Before Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was determined to continue his intense persecution of the saints.  The appearance to him of the resurrected Christ, however, changed everything.  After this confrontation with Jesus, and his later conversion in the city of Damascus (Acts 22:1-16), Paul’s entire life was committed to Christ (Philippians 1:21).  When our Lord appeared to him on the Damascus Road, identifying Himself as “Jesus of Nazareth,” Paul knew that he had been mistaken about Him and asked, “What shall I do?” (Acts 22:10).

“What shall I do” is a good question for all of us to ask ourselves from time to time.  This week, I want to consider five different groups of people who should ask the question, “What shall I do?”  I will begin with those who are lost in sin.

The person who is lost in sin is the one who has not obeyed the gospel of Christ.  The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).  Without obeying the gospel, a person remains under the dominion of sin, for it is by obeying the gospel that one is justified, or declared not guilty, by God.  Paul wrote about the gospel, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17).

Without obeying the gospel, a person can never be righteous.  In Romans 1:17 the word righteous refers to those who have experienced imputed justification.  It DOES NOT refer to the personal righteousness of Christ.  That is not what is imputed, and there is not a single passage that teaches such, notwithstanding the false teaching of Calvinism.  The righteousness that comes from one’s obedience to the gospel refers to the establishment of a right relationship with God, something that every lost sinner should want to see come to fruition.

What should the lost sinner do?  The answer is simple—obey the gospel.  That is when you will be set free if you are still under the bondage of sin.

Romans 6:17-18 (KJV)
¹⁷  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. ¹⁸  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

When were the saints at Rome made free from sin?  It was not when they first believed the message about Christ, but when they obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine.  The form of doctrine Paul was referring to goes back to the beginning of the chapter where he wrote about dying to sin and being buried in the waters of baptism.  Just like Christ died, was buried, and then raised from the dead, by the power of God, the sinner must die to sin, be buried in baptism, and rise to walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).  This is how the gospel is obeyed.

Have you obeyed the gospel of Christ, dying to sin by repenting and being baptized (Acts 2:38)?  Once you do that, a right relationship with God will be imputed to you, and you will enjoy fellowship with Him (1 John 1:7), having figuratively contacted the blood of Christ in baptism. Paul spoke of this in terms of being baptized into His death (Romans 6:3).  This is why Jesus could say that His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28), and Peter could say that one is baptized for the forgiveness of sins.  It is in baptism that the blood is contacted.

If you are a lost sinner, you now know what to do first.  The question is, will you do it?    

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.