HE KNEW HIS NEW KING (3).

*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*

*HE KNEW HIS NEW KING (3).*

*Scripture Treasure.*

Acts 26:10-11

*Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.*

*And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.*

*Insight and Highlight.*

Saul coerced believers to force them to renounce or "blaspheme" Jesus, 

*Scripture Commentaries.*

On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul, initiating his conversion from a persecutor to an apostle.

Besides zealousness for God without knowledge of God was one of the reasons why Saul of Tarsus persecuted the Church of God, another reason for his persecution of the early Church was his perceived misguided belief that there was heresy.

Before his conversion, Saul was a violent persecutor of the early church, which means he knew of Jesus and his followers, considering them blasphemers.

For this reason, he said he was *".......exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.*

Acts 26: 11b

He was fanatically enraged with fury that his action was described as *".....breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord....."* Acts 9:1.

His fanaticism was so intense that He not only imprisoned believers but actively tried to force them to renounce or "blaspheme" Jesus.

Saul persuaded unwilling believers using force and threats to speak, preach and teach against the gospel of Christ.

He wrote that he *".....punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme;...."* Acts 26:11a.

His attitude was truly madness, behaving like a madman to eradicate Christianity (Acts 26:11).

He was blinded by his false religious belief.

Paul later confessed that while he

he was guilty, his actions were not done with full knowledge of the truth; therefore, God's mercy was extended to him.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:13 that he was *"......before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.*

One may want to ask how someone like Paul could have escaped God's judgment but instead received mercy without punishment for his wicked acts on the grounds of ignorance.

He was not the only one that received mercy on the ground of ignorance.

Many, depending on God's goodness, were spared of judgment on the ground of ignorance.

Acts 17 30 says *And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:*

The answer is found in God's richness in mercy that sees ignorance, not as a deliberate act but as God's divine ability to understand that while Saul thought he knew what he was doing or thought he was right, God saw in his Saul's knowledge that Saul could not know everything.

Understanding the plight of sinners is knowing that they can not know everything.

This understanding is the bedrock of God's mercy and it is the foundation of Saul's dramatic transformation from a relentless persecutor to an apostle. This understanding showcases the power of grace.

Paul tells us that he as Saul only knew Jesus ignorantly. He knew him through *".....being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.* Gal 1:11

God showed him mercy because in his knowledge, he did not know everything about Jesus, 1 Tim 1:13.

The Jesus he thought he knew showed Himself to him as the Jesus he should know.

*Remorse corner.*

Saul acted in ignorance and unbelief but God understood that though in his knowing, he could not know everything.

*Call to Word action.*

Our knowledge of anything does not guarantee the knowledge and understanding of God's divine nature.

*The Christian clarion duty.*

God acts on the premise to forgive us on the ground of ignorance because He knows that in all the knowledge any human possesses they can not know everything.

*Prayer.*

Lord, help me. In all my knowledge of You, let Your mercy speak for me in Jesus name.

Good morning all and have a blessed day.

God bless you.

Shalom.