Conversion & Repentance

MLJ Great Doctrines of the Bible  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Introduction

Toward the end of the class last year, we began dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit. We looked at things like effectual calling and regeneration. Lloyd-Jones, as he begins this chapter, sees a turning point - moving from what the Holy Spirit does within us to the result of that work - external evidences of an internal reality.
In that category, he lists “conversion” and “repentance,” both of which we’ll look at this morning.
It is, of course impossible to separate those things, effectual calling , regeneration, conversion, etc. They all happen together any time someone is truly converted but it is possible and profitable to discuss them separately as they are not the same things. Even though they always occur together, they are not the same.
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What we’re talking about is the “ordo salutis” which is Latin for Order of Salvation. This is the logical order in which the events of salvation happen.
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Based on Lloyd-Jones’ discussion in these chapters, and I would agree with him, I’d probably move Conversion & Repentance below Justification because, again, we’re talking about the visible results of the Holy Spirit’s invisible work and I see justification as invisible.
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What do we mean by “conversion?”

We often use “conversion” as a catch-all term for the entire process of becoming a Christian, all the things we mentioned above.
How would you define it?
MLJ, however, defines it more specifically.
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It is the first exercise of the new nature in ceasing from old forms of life and starting a new life. It is the first action of the regenerate soul in moving from something to something. The very term suggests that:

So, again, we’re talking about an outward manifestation of something the Holy Spirit has done internally in the life of an elect person.
"Conversion” is not used often in the New Testament and then, not always in the context of becoming a Christian. It is, however, always used in the context of making a change, going from doing one thing to another thing.
However, we see the concept of conversion associated with turning from one thing to another, whether that specific word is used or not, several places in scripture:
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Matthew 18:3 “and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,”
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Acts 14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.”
Acts 26:20 “but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”
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How does “conversion” take place?

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And here the answer is quite simple. It is first of all and primarily the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit does it through the effectual call.

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What does “effectual” mean?
Mirriam-Webster says:
“producing or able to produce a desired effect.”
What is the desired effect of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives?

The call becomes effectual and it is that which leads to the next step—what you and I do

That’s why we don’t just call it “the call.” The adjective is very important. It’s a call that, without fail, produces what God intends.

Now in regeneration and in the union, we are absolutely passive; we play no part at all; it is entirely the work of the Spirit of God in the heart. But in conversion we act, we move, we are called and we do it.

Lloyd-Jones says it’s important to consider what the effect of regeneration is, because there are times when we may see things that seem to be conversion that are not.
If you were in the class last year and even so far this year, you’ve probably figured out that Lloyd-Jones is a fan of talking about what something is NOT before talking about what it IS.
So, before we look at what conversions produces, he deals with what he calls “temporary conversion” and “counterfeit conversion.”
He doesn’t, by the way, believe you can lose your salvation, he chooses the term “temporary” conversion” to describe a particular thing, though I don’t think it’s the best choice of words or is as distinct from a “counterfeit conversion” as he does.
He describes “temporary conversion” as people who love what they hear initially and jump right in intending to follow Christ but later on fall away. It doesn’t last. People who have not counted the cost to use biblical terms.
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Matthew 8:19–20 “And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Do you find Jesus’ response odd?
Jesus doesn’t say, “hey that’s great!” to this man. Instead, he points out the cost of following him.
After Jesus’ extended teaching in John 6, we read:
John 6:66 “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
When it got to the reality of what it meant to follow Christ, they were not interested.

It is quite clear that our Lord was giving that teaching quite deliberately because He was drawing a distinction between the spirit and the flesh.

And those operating out of the flesh are the ones who walked away.
There’s also the parable of the sower and the soils.
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Matthew 13:20–21 “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.”
365 Days with Calvin 28 July: Standing Firm (Romans 5:2)

Therefore, it is not he who is led by a sudden impulse to believe, that has faith, and is to be reckoned among the faithful; but he who constantly, and, so to speak, with a firm and fixed foot, abides in that place appointed to him by God so as to cleave always to Christ.

Of course, we know that the difference is the Holy Spirit has not given those who walk away eyes to see. They’ve not been given new hearts. But to external observers, for a while, they seem to be converted.
Why is it important to understand that this can happen?
It helps us understand what’s going on when someone walks away from the faith after appearing to be converted.
I knew a man once who was involved in a lifestyle of serious sin. He repented and believed and even began working in a ministry. But the troubles with his marriage were such that his wife still eventually divorced him. Once that happened he went back to his old life. He was expecting Christ to solve all his problems and when that didn’t happen, he was no longer interested in Christ.
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1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
This is not a failure of God, we don’t have to worry that we too may fall away. It also helps us know how to minister to such people. We don’t write people off when this happens but we recognize that what they need is the gospel. They don’t need to be discipled, they need to be converted and we approach them in that way.

