Conversion: The Moment of Salvation

We are now getting to the point when the person puts his faith in Christ. He is converted from being unsaved to being saved. Technically speaking, unregenerated to regenerated. He is moved from under the wrath of God to his grace and mercy. This is the point when we rejoice with our new brother or sister in Christ. It is an exciting time!  

            The last several blog posts have followed the progression of the believer from unsaved to saved. In fact, we haven’t gotten to saved yet. Next month, we will discuss conversion. We started with grace. It is because of God’s grace that we are even able to have this conversion. Then, we took several weeks to look at the election and what it means that God elected who would be saved. We also tried to harmonize it with free will. Last month we looked at atonement and its different themes. Hopefully, that helped to better understand what it means for Christ to have atoned for our sins.

            When exploring the different facets of conversion, Mark 1:15 is the prominent verse. “‘The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:15). There are two components of conversion: repentance and faith. “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus,” (Acts 20:21).

            When looking at repentance, Psalm 51 speaks extensively about the subject. I encourage you to take some time to read through it. There’s an intellectual element to repentance. God is holy. I am sinful. God will forgive my sins. There is a progression of thought that must occur for someone to come to the point of repenting to God. However, there is more than just intellect in repentance. There is also an emotional element. He must hate his sin and be sorrowful over it. In addition, a choice is made. The choice is to forsake sins for Christ. To abandon your sin for Christ. So, in sum, repentance is a radical transformation of the entire person, a turnaround involving mind, action, and overtone of grief.

            Faith has to be paired with repentance for conversion to truly occur. It is first, knowledge of Christ’s Person and saving work. “He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’” (John 3:2). Second, it is the assent of the heart to these truths. In other words, there is a conviction that the content of what we believe is true. “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32). Finally, faith is wholehearted trust and commitment to Christ. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12).

            Faith and repentance must be present for true conversion to occur. They cannot be separated. If one just has repentance without faith is just moralism. It is just trying to be a better person. Having faith without repentance misunderstands the point of salvation. The two must be together for salvation to occur. So then what must the person understand to be saved? He must understand that God is holy and he is a sinner. Christ died to save him from his sins. He can be united with Christ by repenting of his sins. What must the person do to be united with Christ? He must accept Christ and his work on his behalf. This is renouncing your works and ability to achieve heaven because of your sinful state. This is repentance. He must also embrace Christ’s work on the cross. This is faith.

            Isn’t this great news! We are able to be saved! Christ’s work on the cross is enough to cover our sins. All we need to do is repent of our sins and have faith in Christ. This is exciting stuff! We are able to be forgiven of our sins. God created a way for us to be united with Christ. If you are saved, you can rejoice in this reality that you live. If you are not saved, I urge you to repent of your sins and have faith in Christ.