SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE, 12 July 2026
Sermon Series: “The Acts of the Apostles” (#37)
Sermon Text: Acts 21:37-22:29
Main Points:
Introduction
I. Grace found me when I was God’s enemy (22:1-5)
II. Grace conquered me through Christ’s sovereign call (22:6-16)
III. Grace sent me to bear witness before the world (22:17-29)
Conclusion
When we come to the book of Acts, we’re not simply reading the story of the early church; we’re witnessing the unfolding of Christ’s promise that the gospel would go to the ends of the earth.
Its beginning is with the risen Lord Jesus commissioning His disciples, as recorded in 1:8, “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” From then on, Acts is about how the Holy Spirit began His church to grow in Jerusalem and expand His kingdom beyond the boundaries of Israel.
As the story unfolds, we see a significant turning point with the appearance of the Apostle Paul. Once a persecutor of Christ and an enemy of the church, Paul is transformed by the grace of the risen Lord Jesus. He becomes Christ’s chosen instrument to carry the gospel to the nations. Through three missionary journeys, the gospel spreads from city to city, from Jews to Gentiles, and from Jerusalem toward the wider Roman world.
But as we reach the latter part of Acts, the focus changes. Paul’s missionary journeys come to an end, and his journey becomes a journey of witness. He is no longer travelling freely from place to place, proclaiming Christ in synagogues and marketplaces. Instead, he stands before rulers, governors, and kings. His chains become the platform from which he proclaims the gospel.
This begins at the end of Acts 21 and continues into Acts 22, up to 26. Surrounded by opposition and arrested by Roman authorities, Paul is given one opportunity after another, not to defend himself merely, but to testify about Jesus Christ. Before the unbelieving world, Paul tells the story of the grace that called him and transformed him.
And that is what we’ll consider today: the grace of Christ that takes a sinner who once opposed Him, and transforms that sinner into a witness for Him. Paul’s testimony is about the sovereign grace of the risen Christ who calls, saves, and sends His people as witnesses before the world.
I. Grace Found Me When I Was God’s Enemy (22:1-5)
Now, Paul is given the opportunity to speak to his fellow Israelites. He begins his testimony by declaring the grace that found him when he was God’s enemy.
Paul does not hide his past. He openly confesses that he was once a fierce enemy of Jesus Christ and His followers. Rather than seeking Christ, he was actively opposing Him. Acts 22:4 describes Christianity as ‘the Way,’ and Paul had devoted himself to destroying it.
At that time, Paul was not an irreligious man. He was deeply religious, devoted to the traditions of his fathers, and zealous for the law of Moses. Having studied under Gamaliel, one of the most respected teachers of the law, he believed that defending Judaism required him to eliminate those who proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. His zeal led him to approve of Stephen’s execution, and to imprison and persecute Christians wherever he could. As he reminds the crowd, many of them who are there could testify to how violently he had opposed the church.
Now, picture the scene. Paul stands before the crowd bruised, battered, and bleeding from the violence they had just inflicted upon him. The very people who had tried to kill him are now listening to his testimony. And what does he tell them? He tells them that he was once just like them – zealous for the law, convinced he was serving God, and determined to destroy those who followed Jesus.
Then, Paul declares the wonder of God’s grace. While he was zealous in destroying the Way, he was not searching for Christ; he was running from Him. He was not pursuing the Lord; the Lord pursued him. As he travelled to Damascus with authority to arrest Christians, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him. And His visit changed everything. The persecutor of Christ became His witness. The enemy of the church became the messenger of the gospel. Such is the wonder of the sovereign grace of God.
Paul’s testimony teaches us a profound truth about God’s grace. God’s grace comes to sinners while they’re still His enemies. Perhaps you’ve never persecuted Christians as Paul did. But Scripture says that, apart from Christ, every one of us is by nature an enemy of God. Like Paul, a person may be sincere, moral, deeply religious, and even zealous for God, yet be opposed to Him if he rejects His Son. That is why religion, morality, and sincerity can never reconcile us to God. Only Jesus Christ can. Only through faith in the crucified and risen Saviour can enemies of God become His beloved children.
The point is that Paul did not wake up one morning determined to follow Jesus. He was travelling to destroy Christ’s church when Christ stopped him in his tracks. Paul did not seek the Lord; the Lord sought Paul. He did not first choose Christ; Christ graciously chose him. That is the wonder of sovereign grace. God does not wait until sinners deserve His mercy. He pursues them, calls them while they are sinners, and makes them His own.
What a surprise this is for every sinner. What a comfort this is for every believer. Our salvation does not rest on our wisdom; it does not rest on our decision or our efforts, but on God’s gracious initiative in Christ. And what hope this gives us for those who are still far from Him. If God could save His fiercest enemy, we can have confidence that no sinner is beyond the reach of His sovereign grace.
This is the gospel. It does not begin with what we have done for God, but with what God has done for us in His Son.
II. Grace Conquered Me Through Christ’s Sovereign Call (22:6-16)
Now, if grace found Paul when he was God’s enemy, how did this grace change him? Paul now moves from the grace that found him to the grace that conquered him – in other words, the sovereign call of the risen Christ that turned a persecutor into a faithful witness. Having shown the crowd the man he once was, Paul now explains the moment when everything changed.
Notice who takes the initiative throughout Paul’s testimony. Paul is travelling to Damascus with one purpose – to arrest Christians. He is not praying for God’s guidance; he is not searching for the truth; he is not wrestling with doubts. His mind is already made up; he is determined to oppose Christ and destroy His church.
