The Apostle's Defense

Renewing Your Mind

Ligonier Ministries

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 December 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On his way to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus was confronted by the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and his life was changed forever. Today, Derek Thomas examines the dramatic significance of Saul's conversion.

Donate any amount to request R.C. Sproul's commentary on Galatians and Derek Thomas' video teaching series No Other Gospel on DVD. You'll also receive lifetime digital access to all 14 messages and the study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4510/offer

Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Get the Galatians commentary ebook, digital teaching series, and digital study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global

Meet Today's Teacher:

Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor's Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Meet the Host:

Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast.

Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Transcript

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0:00.0	We cannot over-emphasize the degree to which Saul of Tarsus almost extinguished the early church.
0:09.8	He had it within his power, or at least almost, from a human point of view,
0:15.1	to actually put out, to snuff out the Christian church at its very infancy.
0:33.6	Music to snuff out the Christian church at its very infancy. If we were to put it in modern terms, the Apostle Paul was a radical anti-Christian activist. But he did much more than staged protests. He actually rounded up Christians to be imprisoned or killed,
0:40.4	which is why his conversion, on the road to Damascus, is such a dramatic story.
0:45.9	And when a man like that gets saved, it's hard not to pay attention.
0:50.9	Welcome to this Saturday edition of Renewing Your Mind.
0:54.0	I'm Nathan W. Bingham.
0:56.2	We're spending some time on Saturdays with Derek Thomas in the Book of Galatians. These messages
1:02.6	are from his series No Other Gospel. And if you'd like to study Galatians more in the new year,
1:09.0	respond today at Renewingyourmind.org with a year-end donation,
1:13.8	and to thank you, we'll send you this series on DVD, unlock the messages and study guide
1:19.4	in the free Ligeneer app, and also send you a hardcover edition of R.C. Sproul's commentary on Galatians.
1:27.0	Well, here's Dr. Thomas, to consider what the conversion of the Apostle Paul teaches us
1:31.8	about the nature of God's sovereign grace.
1:37.8	Galatians 1, and this time verses 11 through 24, a larger segment. And I want to draw attention immediately to
1:46.8	verse 11, for I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not
1:53.4	man's gospel. As we saw in the first lesson, Paul is writing this letter to the Galatians because there are
2:01.8	certain folk in the church, let's just call them judaizers for now, who are insisting
2:08.3	that it's not enough to believe in Jesus. You need to believe in Jesus plus be circumcised,
2:14.8	plus obey the dietary laws, plus, plus, plus. And Paul has said, this is a
2:21.0	damnable plus. And anyone who preaches a gospel of this nature is not preaching the true
	...

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