A Radical Conversion

July 25, 2021   Notes Not Edited
Radical Christianity
Acts 9:1-9

SIS:  A genuine encounter with the Resurrected Lord will always radically alter the course of a person's life.

Just what does “radical” mean (apart from mathematics)? Is being “radical” something good, or something bad? Of course, the short answer to this is: “it depends.” 

For example, on September 11, 2001 two planes were flown into the Twin Towers killing over 3000 people at once, and many more “survivors” have died since.  These people were “radical Islamists.”  Their radical views could not differentiate between murder and religious devotion to God.  That is bad.  Radical Islam is evil.  It is bad.  I don’t think that is a controversial conclusion to make.

However, consider the venerable, but once vilified, Galileo.  Among other things, Galileo’s writings promoted the views of Copernicus, specifically that the sun, not the earth, was the center of our world.  This was . . . wait for it . . . a “radical” view.

This view contradicted the long-held position of philosophers, scientists, and theologians who followed the geocentric views (earth is the center of the universe) of Aristotle and Ptolemy.  Galileo’s radical views shook the foundation of both science and religion.  His radical views, of course, were quite correct.

Therein lies the answer to my previous question:  is radicalism good or bad?  It depends upon whether one’s “radical” views are right or wrong.  That’s the simplest distillation of the matter it seems to me. 

Radical views in religion—whether Christian, Islam, Hindu or other—are bad if they are not right, if they do not promote truth and goodness. 

On the other hand, as with Galileo’s radical views, radicalism can be an explosive force for progress toward something better, something good.  It is this foundation upon which I will build my sermon for Sunday:  A Radical Conversion. 

The only kind of Christian conversion worthy of the title, “Christian,” is a conversion so extreme as to radically alter one’s being and behavior.  We will look at Paul’s “Radical Conversion” as a model for all Christians.

Today, we are going to see how another person encountered the Living Christ, who had not known Him before His death and crucifixion.  This person, the Apostle Paul, radically changed from being a persecutor and hater of the church to being its primary apostle.  An encounter with the Resurrected Christ will always radically alter the course of a person's life.

And, let me add . . . radical does not mean "weird."  It's not about rolling on the floors, or jumping pews, or the crazy stuff some "whacko-matics (extreme charismatics)" do.  Radical has to do with an abrupt "change of direction."

What steps do we need to take to start a peaceful radical revolution proclaiming the gospel forcefully and fearlessly to a fallen world?  Let’s read about a radical Christian:

(Acts 9:1-9)  Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest {2} and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. {3} As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. {4} He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" {5} "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. {6} "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." {7} The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. {8} Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. {9} For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Here is the biography of a radical Christian.  To follow his example we must first: 

1.  Radical Believers are "radical" because they have had a RADICAL EXPERIENCE With the Resurrected Christ (vv 3-9)

  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. {4} He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" {5} "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. {6} "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." {7} The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. {8} Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. {9} For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

This was what I call a ‘WAKE UP CALL! 

I read the other day about a man who had kind of a similar wake-up call.  It was a typical Sunday service.  The song service ended and the preaching began.  As was also typical, an man in the back placed his hymnbook on his lap and dozed off.  The preacher was preaching on heaven and hell. At one point in his message he shouted, “Everyone who wants to go to heaven please stand.”  Naturally, the whole congregation stood in agreement.  Then the preacher, for emphasis said, “Anyone who wants to go to the other place, please stand.”  Naturally, the preacher did not expect anyone to stand.  It was a rhetorical question for emphasis.  Except for the fact that . . . just as the preacher asked the second question, the snoozing church member dropped his hymn book with a loud crash just when the preacher asked, “Anyone who wants to go to the other place please stand.”  The snoozer stood.  The irritated preacher said, “Brother, what are you doing?”  The snoozer replied with some embarrassment, “Well, preacher, I’m not sure WHERE it is, but it looks like we will be the only two going!”

This man represents many Christians today.

They are in God’s house on a regular basis but they might as well stay home and sleep.  They don’t have a clue as to what it means to have a radical, life-changing experience with the Lord Jesus Christ!  The Holy Spirit can fall upon a church service and as the song says, HEAVEN CAME DOWN AND GLORY FILLED OUR SOULS, and still there will be people who sleep right through it.  Their lives remain unchanged.

Radical Christians are people whose lives have been radically changed by meeting Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road of Life.

My friend if you cannot point to a time in your life when you had a SUDDEN, EARTH-SHAKING, DIRECTION-CHANGING, HOLY SPIRIT-FILLING, SIN-SHATTERING, HABIT-BREAKING, HEART-STIRRING, DEVIL-DENYING EXPERIENCE WITH JESUS CHRIST YOU BETTER ASK YOURSELF: AM I REALLY SAVED.  If you were not REALLY CHANGED, you were not REALLY SAVED.  If you can still sin like a pagan, drink like a fish, or swear like a sailor–you aren’t saved. 

I don’t care if you walked the aisle, splashed in the baptistry, sang in the choir, or served on a dozen committees . . . If you have never had radical, life-changing meeting with the Living Lord Jesus Christ—you are lost as a goose! When you meet Jesus, you will know–it will radically change your life.

