Disciples of Christ were afraid of Saul, so he was brought to the Apostles.

Acts 9:26-28

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“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.” Acts 9:26-28

We live in a culture where there are more wolves dressed as sheep than there are true Believers who live for Jesus Christ. Believers have every reason to be weary of those who say they are Christians but have yet to prove their faithfulness to the testimony of Jesus, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1 Their intent is to drive Christianity into extinction, and disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

A true Christian will experience the hardships, difficulties, and afflictions of living for Jesus, “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:14 “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:18-20

Saul was brought to the Apostles, who were; Matthias [replaced Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus] Acts 1:15-26, Peter, Andrew, James [son of Zebedee], John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew [Levi], James [son of Alphaeus], Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot. These Apostles were deeply rooted in Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. They would have detected any deceit in Saul and would know if he was a true Believer in Jesus Christ or if he was a serpent or scorpion with deadly intent.

In today’s atheistic culture, we are walking in a pit of serpents, scorpions, and deadly poisons. They are those who live for the beast that gives them what to speak, do, think, and say. They are constantly serving up spiritual poison to drink, sinking their poisonous fangs into our faith in Jesus Christ, and stinging like a scorpion to cause us pain and severe sickness. Even so, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, by our steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, our belief in God lives on. “…we will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them…” Mark 16:18 We definitely know them by their fruits, by their poison. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:19-20

What Saul did as a new convert is what we want to see in every new Believer, to share their born-again testimony, to share how they have spoken to the Lord Jesus Christ, and how they share the Gospel of Jesus. Our born-again testimony is the Gospel of Christ written on our heart. We want to see new Believers have a desire to fellowship with those who have been walking in the Spirit for some time and not be afraid of those who have the faith “…to trample on serpents and scorpions.”

Conniving people will try various tactics to overcome God’s people. I’ve seen people who changed their appearance and behavior, but I questioned what they were up to. Before, they always brought friction when the Bible, Jesus Christ, or anything about God was brought up. Then one day they changed, they presented themselves with a softer external appearance and softer words. The question within myself was, “Is this person a wolf in sheep clothing or a sinner clothed in the Holy Spirit?” This is like watching a garden to see what type of fruit springs up. Saul was definitely not a wolf in sheep clothing; he was a sinner clothed in the Holy Spirit and his ministry from Acts 13:4 through Acts 28 gave proof of that. For two thousand years, the letters of Paul have been read, and multiple millions have come [and are coming] to Jesus Christ through his ministry. That is the fruit that he brought forth in this world.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11