Models of Encouragement (Part Two)

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus was evidence of the power of the gospel that Paul would later write about in Romans 1:16. God had to do a special work in the heart of Ananias in Damascus to convince him that Saul really had been changed from an adversary of Christians to a “brother in Christ.” An even greater skepticism was faced when Paul, former persecutor of Christians, was led to travel 300 miles south and tried to join the believers in the home church in Jerusalem.

John Sloan describes the tension surrounding this meeting in his book The Barnabas Way: “The folks back in Jerusalem didn’t know about [Paul’s new birth on the Damascus road]. All they knew was that Paul was trying to jump into their Bible studies. The same guy who’d been muttering death threats not too long before now wanted to lead discipleship courses. The psychological profile didn’t fit. So it fell to Barnabas to stand in the gap” (p. 42).

Barnabas’ task was not easy, but his words to Paul and to the doubters in the home church carried the day. Because of him, Paul was able to go in and out among them. It is encouraging to have an advocate who believes in you. And there is nothing more powerful than the words of our personal testimony given to the church. This was a critical juncture in a new Christian’s journey.

I needed words from my father when I surrendered my life for Christian service. God’s career path had come into focus for me in a Friday night meeting at our church when a response was given to come and publicly give your life to the Savior’s leading. I was longing for words of encouragement from my father. What I heard from him were expressions of doubt. Years later, the words of affirmation from my father finally came. I was reminded of these words from Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

In our next consideration of encouragement, we will look at Acts 15.