There is such a thing as temporary conversions, temporary believers, but they are not true believers. That is why it is so vital that we should know the biblical teaching as to what conversion really is.

Lloyd-Jones also talks about “counterfeit conversions.” These are instances where the change remains but it’s still not biblical conversion. It is experience-based.
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He says:

This was never more necessary than today, because there are so many people who seem to think that as long as there is a great change in the person’s life, it must be a true conversion. If a man gives up sins and lives a good life and does good, that, they say, is Christian. But it may not be.

So, in the first instance, the person changes then reverts back to their old selves.
This instance however, is someone who has a profound change in their life and that change persists yet they are not converted.
Have you experienced that with someone?
I don’t know if you ever heard the testimony of Glenn Beck. He tells of having almost ruined his life, and lost his family because of alcohol abuse. But he found “religion,” shall we say and stopped drinking and became a new man. He became a better father, a better husband. However, the religion he found was Mormonism. So, Beck, despite the dramatic change in his life, has not been “converted” in the sense we’re using that word.
Personally, I think this is one of the wiles of the Enemy. He always seeks to counterfeit Christianity to draw people away from Christ. To find help and answers outside of Christ. Satan doesn’t care if you get sober or stop running around on your wife if you don’t worship Christ. He’s fine with you being in that space.
Lloyd-Jones says if a changed life is the only mark of Christian conversion then a lot of people are converted including members of religious cults, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. That’s why we need to be careful when sharing the gospel not to make it just about someone cleaning up their life.

the defence of the Christian faith must never rely simply upon some experience that you and I have had. The defence of the Christian faith is objective truth. So unless we are careful at this point in defining conversion the danger is that we shall have nothing to say to those who have undergone one of these counterfeit experiences.

What do you say to Glen Beck who stopped being a drunkard and now lives as a responsible husband and father?
You still say, repent and believe.
Have you ever heard something like “I know homosexual couples who are more loving than some Christian couples.” or “My Muslim neighbor helps the poor more than the Christians I know.”?
What are the assumptions of those statement?
That Christianity is only about doing good works.
It’s the default theology of unconverted humanity, we’re saved by our works.
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So, what is true conversion and what does it look like?

Lloyd-Jones says there are two essential elements and they are summarized for us here:
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Acts 20:21 “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What are they?
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Repentance toward God
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Faith in Jesus Christ
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He says:

Repentance must be there; faith must be there. If one is missing it is not conversion. Both are essential.

Which of those is missing in both the cases we just talked about?
And I would argue that in both of the cases he talks about, temporary and counterfeit, it is “faith” that is missing, specifically faith in Christ.
But...
Lloyd-Jones say not only this but that repentance always comes first.
He says that primarily because it is always listed first in the New Testament but I think it comes logically first as well.
We agree with God about our standing before him and we place our trust in Christ as the solution for that dilemma.
Mark 1:4 “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Mark 1:15 “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
He explains it this way. Repentance is the point where we see our need to be reconciled to God. Jesus is the answer to that need. Apart from understanding we are alienated from God and under his wrath, we have no need for Jesus.
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Why should men and women believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It is no use just asking them to believe in Christ. They are entitled to ask, ‘Why should I believe in Him?’ That is a perfectly fair question. And people do not see any need or necessity for believing in the Lord Jesus Christ if they do not know what repentance is.

If someone skips the understanding of their sinfulness before God and comes to Christ for some other reason, to make my life better, to get healing, etc. that is not Christian conversion. By the same token, if the see their sinfulness but not as an offense against God but an inconvenience in this life and they remedy it apart from the biblical Christ, it’s also not Christian conversion.
Our deepest need is to have our sins that separate us from a holy God dealt with and apart from an understanding of that, repentance hasn’t happened.

But the first need of every soul, as we shall see, is to be right with God. Nothing matters but that. The gospel starts with God, because what is wrong with everybody is that they are in a wrong relationship to Him.

R.C. Sproul says something similar:
“We cannot have affection for Christ until we recognize and acknowledge that we are sinners and that we desperately need His work on our behalf. Repentance includes a hatred for our sin, which comes with the new affection we are given for God.” - Everyone’s a Theologian, p.239
Given its importance, Lloyd-Jones devotes an entire chapter to repentance which we’ll cover in the rest of our time.

