The Saul In Me
11/24/2021
Written by: Christina Gregory
Everyone’s favorite redemption story, an Apostle, credited for writing almost half of the New Testament...it’s Paul, y’all! I can relate to Paul...a good redemption story, me too! Born again and wild for Jesus, me too! A new name, me too! But what about Saul? He just doesn’t seem like my kind of guy. I just can’t relate to terrorizing Jesus followers.
I always thought of Saul as a hopeless atheist who just wanted to end Christianity because He was mean. Imagine my surprise when I discovered in my Bible study this week that Saul was born into a family who believes in the one true God, me too. That he followed the law of God, me too. That he was just trying to do what he believed was right, me too. We have more in common than I thought. Paul gives us a little Saul recap in Philippians 3:5-6:
“circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.”
I know I’ve probably read this scripture several times without knowing what it truly meant, and I don’t want you to miss the bondage that Saul was in, so allow me to break it down.
He was circumcised on the eighth day as God instructed Moses in Leviticus 12:3. Saul was of the stock of Israel, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and therefore a co-heir of God’s covenant with them. He was of the distinguished tribe of Benjamin, who produced King David, King Solomon and ultimately, King Jesus.
Basically, Saul wasn’t a nobody! He was a proud Hebrew, also known as Jewish. A Pharisee, who’s passion was tormenting the church to uphold God’s law. Long story short, Saul was just an Old Testament guy!
See, Saul loved God! He was on mission for God. Saul was just defending God. But what Saul failed to see was that he was defending God from His own Son, who He sent to save all of humanity. Saul loved the Creator of the universe who sent plagues and tore down walls...who sent massive fish to swallow insubordinate men and carved rules into stone tablets. It was Jesus that Saul had a problem with. Humble and kind Jesus who loved sinners and healed the diseased. Who fed the poor and worked on Sabbath. Jesus Christ and Christ-followers were Saul’s issue. God’s plan was Saul’s issue.
I will assume if you’re still reading, you more than likely are a big fan of Jesus. And that while you might relate to Saul in some ways, your status on Team Jesus is never wavering. Me too...most of the time. But we’re in a time when there’s a line drawn on every headline and I fall prey to the pressure to choose a side. And truth be told, sometimes I am rooting for the wrathful God of the Old Testament to just handle it, like Saul wanted.
But God’s plan is still the same. He sent His Son to free us from the bonds of the law, to break the chains of ritual, to call the Jew and the Gentile equal, and to offer us eternity through the forgiving work done on the cross.
The just and morally righteous God of the Old Testament reigns in perfect harmony with His merciful and graceful Son, Jesus Christ. And vengeance is His, not ours. When Jesus came He took all of the rules + religious practices, the ten commandments and replaced it with a call to love through the greatest commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
I saw a post online the other day from Risen Motherhood that really convicted me and made me realize how quickly and easily we overcomplicate the Gospel. It said “Biblical faithfulness is actually fairly simple. Love God and love others. When this is the order of your heart, the rest tends to work itself out.”
We’re not called to choose sides between justice and mercy. We needn't choose between God of the Old Testament and Christ Jesus, revealed in the New Testament, like Saul was. We’re simply called to be faithful by loving, and we get to rest in the fact that God will work the rest out.
When God’s will plays out, and history gives us the gift of retrospect, I pray that I can say I sided with love and righteousness every single time. That’s God’s will for us.