Conversion
Randall Caselman
8/5/98
Conversion
Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
There is a lot of disagreement today in our churches as to what constitutes
Conversion. Is it joining a church? Is it having a religious experience? Is it mental assent, acknowledgment of God’s existence and belief in Jesus as his son? The answer is yes. But
New Testament Conversion includes much more then the above suggestions. We must restore the pattern, return to a New Testament concept of Christianity. What did
repent and be converted mean to the primitive church? Conversion means to be changed, to be transformed:
From guilt to righteousness.
Our guilt for His righteousness.
He hath made Him sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus said,
I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill the law. He did that by keeping it perfectly, thus becoming the
author and finisher of our salvation. Jesus made it possible for us to exchange our sins for His righteousness. Paul told the Galatians,
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ... Have been clothed with Christ. Have you exchanged your sin clothing for the righteous clothing of Jesus? Have you been converted?
From alienation to acceptance.
The prodigal son traveled from the far country of sin to a place of service in the Father’s house. He saw himself as he really was, in helpless alienation from his father and the blessing to be found in the Father’s house, due to his own sin. He was spiritually bankrupt. He was without resources to help himself.
Father I have sinned against God and in your sight, make me a servant. There is no conversion until and unless we see ourselves as sinners. There is a direct Biblical correlation between the acknowledgment of sin and forgiveness. Jesus said,
I tell you nay except you repent you will also perish. Have you experienced this conversion?
From death to life.
What shall we say then, shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer. Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death... Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, we too may live a new life... In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Conversion is an exchange; a life of death in sin, for a life of freedom in Christ.
And if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Are you dead to sin and alive in Jesus?
From weakness to strength.
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Praise God for this promise. I need it, don’t you? Believe it. Accept it. Claim it!! The promise is ours. Paul knew that;
For when I am weak, then I am made strong. The promise is His grace will be sufficient. His strength for my weakness.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me my strength... For God will supply all your needs by Jesus. I want to experience the kind of conversion that gives me strength from God through Christ, don’t you?
From adult to being like children.
I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. A child’s thoughts are pure, wholesome and humble. Children do not deal in pride. Pride is sin. Pride is taught. Sin is taught. Children are sinless. Children need not be converted,
of such is the Kingdom of heaven.
James ends his epistle with the statement;
conversion saves a soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. That is what we need, salvation and our sins covered. Father, help us all to be genuinely converted people.
—Randall Caselman
