THE
BEGINNING AND END OF CONVERSION
By Gary Ray Branscome
Because conversion is the inner change
from unbelief to faith, the beginning point of conversion is unbelief, while
its end is faith, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Although The God who made the world and everything in it
has made of one blood all nations of men to
live on all the face of the earth, and has determined their appointed times,
and the boundaries they live in; So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him,
and find Him (Acts 17:24-27). The words, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death, tell us that mans reason (the blind struggle of our sin-corrupted finite
little minds to find the truth) regards the way of unbelief [death] as
perfectly reasonable (Proverbs 14:12). That is true because, The
natural [unbelieving] man does
not accept the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to
him (1Corinthians 2:14). For the minds of those who do not believe
have been blinded by the god of this
world, that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, might not reach them (2Corinthians 4:4). And, because of that
unbelief the Apostle Paul described those without Christ as having no hope, and without God in the
world (Ephesians 2:12). That is where conversion
begins.
While
the immediate end of conversion is faith in Christ, and the forgiveness that is
ours through faith, Biblical descriptions of conversion sometimes include the
fruits of faith [the change in our life and behavior that is the result of
repentance and faith in Christ]. The words, There were some of
them, men of Cyprus
and Cyrene,
who, upon arriving in Antioch,
spoke to the Grecians, preaching the
Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number
believed, and turned to the Lord,
describe the end of conversion as faith in Christ (Acts 11:20-21). The words, To open their eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith in me, describe conversion in terms of turning from darkness to light, being
delivered from the power of Satan, forgiveness, and sanctification all of which
come through faith in Christ (Acts 26:18). The words, You
turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God, describe conversion as turning
from idols to God, which is a fruit of repentance and faith (1Thessalonians
1:9). And, the words, You
should turn from these fantasies to the living God, who made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and everything in them, describe the end of conversion as turning from fantasy [idol worship,
or evolution] to God, which, again, is a fruit of repentance and faith (Acts
14:15). These descriptions of conversion all point to faith in Christ, and to
the change that takes place as a result of that faith.