Conversion Or Turning Back To God
Introduction
Text: Acts 3:19-26
I call your
attention to Acts 3:19 in which Peter concluded the sermon in the Temple 19Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Peter had gone
up to the temple, prompted perhaps by a natural desire to tell the story, and
also in obedience to Heaven’s command to go into all the world. The very fact
that he had wrought a miracle upon a lame man above 40 years of age had
increased those possibilities.
Concluding that wonderful discourse, in which he emphasized the
primary facts of the gospel Peter spoke
the words of our text.
19Repent
ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord
If there were no other verse in the Bible, on this subject, this verse
emphasizes the necessity of conversion.
Why repent? Why turn again? Note the necessity, and the reason¾ "that your sins may be blotted
out."
I think this
passage emphasizes that man is a sinful creature, and carries the idea that
mankind is condemned¾ and
unfitted¾ to
stand approved in the last great day when the God of heaven shall judge the
quick and the dead. Therefore, with conversion, this wretched condition may be
overcome; and one may rid himself of
that which subjects him to wreck and
ruin.
In Matt 18:1-3
where the disciples came to the Savior and said:
1Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2And Jesus called a little
child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3And said, Verily I say unto you,
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven. Now I believe that it would be hard to be clearer, more
emphatic, more forcible, and prohibitive than that which the Lord stated
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
When Jesus
made this comparison, He could find none purer than these, none
more holy, none more spotless in
character, hence He said: Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now,
it makes no difference how much money we may have, no difference how much
learning may be ours. It matters not
what political office we may hold. We must be converted. God is no
respecter of persons. Jesus simply states it this way: Except ye be converted, and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
I have never
addressed a theme about which there are more differences than this one. There
are many theories in our land today as to what conversion is and how it may be
effected. There are those who feel that
conversion is altogether the work of God, man can do absolutely nothing. Still
others feel man is wholly responsible, and that God has nothing to do with
it. But as is usual, the truth lies
between the two¾ Namely, in conversion God has a hand in it;
likewise man has a part Paul stated the
principle in: 1 Cor 3:9 "For we
are laborers together with God:"
There is nothing in conversion unless God has
a part from first to last. On
the other hand there has never been a genuine conversion unless man had a part
in it. In John 3:16, all three parties
concerned in the case of conversion are represented. Now watch: “For God so loved the world [that is God’s part] that He gave His only begotten Son [hence the Son has a part] that whosoever
believeth in him [that is man’s
part in it] should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
But another passage(Eph. 2:8-10) wherein the two elements are
brought to view¾
God’s side, the divine side, and the human side¾ Paul said:
8For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
Now salvation
is the thought, God had a part in
perfecting, in revealing, in making it known, and hence it was prompted purely
by His love, His mercy, and His grace.
But man standing as he was, in deep need, must accept God’s terms. On man’s side, it is a matter of faith. It is by the grace of God and by the
faith of man. Both equally have an interest in the matter.
Let me suggest to you this thought in order
that we may never be discouraged. There were those in the days of Jesus,
who absolutely refused to be converted.
Our Lord said to those people, and about these people "
15For 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 Matt 13:15.
They refused
when the very Son of God Himself preached, and beckoned unto come unto Him for
rest, to the city of Jerusalem He said: 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how
often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matthew 23:37
And to the
Jews of His day: His statement was: 40And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. John 5:40
Beloved if it
should come to pass, that at the last great judgment day, that you and I should be turned away from the
beautiful gate into the very depts. Of hell, it will not be by virtue of the
fact that God would not accept us, He desires that all should come to
repentance, (2 Peter 3:9). If you and I are lost it will be because we would
not respond unto Heaven’s call¾
we would not turn and be converted that God might blot out all our sins and
bring us into His body the church.
Now with these
statements I call your attention to the next thought. Confusion as it occurs to me in conversion is a failure to
understand just how it is brought to pass. There are three things
characteristic of man that conversion addresses.
First I
need to have my heart converted to God. That part of my nature that understands and reasons, that part of
me that believes, I need that part of me converted, and turned to God. I need
my heart both to believe in the Lord,
and believe the Lord. Again my will power needs to be changed. I
need affection, my love, my desire, my confidence and trust all changed and centered upon the proper conception of life
and duty. In addition to the change
of heart, I must have my life, its purpose,
changed. I must abandon my former activities that are wrong, and
reverse the matter¾ and let such a change result in a
reformation of life. And then, when all
that has happened, I must have my
state or relationship unto God changed. I need to be naturalized or adopted into the family of God.
Suppose, as a matter of illustration, a citizen of a foreign country has learned of all the wonderful
opportunities that exist in America. He decides and purposes in his heart to
become a citizen of this wonderful land. The very fact that his purpose is
formed and planned, does not make him an American citizen. In addition to that
decision, he must renounce allegiance unto his former country, and submit to
the law of naturalization. And until the entire process is consummated, he has
not the right to claim benefits of American citizenship.
Again a young woman thinks of being married to this
fine young man one day. What processes
are involved? She must first experience a change of affections, This is done by
courting and wooing one another. Now her affections are centered upon him whose
wife she expects and longs to be.
But, when she learns to love,
trust and confide in him, does it make her his wife? That question needs no
answer for there is another step. She must
resolve to leave father, and mother, follow him, if it be but a humble
existence. And when she resolves thus, she is still not married; and were the
young man to die, she would not be a beneficiary in his estate. There must then
be a ceremony, before the state in which they reside will recognize that
marriage. A ceremony by the proper
authorities, and until this happens, there is no marriage, she is no wife, no
beneficiary in the estate of the intend husband. We all understand these fine examples!
