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I want to begin by stating that this blog or note is directly and also indirectly influenced by Body, Soul, and Human Life: The Nature of Humanity in the Bible by Joel Green (professor of New Testament interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary) and also through reflecting on lectures from my Medieval and Reformation Church History course by “Mel” Robeck. My seminary experience has profoundly influenced and challenged me but not merely intellectually or academically but spiritually as well. I have come to learn that to try and separate the two (intellect and spiritual) is virtually impossible. Now on to what I want to write about and that is conversion.
I have often thought of conversion as strictly happening at a moment in time. I am not saying that all Christians think like this but in my experience and in my tradition this was the case. I prayed “the sinners’ prayer” at age 16 and it was then that I was “converted” or I became a “convert.” At that moment, I became a “born again” Christian. After that God continued to use others in my life to help grow my young faith. These were and still are moments I look back on and see God at work in my life. I am very thankful for God working in my life and I am very thankful for the people God put in my life. But as I look at my life, I see God working even before I prayed “the sinners’ prayer.” Was this God working in my life in anticipation or preparation for the moment I became a convert? Or was I already in the process of being spiritually formed? Or another way to put it, did I have “enough” knowledge and trust in God and therefore already was a convert? How do we define a convert? Defining a convert may be a good way to start. Joel Green’s definition fits well here. “. . . one who has undergone a redirectional rotation and is on the move in faithful service to the purpose of God as this is revealed in Jesus Christ and underwritten by the Spirit of God.”[1] This “redirectional rotation” is not only the process of conversion but of repentance, which is closely linked to conversion. Peter says, “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Also John the Baptist ministry consists of turning the people of Israel to God.
He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:16-17).
We can see that John’s ministry as well as the message of Luke-Acts as a whole that repentance as Joel Green puts it is “aimed at a transformation of day to day patterns of thinking, feeling, and believing.”[2] This type of transformation happens over a period of time but this does not deny the key spiritual moments that are valuable to our spiritual formation.
Is there a difference between conversion and repentance? I once thought conversion had to do with the changing of one religion to another and repentance included the changing of one religion to another but also can include the repentance within one’s religion. A closer look at Luke-Acts in particular shows that both Jews and Gentiles are called to repentance and conversion. “God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). “God exalted him at his right hand as leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (5:31). Green also notes, “he (Luke) characterizes conversion as the movement from darkness to light.”[3] In Luke-Acts Jews and Gentiles are called to come out of the darkness and into the light. Paul says that he was sent “to open their eyes so that they might turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:17-18; see also Luke 1:78-79). Conversion in Luke-Acts is a “redirectional rotation” but this is a process of learning how to be a member of a community that is fully reliant on the saving work of Jesus Christ. This is seen with the disciples’ lack of immediately understanding the mission of Jesus. They even had a wrong understanding of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. “They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost” (Luke 24:37). Also Peter and the Jerusalem Church had to learn that the Gentiles are also apart of God’s community and Jesus is “Lord of all.” “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:45). This does not deny that Peter and the disciples were not in some sort of process of sanctification but at the same time the above should show that meaning of conversion is expanded in Luke-Acts.
Now in regards to my own conversion, I do not think that I became a convert at age 16 when I prayed “the sinners’ prayer.” As a young Catholic, I was very much looking at how I might fulfill my purpose within God’s redemptive plan. I had a very limited understanding. I did believe that Jesus died for me and that he was raised from the dead. Did I understand the full significance of that? No. Will I ever in this life understand the full significance of his death and resurrection? No. It is a process of learning, believing, and growing within the community of God. One final quote from Joel Green, “Conversion is a journey, not an instantaneous metamorphosis; even though points of decision-making can be traced in the Lukan narrative, these provide points of beginning and milestones along the way, rather than conclusion.”[4] I have come to realize that my journey of conversion began long before praying “the sinners’ prayer.” But at the same time I want to affirm that praying that prayer was a significant milestone in my spiritual formation. More could be said here but this should at least be a good start to get us thinking about how this might change how we evangelize and disciple people.
Thanks for reading,
Marcelino
