Some Notable Conversions
His understanding was affected. He realised that the Jesus he was persecuting was the risen Messiah and Son of God.
His will was affected. He yielded to Jesus and began to follow Him.
It changed his whole life - his ambitions, his character, his relationships, his whole perspective on life.
Note the connection between heart and tongue.
If we truly believe in the heart we will confess with the tongue. These last verses demonstrate the connection between heart and tongue. As the heart believes, so the tongue speaks. Those that believe in Jesus as their Saviour will confess Him before others. Look how Paul gave his testimony, even when faced with hostile crowds. (See Acts 22.3ff; 26.6ff)
Paul on his travels proclaimed the gospel in a place called Berea. As a result the Bereans received an honourable mention in Luke’s narrative. They are described as noble because they did not just take Paul’s word as gospel truth, but searched the Scriptures to confirm every detail. May I suggest that this be our practice, that we constantly search the Scriptures to see whether our pastors and teachers are providing us with the unadulterated Word of God. If Paul was subjected to such scrutiny and the Bible commends those that did it—how much more we. Remember, God has promised a blessing to those that read His Word.
In our last blog we looked at the life changing experiences of an Ethiopian Statesman, a Jewish Rabbi and a Roman Centurian. This time we will look at a couple of Bible conversions of those with more humble employment. First a Non-Jewish business woman, called Lydia.
Lydia
In Acts 16, there is the narrative of Lydia, a business woman who sold cloth for the making of garments. The record carries a telling remark—that the Lord opened her heart. (Acts 16.14) This allows us to remark on something that might have been overlooked. That the heart needs to be affected by the gospel, as well as the intellect. Paul said, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. (Rom. 10:9) For it is “with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:10)
What does it mean ‘believe in your heart’?
What gets affected when you believe in your heart, as compared to just believing with your mind? We will return to the example of Saul.
His conscience was affected. He was under conviction. The Bible says it was as if he was kicking against the goads [sticks used for prodding working animals].
In Acts 16, there is the narrative of Lydia, a business woman who sold cloth for the making of garments. The record carries a telling remark—that the Lord opened her heart. (Acts 16.14) This allows us to remark on something that might have been overlooked. That the heart needs to be affected by the gospel, as well as the intellect. Paul said, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. (Rom. 10:9) For it is “with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:10)
What does it mean ‘believe in your heart’?
What gets affected when you believe in your heart, as compared to just believing with your mind? We will return to the example of Saul.
His conscience was affected. He was under conviction. The Bible says it was as if he was kicking against the goads [sticks used for prodding working animals].
His understanding was affected. He realised that the Jesus he was persecuting was the risen Messiah and Son of God.
His will was affected. He yielded to Jesus and began to follow Him.
It changed his whole life - his ambitions, his character, his relationships, his whole perspective on life.
Note the connection between heart and tongue.
If we truly believe in the heart we will confess with the tongue. These last verses demonstrate the connection between heart and tongue. As the heart believes, so the tongue speaks. Those that believe in Jesus as their Saviour will confess Him before others. Look how Paul gave his testimony, even when faced with hostile crowds. (See Acts 22.3ff; 26.6ff)
The Philippian Jailer and his family.
Returning to the Acts of the Apostles, there is yet another conversion that would interest us. That of the Philippian jailer. (Acts 16) Paul and Silas, witnessing in Europe for the fir
st time, were the victims of anti-Semitism. They were beaten and imprisoned unlawfully, yet they remained in good spirits and sang hymns while held in an inner cell. Then there occurred a small earthquake, which released their manacles and opened the prison doors. The jailer, thinking his prisoners had escaped, was prepared to commit suicide, rather than face execution for dereliction of duty, when out of the darkness the voice of Paul assured him that all the prisoners were still there. The jailer, realising the earth tremor was a divine intervention, fell down before Paul and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul responded with the kernel of the Christian message, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved”. The gospel message, then, is simply the requirement for individuals to believe in the person and work of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.
While Paul’s answer was simple and to the point, we can from our perspective and with the Scriptures available to us, suggest the following as the larger message, of which Paul’s response was the distilled essence.
Jesus is His human name, therefore we are to believe in the virgin birth and impeccable life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Christ refers to His office as Messiah, in which work He was required to die for the sins of the world. Therefore, we are to believe in His substitutionary death at Calvary.
Lord refers to His current position at the right hand of the throne of God. To be saved we need to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.
A postscript in respect of the people of Berea.
Returning to the Acts of the Apostles, there is yet another conversion that would interest us. That of the Philippian jailer. (Acts 16) Paul and Silas, witnessing in Europe for the fir
st time, were the victims of anti-Semitism. They were beaten and imprisoned unlawfully, yet they remained in good spirits and sang hymns while held in an inner cell. Then there occurred a small earthquake, which released their manacles and opened the prison doors. The jailer, thinking his prisoners had escaped, was prepared to commit suicide, rather than face execution for dereliction of duty, when out of the darkness the voice of Paul assured him that all the prisoners were still there. The jailer, realising the earth tremor was a divine intervention, fell down before Paul and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul responded with the kernel of the Christian message, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved”. The gospel message, then, is simply the requirement for individuals to believe in the person and work of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.While Paul’s answer was simple and to the point, we can from our perspective and with the Scriptures available to us, suggest the following as the larger message, of which Paul’s response was the distilled essence.
Jesus is His human name, therefore we are to believe in the virgin birth and impeccable life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Christ refers to His office as Messiah, in which work He was required to die for the sins of the world. Therefore, we are to believe in His substitutionary death at Calvary.
Lord refers to His current position at the right hand of the throne of God. To be saved we need to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.
A postscript in respect of the people of Berea.
Paul on his travels proclaimed the gospel in a place called Berea. As a result the Bereans received an honourable mention in Luke’s narrative. They are described as noble because they did not just take Paul’s word as gospel truth, but searched the Scriptures to confirm every detail. May I suggest that this be our practice, that we constantly search the Scriptures to see whether our pastors and teachers are providing us with the unadulterated Word of God. If Paul was subjected to such scrutiny and the Bible commends those that did it—how much more we. Remember, God has promised a blessing to those that read His Word.
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