Acts 22:1

Acts 22:1 says, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.  Paul began to answer the question of who he was as he gave the people his testimony.  We should always be willing and ready to share our testimony with anyone, especially if they are accusing us of working against God.  Verse two adds, (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)  He spoke to them in Hebrew, which surprised them.  Verse three continues, I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.  He told them who he was by birth, a Jew born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.  He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers.  He was a strict fundamentalist.  He was zealous, as were they that day.  Knowing the correct teaching and being zealous is not enough if we stop short of the full revelation of God, which came through Jesus Christ.  Verse four states, And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.  He persecuted Christians even to death, bringing men and women bound to Jerusalem.  Verse five adds, As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.  The high priest, and the elders could vouch for him since he had gotten letters from them persecute the Christians at Damacus.  Sometimes, even those who are falsely accusing us can vouch for who we really are.  Verse six declares, And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.  Then, he told them about his experience on the road to Damascus.  He saw a bright light and heard a voice.  We may not have seen a bright light, and the voice might not have been audible, but as Christians, somewhere we had to have heard God's voice calling us. We cannot just suddenly decide to be a Christian.  We must answer God's call to us.  We cannot just compare religions and decide that Christianity is the best for us.  Verse seven adds, And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  We must be called to God by God through Christ.  This is what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus.  He encountered Christ, and it changed him forever.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are never the same again.  We are His, bought with His blood and sealed with His power.  The Voice asked him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutist thou me."  Verse eight continues, And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.  Paul asked Him Who he was, and He said, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom thou persecutist."  Every Christian has had to answer that question at some point.  We must first hear God’s call and recognize Who He is in order to be saved and religion will not answer that question.  Paul was a devoutly religious man, but he did not recognize God’s voice when he called him.  We either accept that Jesus is the Christ, or we continue persecuting Him.  Verse nine says, And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.  Those with Paul saw the Light but did not hear the Voice.  We may see evidence of god’s existence, but we are all called individually to salvation.  Verse ten adds, And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.  Acknowledging that he had met the Lord and that He should direct his life, Paul was asked what he was to do and was told to arise and go to Damascus and he would be told.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we should allow him to direct our life.  Verse eleven continues, And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.  He was led blind to Damascus.  We have to act in faith sometimes without knowing everything that is going to happen, being blind to the total picture, but trusting God to lead us to where He wants us. Verse twelve states, And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,   Verse thirteen adds, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.  Paul continues to share his testimony.  We may not know every theological answer, but we always known our testimony. In Damacus, Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, having good report with all the Jews, came to Paul (Saul).  He told him to receive his sight.  To have physical sight restored is a great thing, but the real good news for Paul was that he had received his spiritual sight.  We need to pray that our spiritual sight will never dim.  Verse fourteen continues, And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.  After his sight was restored, Paul was told that he had been chosen by God to know His will, see that Just One, and hear His voice.  So have we if we only accept God’s call to salvation.  Verse fifteen states, For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.  Again, we need to be ready to share with the world what God has done for us, and we need not tarry.  Verse sixteen continues, And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.  The next question to Paul was why was he tarrying?  Be baptized, washing away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.  Again, baptism did not wash away his sins, or ours, but calling on the name of the Lord did,