Repentance

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He begins this section by repeating that repentance always comes before faith and then goes on to describe what repentance is in more detail.
The word “repentance” means to “think again” or “to think once more” In other words, to reassess your thoughts on something. You thought one way about it at one time, now you think another way.
But, Lloyd-Jones says, the English word “repent” doesn’t carry the full meaning of the Greek word being translated which is “metanoia.”
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Metanoia, repentance, does not merely mean to think again. It carries with it a much more significant element, which is that this thinking again results in our changing our minds. And that is a vital addition.

He gives as an example the parable of Jesus in Matthew 21:28-32.
Read the text
The first son repented of his initial unwillingness to go work. But it didn’t stop there, he not only realized he was wrong but he did something about it.
In Peter’s sermon to the Jews gathered in Solomon’s Porch at the Temple, he says:
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,”
Notice both aspects are there. Change your mind and take action, repent and turn back.
That’s what Lloyd-Jones associates with true repentance. A change of mind that results in regret over how we previously thought and action in line with that.

You change your mind, yes, but in changing your mind, you must be conscious of a sense of regret for the wrong view that you had taken previously and the wrong conduct that had emanated from that wrong view.

That brings us to what he calls the second element of repentance:
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How do you know if someone has really changed his or her mind about something?
To use a quote from the Paul Tripp marriage study from this summer:
“Change hasn’t happened until change happens.”
Going back to the parable:

If the son had merely changed his point of view and had felt sorry that he had spoken to his father in the way he did, but then had just sat down, or had gone to spend the afternoon at the seaside with his friends, he would not really have repented. That would have been remorse.

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The Bible speaks of this in:
2 Corinthians 7:9–10 “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
There’s a sort of easy-believism out there that says we can “repent,” we can change our mind, but never change how we’re living. That’s a damnable lie that leads people to hell.
Martin Luther supposedly said: “We’re saved by faith alone but saving faith is never alone.”
By that, he meant that a changed life is always the result of repentance and faith.
Lloyd-Jones then asks:
What leads to repentance?
We talked about the effectual call of the Holy Spirit before we finished up last year, and that’s certainly the answer. It is a work of God.
Lloyd-Jones, however, says we must flesh it out a bit more. His ultimate answer to what leads to repentance is:
Grace.
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Repentance is a gift of God which leads to an activity on the part of men and women.

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
Acts 5:31 “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
Acts 11:18 “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
2 Timothy 2:24–25 “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,”
So, repentance is a gift of grace, leading to action on our part. And the way in which God does this is through the teaching and preaching of the word. -MLJ
And in the Bible, as in life, repentance always leads to action:
1 Thessalonians 1:9 “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,”
MLJ then asks:
What is is in men and women that is engaged or involved in repentance?
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Repentance must include the whole person

His answer is the whole person is engaged in repentance. Again, it’s not just a change of thinking or mind alone. It must, MLJ says, include the whole person or it’s not repentance.
This means the mind, the intellect, the will, everything.
Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,”
He talks a bit here about evangelism. His contention is that modern (in his day) evangelism had the problem of rushing people to a decision without any thought as to whether the person truly understands their condition before God. He, like Ray Comfort, believed in bringing the law to bear on a person’s conscience.
Romans 7:13 “Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.”

Men and women do not like this idea of sin, they rebel against it, they hate it. And that is the very reason why they need to be held under the law. They need to be convicted of sin, they need to have their mind addressed and enlightened with regard to their condition. So preaching about repentance starts with the intellect and the understanding.

Repentance must include the will

Isaiah 55:7 “let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Joel 2:13 “and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”

He is not only to feel sorry, he is not only to see his sin, he must leave it.

Luke 3:8 “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
We never in scripture see repentance apart from faith and we never see repentance and faith apart from a changed life.
(Zacchaeus)
He finishes up by asking:
How can I know that I’ve repented?
Our thoughts about who God is have changed. Do I see the holiness and greatness of God where before I was indifferent to him?
Do I have a sense of my guilt before God, am I no longer self-satisfied.
Do I hate sin? Both my own and it’s manifestation in the world. Do I now love things I used to hate and hate things I used to love?
Do I long for deliverance? Am I living in anticipation of Christ’s return or do I love this world still?
Do I continue to confess my sins and seek to grow in dependance on the Lord?
Repentance never stops, by the way.
Luther said that all of the Christian life is repentance. Kevin DeYoung says:
“Repentance is necessary in becoming a Christian, and it is necessary in living as a Christian.”
And I would venture to say if the second is not happening, the first hasn’t either.
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