St Paul Sermon Series - Week 1: Mike Gelder's Sermon on 'New Creation? Part 1'

Saul the Pharisee and Paul the Apostle        2 Corinthians 6. 16-end

A New Creation? Part 1

A new creation – or is it being ‘born again’ as many evangelicals call it  – whatever the story of Paul is cited as a testimony that no one is beyond the saving grace of Jesus and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot avoid recalling Paul’s dark side - His early life was marked by religious zeal, brutal violence, and the relentless persecution of the early church. Comparison to modern religious extremists is unavoidable.

Fortunately, the later years of his life show a marked difference as he lived his life for Christ and for the advancement of God’s kingdom. 

Paul as you will know was actually born as Saul. He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia around AD 1–5 in a province in the south eastern corner of modern-day Tersous, Turkey. He was of Benjamine’s line and Hebrew ancestry. His parents were Pharisees—fervent Jewish nationalists who adhered strictly to the Law of Moses—who wanted to protect their children from “contamination” from the Gentiles. Anything Greek would have been despised in Saul’s household, yet he could speak Greek and passable Latin. His household would have spoken Aramaic, a derivative of Hebrew, which was the official language of Judea. Saul’s family were Roman citizens but viewed Jerusalem as a truly sacred and holy city (Acts 22:22-29). 

At age thirteen Saul was sent to Palestine to learn from a rabbi named Gamaliel, under whom Saul mastered Jewish history, the Psalms, and the works of the prophets. His education would continue for five or six years as Saul learned to interpret the Scriptures.

It was during this time that he developed a question-and-answer style of teaching known in ancient times as “diatribe.” This method of articulation helped rabbis debate the finer points of Jewish law to either defend or prosecute those who broke the law.

Saul went on to become a lawyer, and all signs pointed to his becoming a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court of 71 men who ruled over Jewish life and religion. Saul was zealous about his faith which did not allow for compromise. It is this zeal that led Saul down the path of religious extremism. 

In Acts 5, Peter delivered his defence of the gospel and of Jesus in front of the Sanhedrin, which Saul would have heard. Gamaliel was also present and delivered a message to calm the council and prevent them from stoning Peter. Saul might well have been present at the trial of Stephen. He was present for his stoning and death; he held the garments of those who did the stoning. We are told that after Stephen's death, "a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem".

Saul became determined to eradicate Christians, ruthless in his pursuit as he believed he was acting in the name of God. From our modern experience it seems there is no one more frightening or more vicious than a religious terrorist, especially when he believes he is doing the will of the Lord by killing innocent people. This is exactly what Saul of Tarsus was: a religious terrorist. Acts 8 states, “He began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.” 

You will all know the pivotal passage in Paul’s story is Acts 9, which recounts Paul’s meeting with Jesus on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, a journey of about 150 miles. Saul left on this journey filled with murderous rage against the Christians.

Then the blinding light from heaven that caused him to fall face down on the ground. He heard the words, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He replied, “Who are you Lord?” Jesus answered directly and clearly, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”

From that moment on, Saul’s life was turned upside down. Blinded he travelled on to Damascus and had to rely on his companions – something that would have been very un-natural for him. Then, of course, the actions of Ananias restoring his sight and baptising him.

Saul immediately went into the synagogues and proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. The people were amazed and sceptical, as Saul’s reputation was well known. The Jews thought he had come to take away the Christians, but he had in fact joined them. And used his arguing skills to prove to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

Paul as he became known spent time in Arabia, Damascus, Jerusalem, Syria, and his native Cilicia, and Barnabas enlisted his help to teach those in the church in Antioch. Interestingly, the Christians driven out of Judea by the persecution that arose after Stephen's death founded this multiracial church. 

Paul took his first of three missionary journeys in the late AD 40s. As he spent more time in Gentile areas, this is when Saul began to go by his Roman name Paul and wrote many of the New Testament books. Most theologians are in agree that he wrote Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. But it is the book of Acts which gives us a historical look at Paul’s life and times. As an apostle Paul spent his life proclaiming the risen Christ Jesus throughout the Roman world, often at great personal peril and it is assumed that Paul died a martyr’s death in the mid-to-late AD 60s in Rome.

So, what can we learn from the life of the apostle Paul? Well the text the Vicar has chosen provides the key – just three verses written to Church in Corinth where the members were straying back to their old way of living – even to the extent of producing idols – basically he is saying - there is no room for your old ways – if you accept Jesus as Lord – you will become markedly different from your old self – just as he had experienced – he’s not teaching theory he is talking about his own behaviour since conversion.

When we read the story of Paul, we are amazed that God would allow into heaven a religious extremist who murdered innocent women and children. Today, we might see terrorists or other criminals as unworthy of redemption because their crimes against humanity are just too great. The story of Paul is a story that can be told today—he isn’t worthy in our eyes of a second chance, yet God granted him mercy. The Bible truth is that every person matters to God, from the “good, decent,” average person to the “wicked, evil,” degenerate one. Only God can save someone’s soul from hell if they repent of their old ways.

So we learn that God can save anyone. The remarkable story of Paul repeats itself every day as sinful, broken people all over the world are transformed by God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ. Some of these people have done despicable things to other human beings, while some just try to live a moral life thinking that God will smile upon them on the day of judgment, but even they fail and like all others, including ourselves need to repent to find forgiveness.

Second, we learn from the life of Paul that anyone can be a humble, powerful witness for Jesus Christ. Arguably, no other human figure in the Bible demonstrated more humility while sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ - as Paul in Acts 20 tells us that he “served the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to him through the plots of the Jews.” In Acts 28 we are told Paul shares the good news of Jesus Christ: “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul was not afraid to tell others what the Lord had done for him. Paul spent all his days, from conversion to martyrdom, working tirelessly for the kingdom of God. 

Finally, we learn that anyone can surrender completely to God. Paul was fully committed to God. In Philippians 1:12–14, Paul wrote from prison, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

Despite his circumstances, Paul praised God and continually shared the good news and through his hardships and suffering, Paul knew the outcome of a life well lived for Christ. He had surrendered his life fully, trusting God for everything. He wrote, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” - Can we make the same claim – can we experience – have we experienced – what it is a new creation through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit

You may think nothing as dramatic as that – but looking back since I was Confirmed, or since I accepted Christ as Saviour – I have changed a great deal – and the Holy Spirit will change us more if we allow it to instil the courage that Paul had in spreading the good news of the transforming  power of Christ.

Born again or a New Creation amounts to the same thing – accepting Christ does change us completely if we let in the Holy Spirit – our old good attributes remain – like for instance Paul’s oratorical ability – but the bad behaviour incompatible with Christ’s teaching will be washed away and love, humility and kindness will surround all our thoughts and actions given the grace of God.  Amen