Bible Text: Romans 1:16 | Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | The famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody once accepted the challenge to debate an atheist. He agreed, however, on one condition–that the atheist could produce ten or more people whose lives had been changed by atheism. Moody said he would have at least 100 people on the platform who could testify to the fact that belief in Christ had changed their lives from immorality and depravity to lives of integrity and uprightness. Not able to produce even ten examples, the atheist had to withdraw his offer.

The apostle Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Paul himself was a prime example of that life-changing power. When we first find him in the Bible, he is a young man named Saul watching as the Christian leader Stephen is being stoned to death. The witnesses laid their outer clothes at Saul’s feet. But he was not merely the coat check person. Scripture says he was giving approval to Stephen’s death (Acts 8:1). After this, Saul himself began to go from house to house, dragging off Christians and putting them in prison (Acts 8:3).

“Still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples,” Saul goes to the high priest and asks him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he finds any there” who are believers, “men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).

Little did he know that before he ever reached Damascus, he would be forever changed by an encounter with the Lord. His vocation would be changed from persecutor to preacher, his name changed from Saul to Paul, and his heart changed from burning with a desire to see Christians dead to being willing to give his life that others might hear the Gospel.

Friend, the Gospel is still powerful to change lives for all eternity. A personal relationship with the Lord can change your life too.