None of us are above reproach and some of us have a less-than-stellar past. However, there has never been a truer description of anyone than Apostle Paul who wrote most of what we now know as The New Testament.

Let us be familiar with Apostle Paul’s conversion facts. His conversion on that Damascus Road was the event in Paul’s life that changed everything, including his name from Saul to Paul and his previous convictions about things that were important to his life’s purpose.

Paul made an about-face; his life endeavors were put on a different course. Without hesitation, he ceased persecuting Christians and became a follower of Jesus Christ, but his Christian-hating reputation preceded him, and many mistrusted the “new Paul”, suspecting the story may be a cover to entrap the Christian believers. However, he had, indeed, laid “aside the former way of life” (Eph.4:22), and his new way of life eventually became witness to the world of the Gospel’s radical transformational power, especially to those who had known him as Saul. Looking back to our own pre-conversions, it is understandable how some could doubt our change as credible, perhaps just all talk; they simply might not trust you initially. After all, earned trust is time-tested.

Something else to consider with this line of thought is that due to previous acquaintance, even Jesus was “not able to do a miracle (in Nazareth), except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then he went around among the villages and taught.” Jesus says about Himself in relation to his neighbors: “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” Jesus speaks those words to the people while teaching in the local synagogue of Nazareth, the town where he grew up and worked in the family business as a carpenter. Those in attendance said in response, “Where did this Man get these things?” and they refused to believe in his teaching because they considered Him just as one of themselves, one without authority to preach. They watched Jesus heal people but still couldn’t get past the fact of knowing him as a child and not as someone with academic or religious credentials. The Bible further tells us those Nazarene neighbors were both astonished and offended. We can read that story in Mark 6. So, it is probably an understatement to say that it can be difficult to talk about serious matters with people who have known you for a long time, especially about spiritual matters, if they have not personally witnessed the progress of your spiritual maturity. People that are familiar with you, only based upon your past life, may not be able to get “past” it, nor believe in your conversion. In fact, their preconceived ideas about you could be a stumbling block for them.

Like Paul, our lives should provide evidence, accounting for our testimony of conversion and our continual spiritual development for the Gospel’s sake.

Let’s look at how his transformation began, and his story progressed. Paul was previously called ‘Saul of Tarsus’ before he became commonly known as ‘Paul the Apostle’. Saul lived as a Pharisee, a genuine Jew by birth, not a convert. He says of himself, “I was of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the observance of the Law I was of the Pharisees,” (Phil. 3:5). We learn in Acts 8:3 that Saul “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison”. Scripture also reveals Saul was the one who approved of the execution of Stephen. As a Pharisee, Saul rigorously observed the external demands of the law and frantically tried to wipe out all opponents of Judaism which certainly included the followers of Jesus. Saul and other Jewish leaders became angry at Stephen because of what had said to the Jewish Council. The stoning of Stephen and the beginning of the persecution of Christians is recorded in Acts 7:54-8:2. NIV:

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, “Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he said this, he died. Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

Why did Saul and the other Pharisees seem to hate Stephen so much? The Pharisees truly believed they were right in protecting their stance against Jesus.  They hated Stephen because his life was an influential witness to others of the new way of life professed in his preaching. They feared his preaching of Jesus as the Messiah would threaten their power over the people which would in turn expose their disbelief in Jesus as heresy instead of the other way around. Stephen’s passionate conclusions about the lifeless institutionalism that the Jews and their temple came to represent led to his violent murder; it was how they thought it would stop the message.

A lesson learned through Stephen’s story is that ritualism does not bring one into a right standing before God. A change of heart through rebirth and an obedient walk of faith are the real signs of a true relationship with God, which is also descriptive of Saul’s “Damascus Road Experience”. On the Damascus Road is where Saul met the resurrected Jesus face to face which resulted in Paul’s lifetime of ministry afterward.

What happened on the road to Damascus and what does it mean?  A clear answer is found at Got Questions [https://www.gotquestions.org/Damascus-Road.html]:

A “Damascus Road Experience” relates not only to Apostle Paul whose dramatic conversion begins there but also provides a clear picture of the conversion of all people. While some have an extraordinarily dramatic conversion …the conversion of all believers follows a similar pattern of Paul’s experience, described in Paul’s own words in Acts 9:1-9, 22:6-11, and 26:9-20. Putting the three accounts together, …Saul was on his way to Damascus with a letter from the high priest of the temple in Jerusalem giving him authority to arrest any who belonged to ‘the Way’, meaning those who followed Christ. …suddenly a light from heaven shone around (Saul). And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? …I am Jesus…” … Even though Saul received his commission from Jesus on the road, he still had to go into Damascus and be told what to do—meet with Ananias who laid hands on him, receive the Holy Spirit, be baptized, and be received by the disciples there… In the Acts 26 story, which is longer and more detailed, Saul describes Jesus’ commission of him as His messenger to the Gentiles (which must have amazed Saul, the ultimate Gentile-hating Pharisee), to turn many from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. His message of forgiveness of sins and “a place among those who are sanctified by faith” must have also astonished Saul because the Jews were convinced, they alone had a place of honor in God’s eyes. …The phrase “Damascus Road experience” is used to describe a conversion that is dramatic and startling. Many people receive Christ in a life-changing, instantaneous experience, although many others describe their conversion as more of a gradual understanding of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But both types of experiences have several things in common. First, salvation is of the Lord, by His will and according to His plan and purpose (Acts 22:14). …(Paul) was to become an instrument in the hands of the Master to do His will as He had foreordained it. Second, the response of both Saul and all those who are redeemed by Christ is the same: “What do you want me to do?” …The response of the redeemed is obedience. When God truly touches our hearts, our only response can be, “Lord, may your will be done, and may you use me to do it.” Such was the experience of Saul on the Damascus Road.

For the redeemed, the transformative work of the Holy Spirit is of great importance, it leads us to become Spirit-empowered disciples. Spirit-empowered disciples do not experience an isolated event but a process of complete transformation. Paul describes this in his own words, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV).

Although it is true that Paul preached in Damascus immediately after his conversion, he also spent three years in prayer and discipleship training before embarking on his famous three missionary journeys that forever changed the world. This is encouraging if we take it to understand that even the Apostle Paul needed some time and preparation for ministry.

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit used Paul to write over 1/3 of the New Testament and he is considered the greatest Apostle that ever lived. While Paul did experience an immediate radical change, he still needed preparation after conversion for ministry, and so do we. Scripture encourages us to renew our minds to the Word (Eph. 4; Ro. 12) and to live carefully by “keep being filled” (Eph.5:15-21).