"What a Blind Man Saw"

John Isaac Edwards

On the road to Damascus to bring any of this way bound unto Jerusalem, Saul was suddenly blinded by a light from heaven and was three days without sight (Acts 9:1-9). A reading of the conversion accounts of Saul will reveal that this blind man saw some things which you and I need to see.

It Didn't Matter What He Thought. Saul said, "I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth" (Acts 26:9). This is where Saul went astray. Isaiah 55:8 records, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Jeremiah exclaimed, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). Wise Solomon stated, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). We must learn, as Saul learned, that it really doesn't matter what we think or what seems right to us, but what God thinks and says! 

The Need for Having the Right Source of Authority. Saul, where's your authority for shutting up in prison many of the saints? "...having received authority from the chief priests" (Acts 26:10). There are only two sources of authority in religion: "from heaven, or of men" (Matthew 21:25). Christ has all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18).
He is "the head over all things to the church" (Ephesians 1:22). All is to be done in His name or by His authority (Colossians 3:17). When it comes to what you do religiously, "By what authority doest thou these things, and who gave thee this authority?" (Matthew 21:23).

Conscience Is Not a Safe Guide. Saul, when you punished the saints in every synagogue, compelled them to blaspheme and persecuted them even unto strange cities, did your conscience bother you? No, "...I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day" (Acts 23:1). When it comes to religious matters, too many just want to let their conscience be their guide. Conscience is the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct based upon what he's been taught. If we've been taught wrong, then we can engage in wrong and feel right about it. 

He Had to Change Religions. Saul said, "...after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee" (Acts 26:5). Saul (who also is called Paul) wrote the Galatians, "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation..." (Galatians 1:13-14). Saul changed from being a Jew to being a Christian. Have you thought about the possibility of needing to change religions?
Contrary to popular thought, one religion is not as good as another. A lot of folks struggle with this today. Like Saul, it may be that you've belonged to a certain religion "all your life." He saw that he had to change religions, and he did that in a very short period of time. 

Traditions of Men Lead to Religious Error. "...being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). Many want to follow what is handed down from generation to generation. By following human traditions, the Lord told the scribes and Pharisees of Matthew 15 that they "made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition" and "in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (vv. 3-9).

He Was Not Saved By Prayer. A lot of folks today are told that to be saved they must pray "The Sinner's Prayer." Where do you read of that in the Bible? Saul was not saved by prayer, "for, behold, he prayeth" (Acts 9:11). If saved by prayer, Saul would have been saved before he was even told what he must do, and who can believe that?

Salvation Is an Individual Affair. When Saul lay trembling and astonished on that Damascus road, he didn't say, "Lord, what wilt thou have the chief priests to do?" or "Lord, what wilt thou have my father to do?" He said, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" "And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6).

What One Must Do to Have His Sins Washed Away. In the city Saul was told, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). Baptism stands between a person and his sins being washed away. This is why one should want to be baptized - to have his sins washed away!

The Chiefest of Sinners Can Be Saved. Some may think they've been so bad and sinful that they could not possibly ever be saved. Not so! Paul declared, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15). The gospel is for all, and has the power to effect the same kind of change in hearts and lives today as we observe in Saul of Tarsus in the first century (Romans 1:16).

These lessons learned by Saul are lessons you and I would do well to learn and help others learn.

SENTENCE SERMON

"Prejudice is a great time-saver; it enables a man to form opinions without bothering to get the facts."

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