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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll discover that we continue our Christian walk the same way we began it—by grace through faith—and learn how Paul’s dramatic conversion demonstrates this foundational truth.

Key Verse

Acts 26:19: Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

Introduction

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus stands as probably the most dramatic conversion ever recorded in Scripture. Here was a man who had dedicated his life to destroying the Christian faith. Saul wasn’t just a casual opponent of Christianity—he was its most feared and violent enemy. He had been present at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and had fully approved of his death. With letters of authority from the high priest, Saul traveled from city to city, hunting down believers and dragging them to prison.

Acts 8:1: And Saul approved of their death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Acts 9:1-2: Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

What makes Paul’s conversion even more remarkable is that he was so deeply committed to the Jewish law. He had studied under Gamaliel, one of the most respected rabbis of his time:

Acts 22:3: I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

Philippians 3:5-6: Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

He was a Pharisee of Pharisees, zealous for the traditions of his fathers. In his mind, he was defending God’s truth against dangerous heretics. Because of his persecution of the church, Paul would later call himself the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15); he knew the depth of his rebellion against God. Yet God chose this very man—this fierce defender of Jewish law and tradition—to become the apostle to the Gentiles! The one who believed Gentiles were unclean and outside God’s covenant would spend his life bringing the gospel to them. Only the amazing grace of God could bring about such a complete transformation.

When we look at what happened to Paul on the Damascus road, we see how God completely humbled this proud man:

Acts 9:3-6, 8: As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”… Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

What do we learn from Paul’s conversion? We see that Paul was powerfully humbled. He acknowledged that Jesus is Lord. He was struck blind and had to be led by the hand. He had to wait for Ananias to come pray for him—God didn’t reveal everything at once. God always humbles His servants before He can use them. This humbling continued throughout Paul’s life. He needed other Christians to protect him when Jews plotted to kill him (Acts 9:23-25). He needed Barnabas to vouch for him when the disciples feared him (Acts 9:26-27).

Paul never forgot how he came to faith in Christ. He gave his testimony every opportunity he had (Acts 22:6-10; Acts 26:12-19). Paul’s testimony was vitally important to him. He knew that we continue walking with the Lord the same way we receive Him at the beginning. As he wrote to the Colossians (which we studied in Lesson 11 of our Foundations of Faith series):

Colossians 2:6: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.

In this lesson, we’ll see that we walk with God and serve in ministry the same way we received Christ. Paul’s ministry demonstrates each of these essential points:

• We walk in grace
• We walk in faith
• We walk in the Spirit

We Walk in Grace

We received Christ by grace, and we should continue to walk in grace every day of our Christian lives. Paul knew deeply that he had been saved by grace and not by his own works. This wasn’t just theology for Paul—it was his personal testimony.

Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

Titus 3:5: He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Paul never forgot that God had called him by His grace when he was still an enemy of the gospel:

Galatians 1:13-16: For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.

This awareness of grace shaped everything about Paul’s ministry. He saw himself as the least of all God’s people, yet entrusted with the incredible privilege of preaching to the Gentiles:

Ephesians 3:7-8: I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.

Grace wasn’t just for Paul’s conversion—it was his daily source of strength. When he struggled with his “thorn in the flesh,” God taught him a profound lesson about grace:

2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

(Notebook Moment: Have you learned to rely on God’s grace in your weaknesses, or are you still trying to be strong in your own power? What would change in your life if you truly believed that His grace is sufficient for you?)

How do we walk in grace as Paul did? First, we must allow God’s love to be poured out in our hearts. This means that we must fully receive God’s grace for ourselves:

Romans 5:5: And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

There should be no area of life that is not touched by God’s grace. We don’t need to live under condemnation anymore:

Romans 8:1: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Second, we must be instruments of God’s grace to others. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation:

2 Corinthians 5:18: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Paul demonstrated this quality of grace beautifully when he interceded for Onesimus, the runaway slave who had become a Christian. Paul didn’t just tell him to go back to his master—he wrote a tender letter to Philemon, offering to pay any debt Onesimus owed:

Philemon 10-11, 17-18: I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me… So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.

