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THE BYRON BUZZ SECTION of The GEORGIA POST
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Would You Listen To The Truth?
“And the witnesses laid
down their clothes at the feet
of a young man named Saul.”
(Acts 7:58b). This is the first
mention we find of Saul of
Tarsus in the Bible. He is called
“a young man” but this does
not give us much of an idea of
his age. The seventh chapter
of Acts tells of the death of
Stephen and how those partici
pating in stoning him laid their
clothes at the feet of Saul. Saul
was consenting to the stoning
to death of Stephen. Saul was a
leader in the persecution of the
church in Jerusalem.
This same man later in his
life would become a great wit
ness for Jesus Christ! What
would bring about this great
change in Saul the persecutor
to make him a follower and
great witness of Christ? As Saul
and some men were travel
ing to Damascus to round up
Christian men and women, he
encountered a blinding light
and was spoken to by the Lord.
The Lord gave Saul instructions
to go into Damascus and wait
for a man. Saul waited three
days without sight, fasting and
praying. Ananias, a disciple
of Christ, was sent by the Lord
to tell Saul what to do. Acts
9:17-18, states, “AndAnanias
went his way and entered the
house; and laying his hands on
him (Saul) he said, ‘Brother
Saul, the Lord Jesus, who ap
peared to you on the road as you
came, has sent me that you may
receive your sight and be filled
with the Holy Spirit.’ Imme
diately there fell from his eyes
something like scales, and he re
ceived his sight at once, and he
arose and was baptized.” And
verse 20 says, “Immediately he
(Saul) preached the Christ in the
synagogues, that He is the Son
of God.”
Saul was preaching and pro
claiming Jesus Christ as the Son
of God! This was a complete
about face from the actions of
the Saul who was traveling to
Damascus to round up Chris
tians. We must realize that great
changes can come in our life too
if we can come to the realiza
tion as Saul did, that Jesus is
the Son of God and we must be
obedient to Him and the words
He has spoken. Whatever point
we are in our life, when faced
with the truth of God’s word we
must make haste to obey Him
and Him only.
Before we examine the trans
formation in Saul’s life, let us
look at some religious qualifica
tions that he possessed as a Jew:
(1) he was an Israelite of the
strictest sect, a Pharisee (Acts
26:5); (2) he was advanced
in Judaism beyond any of his
contemporaries and exceeding
zealous for the traditions of his
fathers (Gal. 1:14); (3) he was
the Jewish leader in rounding up
Christians to bring them before
the high priest in Jerusalem
(Acts 9:1 &2). In other words,
Saul was a well known and
recognized religious leader
among the Jews and throughout
the area of Israel. But, was he
worshipping God as required in
the age of the church?
Saul made havoc of the
church, seizing and imprison
ing men and women for their
belief and teaching that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God. It
is even recorded that he stood
by and consented to the stoning
to death of Stephen who was
preaching Jesus Christ (Acts 7).
Then God called Saul (later
called Paul) and Saul OBEYED
what was spoken to him on the
road to Damascus, “go into the
city and you will be told what to
do.” (Acts 9:6). Notice God did
NOT tell Saul what to do, He
sent a messenger to convey His
instructions to him! (Acts 9:17-
18). It was after Saul’s baptism
the he began to preach that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Saul, as a Jew, made the
decision to be obedient to
Jesus Christ! He changed his
religion and what he practiced
and taught about the worship of
God. Paul, as an apostle of Je
sus Christ, preached the gospel
(Gal. 1:1; 11-12; 15-16a).
As Paul was confronted with
the truth of God’s word and
made a change in his religious
life, will you follow his exam
ple? You can IF you are willing
to obey from the heart (Rom.
6:17) God’s instructions:
1. HEAR the Gospel of Christ
(the power of God to save),
James Earnhardt
Evangelist Church of
Christ
Rom. 1:16. Matt. 7:24-25.
2. BELIEVE that Jesus is
the Son of God and has the
power to save, John 8:24; Heb.
11:6; Rom. 10:17.
3. REPENT (turn away with
godly sorrow) from all sin, Luke
13:3; 2 Cor. 7:10.
4. CONFESS the Name of
Christ, that you believe He is
the Son of God, Matt. 10:32-33;
Rom. 10:10.
5. Be BAPTIZED in order to
receive remission (forgiveness)
of sins, Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark
16:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Romans
6:3-6; lCor,12:13; Gal. 3:27;
Col. 2:12.
6. FAITHFULLY LIVE THE
CHRISTIAN LIFE, Revelation
2:10. Romans 12:1-2.
WOULD YOU?
Bible quotes are from the
New King James Version unless
otherwise noted.
For questions or comments
please contact James Earnhardt
at 478-825-7517.
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Vanessa in the gift shop at the new Medical Center of
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One of the beautiful stained glass windows in the chapel.
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Crimestoppers is a program designed to solve crimes with the
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community members fight crime by supplying leads and in
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Amanda Lynn Collins
W/F DOB 02-02-88
Age 25 503 115 lbs.
Wanted by the Houston
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for Violation of Proba
tion.
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W/F DOB 03-16-94
Age 19 505 120 lbs.
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W/M DOB 03-17-78
Age 35 507 180 lbs.
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County Sheriff's Office for
Child Support.
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W/M DOB 08-31-80
Age 32 511 170 lbs.
Wanted by the Jones
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Age 38 511 160 lbs.
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B/M DOB 01-05-93
Age 20 603 190 lbs.
Wanted by the Macon
Police Department for
Aggravated Assault.