The Dis/Obedience of Paul
If you have been following the debate or discussion on Soteriology over the years, you might have come across a meme of Paul falling off his horse with the caption, “So there I was on my way to kill Christians… When I used my free will to become one.” The point of the meme is that Paul wasn’t using his free-will to become a Christian, but on his way to persecuting Christ and His people. That was his motive and intention.
This is better illustrated with King Saul in the Old Testament. Robert Bernecker’s keen observation is helpful here:
…consider the example of King Saul that is recounted in 1 Samuel 19:18-24. Here we find King Saul traveling to Naioth in order to search out and kill David. Saul’s free will was quite clear—he had chosen to kill David. However, God’s will was equally clear—he had chosen David to be the next king. [Not surprisingly, it was God’s free will and not man’s free will that prevailed]. … Instead of capturing and killing David, Saul found himself “prophesying” … all the way to Naioth, and he then found himself stripping off his robes and worshipping on the floor all day and all night. It is not difficult to perceive that this was not at all what King Saul’s free will had intended. …
It is also interesting to wonder if this might have been a foreshadowing of the New Testament Saul, another Saul for whose free will God showed a notable lack of respect. This Saul was also on a journey to kill God’s chosen, but he instead ended up blind and believing in God’s Son, quite contrary to the initial desires of his own free will (Acts 9 and 22). —Robert Bernecker (Who’s Your Father?, p.34)
When the mentioned meme above is shown, people are often met with Acts 26:19 by Non-Calvinist(s) to say that Paul had a choice and chose to be obedient, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” In other words, he made a free-will choice and obeyed, and did so willingly. Meaning, he could have disobeyed but he didn’t, therefore reformed Soteriology or Irresistible Grace is false. Non-Calvinists believe that Paul’s obedience is the best case for refuting reformed Soteriology, but they are greatly mistaken.
The reality is that Paul’s obedience proves reformed Soteriology! Before you precede, I highly suggest you read this first: The 3 Irrefutable Biblical Facts. There you’ll see that God’s turning of the heart is always effectual (cf. Proverbs 19:21; 1 Kings 22:21-22; 2 Corinthians 8:16-17; Revelation 17:17). It is also the case with Paul.
Made Willing
It is God who makes the unwilling willing. When He wills something to be done by turning the heart (cf. Proverbs 21:1), it will come to pass. Take Revelation 17:17 for example. The kings will do as their heart desired, and they will do so willingly. Yet beneath it all, God is sovereignly stirring the hearts to fulfill His purpose.
“For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”
What about believers? Is God a gentleman, standing back hoping things will go His way? Not at all. Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13,
“…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
A perfect example of this is found in 2 Corinthians 8:16-17,
But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord.
A few things to keep in mind here:
God is to be thanked because He is the ultimate mover. If we trace it all back, we will find God at the bottom of it all. He is the One working all things together. Thanks be to God.
God puts the earnest care into the heart of Titus. It’s something God does internally. God wasn’t working externally hoping for the best.
Titus didn’t feel forced, and might not even be aware that it was God who put it in his heart.
Titus went of his own accord. He did so willingly. Yet, as we’re told in Philippians 2:12-13, God was working in Titus both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
In another attempt to refute Irresistible Grace, Acts 26:14 might be thrown in, “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” to say that Paul was resisting Christ. True! Which happens to everyone of us before conversion and if left on our own. He stands and calls out: If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Problem is: left to ourselves none of us would come. Is this not clear enough with Paul? That’s why when He seeks to overcome our resistance, He will accomplish it. A quick look at the ESV Study Bible on Acts 26:14 has this to say:
“To kick against the goads is a proverbial statement the Romans probably knew, meaning that one cannot ultimately resist God's will. Goads were sharp sticks used to prod oxen, and if the oxen kicked in resistance, the drivers would keep them in line by using the goads more severely.”
And RH KJV Study Bible,
“pricks. Goads used for driving cattle. Saul was like an animal fighting ferociously against Christ’s gospel and church, but Christ brought him to his knees.”
