Soul-Deep Conversion
by David Gibson
When the man behind the counter saw the badly worn shoes I had brought in for repair, he told me they were too far gone to fix. I then took them down the street to another shop. The man there didn’t say anything about how bad they looked. He just fixed them.
Outside and Inside
People may quit smoking or doing drugs, lose weight and get in shape, improve their personalities, learn how to get along with others, further their education, or even get involved in volunteer work.
But what if the inner person is left untouched, and the individual is no closer to God than before? Cosmetic changes are not conversions.
What Conversion Really Means
The process we call conversion is such a radical change that the Bible compares it to both birth and death. Like death, it is the end of the old self; like birth, it is the beginning of the new (Romans 6:3-7; Galatians 2:20; John 3:3-5; II Corinthians 5:17).
Conversion means making a 180º change in our thinking and behavior. We decide we’ve been wrong and that we’ll follow God’s path from now on.
Conversion is also a dramatic change of status. When we believe, repent, confess our faith, and are baptized, no longer are we in bondage to Satan; now we have a new Master. No longer are we headed for eternal destruction; now, we have abundant life and hope!
What God Can Do
The change is God’s doing, but we must cooperate.
Have you ever known someone who was so deeply mired in self-destructive behavior that you thought, “He’s a goner”? Maybe he is, and maybe he isn’t. If someone is truly willing to cooperate with God, who’s to say what God can’t do?