “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8). Paul’s conversion was such that it demonstrated that he was saved by grace and grace alone.

When the light shone around Paul on the road to Damascus and he heard that the one shining the light was Jesus whom he was persecuting, Paul saw his own heart. What he later wrote in Romans 8 is likely what he felt deep in his soul then as he looked back on being an unbeliever: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (8:6-8). He knew that in what he thought was service to God he was acting with hostility to God and had no ability to keep the law. The truths of Romans 8 had been felt by Paul and he was writing true theology but also what he had felt in his own soul. As he wrote about the inability of man to keep the law and the hostility of the heart toward God, the anguish was probably in his own heart because he was describing himself when he was Saul.

Rom 9:14 – “What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”

Earlier in Romans 9 Paul had been talking about his kinsman according to the flesh. He moved on to speak of the Old Testament blessings that belonged to Israel. He talked about how it is not the children of the flesh who are children of Abraham and of God, but those who are children of promise. He then spoke of the glory of God shown to Moses when God told Moses that He would have mercy on whom He would have mercy. Paul was not running toward God, but away from the true God in his hostility and hatred for Him. It does not depend on the man who wills to be saved or runs in order to be saved, but instead it depends totally on God. God has mercy on whom He desires because no one deserves the mercy of God, and Paul thought of himself as especially unworthy of mercy. There could be no doubt in the case of Paul that he was saved apart from his good works and apart from his own seeking of God. It was God who decided to show mercy to Paul and save his wretched soul by grace alone. There is nothing in Acts 9 that teaches of anything but the grace and love of God set on Paul and drawing Him to Himself. Paul was dead in sin, hated God, and was persecuting the Church of the living God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us (Eph 2:4). There is no explanation for the salvation of Paul but God who set His love on Paul because He decided to have mercy on him. Paul wrote about the doctrine of election because he saw this as salvation by grace alone. He had been arrested by God while he (Saul) was in mad pursuit of his hatred of God. Paul knew that election was true or he (Paul) would never have been saved.

Rom 3:24 – “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded.”

Paul saw so clearly that the cause of justification is the grace of God and not himself. What cause or goodness can we find in Paul from Acts 9? What cause can we find in Paul for God to justify Paul? There was no cause at all for Paul to be justified other than the causes that God found in Himself. God saved Paul because God found causes within God to save Paul. Paul was bent on causing Christians in Damascus to suffer and die out of hatred for the true God. What did God find in Paul to cause Him to set His love on Him? It could only have been His own purposes. Paul was full of nothing but hatred for God and had a covetous heart that sought himself rather than God. In the justification of Paul, it was easy for him to write that he had nothing to boast of and that God saved him (Paul) to demonstrate His own righteousness. Paul said that he boasted in nothing but the cross (Gal 6:14) and he learned that by his theology, the Gospel, and his own heart from which he was saved.

There is much to learn from the conversion of Saul to Paul. If men will but see their own hearts and their hatred and enmity toward God, they will understand the truth of salvation by grace alone. When men see that in their hearts there is a desire to be against true Christians, they will see their own hearts and know that it is grace alone that will save them. When men see their own hearts as dead in sins and trespasses, they will know that nothing but the grace of God can bring their dead souls to life. When men understand that they are as bad as Saul and the worst of sinners, they will understand that there is nothing but the electing love of God that can raise them from the spiritual dead. When men feel the weight of their sin in their hearts and know the depravity that is twisted in with their every thought, desire, motive, and intent; they will know that they must be saved by grace or they will not be saved at all. When men begin to understand that God has no obligation to save them but is just in treating them as He treated Pharaoh, then they will understand that it means to be saved by grace alone. Saul was not saved by a choice of his will or anything else he wanted, desired, or did. But the grace of God took him and changed his heart. What he once hated and persecuted he became. The city he went to in order to persecute he was led by the hand to enter and receive the Holy Spirit. The persecutor became the persecuted because God saved him by grace alone.

The biblical record of the conversion of Saul to Paul in Acts 9 is demonstrative evidence of the glory of God’s sovereign grace in the salvation of sinners. The description of the conversion of Paul is that of grace from beginning to end. True enough it was a bright light from heaven flashing around, but the glory of God’s grace in saving Paul is the brightest light in this passage. It is certain that Paul was there when Stephen was stoned (Acts 7:58 in its context) and so had heard something of the Gospel. But other than that, we don’t have any real evidence of human activity in this conversion. We have God choosing to save a man and make him a choice servant of His. We have God taking a man who was actually causing a lot of suffering to the Church with the intent of causing much more and changing this man’s heart so that he was now willing to himself suffer for the cause of the Gospel. This is the display of the self-sufficient grace of God purchased by Christ toward Saul who became a new creature known as Paul. Read the text of Saul’s conversion to Paul with an eye toward the glory of the grace of God in action.

“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” and he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 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.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized.” (Acts 9:1-18).

Saul was a man who was greatly learned in the Old Testament. He had heard the Gospel from the preaching of Stephen (and possibly others) who set out the Old Testament in a prominent way in his preaching before he was stoned to death (Acts 7). Saul heard the Gospel set out in its Old Testament setting and surely this provoked something in his thinking. He was not ignorant of the things that had occurred in Jerusalem concerning Jesus a relatively short time before. The ones who were stoning Stephen laid their coats at the feet of Saul showing that he was a leader in this. Acts 8:1 tells us that “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.” At least part of the great persecution of the Church was instigated and propagated by Saul (Acts 8:1-3 and 9:1ff). He was on his way to Damascus to carry out his hatred against the Church, but then something happened that changed Saul completely.

What is going on with the heart of Saul? He hated Jesus Christ and he hated the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though he was very religious and a very devout Pharisee, he hated God. If a person would have walked up and “shared the Gospel” with him, that person would have been put in prison and perhaps stoned. His heart was hard and he was set on stomping out this wild fire of false religion. He was not ready to pray a prayer and he was not ready to walk an aisle. He was not ready to read any literature and most likely would not have debated with anyone on the issue. Saul was not likely to have been considered a good choice for a second visit on some evangelism profile. He was openly hostile to the Gospel. While Paul was not a good candidate for modern evangelism, God has His own ways.

