June 26, 2019 -- Acts 9:1-9 -- The Fear of the LORD and His Holiness

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Acts 9 ESV

Before the apostle Paul had this experience of God’s power, he was Saul. He had an idolatrous view of God and that is what he served—he did not serve the true God, he served his human-sized, view of God. Our idols take up our thoughts, our time, our money and our life. We pursue them vigorously and without thought to the consequences and without reference to the One, True, Dreadfully Splendid LORD of Heaven and Earth.

Edward T. Welch, though speaking of addictions, has the powerful, scriptural antidote to idolatrous sinful ways. It is the holiness of God coupled with the fear of the LORD:

One of the problems with the perspective that addictions are a disease is that

it leaves no room for this kind of fear of the Lord. A god who helps us to be

strong in the face of illness is not the same as the God whose holiness reveals

our sin, who shows us our desperate need for a mediator, restores our relation-

ship with him, and empowers us to live as holy children.

Holiness is key. Without the knowledge of our Father’s holiness and our

response of reverence, everything about God becomes ordinary. God’s

works are viewed as just a little better than the actions of good people.

Edward T. Welch “ADDICTIONS: A Banquet in the Grave” page 167

The Road to Damascus calling of Saul shows us the dreadful majesty of God. Saul’s idolatry was crushed by the vision of the weighty splendour of God. Saul the idolater, confronted with the holiness of the LORD, becomes Paul the apostle, who lived in the fear of the LORD—God is extraordinary and worthy of all our worship and praise.

For us to be broken of our idolatry, we must encounter the dreadful majesty of the LORD and of His holiness. Knowing He sees us, our public persona and private actions, transforms our living from living from ourselves to living in the Presence of the Holy LORD—Who, through Jesus Christ, has become our Father.

LORD of heaven and earth—by the powerful presence of Your Spirit and the instruction of the Word—help us to see Jesus as worthy of all our praise and all our dedication. Spirit—break down every idol we set up in our lives and cast out every foe which we set up in our heart and opposes Your reign in our lives. Awesome and glorious is Your Name. Amen.