Persecutor to Preacher: Paul’s Conversion — Acts 9:1-19
The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, later known as the apostle Paul is, with good reason, regarded as the most important event in the history of the church since Pentecost. It also is regarded as second only to the resurrection of Christ as the most convincing proof of the truth of the Christian faith. If this militant opponent to Jesus Christ was truly converted to become Christianity’s most ardent advocate, it demands an explanation. Why would he do so and then endure the terrible suffering that he went through, unless he was convinced that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead? Through the Holy Spirit, Luke saw Paul’s conversion as a watershed event, or he would not have repeated the story three times in this relatively short history of the expansion of Christianity.