What we see here is God’s way of bringing a man to humility and brokenness before Himself. While Saul would not go hear the Gospel of his own accord, God brought him to hear it from Stephen while Stephen was being tried and then stoned. If we could ask Stephen if it was worth being stoned so that Saul would hear the Gospel, without doubt he would say that it was. God’s method of evangelism to Saul was to send a servant who would die preaching the Gospel. Stephen’s evangelistic method was to stand firm for the Gospel and die a painful death. He did not practice any form of evangelism other than his love for God was greater than a fear of man and his message was the truth of the Gospel. But know that it is the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). It is the Gospel that God uses to change hearts that hate Him and make them into lovers of God. It does not take methods or pleas to the will of man to be saved, but instead it takes the Gospel in the hands of the living God and applied by Him to the heart.

It is the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah and the Gospel of the glory of God that must be preached. It is not the Gospel of say a prayer or the Gospel of make a choice, it is the Gospel of God. The method of the Gospel is to preach the glory and character of God, it is not to try to talk and manipulate human beings into making choices. The method of the Gospel is against trying to manipulate men to make choices since the Gospel looks to the grace of God alone in saving sinners. The sinner must not look to his own will to make a choice since it is that very will that must be changed. The sinner must not look to his own ability since it is the ability of Christ alone that will save. That is what the conversion of Saul to Paul teaches us. Preach the Gospel and look to God to do the work of changing hearts. Sinners cannot change their own hearts and that includes those who evangelize. In our day, however, and has been this way for a long time, we have changed to look to men in evangelism. This is true in Reformed circles as well.

“There is another variety of postredemptionism, however…This variety, which became dominant among the New England Congregationalist churches about the second third of the nineteenth century e.g. N.W. Taylor, d. 1858; C.G. Finney, d. 1875…), attempted, much are the manner of the “Congruists” of the Church of Rome, to unite a Pelagian doctrine of the will with the Calvinistic doctrine of absolute predestination. The result was, of course, to destroy the Calvinistic doctrine of “irresistible grace,” and as the Calvinistic doctrine of the “satisfaction of Christ” was also set aside in favor of the Grotian or governmental theory of atonement, little was left of Calvinism except the bare doctrine of predestination. Perhaps it is not strange, therefore, that this “improved Calvinism” has crumbled away and given place to newer and explicitly anti-Calvinistic constructions of doctrine” (B. B. Warfield).

As we look at the conversion of Saul who became Paul, we see irresistible grace at work. As we look on the modern scene of evangelism, however, we see human beings at work doing their preaching and evangelism in ways that certainly appear to be apart from a reliance on irresistible grace though some lip service may be given to it. Indeed the conversion of Saul to Paul was a remarkable case, but then again every true conversion is just as remarkable if we could but see what goes on. Sure there was a physical light that blinded Saul so that he fell to the ground and an audible voice that struck those with him speechless, but in any Gospel applied by God there is an inner light that shines as well. Any true conversion is a supernatural work of God in shining the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Cor 4:6). When our methods of evangelism take on man-centered ways and methods, we may have nothing more than the bare doctrine of predestination and call ourselves orthodox. We may have high numbers of those making professions of faith, but when we leave the truth of the power of the Gospel and take it into our own hands by man’s ways and man’s methods, there is no power of God and the Gospel attending our preaching.

The contrast between the conversion of Saul to Paul and our modern day methods are striking. The reason for that is that Saul was converted by the Gospel as worked into the heart of Saul by God alone. The external bright light that flashed around did not convert him though it certainly obtained his attention. It was the inward light of the glory of God that converted him and it is that same inward light that converts souls today. When men, whether professing Calvinists or not, try to manipulate and use the methods of men to extricate a prayer or a choice out of men, the light of the Gospel is not there. When men, even if they do profess to believe in election, use means that deny irresistible grace, the light of the Gospel is not there. R.C. Sproul has said that we “are in the Pelagian captivity of the Church.” Many professing Reformed in doctrine have capitulated to Finney in the practice of evangelism. In doing so the light of the glory of the Gospel has virtually been extinguished in our day. God will not give His glory to another in the Gospel, yet in evangelism that is what we have done. A Gospel of grace alone is of His glory alone in irresistible grace. Is that the Gospel that you preach? Do you look to man’s will to choose or to God’s to convert?

As we look at the conversion of the Ethiopian Treasurer, it will become clear that this is not the usual method of outreach. The first thing that we are confronted with is that Philip was sent by the angel of the Lord to a specific location. It was a location that was a road that came down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Another interesting point is that the account of the conversion of the Ethiopian Treasurer follows immediately from the story of the false conversion of Simon. He too heard the Gospel preached by Philip, believed, and was then baptized. In verse 25 we have the preachers (Peter, John, and Philip) starting “back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.” Verse 26 then starts with the word “but.” The Lord had a specific job for Philip.

Acts 8:26 – “But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. 33 “IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.” 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.”

The man was coming from Jerusalem because he had traveled there to worship. He was a man with an interest in religion and evidently recognized that salvation was from the Jews. But he was not a converted man despite all of his interest and effort. As he came from Jerusalem he was sitting in his chariot and reading Isaiah. The angel of the Lord commanded Philip to go to a certain location and so he was in the right spot at the right time. He was told by the Spirit to go and join the chariot. Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading (out loud) Isaiah. As an experienced evangelist he recognized that he had been sent to this chariot this man by God. But he started off with a question and asked the man if he understood what he was reading. The man responded and asked Philip to come up into the chariot and have a seat. The man was reading from Isaiah 53 which speaks of Christ as the Lamb of God who gave Himself in sacrifice for the sins of others. The man wanted to know what that meant. So Philip preached Christ to him from that Scripture. Evidently he preached more than just the words of the text because the man wanted to be baptized and stated that he believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

There are questions that can’t be answered now as to why this man came to Jerusalem. Without knowing the exact reason, we do know that it was God that was drawing the man. In Acts 9 Saul, even in the midst of his religious persecution, was sovereignly converted by God. In Acts 10 Cornelius was a man who worshipped God in some way though he did not know the truth and God sent Peter to him. In Acts 11 we see the hand of the Lord moving at Antioch and many were brought to the faith there. It seems to be in line with the thought of the Divine Author of Acts to set out how God is able to draw people from long distances to Himself (Acts 8), meet up with those who hate the Person and works of Christ (Acts 9), to send His people to those whose hearts He has prepared (Acts 10), and then to send His people to start churches that at least include the non-Jews in Antioch. When God designs to save a soul, He can draw that soul to Himself as He pleases. He drew this Ethiopian eunuch to Jerusalem and then sent Philip to him to preach Christ. What we have then, is the conversion of a man alone, but the glory of God is shining forth here. There is no explanation but a God determined to shine forth His glory in grace and truth.

