How can Christianity be both monotheistic and Trinitarian?

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Acts 9:10-19 - "Go"

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.

This is a different Ananias than the one we read about in chapter 5. Jesus chose to use this Ananias in a different way that he did the Ananias we read about in the earlier chapter. Jesus came to Ananias and said to him “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold he is praying and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

At this point I think it would do us well to put ourselves in Ananias’ shoes. Jesus came to him and said “look for a man of Tarsus named Saul…” At this point it has to click with Ananias. By this time Saul had developed a reputation that preceded him. When Jesus told Ananias who he was to look for I’m sure Ananias wished he had been wearing a diaper. Imagine a Jew during world war two being told to go to Berlin and look for a guy named Hitler, in order to lay hands on him and pray for him. As we see, Ananias tries to reason with Jesus saying “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” I love Jesus’ response to a frightened Ananias. There is no negotiation, no rubbing his back, building his self-esteem, no pep-talk, no pleading with Ananias to obey. Jesus answers simply “Go…” He explains to Ananias that Saul is “a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Ananias, frightened but obedient “departed and entered the house. And laying hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”

What if Jesus spoke to you in this way? What if Jesus told you to “Go.” How would you respond? Most of us, myself included, would answer something like “if Jesus spoke to me I would do whatever he told me to.” Here is the truth: Jesus has spoken to us and most of us are not doing what he commands. The Bible is God’s word to us. God speaks to us as much today as he ever has. His words to us are found on every page of Scripture. Do not think that because you don’t hear God audibly speak to you that he is not speaking at all. Whenever we take time to read His word, He is speaking to us just as if He were sitting in front of us. Jesus’ last command to his disciples before his ascension to heaven began with one simple, familiar word: “Go.” Matthew 28:18-20, familiarly known as the great commission reads like this:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So, Jesus has spoken to us and he tells us just as he told Ananias: “Go.” Has Jesus command you, like Ananias, specifically to go to the one person on the face of the earth who is “breathing threats and murder” against you? Chances are probably not. Evangelism starts at home for those who have unbelieving family members. It then extends to unbelieving friends and co-workers. This is something we are commanded by Jesus to do. It’s not something we do on our own either. Jesus said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore…” Why will we be effective when we tell people about Jesus? Why will our nervous, studdering proclamation of the Gospel gain disciples? I guarantee you it is not because we have “sold” anybody on Jesus. It is solely because “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given” to Jesus, and those whom he has chosen before the foundation of the earth will come to Him.

Lets be honest, talking to Jim two cubicles down from you is not quite as intimidating as the circumstances Ananias faced. Coming into the fire station and proclaiming the Gospel to my friends does not carry with it the perceived threat of imprisonment or death. Step up, obey the God of the universe, emulate the obedience of Ananias and “Go.”

Listen to last Sunday's sermon from Church of the Cross on Acts 9:1-19: The Unexpected, Unconventional, Undeniable Conversion of Saul.

Acts 9:1-9

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and 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 flashed around him. ⁴And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" ⁵And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶But 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. ⁸Saul 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. ⁹And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

I love the language used here of breathing threats and murder. Saul wasn’t just doing what he thought was right by persecuting Christians, he had an active hatred toward them. Saul thought he was doing God’s work and these Christians were enemies of God so in his mind he was justified for his despise of the members of the Way. By this point in the book of Acts we already see Saul emerge as a leader of persecution against Christians. In chapter 7 we see Saul overseeing the execution of Stephen and now he is taking his show on the road with permission from the high priests to bring back to Jerusalem anyone he found belonging to this movement now dubbed as “the Way.” So at this point Saul is the front man in the cause of squashing this movement made up of the followers of Jesus and he is carrying out his task with murderous passion.

There are few places in Scripture where God’s election is seen in action more clearly than in verses three through six:

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.

I thank God for his grace in election. Saul, a persecutor of Christians and as Jesus points out, a persecutor of Jesus himself, experiences God’s grace in this moment. Saul was a religious person and was an enemy of God. Saul, in his own words was “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” Saul was the guy everyone looked at and said “Wow, he has it all together. I wish I could be as holy as he is.” But it was all meaningless because until this moment in Saul’s life, he was an enemy of God. It was not until Jesus came down and changed him that he became a friend of God. He did not accomplish this own his own. It was not done by his merit or effort. It was accomplished entirely by Jesus who goes on to say that Saul is “a chosen instrument of mine…” There was no Gospel presentation, no altar call, no sinners prayer, or no free will decision. Jesus chose Saul and Saul was changed.

While these verses in Acts are descriptive of the calling of Saul and are not prescriptive in that we are not all to be saved in the exact same manner, the mode of salvation is the same: God calls the sinner, dead in his trespasses and sins, to come to life in Jesus and the sinner is reborn to life in Christ. The account of Lazarus in John 11:38-44 is a perfect illustration of how Jesus saves us:

Then Jesus ,deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go.


Lazarus was physically dead, just as apart from the saving work of Jesus we are spiritually dead (Eph 2:1). Jesus came to Lazarus and called him to life. Lazarus did not ponder the Lord’s call and make the decision to accept Jesus’ invitation because dead people don’t ponder anything or make any decisions. When Jesus calls us, the spiritually dead, to come to life, we respond. Just as a dead Lazarus was unable to make any decision regarding Jesus’ call, you and I who are spiritual dead are unable to make any spiritual decisions for ourselves. Salvation is, from beginning to end, the work of Jesus. It is “not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9).

So what is Saul’s response to Jesus when he tells him to “rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do”? The following verses tell us that Saul rose up and went into the city. Saul’s world had been changed. He was no longer God’s enemy but his chosen instrument who would carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Listen to last Sunday's sermon from Church of the Cross on Acts 9:1-19: The Unexpected, Unconventional, Undeniable Conversion of Saul.