Saul Confronted by the Authority of the Risen Christ

Acts 22:10 records one of the most revealing questions ever asked by a man whose entire understanding of God had suddenly been corrected: “So I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’” Saul had not been an irreligious man wandering without convictions, because Acts 22:3 explains that he had been educated at the feet of Gamaliel and had been zealous for God according to the strict manner of the ancestral Law. His problem was not a lack of zeal but zeal directed by a seriously mistaken understanding of Jesus Christ, so that Acts 22:4 says he persecuted “this Way to the death,” binding and imprisoning both men and women. Saul believed that opposing Christians defended true worship, yet his journey toward Damascus brought him face-to-face with the devastating reality that he had actually been opposing the One whom Jehovah had appointed as Messiah and Lord. Acts 22:6–8 states that a brilliant heavenly light surrounded him and that Jesus identified Himself with the disciples Saul persecuted by saying, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” Saul therefore learned that religious sincerity cannot make an erroneous course acceptable to God, because sincerity must be governed by accurate knowledge and submission to revealed truth, as Romans 10:2–3 likewise demonstrates concerning zeal that is “not according to accurate knowledge.” The encounter destroyed Saul’s confidence in his previous religious judgment without destroying his willingness to serve God, and that distinction explains why his next question concerned obedience rather than self-defense. Faith began to take recognizable form when Saul stopped determining for himself what service to God should look like and asked the risen Christ what he was required to do.

The historical setting gives Saul’s question its full force because he had approached Damascus carrying authority from the chief priests to arrest followers of Jesus, not intending to become one of them. Acts 22:5 explains that Saul had received letters authorizing him to bring Christians bound to Jerusalem for punishment, which means that his journey possessed a carefully defined objective before Christ interrupted it. Saul had plans, credentials, religious approval, and institutional authority, but none of those things could stand against the authority of the resurrected Son of God. When Jesus commanded him in Acts 22:10, “Get up and go into Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all the things that have been appointed for you to do,” Saul discovered that discipleship requires surrender to Christ’s direction rather than merely admiration of His person. His blindness reinforced the dramatic reversal, because Acts 22:11 says that the man who had intended to enter Damascus as an arresting authority had to be led there by the hand. The physical helplessness was not the means of salvation, but it concretely displayed how radically Saul’s circumstances had changed once the truth about Jesus became undeniable. Acts 9:9 further records that Saul remained without sight for three days and neither ate nor drank, while Acts 9:11 identifies him during that period simply and significantly as a man who was praying. The persecutor had become a humbled petitioner waiting for instruction, showing that authentic faith does not demand that Christ endorse previously chosen goals. The question “What should I do, Lord?” therefore expresses a decisive change of authority in which the believer recognizes that Jesus has the right to define belief, conduct, worship, ministry, and the direction of life.

Faith Recognizes That Jesus Is Lord in Practice

Calling Jesus “Lord” has little meaning if a person refuses the authority that the title acknowledges, and Saul’s response demonstrates the inseparable connection between confession and obedience. Jesus Himself asked in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” thereby exposing the contradiction between religious language and resistant conduct. Matthew 7:21 makes the same principle unmistakable by teaching that merely saying “Lord, Lord” is not equivalent to doing the will of the Father. Saul did not answer Christ by bargaining over the consequences, requesting permission to retain his former religious status, or explaining why his previous intentions had been reasonable under the circumstances. He asked what he must do, went where Jesus commanded, received Ananias, accepted the instruction given through him, and entered the Christian course that he had previously attempted to destroy. Acts 9:18 states that after his sight was restored Saul “got up and was baptized,” giving concrete expression to the obedient faith that had begun on the Damascus road. Acts 22:16 records Ananias telling him, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name,” showing that faith was not treated as passive intellectual acknowledgment. Saul’s response illustrates James 2:17, where faith without works is described as dead, not because obedient works purchase salvation, but because living faith necessarily moves a person to act upon what God has revealed.

