In Acts 9, Saul was so
determined to rid the world of Christianity that he received permission from
the high priest to hunt for disciples in Damascus. As he and his companions
made their way toward the city, a bright light flashed around Saul and forced
him to the ground. He then heard a voice in the Hebrew language (Aramaic-NIV,
26:14) calling his name.
Saul must have been terrified
to hear the speaker identify himself as "Jesus, whom you are
persecuting." At that moment, he knew that Jesus of Nazareth was alive,
that Stephen had told the truth, and that he was the true enemy of God.
Gamaliel's worst fears had come to pass (Acts 5:39). Saul was then led into
the city where he would be told what to do.
Many believe that Saul was
saved at this point. Those who do so make several assumptions. First, they
assume that his address ("Lord," v. 5) was a confession of faith.
However, he did not even know that it was Jesus at that point. Therefore, we
must understand "Lord" as simply a courteous title, much like our
word "sir" today. It certainly was not a confession of faith!
Second, they assume that Ananias' address ("Brother," v. 17) later
in the account meant they were already brothers in Christ. However, that term
was commonly used to denote Jewish kindred (Acts 2:29, 37; 3:17; 7:2; 22:1;
Romans 9:3). It did not necessarily mean they were fellow Christians.
The text itself shows that
Saul was not saved on the Damascus road. Jesus told him to go into the city
where he would be told what to "do." Hence, he still had something
to do in order to be saved. Later, we see that he was told by a God-sent
preacher to "wash way" his sins in baptism (v. 18; 22:16).
If Saul was saved on the
Damascus road, the Lord did not know it because He told Saul to enter the city
where he would be told what to do; Saul did not know it because he was
miserable for three days (he would not eat or drink); and Ananias did not know
it because he told Saul to be baptized to "wash away" his sins (Acts
22:16). Saul was still in his sins when Ananias came to him in Damascus.
Therefore, he was not saved on the road to Damascus!