Did
you know that the idea of conversion
is presented in the Bible, under
the figure of marriage? Jesus Christ
our bridegroom has come to earth. He has courted, and sought to win the confidence, trust, love and adoration of us all. And He has
appealed to many, He has given them ample evidence to produce faith, the have
placed their trust and center their affections upon Him. This
is simply the first step. Next, they
make the decision to abandon former ways, turn their backs upon the world, and
follow Christ where so ever He leads.
But this does not make them children of God, or the bride of
Christ. Prompted by love, adoration,
and complete trust, God says: "Let the ceremony, contained in the great
commission begin". Matt 28:19
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: This is the ceremony that changes our relationship.
We are made beneficiary of His will and testimony. We have the right to wear
His Name "Christian".
Now, if the marriage relationship
pictured in the Bible is not the same, this illustration fails. But notice: need not tell you that in the gospel plan of salvation there are three things that correspond to
the things we have just discussed.
First there is "faith" in the Lord Jesus, by which our hearts
are converted to Him.
Next there is
repentance, by which a man's life is changed, and short of repentance, there is
no salvation, no conversion. Just as
faith comes to purify and change the heart, repentance comes to purify and
change our lives. But we are not
children yet. There is a marriage
ceremony, given just one time in the Bible,
Not in the name of the state, not in the name of Moses, Elias, or any man, but in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. This is to change
our relationship, we are then the bride of Christ, heirs and joint-heirs of God.
But I would like to state just here that
there are different kinds of conversion: - The word carries change, but
does not describe the direction of change. No man can be converted to one
thing, but that he is compelled to turn from yet another. I cannot travel in a
northerly direction without turning away from the south.
Beloved if it were not for the fact that man has
turned away from God, there would be no reason to return. (Isa 59:1-2) If man
had never turned in the wrong direction, from where he was, there would be no occasion for suggesting
that he turn about face and return to
God. God's call to man is and ever has
been, "come now let us reason together" Isaiah 1:18
I call your attention to the
Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were placed there in this garden in an innocent and guiltless
state. They were fit company for God. Now as a matter of fact, all of us are
aware that in the course of time they become unfaithful, and God removed them
from that paradise garden. Now,
what were the steps of man's fall, what
happened in man's conversion AWAY FROM God?
First, I suggest that there appeared a preacher on the scene,
and this in the form of a serpent the old devil, appears in the garden with Eve. That is the first thing. Secondly
he began to preach to her a doctrine by which he allured her, caught her ear,
and gained her attention. Well what
did he preach? If you will allow, I will state it simply, He preached unto
her a lie, for he was a liar from the beginning and the father of lies. Please
remember that a lie preached and believed has exactly the same effect upon
one's feelings as the truth does. He merely said unto her: "In the day that you eat of the fruit of a
certain tree, you will not die. God has said you will, but you will not".
The next thing
that happened was unfortunate. Eve
believed what the preacher said, and thus yielded assent to the truthfulness
thereof. But the minute she believed that Serpent, God did not damn her. God did not drive her out of His presence because she believe
Satan. But: In addition to her
believing a lie, she put forth her hand and ate of the fruit of the tree, gave
to her husband and he ate as well
4- Now note
the steps turning away from God. First she heard, the second thing was she believed. The third step
she took was obedience to his word and
became guilty, Last step she
was driven out because of her disobedience. As a result of disobedience, death
universally reigns upon all. Paul declared in Ephesians 2:11-12
11Wherefore
remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called
Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by
hands; 12That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in the world: And this is the condition, that prevails widely across our lands today.
With reference
to every person that has put forth his hand and violated the commands of
Almighty God. By virtue of our own sins, our own iniquity, he has separated
himself from the God of his very
being. Standing now, as man does, not
justified, but condemned; What is to be done?
Man must seek
to be converted again, returned to God.
His aim must be to retrace his steps. And there are as many steps back
up the ladder, as there was down the ladder to sin and corruption. God
graciously provides a plan for man to
be saved.
Well what is the first step? Like the first step when we fell, ¾ there is preaching
and teaching Hence Jesus
says: John 6:44,45
"And they shall be
all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the
Father cometh unto me." Thus in order for man to hear and be
drawn, there must be preaching. Romans
10:14-15
But what are
we to preach? The devil stared by preaching a lie. Let us begin by preaching
the truth. Jesus says, "And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John
8:32
And just as Eve believed a lie, so
now, we must take the first step and believe the truth. Now we are marching
back toward God. Be it remembered, that as Eve was not driven out of the Garden
the moment she believed, but after disobedience. It took more than faith alone to damn her, and it takes more
than faith to save man now. Faith is perfected in obedience!
The next step
then is obedience. God saves and pardons those who obey Him. When the first pair believed and obeyed,
they became guilty, when we believe and obey we become free from guilt. We
accept the terms of salvation, conversion results, and we are pardoned, adopted
into the family once again of God. There is perhaps not a clearer example of
conversion than that which is recorded in Acts 8:26-40 in the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch.
This man heard what to do, and obeyed it, going on his way rejoicing.
Do you need to
obey God? If you are not a Christian, you need to hasten to do just that.