The Apostle Paul's Testimony

The Apostle Paul frequently spoke of who he was before Christ confronted him. In his telling of who Jesus was and why he mattered Paul often has 3 parts to his story - who he used to be, what changed him, and who he is now. 

Let's take a look at a few of these times when Paul brought up his own story of who he used to be, and who he is now (due to Jesus). 

In Acts 21 the Apostle Paul was in Jerusalem and his presence caused quite a stir (see Acts 20 for more details). Amid the midst of a violent mob Roman soldiers intervened and put Paul in chains. Paul negotiated to speak to the crowd and then gave his brief testimony in Acts 22:3-21. 

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. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 

6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 

8 “ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. 

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 

10 “ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. 

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. 

12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. 

14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ 

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ 

19 “ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” 

22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” 

We see in Paul's testimony a flow of a story: 

1. Paul begins by stating who he was (22:3-5).
2. The story then transitions from who Paul used to be, the event that changed Paul (22:6-11).
3. The story concludes with Paul stating who he now is and the crowd's angry response (22:12-22). 

Paul tells much the same story when he is on trial before King Agrippa later on in Acts 26. He starts by stating who he used to be (Acts 26:4-11), then transitions to a life-changing meeting (Acts 26:12-18), and concludes with who he is presently (Acts 26:19-23). 

This is a consistent pattern for Paul. He presents a beginning - middle - and end to who he was, what changed him, and who he is now. He does this in shorter form in his letter to his son in the faith Timothy (see 1 Timothy 1:12-16), and in longer form in his letter to the church in Galatia (see Galatians 1:11-2:21).

Not all of us have a testimony akin to the Apostle Paul - in fact, none of us have his same testimony! He was specifically and especially set apart for a unique mission and ministry at a defined point in history. While Paul had a unique story of meeting Jesus, the fact that he had a story was not unique! In one of his letters to the believers in Corinth, the Apostle Paul reminded those in the church that each of them had a story of who they were, and who they are now due to God.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 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. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Each of us has a story. For those of us reading today who have faith in Jesus, we have a story of growing in that faith. Some of us have lives where we cannot remember a time when we didn't know Jesus. Some of us have lived for years with very memorable times before having faith in Jesus. 

In the next two posts, I'm going to use Paul's template of storytelling to share a brief overview of my own story of faith in Jesus. 

It is my hope that this brief study may stir you to consider your own story. Where are you at in your story of faith? Perhaps you do not yet know and believe in this Jesus. Perhaps you have known and believed in him for many years. What is the story of Christ confronting you? What did you used to be? What are you now? Who did you used to be? Who are you now?