Fall to the Ground

Acts 9:3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
3 Ἐν δὲ τῷ πορεύεσθαι ἐγένετο αὐτὸν ἐγγίζειν τῇ Δαμασκῷ, ἐξαίφνης τε αὐτὸν περιήστραψεν φῶς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ 4  καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

This is the story of Saul's conversion on the Damascus road.  I am often amazed at those who fight against the doctrine of election.  Here we have a crystal-clear case of someone who absolutely hated everything about Jesus and yet was radically converted.  What was his reaction to the light from heaven?  He πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.  This is a participle for the word "falling."  My take on this is that he heard the voice as he was in the act of contritely falling to the ground.

There are a couple of things that I take from this text.  One is that I believe Saul's conversion experience was normative.  I don't mean that we are all blinded by light and hear a voice from heaven, but we are all naturally in a state where we hate Christ.  It takes a supernatural act to make us at least metaphorically fall to the ground and worship.

The other is that there was no halfway with Saul.  He went from violently hating Christians to being violently persecuted for preaching Christ.  We will see this over and over again as we go through Acts.  My point is that this notion of half-hearted American Christianity has no biblical basis.  Either our hearts are set on worshiping Jesus or we worship ourselves.

We all have to decide which way we are going to go.  Where is your heart right now?

We Need Teachers

Acts 8:30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

30 προσδραμὼν δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ ἀναγινώσκοντος Ἠσαΐαν τὸν προφήτην καὶ εἶπεν· ἆρά γε γινώσκεις ἃ ἀναγινώσκεις; 31  ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· πῶς γὰρ ἂν δυναίμην ἐὰν μή τις ὁδηγήσει με; παρεκάλεσέν τε τὸν Φίλιππον ἀναβάντα καθίσαι σὺν αὐτῷ.

This is the famous account of Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch.  Somehow this man got a hold of a copy of Isaiah.  He was reading it, but it didn't make any sense to him.  Frankly, it would not mean much without some context.  He didn't have the whole Tanak and he didn't have what we call the New Testament either.  When we read Isaiah we can see Jesus in many places, but it would be very difficult without what we know.

Philip not only knew with his head, but he also was filled with the Holy Spirit.  He interpreted the Scriptures for this man who was then baptized very quickly thereafter.  What an amazing testimony of the power of God's Word!

I think that the Eunuch's statement of, "πῶς γὰρ ἂν δυναίμην ἐὰν μή τις ὁδηγήσει με;" is something we need to consider today.  There are plenty of folks who go into pastoral ministry because they sense a calling.  A calling is vitally important.  I don't think that I have one, but I certainly respect those who do.  However, a calling is not enough.  We also need some understanding.  Atheists rightly criticize the myriad of variations on the Christian faith.  I have made it clear in this blog that there are some debatable issues, but the central truths are clear.  There should be no variation on those.  Yet we still find them.

This is why I think there is value in seminary or formal training of some kind.  We need guidance to think deeply through how we read Scripture.  Would you go to a doctor who simply felt a "calling," but had no formal training?  I hope not!  Why would you go to someone equally untrained when it comes to matters of your eternal soul?

Please consider this as you are taught each week or perhaps as you teach each week.  I don't want to diminish the work of the Spirit in illumination, but I also think that illumination is no excuse for a lack of preparation.

Closing the Ears

Acts 7:56 And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

56 καὶ εἶπεν· ἰδοὺ θεωρῶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διηνοιγμένους καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ. 57  κράξαντες δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν καὶ ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν

This is at the very end of Stephen's speech.  The next verses describe how they took him outside the town and stoned him.  This made Stephen the first recorded martyr of the church.  We are blessed to have his testimony kept for us as part of Scripture.

I find it fascinating that they "stopped their ears" or συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν.  I remember when we had a missionary visit our church in California.  He worked with the Muslim community and he started off in the character of an imam.  We tried to witness to him and used all of our apologetic arguments.  When one of us (I think it was me) said that Jesus was the son of God he covered his ears and began yelling.  Apparently that idea is quite blasphemous to a Muslim.

That experience is what I think of when I picture this scene.  Stephen just laid out a careful synopsis of their history from the time of Moses and how they fell into rampant idolatry.  The Jews didn't want to deal with the truth of this, so they stopped up their ears and eliminated the herald rather than the message itself.  I guess they figured that if they could silence him then they could go back to pretending that he wasn't right.

I see a couple of lessons in this passage for us today.  First, if you are a Christian then it is clear that Stephen's story encourages us to share our faith boldly and accurately.  He knew what was at stake and the likely reaction from the crowd.  Yet he shared anyway.  This was the loving thing to do for his people.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, if you're not a Christian then you need to consider the message of the gospel.  You can stop up your ears all you want, but that will not change the truth of the matter.  If you're in a burning building you can pretend that it is not burning, but you will eventually be consumed in the fire.  You just have to decide if you are going to deal with truth or if you're going to stop up your ears.  My prayer is that you would open up your ears.

Speaking with Power

Acts 6:10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

10 καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυον ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι ᾧ ἐλάλει.

This is at the end of a description of Stephen's preaching ministry.  He was upsetting a lot of folks because of his evangelism.  After all, no one likes to be told that their way of doing things is wrong.  Imagine how this is magnified if you are sure that your practices go all the way back to Moses.

This verse really convicts me.  Stephen simply spoke the truth.  He wasn't worried about being seeker-sensitive. He wasn't worried about damaging anyone's sensitivities.  He simply spoke the truth.  Since it is The Truth, it was impossible to withstand it.  The word ἀντιστῆναι is an aorist active infinitive.  It is a compound word from ἀντι which means "against" and  ιστημι which means "to stand."  So very woodenly this would be "But they were unable to stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

I wonder if I really believe that in my interactions with people.  I don't act like it sometimes.  I used to be quite bold in sharing my faith.  In fact, perhaps I was too bold.  I could be a real jerk for Jesus sometimes.  More and more I realize that I need to be bold, but not mean.  However, I also understand that the gospel is bad news before it is good news.  If it doesn't offend then I am not sharing it.

How are you?  Are you offended by us crazy Christians?  Are you a meek Christian who wishes that he could speak more boldly?  Or are you already bold for the faith and seeing fruit from this boldness?

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