The rudiments of how God brought about this man’s conversion are in the text. God took this man from a land of great darkness as He brought Abram from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans to the Promised Land. The Divine pressure and drawing was strong in his heart so he was willing to take a carriage trip of greater than 1,000 miles which was not an easy in those days. As a court official of the Queen who was in charge of “all her treasure” (v. 27), he was undoubtedly a man with a lot of wealth and influence. Yet he left that to travel all the way from Africa to Jerusalem to worship. Somehow, though surrounded with heathen beliefs and idolatry, he was drawn to the light on the hill. Somehow, though surrounded with idolatry and heathen beliefs and lifestyles, he was drawn to the truth. He was not satisfied with all that went on around him and so we can see the work of God in his soul.

The Spirit was working in him and he would not rest until he found God. What we want to see is that this man was not just smarter than others, and it was not just that he was a better and more intense seeker than others, but he was being drawn by God. This man was converted, but God is the One who brought this man to Himself and converted him. The man appeared to be broken to a degree as he left Jerusalem and Philip was sent to him. He was a man who had enough of a craving in his soul he went to Jerusalem to find the truth. But he left without finding it. He went to Jerusalem to inquire after the things of God, yet he left without a true conversion. It is not hard to imagine that the sinking in his soul matched the descent of the chariot down the hill from Jerusalem. He did not care if those around him knew of his seeking because he was reading out loud. Then Philip arrived to preach the Gospel. Here was a man of great importance and power and a man just shows up and asks him what he is reading and if he understood it. The man said that he could not unless someone explained it to him. In this we can see that his soul had been humbled and that his own inability to reason to the truth of Scripture was clear to him. He knew that someone needed to teach him or he would not be able to understand. God has been working on this man’s heart.

In God’s providence this man was focused on Isaiah 53, as others have been when the Lord opened their eyes to His glory in Christ. This sounds like a heart that knew its sin and longed to find real answers. Philip began with that text and preached Christ to him, likely something like his Lord did in Luke 24:13-32 when He went through the Scriptures to explain the about Himself to listening men. Philip probably preached the same things the Lord spoke to His disciples and the ones standing around. He would have told him that salvation was impossible with men but possible with God (Mat 19:26) and that Jesus called all those who were weary and heavy-laden to Him (Mat 11:28). Most likely Philip preached Isaiah 53 to the man along with John 1:29 where John said that Jesus was the Lamb of God and of Christ Himself coming not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom (Mark 10:45). Surely Philip preached of Christ coming to be sin on the behalf of sinners (II Cor 5:21). But whatever his exact words were, Philip started from that passage of Scripture and preached Christ to that man.

We will not get into the baptism issue, but in the space left focus on why we think this man was indeed converted man despite the relatively scant biblical material. The man knew enough to go to Jerusalem to worship, so he had been exposed to the teaching of the God or the Jews. The angel of the Lord sent Philip to the path of this man and was then told to go to that specific chariot. The man was reading about the cross of Christ and of His suffering the wrath of God in that text, so the man was exposed to that aspect of the Gospel. The man had Philip preach Christ to the man so that he came to believe that Jesus the Christ (Messiah) was indeed the Messiah and was the very Son of God. The man asked what would prevent him from being baptized and was told that “If you believe with all of your heart, you may.” He then confessed Christ in accordance with Romans 10:9 that says: “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The Lord Himself prepared this man and his heart. The Lord Himself drew this man to Jerusalem and sent Philip to his location and then specifically to his chariot. The Lord had this man wrestling with the cross of Christ and of His satisfying the wrath of the Father. He then gave this man ears to hear when Philip preached Christ to him and then confessed Christ in truth. God is the main part of this story from beginning to end. The Gospel is all about His glory and it is His glory that shines here. He set His love on this eunuch and saved him. There are no evangelistic methods or tricks of men that got in the way here. Here was a man that God took and brought to hear the Gospel of His glory in the face of Christ. No one was there to steal the glory and so it is all God’s. We do not see anyone trying to convince this man to do an act of belief or to say a prayer. What we see is a man that went to great length to find the truth, and was then found by God on his way home. We see a man preaching the Gospel and we see a heart that was converted and so now Christ was the primary belief in the soul. God saved this man and His glory shines. We would do well to learn from this story that perhaps the way many do evangelism is actually getting in the way of the truth of how God saves souls. Human beings are to be messengers of how God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace. Too often we think sinners are saved because we did something. If we think that, most likely we have not stressed their need to turn from their own sufficiency to look to Him alone. The way we proclaim the Gospel matters. If we want sinners to look to us, we will not be telling them truth in a truthful way.

In this article we will be moving from the thief on the cross that was converted (last article) to the day of Pentecost. Once again it is noteworthy to see how the people were instructed in that day as compared to what is popular in our day. It is also true that this is not an ordinary event in that this was the day that the Holy Spirit was sent, but still the message of the Gospel is the same. It was good news that Jesus came to deliver His people from the punishment for their sins. It was good news that Jesus came to deliver His people from the dominion of their sins. But it was also good news that Jesus came to save His people “from this perverse generation.” Jesus was and is a complete Savior. The Gospel that rang forth on the day of Pentecost was a Gospel that delivered people from sin in many ways and not focused or limited to the punishment due after death.

32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ– this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:32-42).

Clearly the promise of the Father was the Holy Spirit. Peter preached Jesus the Christ to them, but he also preached the Holy Spirit. It was the sending of the Holy Spirit that led to his quote of Psalm 110:1 in verse 34. He shows that it was Jesus who ascended and sat down until His enemies were made a footstool for His feet. It is in light of the Holy Spirit being sent and verse 36 that Israel could know for certain that God make Jesus both Lord and Christ. The next two verses after Psalm 110:1 are also of interest: “The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” 3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.”

Jesus Christ will rule in the midst of His enemies, and one way He does this is by the Spirit when people come to Him in the day of His power. That very day in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit was sent three thousand souls were put under the reign and rule of King Jesus. The One that the house of Israel had crucified was indeed the risen King who was now at the right hand of the Father and His enemies were being put under His feet. The way this was being done was that the Holy Spirit was taking the hearts of these enemies and was convicting them of their sin and showing them the truth of Christ. He then gave them new hearts and the power of holiness because the New Covenant is the promise of the Spirit to be in His people working love and obedience to the Law in them.

