Anabaptist Mennonites | Weekly Truth

19 February 2012 Converted to Christ Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3 To be converted to Christ is one of the most awesome miracles of all time. To see some-one

who is a slave to the prince of this world become converted should inspire us each time we

witness it. Saul the persecutor was converted and became Paul the missionary. We are amazed at the power of God. Is it any different today? Sinners, children of the devil, with little hope

of attaining eternal life, are being converted to being saints, children of God, with a promise

of eternal life. Jesus made it possible. As we look back to our days of illumination, may we

rededicate our lives to Him.

The Damascus road is a road all Christians are familiar with. As we live and daily serve our

selfish desires, suddenly a light breaks forth. Often this comes while we listen to the

preaching of the Word. As the light shines on our path we see we are in error. Infallible

direction-a voice from heaven-says we are wrong and if we do not change we will land in

hell.

Sadly, two responses are all too common. The one is that this is just emotion. When we get

out of church we will forget about hell and eternity, and things will continue as usual. The

response, in other words, is rejection. The other one is common in our children. In answering

the call, they have a somewhat planned response. "Now I need to make my confessions to my friends, my teacher, my family, and so on." All this is right and good, but are we dealing with

the question, "What wilt thou have me to do?" Salvation does not come from repentance or confession, though each is essential in con-

version. Rather, we must realize that no matter how good we have been, how current we have

been with confessing our faults, or how obedient we have been to our parents, we are born

citizens of the kingdom of this world. Jesus' sacrifice at Calvary paid for our sins and our

admission into His kingdom. Whether we accept it or not, those sins are paid for. If someone

ends up in hell, he will be there because he refused to accept the sacrifice that was paid for

them. All this should inspire a godly repentance. Confession follows, not for salvation but because we wish so much that we could do things

over. We want people to know we are sorry for the wrong done to them. We mean by God's

grace to live differently, and can they forgive us? This also is the real testimony of what is

happening in the heart. Confession is intricately bound to conversion. We, and especially our children, must not lose the vision of this. The words conversion and new birth are not quite the same because conversion implies more

the completed process when the new birth takes place. The new birth happens instantly like

natural birth, but conversion, like the growth of a new baby, may take a little time as the new

convert becomes acquainted with the voice of the Holy Spirit. The new birth will result in a

tenderness and readiness to yield. "I'm sorry" will become part of the convert's language, yet

one cannot sin that grace may abound. Romans 6:1-2. Our title says "Converted to Christ,"

but at that point we have not won the battle; we have only joined the other side. Too many Christians in their dedication to God lose sight of the basis of their justification.

Faith without works is dead, but works without faith is dead also. We live a conservative

lifestyle, keeping ourselves from the world "because of" salvation, not "for" salvation. After

we have renounced the world and are married to Christ, how can we flirt with the world

anymore? When the Spirit asks us to do things for Him, we are obedient because of our love

for Him, not out of fear. Though we should fear to disobey, fear of the consequences should

not be the motivating factor. May God bless each one that he would find the abundant life God has planned for us. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7 Courtesy “The Messenger of Truth” Gospel Publishes, Moundridge, Kansas.