Conversion

SR

The New International Version Chapter 2

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Third son Nathan was baptized this Sunday. All my sons have been baptized, so now I can be an elder!

Third son Nathan was baptized this Sunday. All my sons have been baptized, so now I can be an elder!

“Conversion” in COC often (rightly) has a focus on baptism

1 Peter 2:9 NIV

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Background of baptism in COC. @ Nathan’s baptism I told him this was the beginning of the journey, not the end. Next day he told me he wanted an Eminem jacket! Not talking about the round coated candies.

Repent is “turn around” or “turn your mind” etc. We rightly tell people that they need to live a different way as a Christian. We can’t keep living in the old ways (, the old has gone, the new has come)

Paul an example of quick turn around. he tells the story of the road to Damascus. He was going there with letters from the Jerusalem authorities to bring people back with him and punish them for being followers of Christ. “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?” He hung out with Ananias a while and then starts preaching Christ. That change was so sudden, that some were still skeptical. :

The New International Version Chapter 9

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

Have you ever wondered: how much repenting do we need to do anyway? Become perfect so you can be baptized? Figure everything out and live a perfect life? Then get baptized?

What if someone still smokes? Swears? Drinks? Those are outward visible things. What if they still have a dark thought? Are jealous?

“renewing of your mind”

Don’t conform. Don’t do what everyone else is doing, but “be transformed” (guess what word we get from this Grk. word: “metamorphoo”). Metamorphosis! From a caterpillar to a butterfly! It’s a process. We understand that it is a complete change. The butterfly doesn’t go back to being a caterpillar, it’s an utter transformation. has the same word. When Jesus was “transfigured” in front of the disciples. His face was like the sun and his clothes were white as light.

Conversion a process, not a goal. :17-18

The New International Version Chapter 3

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatea the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Notice here that transformation isn’t something we do like this: (make a strain face). It is something that is done to us. “Are being transformed.” This doesn’t come from our trying, our effort, our good deeds, our “repentance.” It comes from the Lord who is the spirit. The unveiled face reference is from Moses who spent time with God on the mountain and had to cover his face when he went down to Israel. But we’re not like Moses and when we turn to the Lord the veil is removed so we can reflect his glory and be transformed through spending time with him.

Romans says it starts with a “renewing of the mind.”

**Not sure about this section** Your sermons are getting long.

Right after Peter says we’re a “Royal Priesthood” and a “Holy Nation” —that we’ve been called out of darkness into light (our scripture reading), he goes on to say:

The New International Version Chapter 2

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

We are Royal and Holy and we have work to do. Sin wages war against us. There are people living around us that need to see a good life well lived. They want us to be hypocrites so they can accuse us and blame us for why they’re not living their lives for Christ, “Oh Christians are a bunch of hypocritical religious people.” But there might be good deeds that they see and give glory to God

Some disciples get called out by Jesus because they “didn’t know” him:

The New International Version Chapter 14

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?

Thomas says “how can we know the way”? Jesus says, “I am the way.” Meaning you don’t really know me.

Thomas says “how can we know the way”? Jesus says, “I am the way.” Meaning you don’t really know me.

Remember Philip telling Nathanael about Jesus?

The New International Version Chapter 1

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

Hey! We found the right guy! The one from the Bible! Moses wrote about him! And the prophets! Come check it out! Jesus: “if you really knew me.” It’s a process. Nobody has it all figured out.

“Work out your salvation” Philippians 2

Philippians 2 NIV

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.

The New International Version Chapter 2

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

So not matter how long ago we were “converted” / no matter when we were baptized, there is still conversion work to do. We work out our salvation, because God is at work in us. Seems like there is a partnership here. Do we earn our salvation by our good deeds? No. But we are saved to do good works, and we do those things through God’s power at work in us. Key word here besides work is “continue.” We gotta keep on keeping on.

There is a focus here in this section of that is a “corporate” focus:

Be like minded, be one in spirit and purpose.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Consider others better than yourselves.

In your relationships with each other, have the mindset of Jesus Christ (who humbled himself and laid down his life for others). After the beautiful Christ hymn, he says, “therefore . . .”

So “working out our salvation” is a corporate event. Not just me and God. And a big part of that “working out” isn’t piling up good deeds, but it is loving and serving each other and placing others above yourself which is the hard work of conversion. I’m being converted every day, as I learn to not live just for myself, but for those that God has put right in front of me.