This distinction protects the gospel from two opposite errors, one making human works the meritorious basis of salvation and the other reducing faith to mental agreement without obedient discipleship. Ephesians 2:8–10 teaches that salvation comes by God’s grace through faith rather than as wages earned by human achievement, yet the same passage immediately identifies Christians as created in Christ Jesus for good works. Romans 3:23–24 likewise grounds justification in God’s grace through the redemption found in Christ Jesus, leaving no basis for human boasting. Nevertheless, Romans 6:16 explains that people become slaves of the one whom they obey, making obedience a revealing expression of the authority they have chosen to recognize. Saul’s baptism did not purchase forgiveness from Jehovah, because the saving basis was Christ’s sacrificial death, but baptism was the commanded response of a repentant believer who had accepted Jesus as Lord. Colossians 2:12 connects baptism with faith in God’s powerful working, demonstrating why Christian baptism belongs to informed believers rather than infants who cannot understand the gospel, repent, exercise faith, or choose discipleship. Acts 8:35–39 similarly describes the Ethiopian official hearing the good news about Jesus, entering the water, and being immersed after personally responding to the message. The pattern is therefore knowledge leading to faith, faith leading to repentance and obedient action, and obedient action continuing throughout the Christian course rather than being confined to one emotional moment.

The Question Requires Willingness to Be Corrected by Scripture

The spirit of Saul’s question remains necessary for Christians because discipleship continually requires asking what Christ has commanded rather than what culture, family tradition, personal preference, or religious custom finds convenient. Today Christians do not expect a Damascus-road appearance of Jesus to answer ordinary questions concerning conduct, because Jehovah has provided the Spirit-inspired Scriptures as the authoritative written standard. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 states that all Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete and fully equipped for every good work. The Holy Spirit therefore guides Christians through the Word He inspired, not through private revelations, unexplained impressions, or supposed inward messages that cannot be examined by Scripture. Ephesians 6:17 describes the Word of God as “the sword of the Spirit,” appropriately connecting the Spirit’s activity with the revealed truth through which Christian thinking is corrected and strengthened. Romans 12:2 instructs believers to be transformed by the renewing of their mind so that they may discern God’s will, which requires replacing worldly patterns of reasoning with biblical thinking. A Christian asking, “What should I do, Lord?” must consequently open Scripture with the intention of obeying its authorial meaning rather than searching for words that can be forced to approve a decision already made. James 1:22–25 warns against becoming hearers who deceive themselves and identifies the blessed person as the one who continues in God’s instruction and becomes a doer of the work.

Concrete situations demonstrate why this submissive attitude matters beyond dramatic conversion experiences. A believer deciding how to respond to dishonesty at work should not wait for a private sign when Ephesians 4:25 already commands Christians to put away falsehood and speak truth. A married Christian facing dissatisfaction cannot treat personal feelings as authority when Matthew 19:4–6 establishes God’s standard for the permanence and seriousness of marriage. Someone struggling with resentment does not need a new revelation to discover Jehovah’s will, because Ephesians 4:31–32 commands the removal of bitterness and directs Christians toward kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. A Christian considering sexual conduct must submit to 1 Corinthians 6:18–20, which commands believers to flee sexual immorality and glorify God with their bodies. A disciple wondering whether evangelism belongs only to specially trained leaders must reckon with Matthew 28:19–20 and Acts 8:4, where the Christian mission and the activity of ordinary scattered believers demonstrate the responsibility to spread the message. A person dealing with severe anxiety about material needs can receive direction from Matthew 6:31–34, where Jesus commands His followers to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness instead of being consumed by anxiety about tomorrow. In each case, asking what the Lord requires means accepting that the answer has authority even when obedience is costly, inconvenient, unpopular, or contrary to a previously cherished assumption. Saul’s example therefore teaches Christians to approach Scripture not as judges standing over God’s Word but as servants ready to change when the Word exposes their beliefs, motives, or conduct as wrong.

Obedience Turned a Persecutor Into a Witness

Acts 22 does not leave Saul permanently sitting in Damascus asking questions, because Christ’s answer assigned him work that would reshape the remainder of his life. Ananias told Saul in Acts 22:14–15, “The God of our forefathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” Acts 9:20 then records the striking immediacy of Saul’s changed direction by stating that he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues and declaring that He is the Son of God. Those who heard him were astonished because they knew that the man now defending Jesus had previously devastated those who called upon His name, as Acts 9:21 explains. His faith therefore became public, costly, and evangelistic rather than remaining a private change of opinion hidden from those who knew his previous course. Acts 9:22 says that Saul continued increasing in strength and confounding Jews in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ, showing that his witness involved reasoned demonstration rather than emotional assertion. Later, Acts 17:2–3 describes Paul reasoning from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, which became a characteristic feature of his ministry. The man who once used religious authority to silence Christians became a servant who used the inspired Word to persuade others concerning the truth about Christ.