We can see the steps of the Holy Spirit in taking all of these people who were at one point cheering for Jesus to be crucified not too long before they heard this sermon from Peter. The people heard the preaching of the word of God from Peter, and then the Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin. These people did not just feel a little guilty, but they were pierced. This piercing sorrow and guilt is the same language that the Bible uses when it speaks of the spear being thrust into the side of Jesus while He was on the cross. No longer were they jeering at the Christ or at the apostles for being full of wine, but the Spirit had deeply convicted them of their sin. This is a point that we see over and over in Scripture. The work of God begins with the work of conviction of sin. But it is interesting to note how they became so convicted of their sin. Indeed Peter preached to them that they had crucified Christ, but his sermon was also full of teaching on the Holy Spirit and how that demonstrated the truth that Jesus was the Old Testament Messiah and how He had been crucified and was now risen from the dead. It was not just the facts that Peter presented to them that day, but he preached the Scripture to show that this activity of the Spirit was connected to the Messiah and what He was going to do.

Note the promise that Peter preached. He told them that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It was receiving the Holy Spirit that was the promise for them, for their children, and “for all those who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Forgiveness of sin is a wonderful thing, but if we are still left in the power of our sin we will just be up to the neck of our souls in it again apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. We must also note that Pete never told them to believe, but instead he told them to repent and be baptized. This sounds problematic for many people, but that is the nature of the case. Many are scared to be charismatic and so want to hide from the teaching of Scripture on the Holy Spirit. Others are so afraid of baptism that they want to shy away from some plain teachings of Scripture on it. We must never shy away from any teaching of Scripture. The people who were deeply pierced in their soul for their sin called out to Peter and the apostles and asked them what they were to do. They were told to repent, to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and then they would receive the Holy Spirit. In this verse we have both baptism and the Holy Spirit. So this is where we should stop. Perhaps that would be the safest thing to do, but that is not what we should do if we want God and His truth over our traditions. It is not the safest thing to do if we want ourselves or others to be truly converted rather than deceived about salvation. We can go on blindly adhering to one tradition or another or we can go to Scripture and see what it really says in passage after passage. We need to be saved from many traditions rather than keep them.

Peter did not shy away from the teaching that God must draw sinners to Himself. In fact, that was used as an encouragement. He was there when Jesus said that salvation was impossible with men (Mat 19:26). This is in line with Romans 9:14-18 where we are told that it does not depend on the man who runs or the man who wills, but on God who shows mercy. The same truth is taught in John 1:12-13 where it is clearly taught that the new birth is not of a human will but is of the will of God. It is God who must draw sinners as they cannot bring themselves. It is the Holy Spirit who works in sinners as they cannot come in their own power. It is the Spirit working who brings the enemies of the Messiah down under His feet. It is the Spirit’s work to make the people volunteer in the day of the Messiah’s power. So on one hand those who repent and are baptized in the name of Christ will receive the Holy Spirit, yet on the other hand we see that the promise of the Holy Spirit is for all those that God will call to Himself.

Repentance is to give up on all the efforts of self to gain honor or stature in not living to the glory of God (Rom 1:21; 3:23) and bow at the feet of King Jesus. Repentance is to be turned from a proud heart to one that will receive the kingdom of God like a little child (Mat 18:3). When a Jewish person was baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah that person took Jesus as Messiah, as King, as God, and as his or her absolute Lord. It was not that the application of water saved the person or washed their sins itself, but to be willing to be baptized in the name of Christ was to forsake the traditions of the Jews and take Christ in public demonstrated a true repentance. One had to turn away from the traditions of the Jews to take Christ as Messiah and to receive the Holy Spirit as the power of love and holiness rather than the keeping of the Law in their own power.

What were those Jewish people saved from? One thing they were saved from was their own perverse generation. They were a generation of people who were very religious, but they needed to be saved from that religion. Jesus blasted the Pharisees more than anyone else, including the liberal Sadducees. The greatest sins are not external sins, but internal and religious sins of the heart. Those Jewish people needed to be saved from their perverse religion. Those who had received his word were then baptized. Three thousand souls rejected the false religion of the Jews and bowed to King Jesus. This is seen in that now they were devoted to the teachings of the apostles and to fellowship. These are signs of converted souls. A converted soul loves the truth and the people of Christ.

We can learn many things from this passage. We must learn to preach Christ in a way where the Spirit works in the hearts of people. We must learn to preach in such a way that the work of the Spirit must be seen as what needs to be done in the soul. In the same passage (I Cor 2:1-5) where Paul said he preached nothing but Christ crucified, he also said that he did not preach with wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That is exactly what Peter did. True salvation comes in true repentance and in being willing to give up religion, family, the world, and all other things. The Spirit is still a promise to those who do not try to will their own salvation or sanctification. Souls that are truly converted are converted from religion to Christ Himself. They become (must do so) devoted to the teaching and people of God. If a soul does not love His word or His children, that soul doesn’t love Him either. A converted soul leaves its false religion and bows to Christ and now loves God’s children for His sake. The Spirit converts a soul and then pours out a love for God in that soul. The one begotten of God loves the things of God.

One of the most interesting conversions in Scripture is the thief on the cross. As one stated long ago, there is one death bed conversion in Scripture so sinners should not give up all hope. Yet there is only one so no one should presume. If we look long enough we can see the various theologies clashing. Where is the act of faith or even prayer in this criminal? Was the criminal saved by a sovereign act of grace or by an act of the will? Did Jesus or someone else preach the Gospel to him? How did he come to faith? It is most likely that no one will ever know all of answers to these questions until heaven. But until then there is enough glory to see.

Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:32-43).

This text sets up multiple parallels for us. We have Jesus “saying” in v. 34 “Father, forgive them.” Verse 35 has the rulers sneering and saying, “He saved others; le Him save Himself.” The soldiers mocked Him saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” Verse 38 had the inscription (saying) nailed above Him that He was the King of the Jews. Verse 39 has the words of one of the criminals who hurled abuse at Jesus saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” So we have the saying of Jesus, of the rulers, of the soldiers, and then of one of the criminals. The contrast between their words is remarkable. They were all hurling abuse at Him as He, at the very least, was praying for the Father to forgive the soldiers. These words were spoken in the context of the conversion of the thief on the cross. These words pointed the thief to something very different about Jesus the Messiah.

A second parallel in the text is the contrast with the idea of salvation involved in the sayings of the people in Luke 23. As Christ was on the cross suffering for the sins of sinners in order to glorify God in salvation, the rulers were mocking Him by saying “let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One” (v. 35). The soldiers were after Him to again challenging Him to save Himself (v. 37). The non-repentant criminal was mocking Him telling Him to save Himself and the criminals (v. 39). The parallel is with the external or temporal salvation from suffering that everybody else was mocking Jesus about as He was earning eternal salvation by being on the cross. If He had stepped down off of the cross then no one in history could have been saved.

