19 13. A One-Hundred-Per-Cent Conversion
13. A One-Hundred-Per-Cent Conversion
A One-Hundred-Per-Cent Conversion
INTRODUCTION
Having gone over the law of pardon to aliens—or the things that aliens must do to become "such as should be saved"—in single subjects, we now present outlines that comprehend the whole law of pardon to aliens. In this lesson we wish to study conversion with the view of what it takes to make a one-hundred-percent convert, or a complete conversion. THE MEANING OF THE WORD
Conversion is turning again."Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." (Acts 3:19, King James Version.) Reading this same statement from the American Revised Version, we have: "Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out." Here "turn again" is used for "be converted." The American Revised Version so translates this word in Matthew 18:3.
It is something we accomplish. Conversion is not a change that takes place by our being acted upon wholly by some outside force or power, but something in which we ourselves have a part.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONVERSION No remission without conversion. Referring to our text, it reads: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." "That your sins may be blotted out" is a purpose clause and shows why we need conversion. No conversion, no remission of sins.
Die in sins without conversion. Jesus said to the Jews: "I go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin: whither I go, ye cannot come." (John 8:21.) We cannot afford to die in our sins. To do so means that we are lost forever. But we cannot get rid of our sins unless we are converted; hence the importance of conversion.
HOW CONVERSION IS PRODUCED By the law of the Lord. In Psalms 19:7 we have: "The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring [converting] the soul." "Perfect" here means that the law of Jehovah is adequate, or all-sufficient, to the conversion of the soul. Just remember here that Satan has circulated the idea that "the law of the Lord is not perfect" to the conversion of the soul; hence, we have to look to some miraculous power independent of the word to accomplish the work. By teaching God’s way. Note how beautifully the following harmonizes with Psalms 19:7 : "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." (See Psalms 51:13.) By preaching. "For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21.) Read the great commission, as given by Christ, and see the emphasis he has placed on teaching and preaching. (See Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16.) "Go, teach the nations," is the command. Of course, the thing to be taught is "the law of the Lord" that is perfect for the conversion of the soul, or the gospel, which is God’s power to save. (Rom. l: 16.)
Taught of God. Study the significance of the following words: "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heardfrom the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me." (See John 6:45.) Teaching is God’s way of drawing people unto Christ. Read verses 44 and 45 together. But it is teaching the gospel which is his power to save. No teaching, no conversion. Christ made some failures in trying to convert people. He used the same method of conversion while he was here in the flesh— viz., that of teaching the people. But some of them would not be taught; hence, they were not converted. Read this: "For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." (Matthew 13:15, King James Version.)
Note the order: (1) See with their eyes and hear with their ears, (2) understand with their hearts, (3) be converted, (4) and I should heal them. Where does the healing or the forgiveness of sins come? Is it not after conversion? This is the way our text (Acts 3:19) puts it. Where does conversion come? Is it not after an understanding heart? There is no such thing as being ignorantly converted. One who is converted knows it and knows how he was converted. Conversion follows an understanding heart. But where does this understanding heart come? Does it not follow teaching—hearing with your ears and seeing with your eyes? Indeed, "the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." And, as David says, when it is taught unto the people, sinners are converted.
Satan knows how sinners are converted. "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And those by the wayside are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved." (Luke 8:11-12.) This certainly should be considered enough on how conversion is brought about. It comes as a result of teaching the pure word of God on the subject to the human heart. Certainly you can understand now how it is that a sinner can prevent his conversion, even when Jesus was the teacher. OF WHAT IT CONSISTS
There must be a change of heart. God has faith right here as his appointment to change the heart. This faith comes by hearing God’s word. (See Romans 10:17.) Shut the word out, and you keep the faith that saves out.
There must be a change of life, habits, associations, or conduct. Just here we have repentance as God’s appointment to attend to this. In Acts 2:40"Save yourselves from this crooked generation," was the work of repentance.It meant: Step down and out of that sinful crowd with whom you have been running and stand aloof from them. Repentance makes you throw away all yourhad habits, get out from among your evil associates,or turn around in the road with a complete change in your conduct or way of living.