That transformation also demonstrates why the question “What should I do, Lord?” cannot be separated from the Christian obligation to bear witness. Matthew 28:19–20 directs disciples to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to observe everything Jesus commanded, establishing evangelism and instruction as continuing Christian responsibilities. Romans 10:14–17 explains that people cannot believe in the One about whom they have never heard and concludes that faith comes from hearing the word concerning Christ. Christians therefore cannot regard the gospel merely as information that rescued them personally while remaining indifferent to those who have not heard it accurately. 1 Peter 3:15 directs believers to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for their hope, doing so with mildness and respect. Different Christians possess different abilities and opportunities, as Romans 12:4–8 demonstrates when describing the differing functions within the Christian body, yet differing functions do not cancel the shared responsibility to represent Christ faithfully. A mature teacher may explain difficult doctrinal matters, while a newer believer can tell another person that Jesus died as a sacrifice for sins, was raised, and commands repentance, faith, baptism, and discipleship. Christian witness is not measured solely by visible conversions, because 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 distinguishes human planting and watering from the growth that God gives. Asking what the Lord wants therefore leads away from passive religion and toward faithful service performed according to one’s opportunity, ability, and Scriptural responsibility.

Continuing to Ask What Christ Requires

Paul never treated his initial obedience at Damascus as though one correct decision had completed the entire course of salvation and discipleship. Philippians 3:12–14 portrays him pressing forward toward the goal because he had not yet obtained the final prize or become complete, which is incompatible with spiritual complacency. 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 similarly records Paul disciplining himself so that after preaching to others he would not become disqualified, showing that continuing faithfulness remained personally necessary even for an apostle. Hebrews 3:14 states that Christians become partakers of Christ if they hold firmly to their confidence to the end, making perseverance part of the biblical description of the Christian journey. Matthew 24:13 likewise says that the one enduring to the end will be saved, so salvation must not be reduced to a past moment detached from present loyalty. Paul’s question in Acts 22:10 therefore supplies a continuing disposition for discipleship: a Christian keeps seeking Christ’s commands, correcting wrong thinking, abandoning sinful conduct, strengthening faith, and carrying out assigned responsibilities. When Scripture exposes pride, the believer obeys passages such as Philippians 2:3–5; when it exposes uncontrolled speech, he submits to Ephesians 4:29; when it exposes spiritual laziness, he responds to Hebrews 10:24–25. Faith remains alive by continuing to answer Christ’s authority with willing obedience rather than preserving the memory of an earlier commitment while resisting His present commands.

The question also protects believers from measuring God’s will by ease, because Christ did not promise Saul a comfortable life after his conversion. Acts 9:15–16 records Jesus identifying Saul as His chosen instrument to carry His name before Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel while also declaring that Saul would suffer for His name. 2 Corinthians 11:23–27 later describes imprisonments, beatings, dangers, hunger, sleeplessness, and other hardships that accompanied Paul’s ministry, yet those experiences did not prove that he had misunderstood his calling. Faithfulness can bring opposition because a wicked world resists God’s standards, Satan opposes the spread of truth, imperfect humans injure one another, and Christians themselves remain physically and emotionally limited. John 15:18–20 records Jesus warning His disciples that the world would hate them because it had hated Him, giving Christians a realistic understanding of what obedience can involve. At the same time, Hebrews 13:5–6 grounds courage in Jehovah’s faithfulness, allowing the believer to say confidently that God is his helper rather than making safety the measure of divine approval. Saul’s first obedient question therefore matures into a lifelong disposition in which the Christian keeps asking what Christ requires and then acts upon the answer supplied through the Spirit-inspired Word. Faith that truly addresses Jesus as Lord does not merely ask for comfort, protection, success, or explanation; it asks what obedience requires and then moves in the direction Christ has commanded.

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