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Conversion |
We like to refer to
ourselves as being " converted." We often talk about people who have been
baptized and have continued in the fellowship of the Church as being
“converted”. But what is conversion? Is it an event? Did
we become converted instantly at baptism? Some erroneously think of
conversion in this way. But in reality, at our baptism we have
only just begun the long process of conversion. Conversion will not be
complete until we have fully taken on the mind of Christ. It is a
process that must continue throughout our lifetime.
Our conversion is not a simple matter of accepting that Christ died for
our sins, and that, if we hold onto our beliefs throughout our life, we will
become God-plane beings in the Kingdom of God. It is not enough to
stop eating pork, to keep the holydays and the Sabbath, to fast occasionally
and to pray often. Certainly, these are all good and necessary, but
they are not enough. Our destiny is to become divine Spirit beings in
the Kingdom of God - the God Family.
God, in His love, is creating us in His image. We are not yet
completely like God. We have a long way to go. God’s goal and
purpose in creating mankind is to reproduce Himself. This can not be
achieved until we develop His holy righteous character. But God
cannot instantaneously create His holy and righteous character in us by
proclamation. Godly character must be developed in us through a
process. God requires us to be willing participants in the character
development process. Herbert W. Armstrong gave us a few definitions for
this perfect character:
"What is perfect character? It is the ability, in a separate entity
with free moral agency, to come to the
KNOWLEDGE of the right from the wrong
- the true from the false - and to
CHOOSE the right, and possess the
WILL to
enforce self-discipline to DO
the right and resist the wrong." (The Incredible Human
Potential, page 138)
"Perfect, holy and righteous character is the ability in such
separate entity to come to discern the true and right way from the
false, to make voluntarily a full and unconditional surrender to God
and his perfect way - to yield to be conquered by God - to
determine even against temptation or self-desire, to live
and to do the right. And even then such holy character is
the gift of God." (Mystery of the Ages, page 69-70)
Our conversion is a matter of going from a lack of
character to attaining perfect, holy and righteous character by the power of God's
Holy Spirit working in us. The apostle Paul describes the process of
conversion:
"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they
that are in the flesh cannot please God. But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his." (Romans 8:6-9)
James wrote, “I will show you my faith by my works”. Brethren,
we need to realize that the proof of our conversion lay in our decisions
and in our actions. For most of us, it doesn’t take
that much character to honor our parents, not to rob a bank, to refuse a
plate of pork knuckles or to attend a service on the Sabbath. These
things are fairly easy for most Christians. It is not the easy tasks
that build real character. Character comes in the exercise of
self-discipline in the same way body-building muscle comes to a weight
lifter. It takes a repetitive, consistent working at it, to build
character. So where do we find the evidence in our lives that we are
seriously continuing to develop Godly character?
It lies in the little things, those day-to-day decisions and actions
that do not come so easily for us. How do we react when our mate is
tired and can’t get some of their responsibilities done? Are we
patient and willing to help, or do we make them feel incompetent or
inadequate. When we are working at the computer or reading a book and
are interrupted by a family member, do we make them feel that their problem
is less important than what we are doing? Do we clean-up and
pick-up after ourselves, or do we expect someone else to do it? Do we
treat everyone in our work place as potential children of God? Are we
prompt and respectful when we have set a time to meet with someone, or do we
keep them waiting? Do we walk around with a long grumpy face or do we
try to have a pleasant disposition? These are not inconsequential
happenstances - they define much of our conversion process. There are
many more daily situations in which we find ourselves that give us a chance
to overcome our carnal human nature and grow in character.
At the end of each day, we should look back on how we reacted to various
situations and ask ourselves whether Christ would have handled them
differently. When we have fallen short, and we always will in some way
or another, we can work on ourselves to do better the next day. Making
daily progress in how we handle even the almost inconsequential aspects
of our lives is the way to grow in holy righteous character. We will
have become strong in character when we have become wholly submissive
and obedient to God.
When we slip and fail, we need to remind ourselves that we are a long
way from being fully converted. Having a humble frame of
mind, realizing that we fall far short of the goal, is necessary for us
to continue to grow in character. We are still in the process of
“converting” into people who will be filled with perfect, holy and
righteous Godly character. Only then will we be fully made in the image
of our Father and be permitted to have a place in His Kingdom. And if
we strive daily to develop Godly character, when we finally meet God
face to face, He will say those words that we have been so looking
forward to, “Well done thou good and faithful servant”. Let’s
be fervent in not forgetting to be faithful in the little things.
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| Sermon: |
"What Is Conversion"
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