This Mother’s Day, it is natural for me to think about my mother. She lived a simple life with traditional New England ethics. She did not show her emotions in public. She completed her work before she played. And she never gave up and she never quit. I would like us to pick up today on that last thought about quitting.
To quit, what does it mean to quit and what is the significance of quitting to our faith life? The English word, quit, came into use long ago in the Middle Ages and it was originally meant to convey a decision “to release.” People began using the term in context of releasing their rights to property, to land. The idea of releasing one’s rights to property, to quit, eventually came also to mean a person was giving up their participation in some part of life. One could quit a game, a job or even in a matter one’s faith to quit Church or even quit God. “I quit! I give up!”
To quit something of faith is always a serious matter. Some years ago, I was aware of a church where people became dissatisfied with the way things were going. One by one people from the church said, “I quit!” And they ended their relationship with the church with lengthy letters that listed complaints about this and that. Several people who quit moved to another church but just as many people, if not more people, quit going to church altogether. This latter group quit, they gave up their opportunity to hear God’s word, to worship God, to fellowship with other Christians, to be encouraged in their faith and to be a source of encouragement to others, and to serve others in the name of Christ. It is always a life-changing decision to quit in a matter of faith. Today, I would like us to look at the life of a man named Saul and his decision not to quit, not to give up even when it would have been understandable to do so. Saul’s decision to continue, to not quit, had significant implications for his life and for our lives as well.
We spoke last week that Saul had been a Pharisee in Jerusalem turned prosecuting attorney against Christian. Saul was breathing out murderous threats against Christians. Saul, on his way to Damascus, to arrest more Christians had an encounter with the Lord Jesus and, in a matter of days, was transformed from breathing out murderous threats against Christians to breathing out God’s word to encourage more people to become Christians. Saul became a very powerful preacher proclaiming Jesus is the Son of God. From our Scripture reading today, we would hear these words from Luke:
“22 Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him” (Acts 9:22-23a).
What Luke does not tell us is that those words, “After many days had gone by” equal a time span of about 3 years. Shortly after Saul had started preaching more and more powerfully in Damascus, Saul left the city of Damascus to go elsewhere. So, in the space between the end of verse 22 and the beginning of verse 23 is a time span of 3 years. Where was Saul? What was he doing? Had Saul quit just as he had started his work in the name of Jesus?
Not hardly. Saul, later known as Paul, said in a much letter to the Galatians written years after he left Damascus that he, Saul, left Damascus and went “into Arabia” (Galatians 1:17). Arabia? What did Saul mean by Arabia? Did he mean the modern-day countries of Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq, perhaps, or Kuwait. It is possible Saul went to these regions, but not likely. In Saul’s days, Arabia was most usually referred to as the lands to the south and east of Jerusalem, where the Nabateans lived with their capital city of Petra, largely in the lands of modern-day Jordan. The Nabateans were independent people with their own monarchy and not under the governance of the Romans Empire.
It is likely that this is the region, Nabatean, that Saul went to after Damascus. Why did he go? Some have suggested that Paul went there for quiet reflection and study of the Scriptures to prepare himself for ministry. That does not seem likely since Saul had years of training in the Scriptures as well as a special revelation from Jesus. Luke said that immediately after that revelation, Saul began in Damascus preaching and teaching that Jesus was the Son of God and God’s Messiah in powerful and astonishing ways. Saul was already involved in proclaiming the good news of Jesus, he would not likely want to go and contemplate life in the desert for years. Instead, it seems much more likely Saul went to the Nabateans (Arabia) to proclaim the word of God, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.
What is interesting to note, however, is that there are no accounts of Saul’s ministry in Arabia. There are no letters of Saul to the churches that he established. There are no stories of his time in Arabia and the work completed among the people of Arabia. It does not appear that Saul could point to much accomplished in those 3 years of Arabia. What happened? Was God listening to Saul’s prayers?
Although there are no letters to Arabian churches and no accounts of the Arabian ministry in the Book of Acts, we might have is some understanding of what happened to Saul while in Arabia. In a letter to the church at Corinth many years later, Saul now Paul said this, “23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Saul certainly had experienced a lot of hardship and brutal treatment in his time as an apostle of Jesus. These abuses were also chronicled by Luke in the Book of Acts. But when we compare the extensive list of hardships Saul gave in 2 Corinthians to those hardships found in the Book of Acts, we would realize that many of Saul’s hardships listed in 2 Corinthians are not found in the Book of Acts. This suggests that the hardships not in the Book of Acts came before Saul’s involvement with the other apostles of Jesus, meaning these things, these hardships happened in Arabia.
