The Holy Spirit in Conversion--No. 2

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN CONVERSION NO. 2

CONVERSION OF SAUL In Acts 9:1-8 and Acts 22:3-16 we have the record of the conversion of Saul, who became Paul the great apostle. A man, who later declared, as an apostle, that he was guided by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 1:11-12), did not have the Holy Spirit before his conversion. It was necessary for Saul to change his religion and reverse his conscience concerning the Christ and His church before he was converted to Christ. The Holy Spirit, about which this great man of God wrote so much after his conversion, had a part in his conversion, but did not appear to Saul directly from heaven and convert him.

According to Paul himself, as recorded in Acts 22:3; Acts 23:1, he was a man who lived before God always in all good conscience toward God. He was a very religious man, deeply devoted to God, but he was not a Christian at that time. After he did become. a Christian, he referred to himself as being the "chief of sinners" before he became a Christian (1 Timothy 1:15). No, friends, just because a person is honest, sincere, lives before God in all good conscience, is deeply religious, and is devoted to a religious cause does not mean that he is a Christian. Saul was a very honest man and "zealous toward God," but he was unsaved. Then you ask, "What did he do to be saved?"

Not Saved Directly By Holy Spirit

While on his way to Damascus to persecute the church of51 our Lord, Jesus appeared unto Saul and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul replied, "Who art thou, Lord?" Jesus answered, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Then, trembling and astonished, Paul said, "Lord, what wilt thou have me do?" Christ replied, "Arise, and go to the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6).

I ask, my friends, would this not have been the most opportune time for the Lord to save Saul, directly from heaven, if ever a person was to be saved by the power of the Holy Spirit directly from heaven? But, Saul was no exception. He had to obey the gospel, too.

Saul waited in the city of Damascus to hear what he must do to be saved. For three days and night he was deeply penitent and he prayed. Still he was unsaved. Finally the gospel, which he must hear to know what to do to be saved, was brought to him by Ananias. According to Acts 22:16, Saul was commanded, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." He was told what he must do, as previously informed by Jesus Christ. He was told, "be baptized and wash away thy sins." Almost all denominations teach that your sins are to be "washed away" and then you may be baptized. But, Saul commanded, "be baptized and wash away thy sins." Sins forgiven after he was baptized! Baptism was essential to his salvation. Although other conditions are just as essential, baptism is no less essential.

Received Sight Saved?

But, someone asks, "Was not Saul saved when he received his sight?" My friends, how long will men be deceived by those who continue to pervert God's eternal truth? In this record of the Acts we have the account of Paul's call to his apostleship and the record of his conversion. Paul was made blind by the brightness of the light. Later his physical eye-sight was restored. Imagine some preacher deceiving honest people by saying Saul was saved when he received his sight, just in order to try to get Saul saved before he was bap-tized. A deliberate perversion of truth, it is! Remember, Saul was told, "A rise and he baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on his name."

Friends, don't you know that if Saul were saved before he was baptized, the Lord didn't know it, because Christ said, "You will be told what you must do." Don't you know that if he were saved before he was baptized, Saul himself didn't know it! I tell you, beloved, if Saul were saved be-fore he was baptized, he was the most miserable saved per-son I have ever read about. Don't you know, my friends, if Saul was saved before he was baptized, he was saved with his sins still unforgiven! Don't forget, he was told , "Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins." His sins were not forgiven until he was baptized. He was saved by the power of the gospel preached by Ananias. He was converted to the Lord. It was Paul who later wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Paul received the Holy Spirit, as a gift, when he obeyed the gospel.

Referring to his own conversion, Paul declared that he was buried with Christ by baptism into His death where the new, Spirit regenerated life began: "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were bap-tized into his death. Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4).

The Holy Spirit set Paul free from sin and death by the law of the Spirit, but not directly from heaven, independent of the gospel. Hear the apostle: "For the law of the Spirit in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

The venerable apostle concluded, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God . . . The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:14; Romans 8:16).

The record of the conversion of the Ethiopian officer, re-corded in Acts 8:26-39, is another example of the operation of the Holy Spirit in conversion. Here is a man, evidently a devoutly religious man, who had to change his religion to be converted to the Lord. He had been to Jerusalem to worship and was "returning, and was sitting in his chariot , and was reading the prophet. Isaiah." The Spirit directed Philip, the preacher of the gospel, saying, "Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit. He approached the Ethiopian in his chariot and inquired , "Understandest thou what thou readest?" The Ethiopian eunuch replied, "How can I except some one guide me?" Philip accepted his invitation to join him in his chariot and "beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus.

