Yes—Saul's conversion marks a decisive shift, because God used that event to move His plan from the nation of Israel out to the Gentiles.
In the early chapters of Acts, Peter and the eleven were still appealing to the nation of Israel through their preaching, but Israel kept rejecting that appeal. After the stoning of Stephen, Les says the next major chronological event is Saul's conversion. God saved this rebel by grace on the Damascus road and immediately told him he would be sent to the Gentiles. That commission is the first clear indication in Acts that God's work is moving beyond Israel to a new body.
Acts 9:15 — The Lord explicitly tells Ananias that Saul is a chosen vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles, showing the shift in God's plan.
Acts 9:20 — Immediately after his conversion, Saul preaches Jesus as the Son of God, linking his conversion to the Messiah identity he had previously rejected.
Acts 9 records that Saul of Tarsus, on his way to Damascus to arrest believers, was confronted by the risen Christ. The Lord then told Ananias that Saul was a chosen vessel to carry His name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. After regaining his sight, Saul preached in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. The shift in God's plan is signaled by the Lord's direct commission of Saul to the Gentiles, even though Saul's first recorded preaching remains in the Jewish synagogues.
Les Feldick sees Saul's conversion as the hinge-point in Acts. He teaches that Israel had been called to be God's priests and bring Gentiles to a knowledge of Jehovah, but the nation missed that calling, rejected the Messiah, and continued to resist the appeal made through Peter and the eleven. After Stephen's stoning, the next event of importance in God's chronological program is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Instead of taking the whole nation of Israel, God raised up one Jew—Saul, a renegade zealous for the law—and saved him by grace on the Damascus road. Les calls the salvation of Saul the epitome of grace, and he emphasizes that God told Saul right up front, before he even got out of Damascus, that he would be sent far hence to the Gentiles. From that point on, Acts begins to turn toward the Gentiles. Les points out that after Peter's visit to Cornelius in chapter 10 and a brief mention in chapter 11, Peter is never mentioned again in Acts. The book is transitional, moving from God dealing with the nation of Israel to the ascendancy of the Gentiles and the coming of the Body of Christ. Saul himself was saved under the Kingdom Gospel—he understood Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel—but God then had to get him out among the Gentiles where he could enlighten him further. The same Saul who had wreaked havoc among Jewish believers was commissioned to carry the gospel of grace into the pagan Gentile Roman Empire.
Les Feldick explains that back in the Old Testament the promise was that every Jew could be a priest of God to bring Gentiles to a knowledge of Jehovah. But Israel missed that calling and then rejected the Messiah. So instead of taking the whole nation, God raised up one other little Jew—Saul of Tarsus—saved him by grace on the road to Damascus, and told him he would go far hence to the Gentiles. This shows that the shift was not a random event but God's intentional move to begin the Gentile work through one man.
Les repeatedly stresses that the book of Acts is transitional. He points out that after Stephen's stoning, the next event of importance is the conversion of Saul. While Peter goes to the house of Cornelius in chapter 10 and is mentioned in chapter 11, from then until the end of Acts he is never mentioned again. In Les's words, Israel is falling out of the things God had been promising, the Gentiles make an ascendancy, and the Body of Christ comes on the scene.
After Saul's body was replenished with food and he had regained his sight, he went straight to the synagogue of the Jews and preached that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. Les says that was the whole thrust of the Old Testament covenant promises—the King, the Messiah, and the Redeemer would come to Israel. Saul was saved under the Kingdom Gospel at that point, because that was as much as God had revealed at that time. God then had to get him out of town to a place where He could enlighten him for the Gentile mission.
Saul's persecution drove many Jewish believers out of Jerusalem, and they went as far as Antioch. There, according to Les, God began to generate interest among Gentiles for the first time in the early chapters of Acts. The same man who had been wreaking havoc among the early Jewish believers is later commissioned by God, after his salvation on the Damascus road, to go out into the pagan Gentile Roman Empire with the gospel of grace.
Was Cornelius Really Saved? Acts 10 Explained Verse by Verse
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God Raises Saul as the Apostle to the Gentiles
Israel had been promised a role as priests bringing Gentiles to God, but Israel missed it; so God raised up Saul of Tarsus, saved him by grace on the Damascus road, and immediately told him he would be sent far hence to the Gentiles.
Saul's Conversion as the Turning Point in Acts
After the stoning of Stephen, the next major chronological event is Saul's conversion, and from that point in Acts Peter fades out after Cornelius and the narrative moves from Israel to the Gentiles and the Body of Christ.
The Epitome of Grace
God saved a rebel who hated Jesus—Saul of Tarsus—by grace, called it the epitome of grace, and told Saul right up front before he left Damascus that he would be sent far hence to the Gentiles.
Preaching Jesus as the Christ
Saul's conversion happened before the Gospel of Grace had been whispered; after recovering, he went to the synagogue and preached that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God, reflecting the Old Testament covenant promises.
The Transition to Antioch
Saul's persecution scattered Jewish believers to Antioch, where God began to generate interest among Gentiles for the first time in Acts, carrying forward the transition from Israel to the Gentiles.
Saved Under the Kingdom Gospel
Saul was saved under the Kingdom Gospel, believing Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel, and then God had to get him out among the Gentiles to reveal more of what He wanted him to know.
Commissioned to the Pagan Gentile Empire
The same Saul who had been destroying Jewish believers is the one God commissioned after saving him by grace on the Damascus road, sending him into the pagan Gentile Roman Empire with the gospel of grace.
Acts 9:15: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
The Lord's commission of Saul to the Gentiles is the clearest biblical sign that the gospel would now go beyond Israel.
Acts 9:20: And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
This shows that Saul's first public preaching identified Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, confirming his conversion was real.
Les says Saul's conversion took place before the Gospel of Grace had been whispered. Saul was saved under the Kingdom Gospel, believing that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel, because that was as much as God had revealed at that time. God then moved him out among the Gentiles to enlighten him further.
God's grace is the point. Les describes Saul as a rebel, a raging bull who hated Jesus of Nazareth, yet God saved him by grace on the Damascus road and called his salvation the epitome of grace. God then commissioned this former persecutor to take the gospel of grace to the pagan Gentile world.
God told Saul right up front, before he even got out of Damascus, that he would be sent far hence to the Gentiles. The Bible records the Lord saying Saul was a chosen vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
Watch the Teaching: Was Cornelius Really Saved? Acts 10 Explained Verse by Verse