The Blessing of Conversion

National Conversion

a. In the days of Moses, Joshua, and the Judges, the people of Israel repeatedly turned their backs upon Jehovah, and after experiencing the displeasure of God, repented of their sin and returned unto the Lord; b. there was a national conversion in the kingdom of Judah in the days of Hezekiah and again in the days of Josiah. c. Upon the preaching of Jonah the Ninevites repented of their sins and were spared by the Lord, . These national conversions were merely of the nature of moral reformations. They may have been accompanied with some real religious conversions of individuals, but fell far short of the true conversion of all those that belonged to the nation. As a rule they were very superficial. They made their appearance under the leadership of pious rulers, and when these were succeeded by wicked men, the people at once fell back into their old habits.

Temporary conversions

a. The Bible also refers to conversions of individuals that represent no change of the heart, and are therefore of only passing significance.b. In the parable of the sower Jesus speaks of such as hear the word and at once receive it with joy, but have no root in themselves, and therefore endure but for a while. When tribulations and trials and persecutions come, they are speedily offended and fall away. , . Paul makes mention of Hymenaeus and Alexander, who “made shipwreck concerning the faith,” , . Cf. also , . And in he refers to Demas who left him, because the love of the present world gained the upper hand. And the writer of Hebrews speaks of some as falling away “who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,” e. . Finally, John says of some who had turned their backs upon the faithful: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us,” . Such temporary conversions may for a time have the appearance of true conversions.

True conversion

a. (conversis actualis prima). True conversion is born of godly sorrow, and issues in a life of devotion to God, . It is a change that is rooted in the work of regeneration, and that is effected in the conscious life of the sinner by the Spirit of God; a change of thoughts and opinions, of desires and volitions, which involves the conviction that the former direction of life was unwise and wrong and alters the entire course of life. b. There are two sides to this conversion, the one active and the other passive; the former being the act of God, by which He changes the conscious course of man’s life, and the latter, the result of this action as seen in man’s changing his course of life and turning to God. Consequently, a twofold definition must be given of conversion: i. (a) Active conversion is that act of God whereby He causes the regenerated sinner, in His conscious life, to turn to Him in repentance and faith. ii. (b) Passive conversion is the resulting conscious act of the regenerated sinner whereby he, through the grace of God, turns to God in repentance and faith. c. This true conversion is the conversion with which we are primarily concerned in theology. The Word of God contains several striking examples of it, as, for instance, i. the conversions of Naaman, ; . Manasseh, , ; . Zaccheus, , ; . the man born blind, ;. the Samaritan woman, , ; . the eunuch, .; vii. Cornelius, .; viii. Paul, .; ix. Lydia, , and others.

Repeated conversion

a. The Bible also speaks of a repeated conversion, in which a converted person, after a temporary lapse into the ways of sin, turns back to God. b. Strong’s (concordance) prefers not to use the word “conversion” for this change, but to employ such words and phrases as “breaking off, forsaking, returning from, neglects or transgressions,” and “coming back to Christ, trusting Him anew.” c. But Scripture itself uses the word “conversion” for such cases, ; , , , ; , . It should be understood, however, that conversion in the strictly soteriological sense of the word is never repeated. They who have experienced a true conversion may temporarily fall under the spell of evil and fall into sin; they may at times even wander far from home; but the new life is bound to re-assert itself and will eventually cause them to return to God with penitent hearts.

The Author of Conversion

1. God the author of conversion. God only can be called the author of conversion. This is the clear teaching of Scripture. In the poet prays, “Turn us, O God of our salvation,” and in Ephraim prays, “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned.” A similar prayer is found in . In Peter calls attention to the fact that God has granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto life. A similar statement is found in . There is a twofold operation of God in the conversion of sinners, the one moral and the other hyper-physical. In general it may be said that He works repentance by means of the law, ; , and faith by means of the gospel, . Yet we cannot separate these two, for the law also contains a presentation of the gospel, and the gospel confirms the law and threatens with its terrors, . But God also works in an immediate, hyper-physical manner in conversion. The new principle of life that is implanted in the regenerate man, does not issue into conscious action by its own inherent power, but only through the illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit. Cf. ; . 2. Man co-operates in conversion. It should be borne in mind, however, that this activity of man always results from a previous work of God in man, ; . That man is active in conversion is quite evident from such passages as ; ; , ; ; ; , and others.

The Characteristics of Conversion

Conversion is simply one part of the saving process. But because it is a part of an organic process, it is naturally closely connected with every other part. Sometimes a tendency becomes apparent, especially in our country, to identify it with some of the other parts of the process or to glorify it as if it were by far the most important part of the process. It is a well known fact that some, in speaking of their redemption, never get beyond the story of their conversion and forget to tell about their spiritual growth in later years. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that in their experience conversion stands out as a sharply marked crisis, and a crisis which called for action on their part.

Characteristics

At the same time it is closely connected with the divine operations in the judicial sphere. In conversion man becomes conscious of the fact that he is worthy of condemnation and is also brought to a recognition of that fact. While this already presupposes faith, it also leads to a greater manifestation of faith in Jesus Christ, a confident trusting in Him for salvation. And this faith, in turn, by appropriating the righteousness of Jesus Christ, is instrumental in the sinner’s justification. In conversion man awakens to the joyous assurance that all his sins are pardoned on the basis of the merits of Jesus Christ.2. As the word metanoia clearly indicates, conversion takes place, not in the subconscious, but in the conscious life of the sinner. This does not mean that it is not rooted in the subconscious life. Being a direct effect of regeneration, it naturally includes a transition in the operations of the new life from the subconscious to the conscious life. In view of this it may be said that conversion begins below consciousness, but that, as a completed act, it certainly falls within the range of the conscious life. This brings out the close connection between regeneration and conversion. A conversion that is not rooted in regeneration is no true conversion.3. Conversion marks the conscious beginning, not only of the putting away of the old man, a fleeing from sin, but also of the putting on of the new man, a striving for holiness of life. In regeneration the sinful principle of the old life is already replaced by the holy principle of the new life. But it is only in conversion that this transition penetrates into the conscious life, turning it into a new and Godward direction. The sinner consciously forsakes the old sinful life and turns to a life in communion with and devoted to God. This does not mean, however, that the struggle between the old and the new is at once ended; it will continue as long as man lives.4. If we take the word “conversion” in its most specific sense, it denotes a momentary change and not a process like sanctification. It is a change that takes place once and that cannot be repeated, though, as stated above, the Bible also speaks of the Christian’s return to God, after he has fallen into sin, as conversion. It is the believer’s turning to God and holiness again, after he has temporarily lost sight of these.In connection with regeneration we cannot possibly speak of repetition; but in the conscious life of the Christian there are ups and downs, seasons of close communion with God and seasons of estrangement from Him.5. It should be noted that, while conversion may be such a sharply marked crisis, it may also be a very gradual change. 6. Finally, in our day, in which many psychologists show an inclination to reduce conversion to a general and natural phenomenon of the adolescent period of life, it becomes necessary to point out that, when we speak of conversion, we have in mind a supernatural work of God, resulting in a religious change.