Going to Jesus

Gospel Tracts

 Select a tract to read:

• Tracts 1-50

  1. How I Received the Holy Ghost 2. Jesus Is Coming Again 3. You Must Be Born Again 4. Stir Up the Gift of God 5. The World’s Most Dreaded Hour 6. What is Salvation? 7. Stand Still in Jordan 9. Grieved Hearts 10. The Second Death 11. The Father and the Son 12. Suffering and the Saints 13. Cancer Conquered 14. The Church? 15. How Shall They Preach, Except They Be Sent? 16. Have You Received the Holy Ghost Since You Believed? 17. Patience 18. Alone With God 19. Tithes and Offerings 20. Prayer 21. The True Sabbath 22. The Besetting Sin 23. The Cry of the Righteous 24. What Will the Harvest Be? 25. Marriage and Divorce 26. Taking the Name of the Lord 27. The Keys of the Kingdom 28. Works 29. Politics and Believers 30. Unequally Yoked in Marriage 31. Coming Out of Babylon 32. The Forgiven Woman 33. The New Earth 34. The Sin of Silence 35. Freedom 36. Gods of the Gentiles 37. Why Some Are Not Healed 38. The Seven Pillars 39. Life, More Abundantly 40. Fear 41. The Comforter’s Testimony 42. This is My Friend 43. Conversion 44. The Time Is Drawing Near? 45. Songs in the Night 46. The Master’s Net 47. Trials are Opportunities 48. Receiving the Messenger 49. Seven Messages to the Seven Pastors 50. Keep Yourself Pure

• Tracts 51-100

  51. The New Birth 52. John the Baptist and Jesus 53. Denying Jesus 54. Bruised Reeds 56. The Wise and the Foolish 57. Holiness 58. Is Jesus God? 59. Christ or Christianity 60. Have Faith In God 61. Worthy to Suffer 63. Four Kinds of Soil 64. Communion 65. The Fullness of Time 66. Baptism 68. No Room 69. Crucified With Christ 70. Homosexuality and the Bible 71. The Kingdom of God 72. The Gospel of Christ 73. A Wedding Garment 74. Perseverance 75. The Resurrection 76. Salvation 77. Sanctification 78. New Commandments 79. The Sacrifice of Christ 81. The Sound of the Spirit 82. The Wrath of God 84. God’s Compass 85. Perfection 86. The Abomination of Desolation 87. Antichrist 88. The Way of Grace 90. Relationships 91. The Vineyard of God 92. The Conversion of Saul 93. Subdued 94. The Spirit of Christ 95. The Blood of Christ 96. Spirit of a Serpent, Spirit of a Dove 97. Gluttony 98. The Lost Lamb 99. Scripture Burners 100. Bleating and Lowing

 

The story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, later known as the apostle Paul, is in the book of Acts.  The information we find in that book enables us to answer the following questions.

Question #1

Who gave Saul permission to go to the synagogues in Damascus and arrest the saints of God and bring them to Jerusalem for trial?

The Bible Answer (Acts 9:1–2):

“Saul, still breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, approached the high priest and asked him for letters to the Damascus synagogues, that if he found any of the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

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Question #2

What happened to Saul just before he reached Damascus in his wicked search for every man or woman whom he found calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus?

The Bible Answer (Acts 9:3–9):

“In his journey, as he was drawing near to Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shone around him.  And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul! Saul!  Why do you persecute me?’  And he said, ‘Who are you, sir?’  And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  And he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”  And the Lord said to him, “Just rise up and go into the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”  And the men traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one.  Then Saul got up from the ground.  And though his eyes were open, he saw no one, and they, leading him by the hand, brought him to Damascus.  And he remained without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank.”

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Question #3:

Whom did the Lord send to visit Saul in Damascus while he was blind?

The Bible Answer (Acts 9:10–16):

“There was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’  And he said, ‘Here I am, Lord!’  Then the Lord said to him, ‘Rise up and go to the street that is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, of Tarsus.  Behold, he is praying.  And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hand on him so that he might see again.’  But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints in Jerusalem.  And even here, he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name!’  But the Lord said to him, ‘Go!  This man is my chosen vessel, to bear my name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel, and I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’”

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Question #4:

What two experiences did Ananias tell Saul that God had sent him there to assist him in receiving?

The Bible Answer (Acts 9:17):

“Then Ananias departed and entered into the house, and laid his hands on him, saying, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord who appeared to you on the road as you were coming, has sent me so that you might see again and be filled with holy Spirit.’”

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Question #5:

Did Saul receive his sight and the baptism of the holy Ghost, as Ananias had said?

The Bible Answer (Acts 9:18):

“And immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he saw again.  Then he arose and was baptized.”

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Question #6:

What did Ananias say to Saul after he received his first experience, that is, received his sight by Ananias laying hands on him?

The Bible Answer (Acts 22:16):

“So now, why are you waiting?  Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord!”

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Question #7:

Does the baptism with the Spirit of God usher a repentant sinner, such as Paul once was, into the body of Christ?

The Bible Answer (1Cor 12:13):

“By one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and all were given to drink of one Spirit.”

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Paul was not converted on the road to Damascus; he was convicted of his sins there.  He was converted, or “born again”, in Damascus when Ananias laid hands on him and he received the Spirit.  Several things are to be noticed about this experience.

First, the new birth, or conversion, is as definite as is our first birth into this world.  It is entirely different from reformation.  It is not a long, drawn-out experience, though there may be a long experience leading up to it.  It is spiritual in that it is an experience wrought by God in a person’s spirit, and when one believes in Jesus and repents of his sin, Jesus will baptize him with God’s Spirit.  This baptism of the Spirit is instantaneous, and the moment the Spirit is received, that person is born again, or converted.

Secondly, not only does the baptism of the holy Ghost cleanse one from sin, but the desire to commit sin is removed from the heart by this holy experience.  John pointed this out quite clearly when he said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn. 1:9).  Paul was delivered from the dominion of his sinful nature when Jesus washed him by the Spirit, and he rejoiced in that cleansing.  He said, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death!” (Rom. 8:2).

Thirdly, Jesus told his disciples, “When the Comforter comes, he will testify of me” (Jn. 15:26).  The disciples experienced this on the day of Pentecost when they received the Spirit.  The Spirit moved them to testify in languages they had not learned (Acts 2:1–4).  Speaking of this experience, Jesus told Nicodemus, “So it is with every one born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:8).  Yes, when the Spirit enters our hearts, it testifies through us that Christ has entered our fleshly bodies (1Jn. 4:2), and we find that testimony to be in an unknown language – that is, unknown to us but not to God, nor to whomever He might direct it.  At Pentecost, God directed the unknown tongues to Jews from various countries who had come to the Harvest Festival.

It is good, as the apostle Paul said, for everyone who speaks in tongues to “pray that he might interpret, for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit is praying, but my understanding is unfruitful” (1Cor. 14:13–14).  It is also good just to pray or praise God in tongues without an interpreter, “for he who speaks in a tongue is speaking not to men, but to God” (1Cor. 14:2).  Remember, Paul said, “I speak in tongues more than all of you,” and “Do not forbid to speak in tongues” (1Cor. 14:18, 39).

An experience from God trumps any doctrine of man that denies it.  Please do not let someone’s doctrine keep you from the blessings of God, my friend.  As one news reporter has so timely and graciously stated, “It is an experience in the lives of one group against an argument in the lives of another.”  I think this reporter summed it up well, don’t you?

May God bless this message to your heart.  And let us know, please, when you receive the wondrous baptism of the Spirit which Christ Jesus gives to everyone who obeys him (Acts 5:32).