Paul the Convert : Challenges and Opportunities Facing New Converts

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Wichita, Kansas

Do you remember the joy you felt immediately after your baptism into Christ? Do you remember the excitement that overwhelmed you, and you wanted to enthusiastically share the news about Jesus Christ forgiving you of your sins? You enjoyed the relief of having no more guilt, and God’s grace had removed the burden of sin.

After becoming a Christian, ideally, you will have grown and matured in your faith and service to the Lord Jesus. However, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, then you know that the emotions and joys you initially had have been battle-tested. Perhaps you have lost battles with temptation and sin that have left you cynical and hard of heart.

I want to consider the example of the apostle Paul and his early life as a Christian. He indeed became known for his preaching, letter writing, and establishing new congregations. However, Paul was once a new convert who had never preached the gospel. It’s incredible to think that Paul preached his first gospel sermon at some point! The apostle Paul had fresh and new experiences that all new converts have the opportunity to experience. He is an excellent example from which we are to learn!

Many times local congregations focus on helping Christians grow and mature in their faith. Still, with that, they might lose sight of having new converts around who are zealous and enthusiastic about learning and growing. Hopefully, this article will help encourage new converts to become more involved with the local church with which you are a member. However, there are unique challenges that you might face as a new convert; I want to address some of those potential challenges. That said, I want this article to also help experienced Christians renew their energy and joy for the Lord and to find enthusiasm again for growth and service in the kingdom of Christ.

BECOMING A TEACHER

After Ananias baptized Paul (Saul of Tarsus), he immediately began preaching God’s word (Acts 9:20). He was eager to grow, increasing in strength, wisdom, and ability (Acts 9:22). After becoming a Christian, we are primed and ready to grow at exponential rates! If you have spent any time around newborn babies, you understand that babies learn something new nearly every day. That is how it ought to be for new Christians.

Paul understood that after becoming a Christian, God did not call him to be a silent listener. Instead, God expected him to be a vocal servant for the Lord. God had a plan for Paul to serve others and share the gospel (Acts 9:15-16). Paul used God’s grace as motivation for him to be busy in the kingdom of Christ (1 Timothy 1:11-16; 1 Corinthians 15:10).

We need to immediately help new converts grow by encouraging them to become involved with the local church’s work. We can help them become teachers and preachers. You might be thinking a new convert is not ready to address and teach a whole congregation of veteran Christians. Maybe that is true; perhaps it isn’t. Each case will be different. But one thing is sure: we can encourage people to share the message of God’s word with their friends and neighbors. The zeal and enthusiasm that a new convert has needs to be utilized to share the message of salvation. We need to encourage new converts to become teachers! Because if we wait too long to encourage them to become teachers, idleness sets in, and that becomes a difficult habit to break (Hebrews 5:12-14). When the enthusiasm is at its highest level, let’s encourage new disciples to make more disciples through teaching (Matthew 28:19). Let’s encourage new disciples to teach others.

FACING PERSECUTION

It would be nice if our lives would become easier after becoming a Christian. And it still might. Yet, becoming a Christian is no guarantee of a better life. Sadly, many false teachers (people like Joel Osteen) promote the great deception of the “health and wealth gospel.” They want you to believe that your life will come with blessing and ease after becoming a Christian. For Paul, life became hard after becoming a Christian. Paul had been persecuting Christians and throwing them into prison before his conversion. Afterward, people plotted to kill Paul for teaching that Jesus was the Son of God (Acts 9:23-25). And it happened twice soon after his conversion (Acts 9:28-30). Later, Paul would be stoned and left for dead. Then, many years later, he would be imprisoned for years and would have to appeal to Caesar to get a fair trial.

Jesus warned that discipleship would come with a cost (Matthew 5:10-12; 10:34-39). People we once counted as friends may become enemies. Family may reject us. Yet, we must remain loyal! Jesus calls us into a life of union with Him. Just as Jesus went to the cross, we have to take up our cross (Matthew 10:38). If we turn against Christ to save our life, we will lose our soul; being a Christian requires that we lose our life for the sake of eternal salvation (Matthew 10:39).