There must be a change of state, or relationship. And just here baptism is God’s appointment for this. Baptism is for the soul that has come to Christ by faith and repentance and now is ready to go into Christ.
"For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ." (Galatians 3:26-27.) The soul that comes to baptism without faith and repentance has not the power to be baptized into Christ. Read John 1:12 and you will learn that "believing on" the name of the Son of God does not make you a son, but gives you the power to become a son. We are baptized into Christ. "Into" means a change of state, or relationship. From all that we have thus far studied it is easy to see that conversion begins always with teaching and is consummated in baptism. It begins with a sinner out of Christ; it ends with his soul in Christ, sins forgiven, and rejoicing. Take all the examples of conversion in the Acts of the Apostles and study them and see if this is not true. Try Acts 8:35-39 and see if this was not true of the eunuch. Then turn to Acts 16:32-34 and see if this was not true of the jailer and his household. No soul was ever, under the preaching of the apostles, recognized as a complete convert until he was baptized into Christ. The sin of this day is that preachers are going all over the country making souls believe they are converted and their sins are blotted out when they have had only faith and repentance, hence are only partially converted.
TWO NOTED EXAMPLES The Pentecostians. Certainly these murderers needed conversion if souls ever needed it. Begin with Acts 2:22 and read to the close of the chapter. Note in verse 23 that Peter tells them that they at the hands of lawless men did crucify and slay Jesus. Peter preaches earnestly unto them. But when you come to verse 37, you find a change has taken place in their hearts. They cry out: "What shall we do?" They had been pricked in their hearts by the teaching. Now, what change has taken place? The answer is easy: They have a change of heart. What brought about that change? Faith did it. How did they get that faith? The preaching of Peter produced it. Of what does this change consist? Before the sermon they did not believe Christ to be God’s Son, but now they believe it. Before the sermon they hated the Christ and mocked the apostles, accusing them of being full of new wine, but now, at the feet of the apostles, loving Christ, they ask the apostles what to do to be saved. This is what is meant by a change of heart. Who will say they did not have a genuine case? Did the apostles declare them to be full converts, with sins blotted out? Verse 38 gives the command: "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This would complete their conversion. Verse 41 states: "They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls." Verse 47 tells us to what they were added, by whom they were added, and why they were added. Christ did the adding. He added them to his church. He did this because they had become "such as should be saved." Could anything be plainer than this?
Saul’s conversion. A full account of this is found in Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:3-16. Compare these references. This conversion is unique in that Jesus himself did the first part of the teaching.
We just cannot fully appreciate Paul’s attitude with out referring to Matthew 28:1-4; Matthew 28:11-15 and reading of the He that was told for "much money" as given by one translation, and "large money" as given by another. The soldiers who had been placed at the grave to watch saw what took place, and they were "scared stiff," as we sometimes express it, or became "as dead men," as the Bible expresses it. They knew that something wonderful had happened. They related this to those hardhearted, prejudiced rulers, and they, to keep it from becoming known, paid these soldiers "large money" to circulate a He instead of the truth. It has been said that "every man has a price"—that is, that if you will go high enough you can buy any man. This is not true. No man has a price. Anyone who can be bought is not a man, in God’s estimate of what it takes to constitute a man. (Read Jeremiah 5:1.) A man, like thousands you have heard of, will die before surrendering the truth. Saul, the man whose conversion we are now studying, was just such a man. He became a victim of this He. And we should not be amazed. Were not sixty soldiers witnesses enough to establish a proposition? They were telling something, too, that was in perfect harmony with what he and all his associates really believed about Christ. All of their fleshly nature helped them to believe this story told by the soldiers. And, believing this, Saul’s blood ran cold at the thought of his kindred and people falling victims to the story of the resurrection, for he verily believed deep down in his heart that Jesus never had arisen. Be patient with Saul. Have pity and compassion. Our Lord did, and so should we. Here study I Tim. l: 12-16. Christ knew how sincere he was—that he was whole-heartedly opposing him just because deep down in his soul he believed the body of Jesus was out somewhere hidden away, having returned to the dust from whence it came. Christ respected his honesty and sincerity, and set about to save him; but he never saved him in his error, but led him out of it and saved him on the same conditions he saves others.
