The Greatest Conversion in History

[Paul] said, “I am a Jew, . . . educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.”
–Acts 22:2–3

Lord Littleton and Gilbert West were eighteenth-century scholars. Both were unbelievers, and they resolved to disprove the Bible, starting with two specific events: West set out to research the resurrection of Jesus, and Littleton sought to disprove the conversion of Saul. The men began their tasks with contempt for Christianity. But their quest didn’t turn out like they expected. West became convinced of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, while Littleton came to the same conclusion about Saul’s conversion. As a result, both men became followers of Christ.

Even as unbelievers, Littleton and West understood that next to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most important event in the history of the church is the conversion of Saul. We were introduced to Saul in Acts 7, when he attended the stoning of Stephen. Acts 8:3 says that after Stephen’s death, “Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.” This week, we’re going to see how God used Saul, a most unlikely instrument, to spread the gospel.

Who was Saul? In Acts 22:3, he introduced himself this way: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city [Jerusalem], educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.” Saul was from Tarsus, a metropolitan center home to a renowned university. He was a Roman citizen, but he was also a devout Jew. Apparently when he was a young teenager, his parents sent him to Jerusalem to study under the great rabbi and scholar Gamaliel.

The most important thing people miss about Saul is that he was sincere in his faith. In Acts 26:9, he said, “I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” Saul didn’t persecute Christians for the fun of it; he truly believed he was doing God’s work in stamping out heresy. Have you heard somebody say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere”? That’s not what the Bible says. Saul was sincere, but he was sincerely wrong. He discovered this in a dramatic way: a divine encounter with the risen Christ.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Greatest Conversion in History,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Thomas T. Biddulph, “On the Collect for St. Thomas the Apostle,” in Practical Essays on the Collects in the Liturgy of the Church of England; for the Sundays and Other Holidays, vol. 3, 2nd ed. (London, 1810), 264–65.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.