Chapter Eight – What Is True Conversion?

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When is a person converted? I have known many who doubted their conversion because they had never been taught the meaning of true conversion. When under fire—under pressure—they lacked the confidence to know they could effectively address their problems. They were not sure that they even had the power to overcome them.

Since the devil—the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33)—deceives the whole world, he also seeks to confuse professing Christians about this most important subject. In fact, because so much is at stake in this understanding, he pulls out all stops. The thing he hates most is even a single human being turning to God.

So few ask, “Just what is a real Christian?” Is he one who “attends church”—“professes Jesus”—“knows Christ”—has been “baptized”? Is there a single verse to which we can turn that gives the Bible definition of a real Christian—that eliminates all confusion?

Remember, Paul wrote, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). A Christian, then, is one who has the Holy Spirit leading him. But is having God’s Spirit absolutely essential to being a Christian? By this point, in context, Paul had already said, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9)!

Strong words! One either has the Spirit of God, and is a Christian, or does not have it and is not a Christian—is “none of His.” All those who are truly converted have the Holy Spirit in them.

But what does this mean? Is receiving God’s Spirit all there is to Christianity and conversion—or is there more?

Receiving Power

Christ taught the apostles for forty days after His Resurrection (Acts 1:3). He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit ten days later, on the Feast of Pentecost. The disciples asked Him if He was about to establish His kingdom on Earth. Just before ascending to heaven, He said, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons.… But you shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:7-8). These were His last words before disappearing.

Like the apostles waiting for power through the Holy Spirit, most people today wait for some kind of additional strength upon conversion. Tell a teenager that he will be given the keys to the family car and he will have no difficulty understanding that he is about to receive real power. The first time I was handed the keys to my father’s car, I understood exactly what it meant. It is no different with a potential Christian waiting to receive God’s Spirit at repentance and baptism.

Paul wrote Timothy, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). Since Christians have the Spirit of God, very real power has come into their lives. Of course, the verse also says that a Christian demonstrates love—or the give way of life—and that his conduct reflects a sound mind.

The fact that God’s Spirit imparts sound-mindedness is evidence that God wants Christians to understand their calling—their conversion—God’s PURPOSE for them. God wants His people to be sound in the right way. Of course, this must include understanding all the basic aspects of true conversion.

When Is the Holy Spirit Given?

How does one actually receive God’s Spirit? And how can he know for certain that it has been given? Since this moment constitutes conversion, at what point can the would-be Christian be assured that God has given His Spirit? Since not having God’s Spirit precludes one from being a true Christian, surely God would not leave His servants in doubt as to whether they have it—exactly when they receive it—and how!

The book of Acts states, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Receiving God’s Spirit comes upon real repentance and a correct baptism. With this also comes the remission of sin, or forgiveness. So there is a specific moment when conversion begins. There is a definite time when the Holy Spirit enters the mind and one becomes a true Christian—and God has begotten a new son. However, there is much more to understand.

We must ask, is salvation now finished in the Christian? Is he or she now “saved”? Is the newly begotten child of God suddenly perfect, unable to ever sin or go wrong, because he thinks he has now been saved?

Real Christian conversion is a GRADUAL process of growing and overcoming—of changing and developing. But how? And at the end of the process, what does the “finished” Christian look like? And what does this have to do with the goal of a Christian—with what he is striving for as his final reward for having been a Christian?

God’s Purpose for Christians

We have seen that, throughout His ministry, Christ proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God—and that hidden within this message is the understanding of the AWESOME POTENTIAL for the one who truly yields to God. Wherever Christ went, He spoke about the coming kingdom—or GOVERNMENT—of God. While most of His parables were cantered on this message, few that heard them understood their meaning. And when He spoke these parables, He always included how true Christians were qualifying to become part of that government!

Matthew 13:1-58 contains a half dozen “kingdom” parables. This chapter begins with the parable of the “Sower and the Seed,” depicting one throwing seed into various locations and kinds of soil. In some cases, the parable described how the seed grew and flourished in the person who received it. In other cases, it either died quickly after starting to grow, or took no root at all. Others who received the seed grew in character “thirty, sixty, or one hundred fold” on the way to the kingdom.

This is followed by the parable of the “Wheat and Tares.” This parable discusses “fruit” that appears in Christians’ lives prior to the time God gathers them into His “barn.” The fruit, good or bad, represents Christian growth, or lack of growth. The barn is a type of the kingdom.

The third parable depicts the kingdom beginning as a tiny “grain of mustard seed” that grows into a great tree. This is followed by the parable of leaven, depicting God’s kingdom as leaven spreading until it has permeated the dough (the earth, and all nations) that contains it. The fifth compares the kingdom to “hidden treasure” found in a field. The finder sells all that he has to buy this field.

The sixth parable describes the kingdom as the “pearl of great price,” which a person buys after selling all that he has to raise sufficient money for the purchase. The seventh and final parable of this one chapter describes the kingdom as a “net” gathering all kinds of fish. The “good” fish are kept—the “bad” are thrown away. Jesus explains that the good fish are those who enter the kingdom. The bad represent those burned (Matt. 13:50) and destroyed in a “furnace of fire” (the lake of fire).

In each of these parables, the message is the same. Some (not all!) are willing to pay the price to be a Christian. They are willing to spiritually grow and develop character so that they may later inherit the eternal reward of becoming born (no longer merely begotten) Sons of God—in the GOD FAMILY—ruling with Him in the kingdom of God.

There are many other New Testament parables. Much of Christ’s teaching was through the use of these stories about common, well-known things. They were intended to carry deep lessons about a Christian’s calling, for those whose minds have been opened by God to understand them.

Recall Christ’s words, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him” (John 6:44, 65). It must be repeated for emphasis that the first step to conversion is a calling. Without it, you simply cannot understand God’s truth, only possible through the power of His Spirit at work with you. So, the process of coming to true Christian conversion begins with a calling or drawing by the Father.

The parables of the talents, penny, marriage supper, ten virgins, sheep and goats, unjust judge, fig tree, lost sheep, lost coin, prodigal son, unjust steward, Lazarus and the rich man, the good Samaritan, and others, all involve or depict a Christian entering the coming kingdom, or governing Family, of God at Christ’s Second Coming. Space could be taken to more closely examine each parable and demonstrate this. Though some are very short, and others quite long, the purpose of most of Christ’s parables is essentially the same. For those who follow Peter’s instruction to “grow in grace, and in … knowledge” (2 Pet. 3:18), rulership in the government of God under Christ is attainable.

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