^…but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.

                                                                                                            Galatians 1:23-24 

Perhaps you are familiar with the concept of making a 180-degree turn. To do a “180” means that one turns around and begins moving in the opposite direction. This term can be applied to a person who has been born again, passing from spiritual death into spiritual life (John 5:24). This was the case with the apostle Paul, a former Pharisee and persecutor of Christians becoming the man who would take the gospel to the Gentile nations.

Paul had a dramatic conversion experience. He was confronted by the risen Christ and literally blinded, stopping him in his tracks (Acts 9). He would later be led into the wilderness prior to meeting any of the apostles (Galatians 1:16-17). It was there that I believe Paul receive his instruction from God, preparing him for his new mission of declaring the gospel. This was all done by God’s design (Galatians 1:15). We don’t want to define Paul’s experience as an example of what to expect in the conversion of people now anymore than we would use Moses’ burning bush experience to identify how God communicates with us today. Both situations were exclusive to each man. However, it is important for us to recognize God’s unique intervention in the life of Paul and how it changed his understanding of how God was redeeming the world.

Prior to his conversion, Paul was involved in several religious activities, all of them indicative of a life needing Jesus. Paul was persecuting the church of God and attempting to destroy it (Galatians 1:13). He was advancing in Judaism beyond many of his fellow countryman and was extremely zealous for his ancestral traditions (Galatians 1:14). But God intersected his life and turned a dedicated Pharisee and zealous persecutor of the church into the foremost missionary and preacher of the gospel in the 1^st century world.

The biblical word for this spiritual, directional change is repentance. To repent means to change your mind. It is beautifully illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15). It is the story of a son moving away from his father, traveling to a distant country to squander his inheritance. Severe hardship brings him to a place in which he comes to his senses, motivating him to turn around and return to his father. This is repentance personified. And the father’s response to this son’s return was one of great love and joy.

A repentant life is “a 180 life.” For Paul it meant proclaiming a gospel in which he tried to destroy. It was the forsaking of his religious, legalistic activity to embrace a Savior in Jesus Christ. And people were glorifying God because of his conversion. For us it means that we have been saved, born again (John 3:3). It means that what we might have once opposed, we now celebrate. There are several characteristics for someone living a 180 life. Recognition of the Bible as God’s Word, acknowledgment of Jesus as the only way of salvation, the ability to spiritually discern truth from lies, and a desire to engage in godly activities while rejecting ungodly ones just to name a few.

Your conversion might not be as dramatic as Paul’s, but as Christians, our lives should be shining examples of the change that has taken place in our hearts. Does your life exemplify this spiritual change in direction? If not, why not pray and ask God to reveal to you the obstacles keeping you from enjoying spiritual freedom.

But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 

                                                                                                                2 Corinthians 3:14-16