At first both thieves mocked Jesus, but something changed. Matthew 27:44 uses the plural “robbers” which tells us that both of them mocked Him. “The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.” This shows that at this point the heart of both thieves with Jesus were still dead in sins and at enmity with God. But one of the thieves recognized his sin and knew that justice was being carried out on himself and his fellow thief, but he recognized the innocence of Jesus. He then asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. This is truly an extraordinary thing to say about a man who is hanging on the cross and condemned to die while being mocked by the government and religious establishments. This shows that his self-love and self-sufficiency had been defeated. He was changed and no longer went alone with the others in mocking Jesus. What a demonstration of faith it took to say to Jesus who was also on the cross to “remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” This is not just an ordinary conversion, but this was one who looked in faith to a man dying on the cross. He looked to one who was nailed to a cross for salvation. He was delivered from any belief in the Jewish system of salvation or of favor with man and looked to Christ alone. He had his eyes opened and saw the glory of God in Christ with spiritual eyes because there was none to see with the natural eyes.

Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, but He saved one of them while both of them were on their crosses. This is to snatch a brand from the burnings. While His own disciples stood back from fear, this criminal was brought to Christ by Christ. The man who had once spoken evil of Him and mocked Him, was now brought to humility and called Him Lord. He who had once demonstrated with his words that he was a child of the devil and under the dominion of darkness, was now translated into the kingdom of the Beloved Son. He was brought to a conviction of sin and from darkness to light. Most likely this man had been taught some of the basics of religion since he was in Jerusalem, but nothing about that religion had changed his heart. He was there to see God in human flesh humbling Himself and going to the cross. He saw the glory of God in the meekness of Christ who prayed for those who abused Him. He heard bits of the Gospel through the mocking words of the others. God can use His Word as He pleases. It was true faith as set out in Hebrews 11 to behold the glory of God in Christ while Christ was on the cross. He had to have been born again because he now saw the kingdom of God. As Jesus said to Martha regarding Lazarus, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

This wicked man was taken to a place of execution and nailed to the cross, and yet before the day was out he was in paradise with Jesus. Was that because of his good works? Was that because he was faithful to keep the Law or the covenant? Was it contingent on his own choice? No, it was because Jesus was faithful to the Father and He did not lose one that the Father had given Him. That criminal looked to Christ alone as his sacrifice and the satisfaction of the justice of God because now he knew his sin and saw the justice of God in Christ. This thief had nothing do offer and could do nothing either. He was utterly dependant on grace alone. This thief stands as a testimony to true as well. We must tell people the Gospel in plain words. God used the words of the ungodly mockers to proclaim the truth to this man and we must learn to quit the methods of men and proclaim the truth of God. This man was dying and on his way to hell and did not want or need sophisticated reasoning nor platitudes and gracious words; he needed to hear the truth of his sin and the truth of Jesus Christ. To those who feel the weight of sin, our man-centered methods seem as nonsense because they are nonsense to an awakened soul.

Behold the sovereignty of God. He who years before speak through a donkey now spoke through the mouths of wicked men. Sinners in the Old Testament were saved by looking ahead to Christ and sinners since then look back to Christ. Yet the thief on the cross looked directly to Jesus on the cross and was delivered from his sinful heart and the guilt of his sin. Whether or not the sun shone at all that day, when the thick darkness came the sight of the brightness of the glory of God was shining. The Gospel of grace and the glory of God alone shone brilliantly. The condemned criminal, as the object of grace, was graciously convicted of his sin and shown that what his suffering and death was justice. Then his heart was opened and he beheld the glory of God’s justice in Christ and looked to Christ for entrance into the eternal kingdom. We know that he entered because Christ told him that he would be with Him in paradise that day. Jesus is the Great Physician who did not come to save the righteous but sinners.

Do we see the beauty of the glory of His grace or is there something here that irritates us? Does it bother us that this criminal would be saved without doing anything? Do we see anything in salvation other than the beauty and glory of God’s grace? Is it unfair of God to save sinners like this? The glory of Divine love, meekness, holiness, justice, wrath, and grace were all on display here. The criminal was used to display the glory of God which was what he was created to do. This is the display of the beauty of grace and no one should think that anyone is saved for any other purpose or reason. Yet the grace of God is seen both in convicting this man of his sin and then changing his heart. The grace of God convicted him or his sin and then delivered him from it. This criminal is in fact all of us. No one has done anything but sin to prepare for salvation and only grace can save from sin.

The conversion of this criminal shows us the sovereignty of God and the Gospel of grace. It was by grace that this man came to be broken of his self-love and self-sufficiency. It was by His sovereignty and His grace that when Christ was mocked aspects of the Gospel was proclaimed. It was by the sovereignty of God that this man was arrested, convicted, and was then sent to the cross at the same time as Jesus was. It was here that the glory of the love, meekness, grace, justice, and mercy of God were put on display before this criminal. It was the sovereignty and grace of God that arranged and carried this entire situation out. It was the Spirit who gave this man a new heart where he could behold the glory of God in all that was going on. It is also only by the sovereignty and grace of God that anyone is saved. Let us learn from this that sinners need to be deeply convicted of sin and they need to hear the truth of Christ. Let us not despair when others have great trials. Sometimes God uses them to save sinners.

In order to look at what a biblical conversion is, we must also look at what the Bible tells us about false conversions. It can be dangerous to take one verse or a few verses and think of salvation in terms of the few rather than the Bible as a whole. If we limit ourselves to one or a few verses we will tend to read our own culture and traditions into it rather than submit to the Bible for what it actually teaches. To be truly converted means that the person must believe as the Bible says and not what the Bible teaches about false belief. The Bible tells us “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). Yet it also says that not all who say to Him “Lord, Lord” are converted. So the Bible tells us that all who believe are saved, yet also that many who believed in some way in the Bible were not saved. Obviously, then, Scripture is telling us that there is a kind of belief that goes with salvation and a kind that does not. We must be careful to believe and practice evangelism according to what Scripture tells us true belief is.

13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity” (Acts 8:13-23).

If we take the story of Simon (above) according to modern evangelism and Romans 10:9, we would think that he was a converted man. But without any question (Acts 8:19-23) he was not a converted man. This is a great danger with modern evangelism and conversion. He made his profession and was baptized. He followed a true believer and was constantly amazed at the signs and miracles that God was doing. But the truth with Simon had happened to others who saw signs too. “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled”” (John 6:26). Simon believed, true, as indeed did many who saw Jesus feed thousands from a few loaves and fish. But they sought Jesus for free food rather than for who He really was. They believed in Him as a food source rather than as Lord. They would follow Him as king as long as He gave them free food, but they would not follow Him as absolute Lord.