We Walk in Faith

Faith is one of the most important ideas in Paul’s letters. He constantly taught that we are justified by faith, not by keeping the law. We received Christ by faith, and we should continue to walk by faith throughout our Christian journey.

Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:7: For we live by faith, not by sight.

How do we walk by faith in practical terms? Our faith must lead to action. Faith must have legs. We must be willing to step out in faith when we know God is leading us. Paul demonstrated this repeatedly in his ministry. When God gave him a vision of a man from Macedonia pleading for help, Paul immediately responded:

Acts 16:9-12: During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

God did a great work in Philippi because Paul walked in faith. Notice that God didn’t always give Paul a detailed description of what he was going to do and where he was going to go. Paul had to make plans while staying flexible to God’s leading:

1 Corinthians 16:5-9: After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

Faith moves us into action. We know that God will guide us, but we don’t always know where that guidance will lead. Walking by faith means trusting God’s character even when we can’t trace His hand.

(Notebook Moment: When has God called you to step out in faith without showing you all the details? How can Paul’s example encourage you to trust God even when you can’t see the whole picture?)

We Walk in the Spirit

We received Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit, and this is why we should walk in the Spirit and not in the power of our own flesh. Just as no one can be born again without the Spirit, no one can live the Christian life without the Spirit’s power.

John 3:5: Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”

Titus 3:5: He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The same Holy Spirit who brought us to new birth continues to work in us:

1 Corinthians 6:11: And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Paul commands us to walk by the Spirit:

Galatians 5:16: So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Paul was a Spirit-filled man in his life and ministry. What he said and what he did were controlled by the Holy Spirit:

Acts 13:9: Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said…

Paul understood that his competence came from God, not from himself:

2 Corinthians 3:5-6: Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

How do we walk in the Spirit? We must be yielded to His power and will. Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit:

Ephesians 5:18: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Romans 8:14: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

We yield to someone when we listen to them and obey. There are four ways we must listen to the Holy Spirit.

First, we must listen when the Holy Spirit speaks to us personally. We have the witness of the Holy Spirit within our hearts:

Romans 8:16: The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

We must be careful not to grieve or quench the Spirit:

Ephesians 4:30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

1 Thessalonians 5:19: Do not quench the Spirit.

Second, we must listen when the Holy Spirit speaks to us through others:

Acts 13:2-4: While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

The Spirit speaks through prophecy to strengthen and encourage believers:

1 Corinthians 14:3: But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

Third, we must listen when the Holy Spirit speaks through the Word. This is the main way that the Holy Spirit speaks to us:

John 14:26: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:13: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

The Spirit teaches us through God’s Word:

1 Corinthians 2:12-13: What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Fourth, we must listen when the Holy Spirit speaks through circumstances:

Acts 16:6-7: Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

(Notebook Moment: Which of these four ways of listening to the Holy Spirit do you find most challenging? How can you become more sensitive to the Spirit’s voice in all these areas?)

Conclusion

As we come almost to the end of this Bible curriculum, we find ourselves returning to the very first lesson we studied in Foundations of Faith, Lesson 1:1. We live the Christian life the same way we began it—by trusting Jesus and receiving His grace through faith. Paul’s dramatic conversion and lifelong ministry demonstrate this foundational truth perfectly.

Are you living and serving God the same way you first came to Christ? Or have you fallen into the trap of relying on your own effort and strength? Paul warned the Galatians about this very danger:

Galatians 3:3: Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

The proud Pharisee who thought he could earn God’s favor through perfect law-keeping became the great apostle of grace. If God’s grace could transform Saul of Tarsus into the apostle Paul, that same grace can transform your life today. Can you say that this is true of your walk with God? We never graduate from needing God’s grace. We never outgrow our dependence on faith. We never reach a point where we can walk without the Spirit’s power. From beginning to end, the Christian life is a life of grace—and that’s the beautiful simplicity of the gospel.

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