While on his way to Damascus with others and with letters of authority on his person to bind all Christians there found and take them back to Jerusalem to be punished, Christ appears to him and cries out: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" The appearance of Jesus was so much brighter than that of the noonday sun that Saul was blinded with its brilliancy. But this voice was the voice of a stranger. He knew not who it was that was speaking, so he exclaimed: "Who art thou, Lord2" "Lord" means some superior one--one that was above and beyond him. But who is it? Saul wanted to know. The answer came back: " 1 am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Can you imagine the sensation in Saul’s soul? Think of the psychological effect! Saul had been believing all the while that the story of the resurrection of Jesus was a hoax. Now he perceives that he has been misled. How natural, how reasonable that he should exclaim, as given in the King James Version, while trembling and astonished: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"! Jesus tells him to go into the city and there it would be told him what he must do.
Let us check up a little just here. I said this conversion is unique in that Christ did the first part of the teaching. And this teaching resulted in faith and repentance. It was a believing, repentant heart that cried out: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do 2" Who can deny this? You cannot find a better faith and a more complete repentance than this man had. And it all came by hearing the word of the Lord and actually seeing him. Does he have a change of heart? Who can doubt it? Does he have a change of life, conduct, associations? Well, he has no further use for the papers on his person giving him the right to bind Christians and punishing them. He has no further association with the haters of Christ with whom he had formerly run. Yes, he has repentance, and deeper repentance you cannot find. Is he a one-hundred-per-cent convert? Are his sins blotted out? Countless thousands have been made to believe that they were fully converted just because they believed and had repented. If Saul is not a full convert, how dare we make souls believe today that they are full converts and have remission of sins just because they have believed and repented? Will someone tell me?
Go with Saul to Damascus. He is there for three days and nights. And what is he doing? He is praying, fasting, and mourning over the awful mistake he has made in believing that all men were paid "large money" to tell. But Jesus turns the further teaching of this man over to Ananias, a faithful preacher of his, who was in that city at the time. Ananias comes to him and says: "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name." (Acts 22:16.) This man could not eat, drink, nor sleep until he learned what Christ said he must do. And note that he arose and did this before any eating and drinking took place. This one, later known as Paul, has something to say of his own conversion. Perhaps we had better read it. Turn to Romans 6:3-4 : "Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" Here he lets us know that he, with the Roman brethren, got into Jesus—into the benefits of his death—by baptism. He also leaves us not in the dark as to how he was baptized. "We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death." Paul was buried and also raised in his baptism, he declares. So are we, if we are taught aright on baptism. Then in verses 17, 18 he tells these brethren that in obedience to this form of doctrine (baptism) we are then made free from sin.
How could anything be made plainer? Christ had told Peter, in Matthew 16:19, that he would give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven and would bind in heaven what he bound on earth. In the study of the conversion of the Pentecostians we certainly learned that baptism was bound as one of the conditions of the remission of sins. In Saul’s conversion we have our Lord declaring unto us that he bound it in heaven, as he said he would, for he would not release a man from it to whom he had appeared face to face and talked and made as strong a penitent believer as a soul could be. He must go into the city and learn what he must do in addition to this. And this one thing was to be baptized and wash away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Certainly we now know what it takes to make a man a one-hundred-per-cent convert. If any student discovers that he is a partial convert, let him arise and complete his conversion by doing that which he has not done, or that which he was taught was nonessential to salvation. If you believed baptism a nonessential when you were baptized, you did not have the faith that Saul had when he was baptized, nor that the three thousand had on Pentecost. So I would advise you to now do what you perceive to be the truth.