Galatians 1:13-17 “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. (14) And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. (15) But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, (16) to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, (17) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”
Our second example is the apostle Paul. In the above passage of scripture, the apostle Paul is very clear about the truth that God decided when he would be saved, for he says, that when it pleased God, He then revealed His Son in Paul. In other words, God had a specific plan for Paul’s salvation, including the exact time when Paul would be saved.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I was chief. (16) However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”
So why did God choose to save Paul when He did? In order to answer that question, we need to have an understanding about Pauls’ background before he was saved. Paul did his utmost to try and destroy the church before he was saved. His own testimony is that he punished the saints often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them; he persecuted them even to foreign cities. And when they were put to death, he cast his vote against them (Acts 26:10-11). Very few believers have the résumé that Paul had before he was saved, and yet God had mercy on Paul. And so, Paul tells us in the above passage, that the Lord Jesus wanted to use Paul’s testimony to show those who will believe in Him, just how merciful He is. And so, we see that the reasons for God’s timing in the two examples given are different in both cases, which is exactly how it will be in each one of our cases as well. So it is not necessary for us to know why God chooses when we are saved, it is sufficient for us to know that He does.
Michael E.B. Maher
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