But, then, Christ intervenes. Without warning, a great light from heaven surrounds him. Jesus speaks to him by name: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” In that moment, Paul realises that the Jesus he believed to be dead is alive; the One he had rejected is the risen Lord who now confronts him. From that moment, the entire direction of Paul’s life is changed.
Notice how active Christ is in every part of this account. Jesus interrupts Paul’s journey; He speaks to Paul and brings him to blindness. He sends Ananias, His messenger, to Paul. He reveals His purpose for Paul’s life. At every stage, Christ is the One acting, while Paul is the one being acted upon.
Even Ananias makes this clear when he says in v. 14, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from His mouth.” Paul became Christ’s witness because God had appointed him. His calling did not begin with his own decision or ambition, but with God’s gracious purpose.
This is sovereign grace in action. The risen Lord Jesus conquered a rebellious sinner by His grace. The man who had come to Damascus to bind Christians left Damascus bound to Christ and committed to His service.
What Paul reveals here is the amazing truth of how God still saves sinners today. No one brings themselves from spiritual darkness into spiritual light. No one creates a new heart within himself. Salvation begins with God’s gracious initiative. Christ comes to sinners who are lost in sin, opens their blind eyes, and calls them to Himself through the gospel.
Perhaps some of you can identify a particular moment when the Lord dramatically changed your life. Others may not remember a specific day because God brought you to faith gradually over time. But the essential question is not whether your experience resembled Paul’s. The question is: Has Christ conquered your heart? Has He brought you from trusting in yourself to trusting in Christ alone?
Paul’s life was no longer his own. The grace that found him had now conquered him.
III. Grace Sent Me To Bear Witness Before The World (22:17-29)
And this conquering grace would immediately give him a new purpose – a purpose that leads to the final movement of his testimony. The grace that found Paul also gave him a new purpose. Jesus did not merely rescue him from his past; Christ commissioned him for a new calling. Paul was saved to bear witness before the world.
Let’s pause for a moment and consider the situation. As Paul explains in Gal. 1:17-18, his first return to Jerusalem after his conversion took place about three years later. Paul returned with a great desire to testify to his fellow Israelites that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Saviour and Lord.
Humanly speaking, it made perfect sense. If anyone’s testimony could persuade them, surely it would be Paul’s. They knew who he had been. They knew his reputation. They knew how passionately he had opposed Christ and persecuted His people. Surely, when they saw that such a man had been transformed, they would listen.
But, the Lord’s plan was different. Jesus said to him: “Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.” It is understandable that Paul struggled to understand. That’s why he replied in these words, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You” (v. 19). But the Lord’s answer was clear: “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
From that moment onward, Paul’s life was no longer directed by his own plans, his own expectations, or his own desires. The Lord who had called him now commissioned him. The grace that conquered him also directed him.
And this is the nature of saving grace. Christ does not save people merely to remove their guilt and leave them where they are. He saves them to belong to Him and to serve His purpose. He does not simply turn us away from the paths of sin; He leads us into the paths of obedience that He has prepared for us.
That is why Paul’s testimony is ultimately not about Paul, but about Christ. His conversion is certainly remarkable, but the focus is the greatness of the Saviour who transformed him. This is also why, in Reformed and confessional churches, our worship does not centre on human experience or personal stories, but on the testimony God has given us in His Word. The Bible is filled with testimonies – not to make much of the individuals involved, but to reveal the sovereign grace of God that finds, calls, and saves sinners.
Now, Paul reminds us of a reality – that is, faithful witness to Christ will often face opposition. The crowd listened quietly until Paul mentioned one word: Gentiles. The moment they heard that word, their anger erupted. They shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” The irony is striking. The man who once persecuted Christians is now being persecuted because he proclaims Christ and His saving grace to all people everywhere. The one who once opposed the gospel is now suffering because he faithfully bears witness to the gospel.
Faithful witness will often meet fierce opposition. The gospel is received by those whom God graciously calls, but it is rejected by hearts that remain hardened against Christ. Therefore, Paul’s suffering was not evidence that God had abandoned him. It was evidence that he was faithfully carrying out the mission Christ had given him.
And this is also our calling, brothers and sisters. We may never stand before kings as Paul did, but every Christian has been saved to bear witness to Christ in the place where God has put us. Grace does not end with us. Grace always sends us outward – to speak of the Saviour who found us, conquered us, and gave us a new purpose.
Some will listen; others will reject the message. But that response does not determine our faithfulness. Our calling is simply to bear witness to Christ with humility, courage, and love, trusting the results to God’s sovereign hands.
Conclusion
Now, brothers and sisters, as we look into chapters 22-26, we’ll see again and again that Christ in His grace calls sinners, transforms them, and sends them as His witnesses before the world. The sinner who once opposed Christ became the servant who proclaimed Christ. The persecutor became the preacher. The enemy became a witness.
And the same risen Lord Jesus continues to work through His people today. He calls us by His grace, changes us by His power, and sends us to testify about Him wherever He has placed us.
Therefore, as we listen to Paul’s testimony, we behold the glory of the Saviour who changes sinners and uses them – uses us – for His kingdom. For the grace that called Paul is the same grace that calls us – to know Christ, to belong to Christ, and to bear witness to Christ before the world. ***
St Columba's Presbyterian Church 