ever had
any compunctions of conscience about persecuting the
Christians. Paul was an honest man to the very core of
his being; in the two accounts he gives us of this
conversion, and in incidental references to it, he never even
hints at any such state of mind. The expression used by
Jesus, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks"
(Acts 9-5), of which so much has been made, means no
more than that Saul's opposition and hard work against
the Christians (Acts 8:3; 9:1), would be of no avail. In
doing what he did Paul thought he was doing God's
service. Again the language which Paul uses and the
references which he makes to this appearance of Christ forbid
us to think that it was only a mere vision of Christ which
he saw. "He ranks it as the last of the appearances of
the risen Savior to His disciples and places it on the same
level as the appearances to Peter, to James, to the eleven,
and to the five hundred" (1 Cor. 15:1-8). In these
appearances Jesus had eaten with his disciples and been
touched by them (John 20:24-31; Luke 24:36-43),
appearing as a real being, according to the narrative.

"It was the appearance to Paul of the risen Lord,
which made him a Christian, gave him a gospel to preach,
and sent him forth as the apostle of the Gentiles."

The time of Paul's conversion was about 36 A.D.

+Effects.+--There is no question as to the very marked
results which followed the appearance of the risen Lord
to Saul on the way to Damascus.

1. Physical. He was smitten with blindness (Acts
9:8), and was without food for three days (Acts 9:9).
His sight was restored by Ananias at the command of the
Lord (Acts 9:15-18).

2. Mental and spiritual. His whole outlook upon life
and its significance was changed. He received baptism
and was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17). From
being a persecutor he became an enthusiastic witness for
Christ (Acts 9:20-22).

3. Penalty. The consequences of his former course
of action were visited upon him; for the Jews sought to
kill him and the disciples of Christ were at first afraid of
him (Acts 9:23-26). But Barnabas vouched for his
sincerity (Acts 9:27).

4. The relief to the Christians at Damascus, when
Saul was converted, was very great. They had looked
forward to his coming with dread.

5. The triumph of Christ. In Paul Christianity won
its most efficient missionary and, next to Christ, its
greatest thinker, preacher, and teacher.

6. The