Simon was amazed when he saw the signs and the miracles, but he was taken with the power rather than the glory of God who was doing these things through Philip. He was taken with what those things could do for him rather than seeing the glory of God in them. While indeed he believed something, his heart was not changed. He was still a man in the bonds of self and he interpreted things for what they would do for him and his selfish heart. This is seen in his offering money for the ability to give the Holy Spirit. Peter, instead of being what modern people term “gracious,” loved God and the truth enough to be straight with Simon. He told the man that he was “in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” Simon, though he had believed and was baptized, was a man still in the bondage of iniquity and was not converted and so not a new creature in Christ Jesus.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS'” (Mat 7:21-23).

It is true that all who really believe will be saved, but not all who believe really believe. In other words, we must be very careful to understand “belief” as the Bible sets it out. We must be careful to have a biblical understanding about what it means to confess Christ as Lord because God’s glory and eternal souls are at stake. We must know what the biblical meaning of “confess” is, of the biblical meaning of “Christ,” and the biblical meaning of “Lord.” But even more, these things must be true in our hearts and not just bits of information in our brains. If we are not careful to attach a biblical meaning to biblical words and terminology, we will be guilty of transporting false teaching into the church with biblical language. If we are not careful to seek the Lord to apply these to our hearts, then the correct information can deceive us as well. These are very dangerous practices in our day. False and unbiblical meanings enter the church in the guise of biblical language. Coupled with the desire ministers have to be gracious, these are not applied and so souls are deceived. In Simon’s case, he had Peter who had died to self enough to plainly point the truth out to Simon. Simon really needed to hear that and Peter had true love.

In the case of Simon we have a man who believed, was baptized, had a changed life, and was zealous in his religious activity. He was around Philip a lot who was filled with the Spirit, but Simon was not a converted man and was deceived for some time. But compare Simon with what passes as salvation in the modern world. He did believe and was baptized. For many, that is enough to guarantee a life free from worry. But even more, he had the evidence of a changed life in that he had left his magic arts and was now zealous in religious activity. Surely these were clear signs of conversion. But Simon was a man with a history in the magic arts and he desired to have himself thought of as great (Acts 8:9). When he saw a greater power, he wanted to be able to have it, but he wanted to obtain it with money. He had not learned that he must be converted and become like a child to enter the kingdom (Mat 18:3) which was what Jesus told His disciples when they desired greatness.

It is not hard to imagine Simon professing Christ as Lord since he heard Philip preach “the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). He had, after all, followed Christ in baptism and in turning from his magic arts. But the modern day must learn that just because a person prays a prayer and professes Christ as Lord does not mean that God has converted that person. One difference between true and false conversion is the nature of the heart when the word “Lord” is said. It is not the uttered words in and of themselves, but the heart must truly have Christ in it as Lord for the mouth to confess Christ as Lord in truth. To confess Christ as Lord in truth means that the heart has been broken from self and the love of self so that self is no longer ruler in the heart but Christ is. A person can say the words, but that would be speaking a lie if the heart is not truly submitted to Christ. A person can say the words while thinking that in his or her own power s/he has submitted to Christ and He is Lord over them. But Christ must truly be Lord in the heart for the confession to be a true confession. All other confessions are simply from deceived people or outright liars.

Matthew 7:22 gives the pleas of those about to enter hell: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” The text says “many” will say they prophesied in His name and many who call Him Lord will be lost. One can hide an unregenerate heart behind an orthodox confession and a position as preacher. One can deceive others and self with an orthodox confession and a position as preacher. We must beware. Then we see that some said that they cast out demons and performed miracles. This was what excited Simon. He followed Philip around who was doing signs and wonders. He was taken with the signs and wonders rather than Christ Himself. He was taken with the signs and wonders and wanted to do them rather than be broken and humbled. As those things are not signs of salvation in Matthew 7, neither did they show Simon to truly be converted. He was still in the bondage of self and self-love.

I Corinthians 13:2 tells us that “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” A person only has true love if Christ is the life and Lord of that soul. All the practices of Christianity can be practiced by the unbeliever apart from true love. This is how the devil has deceived many about true love and true conversion. As there is a type of confession of Christ which is a lie and not true, so there is a type of love that is not true love at all. The devil has transported error into the church using the word “love” as well. Simon did not have true love and did not truly have Christ. So he was an unconverted man despite his belief, baptism, outward repentance, and religious zeal. This should make us feel the danger for ourselves and those around us. It should make us ransack our hearts to see if Christ is really there and concerned for others who profess Christ in some way. I John 2:26 is sobering: “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.” He wrote about true salvation to answer the ways of deception. We must hear his words and try to help others who are deceived. True conversion is utterly essential.

This will be is the last article on the evangelism of Jesus in the conversion of Nicodemus. We often see John 3:3-8 and 3:16 as stand alone texts, but we must realize that John 3:1-21 is a passage devoted to the evangelism of Jesus to a lost man who was converted at some point. This is how Jesus practiced evangelism or how He preached to a lost man. It would behoove us to pay close attention to the whole text and not just a part here and there.

In our day we are told that we must believe in Jesus so that when we die we not go to hell but have eternal life. We are told that we must believe in order to do this. This forces us to look at ourselves to see if we believe. But that is not the biblical pattern which is that we must be born from above (a spiritual birth) in order to see and have faith in spiritual things. It should be clear that before a person is spiritually born that person can only have a belief or faith in natural things. This is why Nicodemus and many in John could see the miracles of Jesus, have some type of belief, and yet not be converted. Their belief or faith did not come from a believing heart which had been born of the Spirit. Unless a person is born of the Spirit that person will not have spiritual eyes and be a truly believing soul. The person may be a great religious scholar or a great preacher, but that person is not converted to a believing soul.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Now He is saying that one must be a believing soul in Christ to have eternal life. When a person is born from above that person is a believing soul that has eternal life. Eternal life is not some abstract thing, but it is to have the life of God in the soul which is to have Jesus Christ who is the life of God as the life of a person’s soul. We behold Christ when Christ is in us and He is our life. We behold Christ when the power of the devil’s deceitfulness is broken and we “see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Cor 4:4). We behold Christ when God shines “the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Cor 4:6). We do not behold Christ when we simply hear some historical truths about Him, but it is only when we see the glory of God in them that we behold Him.

