Acts 9:1-22, Acts 22:6-11; Acts 26:9-20 & Romans 1:16-17
The account of Paul’s conversion from a devout Jew who violently persecuted Christians, to a devout Christian who fearlessly worked at spreading the Gospel even in the face of opposition is found three times in the book of Acts. Each account differs slightly, but all the accounts work together to give us, without discrepancy or contradiction, the full history of Paul’s “Damascus Road experience.”
A “Damascus Road experience” is often used to describe a conversion which is dramatic and startling. Some people do experience dramatic changes in their lives at the very moment of their conversion. Others who have grown up in a Christian environment from birth describe their conversion as a more gradual understanding of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All these experiences are different and yet the same.
All conversion experiences have several things in common. First, salvation is a single work of our Triune God. God the Father foreordains and plans (Acts 22:14 ). God the Son through His work on the cross provides atonement for the sins of those whom God calls (John 10:7-18). God the Holy Spirit effectively calls those who would be saved (John 6:44).
While not all conversion experiences are as dramatic as Paul’s they all are directed to answering the question “What do you want me to do for you and your Kingdom?
- Have you had a “Damascus Road Experience?” How was it like Paul’s experience? How was it different?
- What has it meant to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10)?
- How has this experience changed the way you think about who you are in Christ and what you have been called to do for Him and His body, the Church?
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