“For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of the things in which you have seen in me and those to which I will appear to you. 17. Delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles – and to whom I am sending you. 18. To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. 19. Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” ESV
Our text comes in the middle of Paul’s testimony to King Agrippa as to why he was on trial. He shared the encounter that he had with Jesus on the Damascus Road. Paul was to turn people, from “darkness to light.” Sin is as dark now as it was in Paul’s day. Jesus told His disciples that He was the light of the world (John 8:12) and that they should be His light to the world (Matthew 5:16). Until we see the darkness of sin, we will not catch the vision to call people out of it. Paul, himself, had to be called from legalistic self-righteousness to accept the reality of God’s grace. He had to accept that God loved the pagan Gentiles as much as He loved the strict Jews. That is the way that it will have to be with us. We need to see people loved of God, who need to be called from darkness to light by God’s grace. Paul was to call people from “the power of Satan to God.” We have kind of made of joke of Satan as “a little red devil on the side of a can of deviled ham.” Satan is not a joke, and he seriously means business. Jesus knew this when He confronted Satan in his temptation experiences. The call from darkness to light is a call from the grasp of Satan into the hands of the Almighty, loving God. This is as true today as it was in Paul’s day. Paul was to call people that “they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” In order to move from darkness to light, we need to be forgiven for our sins. The Bible is clear that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) God has forgiven us for our sins and we are to call people to receive the forgiveness that only Christ can give. We are promised that if we sincerely ask for His forgiveness, He will sincerely give it. (I John 1:9) Paul told Agrippa: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” It is our vision as well and we should be obedient to our own call. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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