The Gospel to the Pharisee

Overview

We come to perhaps the most famous conversion story in the history of the world: the conversion of Saul (who becomes Paul). This is the man who sought to do the most harm to the earliest Christians, but then God saves him and he becomes the writer of about a quarter of the New Testament.

Jesus uses no uncertain terms regarding conversion; in Matthew 18:3 he says unless you’re converted, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Conversion means that we turn and trust. Conversion stories can vary in nature, but there are certain elements that must be present if you have really been converted. These three elements are: collision (vv. 1-5), darkness (vv. 6-9), and embrace (vv. 17-19).