by George Slover<\/p>\n
“Then Ananias answered, \u02dcLord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name<\/em>” (Acts 9:13-14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The initial reaction of Ananias to God’s instructions to preach the gospel to Saul of Tarsus was not favorable. One can imagine the fear that must have been in the mind of Ananias when he faithfully fulfilled his duty in preaching to Saul, the religious zealot.<\/p>\n
Saul of Tarsus had been one of the most avid opponents of Christianity. Luke records his activity in Acts 8:1-3. Saul was a most unlikely candidate for the gospel. In 2005 I came close to sharing the feelings of Ananias.<\/p>\n
The Hatfield Community School is located in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, W.I. Every year Christians from various states would converge on this area to conduct a Vacation Bible School. It was my privilege to work with these Christians in this endeavor. While some conducted the Bible classes, others went door-to-door searching for prospects for the gospel.<\/p>\n
On our second day out my brother, L.J., and I knocked on a door and two men came to the door. Both had knives in their hands and both made a display of their weapons. L.J. said, “Would you like to study the Bible?” They looked rather stunned by the request and promptly put away their weapons. “No,” they said. L.J. replied, “You mean you don’t want to know how to go to heaven?” There was a long pause of silence after which they sheepishly declined his invitation.<\/p>\n
Although our appeal wasn’t accepted, it reminds me that many of the first-century converts were also unlikely candidates for the gospel. The gospel changed the lives of religious zealots, murderers, prostitutes, homosexuals, and the devoutly religious.<\/p>\n
The gospel is for all men. It has the power to redeem anyone who will receive it. As workers for the Lord, our job is to offer the invitation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by George Slover “Then Ananias answered, \u02dcLord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name” (Acts 9:13-14). The initial reaction of Ananias to God’s instructions to preach…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[536,451],"class_list":["post-56730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5128,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-conversion-of-saul\/","url_meta":{"origin":56730,"position":0},"title":"The Conversion of Saul (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 1:12-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The path that Saul took from Judaism to Christianity can teach us a lot about what it takes to become a Christian \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a lesson that many need to learn by people caught up in denominational teachings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will look\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90628,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sauls-conversion\/","url_meta":{"origin":56730,"position":1},"title":"Saul’s Conversion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Greer I watched a DVD that contained a religious debate between Brother Larry Hafley and his opponent, a man whose last name is Ross. The subject of the debate: \"Is baptism necessary for salvation?\" One of the passages considered deals with Saul's conversion. Brother Hafley presented a powerful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54098,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-ananias-give-paul-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":56730,"position":2},"title":"How could Ananias give Paul the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If Paul was an apostle, he was supposed to receive the Holy Spirit from another apostle or directly from God, yet he received it from a disciple. I thought only apostles had the ability to give the Holy Spirit. Answer: \"But the Lord said to him, \"Go, for he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19399,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/youre-judging-another-persons-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":56730,"position":3},"title":"You’re Judging Another Person’s Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Joe R. Price May we examine a person's personal belief about their salvation without \"judging\" them? More specifically, is it possible to identify an unbiblical view a person has about their salvation? Can we use the Scriptures to explain to a lost person he or she is lost? Or,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/brown-gavel-on-book-300x205.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":609,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-term-brother-indicate-saul-was-saved-prior-to-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":56730,"position":4},"title":"Does the term “brother” indicate Saul was saved prior to baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Since Ananias calls Saul \"Brother\" prior to Saul's baptism, doesn't this prove that Saul was saved before he was baptized? Answer: The verse in\u00a0question is\u00a0Acts 22:13\u00a0which reads, \"and he\u00a0[Ananias]\u00a0stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.\" As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25094,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-the-men-with-saul-hear-and-not-hear-the-voice\/","url_meta":{"origin":56730,"position":5},"title":"How could the men with Saul hear and not hear the voice?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can you explain the seeming contradiction in these verses from Acts? Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}