Saved Directly From Heaven? My friends, could it be possible that anyone could so stretch his imagination to think that the Holy Spirit appeared directly from heaven and converted this officer of Ethiopia? Surely it is unthinkable! The Holy Spirit was present, but at no time did the Holy Spirit directly intervene, affecting the man's conversion. The Spirit directed a gospel preacher, Philip, to preach the gospel to this man. If there was ever a time when the Holy Spirit might have intervened in conversion, he could well have appeared to the Ethiopian and revealed the meaning of the word of God which he was reading. The officer stated that he did not understand the prophecy, which related to Christ, the savior of man's soul, and could not understand it "except someone shall guide me." If the Holy Spirit would ever convert a soul by direct operation of his power from heaven, why did he not convert the Ethiopian by direct intervention? The answer is obvious! The Holy Spirit does not operate directly from heaven in the conversion of any soul, regardless of all the claims of men to the contrary. Just like every other case of conversion, he heard the gospel of Christ, the Spirit filled and Spirit directed gospel the sinner believed and obeyed the gospel.

Preached Christ

Philip preached unto the Ethiopian Jesus Christ. In preaching Christ, he preached the commands of Christ. This is evident in verses 35 through 39. "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing."

Beloved, may I ask, where did the Ethiopian get the idea that he should be baptized? There can be but one answer. When Philip "preached Jesus" he preached the gospel of Jesus. He could not preach Jesus without preaching the gospel of Jesus. No man today can "preach Jesus" without preaching the gospel of Christ. What did Jesus command, as conditions of conversion, in his gospel? Hear it, my friends! You must not misunderstand it! Are you listening?

. . . Jesus commanded, ". . . preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16). Believe and be baptized to be saved, the Lord commanded! The eunuch declared that he believed that Christ was the Son of God. He did not make some confession of some hu-man creed or discipline. He confessed his faith in the Son of God and upon that confession he was baptized into Christ where he became a new creature in Christ. He was buried with his Lord in baptism, as pictured in Romans 6:3-4. Both Philip, the preacher, and the eunuch, the man being con-verted to the Lord, "went down in the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." The Holy Spirit had a part in the conversion of this officer from Ethiopia, but only through the gospel of Christ, as in every case of conversion. The Holy Spirit directed the preacher to the man who was to be converted and inspired the gospel message that brought about his conversion. Such direct operation of the Holy Spirit was necessary during those days of miracles, because they did not have the written and confirmed gospel of Christ. But even during the miraculous days, no soul was ever converted by the Holy Spirit, directly from heaven!

Conclusions The Spirit intervened in the conversion of the man of Ethiopia but not independent of the gospel of Christ (Acts 8:26-39).

I submit the following conclusions concerning the Holy Spirit and the conversion of the Ethiopian.

It must be observed:

1. 1. The Spirit was present but did not speak directly to the man to be converted; rather, the Spirit directed the evangelist, Philip, to go and preach the gospel of Christ to the Ethiopian officer.

1. 2. The sinner invited the preacher to guide him in an understanding of the truth. "How can I understand ex-cept some man should guide me?" he said. The Holy Spirit was to appeal to his intelligence, his understanding, through the teaching of the scriptures by Philip, the preacher.

1. 3. Philip, from the Scriptures, "preached unto him Je-sus." He preached the gospel of Jesus. He proclaimed the Spirit filled truth, by which the officer was begotten.

Philip preached Jesus by preaching the gospel of the great commission of Jesus, which included, "He that be-lieveth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15-16). No man can preach "Jesus" without preaching the commands of Jesus. After confessing that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, in obedience to the command of the Lord, the man of Ethiopia was baptized into Christ.

The Spirit was there. Philip was directed by the Spirit of the Lord to preach the gospel to this honest soul. The Spirit directed the evangelist on his way, after the con-version of the eunuch, but at no time did the Holy Spirit speak directly to the convert, or influence the decision or experience of the man's heart, independent of the teaching of the word by the evangelist. The Holy Spirit operates upon the soul in conversion, but not independently of the gospel of Christ which is the "power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Romans 1:16).

CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS AND HOLY SPIRIT

Cornelius, another devotedly religious man, was converted unto the Lord by the gospel of Christ, proclaimed by the apostle Peter, inspired by Holy Spirit.

"But," someone inquires, "did not the Holy Spirit fall upon Cornelius and his household and convert them?" No , beloved, the Holy Spirit never at any time came directly upon anyone for the purpose of conversion. It is true the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his Gentile household, and, for a very specific purpose; namely, to prove to Peter and the other Jews that the Gen-tiles were subjects of the gospel as well as the Jews. The miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit was administered by the Lord to the Gentiles, in the case of Cornelius, to estab-lish the fact that the Jews on Pentecost, of Acts, the 2nd chapter, had no special privileges over the Gentiles in the Lord's kingdom (Acts 10:44-47; Acts 11:15-18). A more de-tailed discussion of the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" will be presented in another part of this series of addresses.