Radical, revolutionary Christians are people who have had a radical, life-changing meeting with Jesus!

2.  Realize we live in a
           Radically Different world (vv 1-2)

{1}Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest {2} and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

 

Paul’s world was very hostile to Christianity.

In fact, before Paul met the Lord Jesus Christ, he was a major player in that hostility.  In fact, his Roman name was Saul, not Paul.  He is described as “murderous.” 

The Holy Spirit uses very descriptive language here to highlight the character of Saul, the Roman Pharisee.  The words translated, "breathing out murderous threats" paints the word picture of a "snorting wild horse ready to stomp anyone to death that comes near."  There is no more frightening display of dangerous power than an angry stallion.  Remember, it was a horse that killed Superman (aka, Christopher Reeves).

Christopher Reeves (superman in the movies) eventually died from the injuries sustained by being thrown from a horse -- and that horse wasn't even mad.  A horse is one of the most powerful animals in the world -- and an angry, snorting stallion is almost the personification of death itself.  That's how the Holy Spirit describes Paul (Saul) before he meets Jesus -- "an angry stallion with flared nostrils snorting out death upon any followers of the Way."  He was a "bad dude" to say the least.

Paul hated Christians.  Rome in general hated the Christians because they would not fall in line and worship Caesar as a god.  The Jews hated Christians because they preached that it wasn’t enough to practice religion to find favor with God, but a person had to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  The pagan world hated Christians because they preached against their sinful practices.  Christians were hated and persecuted from every side.  Jesus warned his disciples that this is how it would be Jesus said:

(Luke 10:3)  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

Christians found themselves in a “hostile” environment.  How about our world today?

 The fact of the matter is this: more Christians have been killed for their faith in the last 100 years than all the 1900 years prior combined.  That’s a fact!   Just the other day I read an account of a Christian preacher who was kidnapped by radical Muslims. His head was cut off and placed in the marketplace to scare other Christians.  This happens everyday around the world.  Remember that only a very small percentage of world governments claim to be Christian.  There are whole countries in the world that are almost 100 % Muslim–a religion very hostile to America, not to mention Christians. 

But, you don’t have to go to a foreign country to find a society hostile to Christianity.  There are cases in the courts every day in America where Christians are defending their right to pray on public property, or to stand up for their Christian beliefs. 

We live in a world hostile to Christianity and the state of American schools are but one tragic example. The state of our families and the state of our government demonstrate just how radically different our world is today.  The only kind of Christianity that is going to survive, is radical Christianity -- it's really the only true brand of Christianity. 

Consider this.   Just a generation ago . . .

•          more kids went to church // less adults went to jail

•          family planning meant how many children to have, not how can we them

•          marriage was between a man and a woman

•     Schools had a time of prayer and no need for police.

      Now we have school police and no prayer

•          the major problem was chewing gum and talking during class.  Now the major problems are drugs and shooting up the class.

•          fights ended with fists and bruises.  Now, disputes end with fires and bombs.

My point is this: we are living in radically different times and we need radically different Christians who are willing to wage a radical revolution to proclaim the gospel of Christ to the community.

To become radical Christian revolutionaries the church must wake up to the fact we live in a radically different world.

3.  Third, radical Christians take radical steps to be obedient to Jesus Christ (5, 6-17, 20)

{5} "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. {6} "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

.....................................

6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

……………………………………..

{20} At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Friends, are we willing to do what we “must do” in order to effectively reach our world for Christ? 

Are we willing to radically alter our lifestyles?  Are we willing to radically change our speech?  Are we willing to radically and fearlessly face hardship, ridicule, perhaps even death, if that’s what it takes?

 Are we willing to change the manner in which we worship to make it easier for non-believers to connect with the message we want to share?  Are we willing to do as Paul later said he would do:

(1 Cor 9:22)  I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

Churches that have significantly made a difference in their communities in our day are filled with radical believers who were willing to radical alter their practices to deliver the unchanging and life-changing message of the gospel.

Radical Christians are willing to radically alter their methods without altering God’s timeless message.

One very successful pastor says it this way: Methods always change–the message never changes.

If we are going to be champions for Christ and a radical Christian revolutionary like Paul, our commitment must be:

WHATEVER IT TAKES, LORD!

Radical times call for radical Christians. 

Perhaps Charlie Daniels can help me explain what I mean by the need for a radical, peaceful revolution.  Listen . . . .

<Play Steel Guitar, trak #6>

Charlie Daniels is right on when he says: 

“You better wake up before its too late//

Put all of God’s armor on// . . .

It’s getting late, but the battle ain’t lost//

[God’s] raising an army at the foot of the cross. . .

It’s time to take off the gloves // Change all the rules

Take back our streets and take back our schools.

 

That’s what I mean by a radical, peaceful revolution started by radical Christians living a radical faith.

It requires that we recognize we live in a RADICALLY different world.  It requires that we have a RADICAL experience with the Living Lord, Jesus Christ.  It requires a RADICAL commitment to do whatever it takes to be obedient to Christ.