It is for this reason that we can confidently say, “There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:30). God allowed Paul to resist the Gospel, and he did so willingly, for a time, as his heart desired and dictated. See my post on Acts 7:51. However, at the appointed time, Christ met and overcame his resistance (cf. Acts 9:1-4; Daniel 4:35), and Paul was made willing. Paul, like Titus, didn’t feel forced, as if his will didn’t matter. The fact that he stated his obedience to the call only proves reformed Soteriology—that God makes the unwilling willing (cf. Psalms 27:8).
No man ever knows his condition until God comes to him in sovereign grace and power and gives him life. Paul said, “I was before a blasphemer.” When did he learn that? When God brought him to life! As one made alive by God he then rejoiced in every doctrine of God’s grace! —Gary Shepard
“Before I knew God, though I was starving, I felt no hunger. My soul was in decay, and I was numb even to my own numbness.” —Augustine
Paul thought he was doing the will of God by persecuting Christ until God gave him, “a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear…” (Deuteronomy 29:4).
Noah and Abraham
We have two solid examples to look at here. And much of what I wanted to say has already been written: See Genesis 6:8 for Noah, and Psalms 1 for Abraham. I suggest you give them a read if you really want to get to the bottom of all this.
Noah’s obedience was the result of God first knowing him, and setting him apart like He did with Paul. On the flip side, Noah’s obedience proves that he was chosen by God, as seen in the case of Abraham and the Thessalonians. You’ll have to read these linked posts to see this. This is further confirmed by John 15:8, but it’s beyond the scope of this post to get into it here.
God’s Sovereignty in Acts
Cornelius, Lydia, Paul etc… they’re all saved the same way—by sovereign grace. God going about building His church is very obvious in the book of Acts. This is something we’ll look more into in a future post. For now it’s just a placeholder here. What happened after God opened Lydia’s heart? See here: The Good Work of God. The game goes for Paul. He became a servant of Christ and obeyed his new master.
Obedience from the Heart
When exploring bible translations or the doctrine of justification, you might come across John 3:36. The KJV reads,
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
That last part can cause a heated debate among KJV-Onlysts because the: ESV (obey), LSB (obey), LEB (disobeys) and EXB (obey) all give the impression that a person is saved by works and obedience. However, if you know your Bible this isn’t a problem at all! See my post on Beware of the Greek Rookie.
In an attempt to refute Eternal Security many will use the non-KJV to point out that belief is not enough, you must obey: Believe = Obey which is to say that we’re saved by our works or obedience, instead of our faith producing obedience which the KJV accurately renders: “and he that [believeth] not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Taking everything into consideration, it doesn’t really matter whether V.36 says “whoever does not BELIEVE [or OBEY]” because back in V.3 the New Birth has been discussed. In the New Birth you’re given a heart of flesh—a new disposition that loves God and wants to follow and obey Him. I love the NLT rendering of Ezekiel 36:26,
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
A tender and responsive heart. What a beautiful way of putting it! See one of my posts on that here. See also: 1 Kings 8:58.
“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” (Romans 7:2). Does that sound like an unregenerate man talking? How about King David: “their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in Your law” (Psalms 119:70).
The best and clear example from the Old Testament to demonstrate this truth is found in Hezekiah’s call to repentance in 2 Chronicles 30. I touched on it briefly here.
With a new heart that’s tender and responsive, Paul obeyed the heavenly vision.
Conclusion
Paul, like the rest of us prior to becoming a Christian, naturally resisted God’s grace and the external call of the Gospel. If anyone ever responds to it in faith, with full conviction and assurance, it can only mean one thing: God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world as pointed out in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14.
(1 Thessalonians 1:2-5) “We give thanks to God always for all of you… [For we know], brothers loved by God, [that He has chosen you]…” How did they know that God has chosen them? The nature of their response to the Gospel that was preached (vv. 6-10).
On the Road to Damascus, Christ confronted Paul, “Saul, Saul…” (Acts 9:4-6). Notice the manner in which He called out to him. Christ knew Saul long before his conversion: “But when it pleased God, who separated me [set apart] from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen;” (Galatians 1:15-16)
Which is why later in Galatians 2:20 he could say that Christ [loved] him and [gave] Himself for him. Precisely what Christ says in John 10, that He lay down His life for those He knows intimately. See also Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also [loved] the church and [gave Himself] for her,”
Those whom Christ knew intimately (love) He gave Himself for them (John 10:14-15). And will ultimately overcome their resistance at the appointed time.