Biblical Understanding of Conversion
Sunday Evening: What Is A Healthy Church? • Sermon • Submitted
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Can people change?
Can people change?
How would most people answer that question?
Skeptical…people change only to manipulate you or others.
“leopard does not change his spots”…meaning the die is cast and who we are is who we are...
excuse bad behavior…that is just who I am
Is any real change possible?
Is any real change possible?
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
past tense = were = change is possible
In route to becoming a healthy church, we must have a biblical understanding of the great change that takes place through genuine conversion…
many answer no…choose complacency about their human condition.
“what makes your way of looking at the world, your way of living any better than mine?”
Does the Bible clearly teach that change is needed or are we just fine?
The Bible teaches we are in trouble...
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
In , Paul quotes the OT to denounce any claim we might make in being righteous in and of ourselves.
Consider this statement…We are in desperate need of God’s grace; and god owes his grace to no one.
What we are owed is justice for our sin.
When the Spirit begins to call us to turn from our sin, we begin to understand the seriousness of our sin…our view of sin begins to take shape and the seriousness of that sin takes root and grows…we begin to think like the Psalmist
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
The image the Bible paints of our condition is quite radical...
being in debt
enslaved, bankrupt, and even dead.
Our condition is disastrous and we had best get out of it! So yes we clearly need to change!
Understanding Biblical Conversion
Understanding Biblical Conversion
All men suffer the curse of sin..not only do we sin, it is our nature to sin...
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
At our core we are alienated and hostile toward God…we prefer to satisfy our own sinful cravings and desires more than to honor and worship God…we are enslaved to sin.
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Because we are sinners by nature, we are guilty before God and deserve the punishment God promises…unless radical and profound change takes place, we are doomed to judgment…our minds are set on evil, we have no desire to please God…we need a new heart.
This is what the Bible calls “conversion”…the radical turn from a life enslaved to sin to a life of pursuing and worshipping God that is free from the power of sin…
Conversion is a change of life, not merely a decision…it is not a moral re-calibration, self help or behavior modification...
It is not accomplished by outward displays or religious practices like walking an aisle or raising a hand…
It cannot be accomplished by human effort, but only by the power of God...
When the Spirit begins to call us to turn from our sin, we begin to understand the seriousness of our sin…our view of sin begins to take shape and the seriousness of that sin takes root and grows…we begin to think like the Psalmist...
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
The Holy Spirit then grants the twin graces of repentance and faith to those who turn from sin and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
being in debt
enslaved, bankrupt, and even dead.
Our condition is disastrous and we had best get out of it! So yes we clearly need to change!
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jn
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Conversion requires genuine conviction of sin that leads to turning around (repentance) and relying only on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation (faith).
Inward implications
Inward implications
Inward implications
Inward implications
We must ask ourselves if we have received a changed heart by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ...
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Knowing our own souls is the first order of business...
Knowing our own souls is the first order of business...
Are we trusting in the finished work of Christ alone...
Is there evidence of God’s grace in our lives...
Are we growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ…are we seeing the fruit of the Spirit…
Are we seeing growth in the virtues of the beatitudes…
1 John is a good book for believers to study when examining the work of God in our souls…here we find several tests to help Christians know if they have come to possess saving faith...
Lets turn to …
Do we walk in the darkness?
Their should be grief over sin, a desire for the light of life in Christ, a desire to work and walk in integrity and righteousness
Persons habitually and unrepentantly living in sin, who deny they are sinners are not genuinely converted…,
Do we love God the Father?
Do we love God the Father?
Why is this important…people will often quote a love for Jesus because they see him as “meek and mild”, but will show no affection for the Father because they see Him as the unloving God of the OT.
Jesus is the God of love and tolerance…The Father is the God of judgment and condemnation....
Look at ,
There is no way to love both the world and the Father…there is no way to embrace Christ without embracing the Father…we cannot come to the Father without a belief in Christ
Do we love other Christians?
Do we love other Christians?
Many people appear to live without a genuine affection or concern for other Christians…view their Christian walk as a “solo activity”...
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
Look at :1
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 Jn 3:14-15
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
If our love for other Christians is cold, we need to examine whether or not we have genuinely believed on Christ as the Son of God...
Do we have the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God?
Do we have the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God?
The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
The Father did not leave us without a testimony of his love…we can have the assurance of being adopted into his family by God Himself…the Holy Spirit...
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
Rom 8
When we believed the gospel, the Holy Spirit took up residence in our lives...
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Are we persevering in the faith?
Are we persevering in the faith?
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 jn 5
Those who believe and continue to believe are those who overcome the world by faith in Christ…genuine faith is a persevering faith…that doesn’t mean we will not face doubt or discomfort…but it does mean that genuine Christians press onward in their faith, trusting God and his good plans and will...
Church Culture
Church Culture
As we ask these questions in the culture of the church, we can help each other see ourselves accurately…we can love each other by both pointing out evidence of God’s grace in each other and by asking tough questions about our profession and walk...
This will help us avoid the extremes of despair and complacency...
Implications on Evangelism
Implications on Evangelism
How we view conversion ought to affect our approach to evangelism...
We will understand that it is God that actually converts the sinner and for some reason chooses to use his redeemed people as proclaimers of His message…none of us can take credit for any soul that comes to Christ...
In the conversion of Cornelius in , God could have just zapped him with salvation, but instead He brought someone (Peter) to him who knew the Word...
God told Cornelius to send people to the city to find Peter
Ezk
God gave Peter a vision to convince him it was okay to talk to Gentiles about Jesus
1 Cor 2
God sent an angel to accompany Peter back to Cornelius.
joel
When God brings life, He does it through His Word…God could have saved Cornelius directly, but like He always did, he used His Word and human agents...
Just so we don’t miss it, just so we are not tempted to put a notch in our belt, just so we don’t evaluate ourselves by the wrong measures, lets look at some other Scripture...
“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
eph
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
ps 19
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
Consider — God
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
Consider — God
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;
but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Consider — God gave Ezekiel a vision of going and preaching to a valley full of corpses, but through the preaching of God’s Word, God’s Spirit goes out and brings life...
In any of those passages, do we see God giving us the responsibility to save people...
Evangelism is not a matter of clever techniques, but a complete reliance on the Spirit of God to bless the Word of God to effect spiritual rebirth and the radical change of conversion...
The message from Christ and about Christ is the only means that God uses to bring about conversion...
Look at evangelism next week...