Articles
Persecutor to Persecuted
If there were a Persecutor Hall of Fame, there would be a special display dedicated to one
very successful persecutor, Saul. He was a stubborn man with a passion and belief that drove him
like a wild man to do the things that he did. He was highly educated, had many political
connections, deep cultural roots and a strong sense of duty. When we look at his upbringing and
the qualities he possessed, we can see that many of the same qualities that made him such a good
persecutor of the church would also help him to become a great teacher of the Word.
We read in Acts 9 how he became that great teacher through a series of events that
occurred on a trip to Damascus. In Acts we read how he was blinded by a bright light, and a
voice came to him asking why he was doing the things he was doing. He was then told to go into
the city and that a man would come to him and instruct him on what he needed to do. He was
there for three days when the Lord sent Ananias to him and Ananias not only restored Saul’s
sight but instructed
Saul on what he needed to do in order to change his life, and to live a life pleasing to God.
From this point on Paul faced much persecution as a follower of Christ. We see where
Paul was stoned and believed to be dead (Acts 14:19-20), we see where Paul is beaten and
imprisoned (Acts 16:19-24) and we see where he was persecuted in Jerusalem (Acts 21). Even
though this once, “Christian Killer”, had caused many problems for the church, he changed his
life and began to serve God, and write many things in the New Testament. From this we see how
the persecutor became the persecuted and served the true and living God. This only goes to show
us that God can take anyone, no matter where they have been or what they have done, and use
them to further His will and His kingdom! B. Johnson