Jesus Christ proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom to Nicodemus and not that if he would pray a prayer or make a decision he would be saved from hell. He told him that God sent the Son so that “all those believing would not perish but have eternal life” (literal). Who are the believing ones? Those who have been born into the kingdom and now they can see and enter the kingdom (reign and rule) of God. This is a kingdom in their soul. Nicodemus was then faced with some monumental truths. He would have to turn his back on his religious ways and position in the earthly kingdom to enter the kingdom of God. He would have to stop trusting in his Jewish birth and look to the Spirit to blow for a spiritual birth. He had to turn from looking or focusing on this life to be a believing one in Christ who had eternal life and the kingdom of God in his soul. These are a few reasons why he was so astonished.

Surely Nicodemus thought of Ezekiel 37 when he heard Jesus teach on the Spirit as the wind and the new birth. There the winds were called upon by the prophet to give life to the slain. Ezekiel 37:14 says this: “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,” declares the LORD.'” Ezekiel 36:27 then says this: “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” He would have thought of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31: “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them” (verses 33-34). To that man who knew his Old Testament it came alive with new meaning at some point.

The Gospel Jesus preached to Nicodemus was really good news. It did not depend on man to believe or do, but on God to make a believing soul. Man must turn from all hope in himself and die to his self, pride, and life. If not, the life of Christ is not in him. Nicodemus had that in John 19 when he claimed the body of the Messiah. Now he was believing in Christ rather than just believe that Jesus did a miracle. John 3:16 tells us that one must be believing (continuous) in Christ and a believer is a person that continually believes. When one is a believing one that shows that the person has been born from above and has eternal life in the soul, which shows that the Spirit has blown and that one is now a spiritual person that believes spiritual truths. The Gospel that Nicodemus heard and believed is that God will make a sinner a believing soul and give that person eternal life. At some point between John 3 and John 19 Nicodemus was made a believing person who looked to Christ and had eternal life in his soul.

In John 1:12-13 we are given the order of life. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” What we want to focus in on at this point is the connection between “those who believe in His name” of v. 12 which is present tense. Verse 13 points to the new birth as past tense. This is to say that the grammar points to the new birth as having happened before the belief. This fits very well with John 3:3 and 5 where Jesus says that a person must be born from above to see or enter the kingdom of God. This fits with John 3:8 which says the Spirit does as He pleases. John 3:16, therefore, cannot be a contradiction to the teachings of John 1:12-13 nor the teachings of Jesus in John 3:1-8. Those who are believing souls are the souls that have been born from above and of the Spirit. A believing soul is a soul that is a new creation in Christ Jesus.

The words of Jesus to Nicodemus in His evangelism were not wasted but to the point. Indeed they were not apart from the words of John in giving the purpose of the Gospel of John. We find that in verse 31 of John 20: “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Once again John points to a believing soul rather than one act of faith. The word “believing” is once again a present active participle. It is the believing soul that has life in His name. The words of the new birth preceded the teaching in John 3:16 and tell us what it takes to be a believing soul. A believing soul is not a soul that has one act of faith and then all is settled, but a believing soul is one that has been converted and is now a new creature in Christ Jesus. A soul that has been born from above is a soul that is a believing soul. Souls are spiritually dead in their unbelief, but when God makes them alive they become believing souls.

A believing soul is a spiritual soul. Jesus taught this in different words in John 3:1-8. A soul that has eternal life is a soul that has the life of God in that soul. We can see that in verses 4-6 and 8 in the teaching of the new birth. It is the soul that is born of the Spirit that enters the kingdom of God and we know that is a spiritual kingdom. It is a soul that is born of the Spirit that is spirit. A soul that has the kingdom of God in it is a soul that has eternal life and is sharing in the life of God. A soul that is born of the Spirit and is spirit is now a believing soul. Jesus is not really teaching anything different in John 3:14-16 than He was in verses 3-8. But in 14-16 He has added a new point and that is of the cross. He is bringing the cross to bear on the Gospel of the new life that He is teaching. It is the wrath that Jesus Christ bore on that cross that enables a soul to have his or her sins taken away so that the soul may now have the life of God in it. The Son came and went to the cross so that the sins would not cause believers to perish but instead take those sins away. The soul that has sin taken away may now have the life of Christ in it and that is eternal life. Christ takes away sin at the cross, gives a perfect righteousness as a gift, and then becomes the life of the believer. Jesus taught of the glory of the Gospel and does not just tell people to believe on their own.

It is urgent that our evangelism be more like that of Jesus in this passage so that human beings will be truly converted as Nicodemus was. If we just tell them to believe we are telling them no more than what a natural man can do and what many who were still lost in the Gospel of John did. We must tell them that a truly converted person must be born of the Spirit so that the person may have a spiritual nature and so be a believing soul. Sinners are born dead in sins and trespasses which is to be dead in unbelief. If the Spirit blows on them they become believing souls and as such they have eternal life which is the life of God in their souls. We must teach them about the cross of Jesus which takes away sin and that it is only the work of Christ that will take away their sin.

This means we teach them what it takes to be a believing soul and what eternal life really is. That is how Jesus did it and Nicodemus became a truly converted man and received eternal life. However, we have fallen into the ways of Finney in calling for intellectual decisions and commitments. That is what so many did in the days of Jesus when they saw miracles. But despite their intellectual decisions and commitments, they were not born of the Spirit and they were not spiritual men who were believing souls with eternal life. If we truly want men to believe, we must tell them what it will take for them to be believing souls. They must be made believing souls by the work of the Holy Spirit who causes men to be born again which is to say that they are believing souls. To say that a person must be born from above and enter the kingdom of God is to say that a person must become a believing soul with eternal life. For a person to truly be a believing soul that person has been born from above and has the kingdom of God in his or her soul. This is to share in the life of God in the soul which is eternal life. John 17:3 tells us that eternal life is to know God and His Son. A believing soul and only believing souls know God and that is eternal life. This is the Gospel of the glory of God found and seen in the face of Christ. We have no right to water it down.

In this article we will take another look at the conversion of Nicodemus or the Gospel that was preached by Christ to him. The importance of Nicodemus is not the man, but it is a fairly lengthy passage that deals with how Jesus Himself evangelized. This should be of great interest. The first article on him looked at John 3:1-8, and the second compared him with some who believed and were not converted. In this third article we want to primarily look at John 3:8-21. This method throws light on the meaning of John 3:16 in terms of the Gospel and evangelism. The focus is not really on Nicodemus, but on the evangelism of Jesus and the glory of God’s grace in conversion.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:8-16)

People differ on whether Jesus was still speaking to Nicodemus after verse 15 or whether it is a discussion by John on it. The issue does not make a huge difference in how the text is approached. It is either the exact words that Jesus in the flesh spoke or it is John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, giving us a God-breathed and condensed form of what Jesus said. While it is true that in verses 16-21 the tone is different and things are spoken of in the past tense, yet either way we are looking at the teachings of Jesus and both sections (or just one if taken together) are giving us what Jesus had to say on this issue and to Nicodemus. This is nothing to trouble us.

