THE purpose of God is to save and to bless man, and this comes out at the time when we might least have von expected it. At the call and conversion of Saul of Tarsus, as related in the 26th chapter of the Acts, we read that the Lord had appeared to him for a purpose (19 v.) to make him a minister, and a witness, not of judgment, but of blessing.
Now, a little before that time, God's Son had been crucified and rejected from the earth. Messages of grace from heaven by the mouth of Peter, and the testimony of Stephen, were equally refused, the latter sealing his witness with his blood. Saul of Tarsus was of the company of his enemies that stoned him to death.
What should we have expected after all this from God? Surely the immediate outpouring of His judgment. Not so. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world. So, soon after, this very Saul of Tarsus is arrested on the journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, as one who was to be the witness of grace on God's part to man; for He was, and is, bent upon blessing.
So the Lord in glory said to him, "I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified." And he was to go forth and tell them that all his full cup of blessing should be theirs individually, on the simple principle of "faith that is in me" (Acts 26:16-28).
And Saul went forth and continued witnessing that Christ had suffered, and risen again from the dead, according as the prophets and Moses had said, in order to show light to the people and to the Gentiles (22, 23 v). For indeed gross darkness had set in, since He who was the Light of the world had been put out of it. Now this sets forth the condition the world is in to-day. It is under the blinding power of Satan, who is its god (2 Cor. 4:4.) Darkness, gross darkness, pervades the whole scene (Eph. 6:12). It was at this very time that God Himself came in and declared what He had done. He who is slow to judgment, who delivereth in mercy, turned that dark deed of man, in placing Christ upon the cross, into the occasion of His richest blessing, even of His having been made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), to bear the penalty of the very sin that put Him there, and to bear sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).
Christ has suffered; He died, was buried, and rose again (1 Cor. 15:3, 4), and on that ground, the gospel, light, life, and salvation, are now addressed to you. This is God's power unto salvation to every one that believeth (Rom. 1:16), How simple!
FROM THE POWER OF SATAN TO GOD.
We may look at the case of the poor demoniac, whose name was Legion, as a wonderful illustration of this great salvation from the power of Satan to God. In the account in Luke 8:27, we read that Jesus when down here, "met a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs." Further, in the 29th verse, "he was kept bound with chains, and in fetters: and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.”
“His name was Legion, because many devils were entered into him" (30 verse). What a terrible picture of man in his natural state. Not that every individual is possessed by the devil in the same way, yet every one, however he may boast of his freewill, is really captive to that dreadful enemy, the god of this world, that old serpent (Rev. 20:2) And, as Legion had had devils a long time, so man's condition has been such a long time; yea, ever since the entrance of sin, when he disobeyed God in Eden, and became the prey of the tempter. We are born in this slavery and thralldom.
Legion also ware no clothes. Man, woman or child, all are naked sinners in the sight of God. He abode not in any house. He was, indeed, an outcast, as the sinner is from the only sure dwelling place, the presence of God. His dwelling place was in the tombs; fit description of what this world is, one vast graveyard. Where are all the generations of men that lived before the present one? All, with two exceptions, died and were buried. Do you believe these solemn realities? They are the truth, and if you apply them to yourself, do not put the truth away from you, from a feeling of despair, for there is salvation even for you, Then the poor man was bound with chains and in fetters—the restraints his fellow men put upon him—but he brake them, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness, and would have been driven sooner or later to destruction, had not deliverance come. There are many agencies in the world emanating from man, to keep order, and check the evil in him to-day.
Take any place in this so-called Christian country, and compare the general condition of things amongst the professors of the day. Compare Saturday night of the week with the Sunday, and say if there is not such a chain as religious restraint. The demands of society, education, temperance, what my neighbor may think of me, the fear of man, are all restraints. Yet, withal, restraints good or bad, do not deliver; man's state remains the same.
Oh! my reader, be not deceived by the sight of your eyes, or otherwise, but believe the word of God, and look at things as they are, and see also in the driving, racing, competing condition of the world to-day, the devil already driving his victims in the wilderness, soon to land them in everlasting destruction in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). Do not be the devil's dupe, when God warns you plainly, but take your place as a poor helpless sinner, and learn how you may be eternally delivered. Where was this poor man's deliverance?
Jesus meets him; He, in whom reposed the power of God, draws near. What was the effect? "What have Ito do with thee?" poor Legion cries out, "I beseech thee, torment me not." Do you feel like this? How often, when Christ is introduced, men feel it is tormenting them. Speak of Him, and you are a troubler. Yes, man finds the presence of Satan more easy to be borne than the presence of God.
Beloved, do you in your heart, say to Jesus to "What have I to do with Thee" Let me tell you, that you must have to do with Him, now or hereafter. May it be, like this poor man, now. Jesus commanded, and by His word, the unclean spirit departs out of him.
The Gospel now is the power of God for this purpose, and soon the same man that besought Jesus not to torment him, besought Him that he might remain with Him. What a change! and it is a change to be delivered from the power of Satan to God.
The lookers on, and those that joined them (Luke 8:35), gaze upon the wondrous work of God. They see the poor man sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: the only place where rest is to be found, for Jesus says, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." God also has provided the best robe of the Father's house for the repentant sinner, Christ Himself. They see him in his right mind. Man never has right thoughts of anything, till he is brought back to God. What a deliverance! And Christ, my rest and peace. Christ, of God, made unto me righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30), and the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), instead of my own. Surely, he can only need one thing more, as every true-hearted Christian must desire: that is, to be with the One who has wrought all these marvels, and displayed such love.
Yet is there an interval before this may be. The men of Gadara would not have Jesus. He departed from them for a season: so has He, from this world that refused Him; and, until His return, He bids us, as he did poor Legion, to tell what great things God has done for us; first, to friends at home (Mark 5:19), and then it is our privilege to publish God's glad tidings abroad. And when Jesus returns a second time (Heb. 9:28), there will be, as was found at Gadara (Luke 8:40), a people who (not like the Jews, who will receive Him when they see Him, but who) have received Him, and are waiting for Him—God's Son from heaven—who cometh quickly to receive His own to Himself (Rev. 22:2)). May you, my reader, be amongst the happy number who will be caught up to meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:15-17), and by the only means, on our part, "faith that is in me," i.e., Christ (Acts 26:18). J. S. C.