Saul of Tarsus was zealous in keeping the Law of Moses to the letter of the law. By Jewish standards he did a pretty good job. If right standing with God could be obtained by keeping the Law, Saul would have come close. His zeal for God surpassed many of his countrymen, even leading him to persecute Christians. He thought he was living a life pleasing to God.
While travelling to Damascus one day, Saul had a divine encounter with Jesus. Saul soon discovered how badly he was missing the mark. The encounter with Jesus resulted in a radical life-change for Saul. In time Saul (later known as Paul) came to realize that good standing with God came only through faith in Jesus Christ. Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase, The Message, captures the essence of Paul’s new understanding of how acceptance before God is achieved:
What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
From Galatians 2
Right standing with God comes not through keeping the rules and regulations of the Law, nor trying to please God through self-righteous acts. Right standing with God simply comes through dying to self and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ; something Saul of Tarsus finally realized.
Application for us is obvious. It’s all about Christ and our believing on him that results in our right standing with God.
Pastor John
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