Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Peter was preaching Christ at a place known as Solomon Porch. He told the Jews that it was because of ignorance that they crucified Jesus Christ, their Messiah. But now that they had come to know Jesus as the Christ, he commanded them to repent and be converted that their sins might be blotted out.

Repentance means a change of mind. Now that they are convinced that Christ is the Messiah, let their minds be changed, and their hearts remorse for crucifying Him. Then, let them be converted. To convert means to turn back. It is to turn about from a heart of unbelief to belief.

True repentance involves a change of mind that follows by a change of action (conversion). There is a false sorrow for sin that is more of a sorrow for the consequences of the sin, like a thief that is not sorry that he stole, but that he got caught and is now in jail. A husband may be sorry that he has hurt his wife and children but still chooses to leave them for another woman. But repentance means the thief and the cheating husband realize they have done wrong and make up their minds not to do it again. Conversion means they stop their sinful deeds.

True repentance will always bring about true conversion. And true conversion will bring about a change of life! The parable of the prodigal son involves true repentance and conversion. The prodigal son came to himself (REPENTANCE) and made a complete turn-around and return to his father (CONVERSION).

Conversion involves two things:

1) TURNING FROM

2) TURNING UNTO

The prodigal son TURNED FROM his error of ways and TURNED UNTO the path of righteousness. When a person changes his direction, he must turn away FROM the way he was going, and he must turn UNTO a new direction. A driver who finds that he has made a wrong turn (go the wrong way) will need to turn back (go the right way). He has to TURN FROM the wrong way and TURN UNTO the right way.

James says that if a Christian brother should err from the truth (GO THE WRONG WAY), then he needs to BE CONVERTED (GO THE RIGHT WAY) (James 5:19).

Unfortunately, there are Christians who remain unconverted. They call themselves Christians, but their lifestyles are no different from those of unbelievers. The Christians at Corinth were guilty of behaving like the people of this world and Paul wrote of them: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1).

The meaning of “carnal” is “belonging to the flesh.” The scripture gives some descriptions of the works of the flesh: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies,” (Galatians 5:19-21, ESV).

Paul says the Christian who is truly converted (spiritual) will put to death those things and put on Christ (Colossians 3:5-10). They have to TURN FROM a life that is still living in sin and TURN UNTO Christ. They have to PUT OFF the fleshly deeds and PUT ON the new man which is created after the image of Christ (Colossians 3:10).

True conversion requires a complete change and not a cosmetic touch up. It is to walk in newness of life Romans (6:4). It is a new life in Christ and hence, it is called a rebirth (John 3:3-5). A Christian who is truly converted is born again. It means a complete change. It is a transformation (Romans 12:2). A caterpillar that has been transformed into a beautiful butterfly has undergone a complete change.

Have you been converted? Have you put on the new man? Are you walking in newness of life? Let us be truly converted and walk like Christ: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:22-24).

Have you crucified the flesh with its passions and desires?

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

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