Cornelius was begotten by the Spirit through the word of God which was proclaimed by Peter. Although he was a devotedly religious man, Cornelius was an unsaved man. He was informed by the angel: "Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved" (Acts 11:13-14).

When Peter was convinced that Cornelius was a subject of the gospel of Christ, he said, "Can any man forbid water , that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:47-48).

Cornelius was told to get Peter "who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." Now, be-ing convinced that both Jew and Gentile are subjects of the gospel of Christ, and seeing that they were believers in Christ, he concluded, "what was I, that I could withstand God?" (Acts 11:16-17). He, therefore, "commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:47).

The heavenly messenger did not tell Cornelius, the sin-ner, what to do to be saved but directed him to get a gospel preacher, Peter, a man inspired by the Holy Spirit, to tell him "words whereby" he should be saved!

Obedience To Gospel This is the conversion of a man whose prayer was heard, but the Holy Spirit did not descend upon him and save his soul in direct answer to prayer. Neither did the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit have any relationship to his salvation from sin. This miracle of the gift of the Holy Spirit, al-though wrought upon Cornelius, was not for the purpose of changing Cornelius, but was for the benefit of Peter and the Jews. We usually determine what a thing is for by the use made of it, especially is this true with divine approbation.

Here is a man, Cornelius, a very good man and a devoted-ly religious man, but a lost man, who must hear words whereby he should be saved (Acts 11:14). The only command he was given to obey was, "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48).

The only requirement, therefore, made of Cornelius and his house, in order to be saved, was to be baptized into Je-sus Christ. This does not mean that man is saved by baptism alone. It is very evident that they were penitent believers and as believers were baptized into Christ. No doubt, there are many honest, sincere, and even devotedly religious people today who need to obey the Lord by being baptized into Christ in order to be saved, as was the case of Cornelius.

One does not need to feel a consciousness of being the greatest sinner in the world to be conscious of his need of salvation. Every man should look into the mirror of God's word and try to see himself as he is, good or bad, religious , or irreligious, and resolve to obey the commands of the Lord, as they apply to him, even if he need only to be baptized into Christ.

Disobedience to this command of the Lord, even though one might be devotedly religious, may cause his soul to be lost. Cornelius was lost until he was told by the apostle "words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved ," which were, "be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 11:14; Acts 10:47-48). The Holy Spirit had a part in the conversion of Cornelius, but it was through the Spirit filled "words" spoken by the apostle. He was not converted by the direct power of the Holy Spirit, independent of the word of God.

HOLY SPIRIT AND CONVERSION OF CORINTHIANS The brief record of the conversion of the Corinthians is recorded in Acts 18:8-11. "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." Paul continued to preach the gospel in the city two years.

Crispus and other Corinthians, who were converted, heard the gospel, believed and were baptized. Crispus was baptized by Paul, 1 Corinthians 1:14, as Christ commanded in the great commission (Mark 16:15-16).

They were begotten by the Spirit through the gospel preached by Paul. "For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel" (1 Corinthians 4:15). This is in harmony with the inspired declaration of the apostle Peter when he declared that one is begotten again of incorruptible seed, the word of God (1 Peter 1:22-23).

The Holy Spirit gives the regenerating and life reproductive power to the seed, the word, the gospel, the truth. Paul emphasized that the gospel he proclaimed was in-spired and directed by the Holy Spirit. "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12).

The Holy Spirit operated on the hearts of the Corinthians as they heard the gospel, believed the gospel, and obeyed the gospel; as in every case of conversion in the NewTestament. There is no divine record indicating that the Holy Spirit ever converted any soul by some direct manifestations of power upon the sinner!

QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION

1. Did the Holy Spirit bring message of salvation directly to Saul, or instruct preacher to tell him what to do to be saved?

2. Was Saul saved on the Damascus road?

3. What was Saul told to do to be saved?

4. How did the Holy Spirit convert Saul?

5. Was the Ethiopian officer converted by the Holy Spirit? Directly from Heaven? How?

6. Why didn't Holy Spirit tell the Ethiopian what to do to be saved instead of instructing Philip?

7. Did the Holy Spirit save Cornelius directly from heaven?

8. Why was Peter sent to Cornelius?

9. What did Cornelius do to be saved?

10. Were the Corinthians saved by direct powers of the Holy Spirit?