In verses 3-8 Jesus teaches Nicodemus of the new birth. When He did this the teaching of John 1:12-13 (though not spoken to Nicodemus) should have been clear to Nicodemus from the Old Testament. The new birth is not because one is a Jew, it was not a husband’s choice, and it was the choice of any human. It is the choice of God to birth a soul into His kingdom or not. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to make a spiritual child of God. Jesus was attacking virtually all that Nicodemus thought of regarding salvation. In verse 9 we have the utter astonishment of Nicodemus set out for us. He is not denying them in direct words, but in asking the question how these things can possibly be he is showing his belief is limited by his understanding. Then Jesus expresses amazement that Nicodemus could be the teacher of Israel and not understand these things. After all, this is very clear from the Old Testament. In a word of application, should anyone be a minister of the Gospel who does not believe these things?

The denial of the new birth and especially the denial of the freedom and activity of God in the new birth are widespread. If Jesus would be amazed at Nicodemus for his disbelief, surely He would be and is appalled at the utter denial of this among many ministers in our land and world today. What Jesus said to Nicodemus should be said to people today. They are denying the very words of Christ by not receiving His testimony to the truth of those things. Jesus then clearly tells Nicodemus that He (Jesus) is the Son of Man (v. 13) and that He came from heaven. He then takes Nicodemus back to the Old Testament and the teaching of the serpent. Not only, however, did He claim to be the Son of Man, but He claimed that He was going to be lifted up (the cross) as the serpent was so that those who believe will in Him have eternal life. Those in the Old Testament who were bitten by a serpent looked upon the serpent impaled on a pole and they lived. So now Christ is teaching Nicodemus and us that He would be lifted up on a cross and all who believe in Him will have eternal life. The Gospel is being declared.

The word “for” is the first word of verse 16 which demonstrates the link to verses 14-15. In Numbers 21 the people were punished for sin and the Lord sent in snakes which bit the people and they died. The serpent in the Garden of Eden brought death to Adam and Eve and they died. If they died without repentance they would also die eternally. That is also true of their offspring. Jesus, however, delivers from eternal death and gives eternal life as a gift. Those who believe (“are believing” v. 16) in Him have eternal life. Notice that eternal life is something that the person believing has now and is not something that one only has after death, though that is certainly not to be minimized. The person who is believing (present active participle) is a person that has eternal life in this life. 1st John was written “so that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). He didn’t write the letter so people could know that they had made a choice or prayed a prayer, but so that they could look at themselves and their hearts and know that they had eternal life. A person that is truly saved is a person that has been converted from the self life and the power of darkness to the life of God in the soul and the power of light and life.

The people in Numbers 21 knew if they lived rather than died. The way to see if a person has Christ is to see if that person has been truly converted and has eternal life in him or her or not. We know that if we come upon a car wreck with injured people that a person has life if s/he has certain vital signs. A person must have a pulse (heart beating) and respiration (breathing) to be alive away from a hospital. We do not ask a person if s/he was ever alive or ever made a decision to be alive, but we check to see if the person is alive now. There are vital signs to see if people do have eternal life, though there is not space to get into that at the moment. Many believed something about Jesus and even the correct facts about Jesus but were not converted and did not have eternal life. John 3:1-21, in the context of Numbers 21, should force us to look at John 3:16 in its own context and then in the context of the whole book. The teaching on the evangelism of Nicodemus should teach us to look at the passage as a whole. The glory of the mercy and God is in that He loved Jew and Gentile (the world) and sent His Son so that believing ones would have eternal life. He does not just save them from hell at a future point, but eternal life enters them now and will live in them even when their body dies and they will then share in the life of God forever and ever.

Verses 14-15 show that those Israelites who were bitten by a snake and believed looked to a snake on a pole and they lived. Now it is not just the Israelites but the Gentiles (the world) also who may believe and are saved by Christ. The new birth is by God and is not by the nationality or the choice of the husband or of any human being. Jesus is preaching the Gospel of the new birth and eternal life to Nicodemus. Jesus preached to Nicodemus the truth of eternal life as opposed to temporal life. He preached the heavenly kingdom versus the earthly kingdom. He preached the new birth by the Spirit rather than a birth into the nation of Israel. He preached looking to Jesus as God’s provision for eternal life rather than the provision of God in a snake for temporal life. God’s love in giving eternal life is not limited to the nation of Israel and those born of natural generation into that nation, but the love of God is in sending Jesus the Messiah to procure a salvation that includes the new and spiritual birth into an everlasting kingdom of which a person has eternal life which is to know God (John 17:3). Eternal life is not just to escape hell and go to some floating cloud above; it is to live in communion with God and to have His love in the soul. Jesus came to make God known (John 1:14-18) and in manifesting His name He did this: “I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). Eternal life is to have God and His love in the soul which is the life of the believer.

Jesus came to give those believing ones eternal life and not just deliver them from hell. He came to manifest the glory of God to them and then make Him known to them. He came so that those believing in Him would live in communion with God and to have His love abide in them. This eternal life that He came to give those believing (those faithing) in Him was really His life in them. John 3:36 is very clear on this: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” He who is believing in the Son has eternal life. Eternal life is not something that is only known by its length, but it is also a quality of life. In fact, it is the life of God in the human soul. A believing soul is known by the life that is in it, and an unbelieving soul is known by its lack of life. So we can ask of Nicodemus if he was a believing soul by whether we see eternal life in him. Did he believe? Yes he believed and that is why he went to Jesus. But unlike the many that believed and were not converted in John 2, he had to be born again to be a believing soul with eternal life.

In John 19 we see the same Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night now stepping out and taking care of the body of a crucified criminal who was his Messiah. This shows a heart that has been changed from a fear of the Pharisees that came from a self-focus and self-love to one that loved the glory of God in Christ. We see a love for the Messiah in what he was doing. We see spiritual sight in that he was doing it for a Messiah that was physically dead. We see that he was turned from “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (I John 2:16) which is what the fall gave man to. We see that he was now a man who loved truth rather than the deceit of the world. Nicodemus was a converted man and was a new creature in Christ Jesus. Before he believed when he saw miracles but now he was a believing soul and so He had the life of Christ which is eternal life in him. The glory of God was now in him and so he would live for that glory rather than his own benefit in this world.