GOD TURNING PEOPLE AROUND

Acts 9.1- 31

God turning people around

Conversion involves a turn around towards Jesus!

Conversion is a work of God!

God converts sinners in the face of their opposition!

Converted people  continually turn from opposition towards obedience to God.

We underestimate the truth that without God at work we cannot will that which is spiritually good (Romans 8.7).

It is God alone by His sheer grace  who gives us a new heart and so causes us to walk in a new way. God renews our will for Him.

In todays passage in Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus, enemy of God, set out in active rebellion. It was God who turned him around making him into Paul the Apostle who desired to follow the One he had previously opposed.

When God converts a sinner, and moves him into a state of  grace, he frees him from his natural bondage and slavery to sin and by grace alone enables him to freely will and do what is spiritually good.

However, because of remaining corruption, even renewed people who live in the realm of grace,  do not perfectly or only will that which is good.  So it is that  Paul  later says in Romans 7 18 that in his natural sinful  self he  is powerless to do the good he desires because there is still the old power of sin at work in him (Romans 7.21 -24)

This explains why, although we are converted we are still prone to do evil.  Sinners are not perfect just forgiven. We are under new management and want to please our new master but the old nature still re-emerges. There is a battle going on between the new nature and the old one. This battle continues on during this life. We are under constant renovation.

How then do we know that we are converted people. We know because we love Jesus and His commands and continue returning to the path which leads to obedience. We keep on keeping on in spite of our stumbling.

God’s turning people around is an ongoing lifetime process of redirection and involves repentance and faith day after day, year after year. It is necessary to know that while we remain on this earth the old nature still is at work.

As Paul concludes in Romans 7.24,25:

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death.?” He is overwhelmed at first but then thinks of his glorious state beyond death and says:

“Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”