It seems likely that while in Arabia, Saul was scourged, lashed with a whip, five times, beaten two times with rods, and imprisoned. Yet for all that misery, there were no churches established by Saul in Arabia. Saul endured mistreatment in Arabia and Saul saw little, if any, fruit for his efforts. One might wonder, did Saul say, “Where are you God? Do you not see me? Do you not care?” Yet, despite the physical suffering and the immediate lack of accomplishment, Saul did not quit. Saul did not give up in his desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Not only did Saul experience severe hardship, but Saul the first to persecute the Christians, was became the target of the Jews desiring to kill him. We then read in from the Book of Acts, “23 After many days had gone by (that is Saul’s time in Arabia), there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him [Saul], 24 but Saul learned of their plan” (Acts 9:23). Saul, in Arabia, was about to be killed and so Saul returned to Damascus. Saul was being pursued out of Arabia by Jews who wanted Saul’s death. “Day and night they [the Jews from Arabia] kept close watch on the city gates [of Damascus] in order to kill him [Saul]” (Acts 9:24). Saul’s pursuers wanted Saul but did not feel so emboldened as to enter the city to find him. Instead, those seeking Saul waited at the gates to the city making sure Saul could not escape their grasp. But! There is always a but. “25 But his [Saul’s] followers took him [Saul] by night and lowered him [Saul] in a basket through an opening in the wall” (Acts 9:25). Saul did not quit. Instead, other Christians, likely former Jews, lowered Saul in a basket through a window in the city walls allowing Saul to leave the city without using one of its gates. Saul was safe and it was then he made his way to Jerusalem. We will pick up Saul’s journey to Jerusalem next week. But one of the things we will discover is that Saul was not welcome in Jerusalem and had to flee again for his life. Yet, Saul did not quit.
What we have seen then was that Saul was a man who originally sought to kill and imprison Christians changed by an encounter with Jesus to then preach the gospel of Jesus and in doing so became a man beaten with rods, scourged, whipped, and now threatened with death. There does not appear to be any success in Saul’s efforts and yet, Saul did not quit. Instead, this Saul would continue to serve the Lord and preach to other people seeking to have them share in the good news of Jesus Christ. Saul did not quit.
How does Saul’s decision not to quit help inform us about our faith walk? What might we learn from Saul when our faith journey becomes difficult, painful, or fruitless? Let’s look at two things.
First, Saul, now Paul, in expressing his decision not to quit, would later write to the early Christian church powerful words of faith and endurance. Saul wrote: 1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart…8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:1, 8-10). Saul said first we do not lose heart because we base our life on the reality of God’s mercy that has saved us from eternal destruction. We need to say that to ourselves more often, “I am saved. Wow. Thank you, God.” Second, we acknowledge to other Christians the reality that sometimes our life can become difficult and painful. So, we share with one another, “I am hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and feeling abandoned.” That can be our reality and we should share it with other Christians. The world, our non-Christian co-workers, neighbors, and even our non-Christian family members really won’t care about our difficulties. But our Christian brothers and sisters ought to and will care. Because when, as our opening song said, “Let’s be real, let’s be honest. I’m angry, I’m tired. I have that down on my knees feeling. Take this cup from me.” When we can share the depth of those hardships, our burden with other Christians, we are no longer carrying them on our own. In fellowship and with encouragement from other Christians we are reminded that despite our hardships and brutal treatment, we are not crushed, in despair, or destroyed. However, if we quit, if we give up on God, on church, then we lose the opportunity for Christian fellowship, encouragement, support, service, and worship of God. All of which sets us up to be crushed, in despair, and destroyed.
Second, Saul, in expressing his decision not to quit, learned that, “1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-3). First, Saul learned that faith and belief in Jesus as his savior brought him peace with God. Peace with God. Think about the power in those words for a moment, Peace with God. That sense of calmness and wholeness had eluded Saul and led him to persecute the church in believing somehow that violence done in the name of God would bring him peace with God. Thrashing out at others did not bring Saul peace and it never would. Likewise, quitting a relationship with God would never bring peace. We must be in a relationship with God if we want peace. Saul, knowing that he was at peace with God and God was at peace with him, helped Saul to see those hardships of life, the beatings, the whippings, hunger, thirst, and imprisonment were not from God. Those hardships of life were acts that came from a world and people in that world that were not at peace with God. Saul could deal with the hardships of life “14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14). Saul could do so because Saul knew that hardship and pain are not given to him by God. God gives us peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Saul did not quit because Saul knew peace comes from God.
As the refrain of the open song said, “Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you, quit.” Stay with God. Stay with the body of Christ, his Church. Don’t quit having the opportunity to hear God’s word, to worship God, to fellowship with other Christians, to be encouraged in your faith, to be a source of encouragement to others, and to serve others in the name of Christ.