When Thou Art Converted

Memory Verse: "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen the brethren" (Luke 22:32).

Scripture Readings: Ephesians 2:1-13.

Introduction: Conversion is the change from one form to another, the process of a transition of transformation. Grain is converted into flour during a certain process; the flour is converted into bread by another process. The conversion of a soul to God is a process of regeneration and a transformation of the person from an evil, carnal nature to a righteous, spiritual nature. The mind, the heart, the desires are all changed, converted and transformed. Old tastes and lusts have left during the genuine experience of conversion. Old impulses and emotions such as greed, envy, hate and selfishness are crucified and new attitudes blossom when one is truly converted.
  Yes, the emotions are affected; they must be affected. The emotions are the feelings expressed by anger, love, weeping, joy, laughter, hate, and physical actions. Some may think that the emotions need not be on display or demonstrated as being affected during repentance and conversion. Yet, these people do not object if one shouts at a baseball game, laughs at humor, or weeps at a funeral. A religion which cannot or has not reached the depths--the seat of our emotions--is not to be trusted; if our emotions have not been affected, then our feelings and attitudes are not changed; we are not transformed and converted. We are not saved! To consent, without feeling, to believe in God is only an intellectual assent, and repentance is entirely impossible.
  A warning should be interjected, for too often emotionalism is abused. Salvation is not something to appeal only to the emotions; nor is it dependent on a suppression of the intellect. Christianity should and does stand the illumination of logic and intellectual scrutiny, or it could never have endured through 19 centuries. It is first by appealing to logic and the intellect of man that the heart is finally reached. "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 1:18). Christianity does not require demonstration of conversion by dancing, chants or a frenzy of hysterical emotions or a hypnotic state--these are Satan's tools used for self-glorification. True Christianity keeps a balance in all things.

Questions:

1. What is conversion and why be converted? Acts 3:19; Luke 22:32; Matthew 18:3.

2. Since God has provided a perfect plan of salvation, what is man's part in this? John 3:3,15-21; Acts 3:19; Romans 12:1,2; 2 Peter 3:9.

3. Will the converted person show a change in character? 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:15; Galatians 6:15.

4. How is the carnal nature described and what happens to it during conversion? Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20.

5. How does conversion depend upon a realization of sin? Psalm 19:7; Romans 3:19,20; 7:7-14.

6. What kind of sorrow is involved in repentance and conversion? 2 Corinthians 7:9-11.

7. Besides repentance and conversion, what else accompanies salvation? Romans 10:10; Psalm 32:5; Acts 19:18.

8. Is there a healing virtue in conversion?  Isaiah 6:10; Matthew 18:15. (Note: This points to the healing of the heart and the cleansing of the soul from the disease of sin. When Jesus forgave sins, however, He often healed the physical body, closely relating them. A sin-sick mind has an adverse effect on many physical ailments. However, we will have crosses to bear even after conversion.)

9. Is there a responsibility on our part to bring others to conversion? James 5:19,20; Luke 24:47.

10. Is there a spiritual regeneration in conversion, or is it a personal reformation? Acts 11:14-18; Romans 8:4-9; Philippians 4:13; Colossians 1:27.