Paul warned new converts that many trials would come upon them now that they were part of the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Persecution is unpleasant and discouraging, but it can help prepare us for eternity. The tribulations we face can help instill a strong desire for eternal rest with God in heaven. Paul would eventually give up his own life as a sacrificial drink offering (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Becoming a Christian and being a new convert will not always be easy. We might need to reframe our thoughts of becoming a Christian to be more like a volunteer soldier in the army of the Lord. We are entering a war with eternal consequences. Our enemy wants to persecute, discourage, despair, and defeat us (Ephesians 6:10-17). We need to prepare for battle!

OVERCOMING DOUBTERS

Paul had to face a second challenge as a new convert — doubts from other Christians. After being run out of the city of Damascus for preaching Jesus, Paul went to Jerusalem and wanted to place membership with the local church (Acts 9:26). However, they initially doubted his sincerity and faith. Paul had earned a reputation for persecuting Christians (Acts 9:1-2). People were perplexed by Paul’s sudden conversion to Christianity (Galatians 1:23).

We can likely understand why people were hesitant to accept Paul. They surely assumed Paul was deceiving them and trying to sneak into the church to spy on them and eventually kill them.

Yet, no matter how much we may sympathize with the doubters, this had to be discouraging for Paul. It is never pleasant when people question our sincerest motives. We would like to believe that our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord would be the first to accept us rather than question us. But, unfortunately, that is not always the case.

An important lesson to remember, especially as a new convert, is that people will disappoint us; even fellow Christians will disappoint us. It is helpful always to keep the truth of the matter in perspective: we were converted to Christ, not Christians. So, even when we are disappointed by others, we can weather the discouragement.

Paul would be reminded that Christians will disappoint us repeatedly, and we will have to overcome those doubters. Two important people and influential men in Paul’s life, Peter and Barnabas, would both disappoint Paul (Galatians 2:11, 13). Even when we are discouraged because people disappoint us, remember that you are a servant of the King as a child of God! You do not live to please others. You live to please the Lord Jesus Christ. When we remember that, we might be better equipped to deal with the people who discourage us and doubt our sincere motives to serve the Lord.

FINDING ACCEPTANCE AMONG GOD’S PEOPLE

Even though Paul faced some initial skepticism upon his desire to join the local disciples in Jerusalem, Barnabas came to his defense, and they accepted him (Acts 9:26-27). So, likewise, the disciples welcomed Paul and had fellowship with him (Acts 9:28).

Becoming a member of the local church is a necessity for our own spiritual well-being. Local church membership gives us accountability when we sin (Matthew 18:15-17). It gives us a stable system by which we can grow. And there are many other benefits to being a member of a local congregation.

Local church membership gives us a place to serve others (1 Peter 4:10-11)
Local church membership provides us with a place to encourage and to be encouraged (Hebrews 10:23-25)
Local church membership gives us a place to grow (Ephesians 4:4, 11-13)
Local church membership provides us with a place to submit to godly leaders and examples (1 Peter 5:2)
Local church membership gives you a place to lead (1 Timothy 3:6)

While many of these passages do not explicitly mention local church membership, membership is implied. How can you serve others if you are not among others? How can you forsake the assembling of the saints if you are not part of a local group of saints? How can you submit to elders if you are not part of the flock that they shepherd? How can you serve as an elder if there is no flock of which you are a member?

Finding acceptance among disciples of Jesus can be one of the greatest blessings to you as you begin your walk with the Lord. Local church membership will help you grow and mature in your faith while also encouraging and blessing others. Your soul may depend on joining a local church. And much more sobering of thought is this: other souls may depend on you being a part of the local church.

CONCLUSION

Becoming a Christian can present new and exciting challenges to each of us. We may face adversity and trials, but if we are committed to serving and following the Lord, we will be enriched by the many beautiful blessings of being a Christian.

As seasoned veterans of the faith, we need to help young people in the faith become engaged in the local church. We need to encourage them to take part in the work and become involved to teach, learn, grow, edify others, and be edified themselves. If we have been Christians for a while, we need to empathize with new Christians in their development and growth. We need to be patient with them. But we also need to reflect on our lives. Have we become what God expects us to be? Are we using God’s grace as a motivator to work and serve the Lord and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? God does not call Christians to be silent observers and passive listeners. He calls us to be doers and workers in the kingdom of Christ. So let’s get to work!

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January 2022 | GROW magazine