You covered mark four very well. The thing that stands out the most concerning
conversion is the catalyst for change. When one experiences conviction of guilt
and repentance, God gives them a new spirit. When repentance and believing the
good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and accepting Him as Lord and savior
happens, the Holy Spirit begins to guide and regenerate the new creation in
Christ. “We turn because we are deeply convinced of our guilt, danger and
helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ."[1] Because of this conversion
is hard to understand from the outside looking in. When the conversion takes
place and the Holy Spirit moves in a person, profound life change takes place.
Sinners are set free from the chains that have kept them prisoners in their sins.
Those that have truly been converted begin to live their lives for Christ and many
times it is a radical change from their past. God giving the believer a new heart
and spirit during conversion is the catalyst for change in the lives of the saved.
Thank you for your post and the information you shared about conversion.
I especially enjoyed your discussion about Mark 4, a biblical understanding of
conversion, because conversion is something that I had not really considered to
be an area of contention, but you effectively demonstrate that discrepancies do
exist. To me, when I read the Bible I believe that I understand its view on
salvation and it is clearly communicated to readers, I also assume that it is
generally universally understood, accepted, and agreed upon within the modern
church, but I now see that there is room for improvement regarding how it is
understood and treated; I have you and your post to thank for that. I completely
agree that conversion is a gift from the Holy Spirit and is done by God, but I must
admit that I do not fully understand what you mean when you argue that, “Part of
the problem with conversion is that so many people never experience it.” Are you
referring to people within the church or outside the church? Asked another way,
are you arguing that the majority of people are not Christians or are you arguing
that the majority of Christians in modern churches are not truly saved? If it is the
former, does this assume that non-Christians outnumber Christians; and if it is the
latter and the majority of Christians are not truly saved, how do you know this and
how do you know which Christians are true believers and which are false-
converts? Is it based on habits and lifestyles like you hint later on? If so, how do
you differentiate backsliders and false converts who live in sin and carnality?
You also provide a good commentary around Mark 6, a biblical understanding of
church membership. I like your comment that, “People want to be a member of a
church so bad because they feel that, that is the only way they can get the
insights as to what the church is doing behind the scene.” I completely agree. Do
you think that the larger issue is that people misunderstand the function and role
of church? In other words, do you think people try to utilize church attendance for
things that it was never meant to accomplish? You talk a lot about discipleship in
your discussion on the church and you connect the two topics beautifully, but I
wonder, do you believe that discipleship is the primary function of the Christian
Church? If so, do you believe that the church accomplishes discipleship effectively
or do you think it is in need of certain reforms?
You mention that "Church membership has always been an issue," and I correlate
that with church growth, as well. I mentioned in my post that my local church was
on the verge of death because there was no church growth, which equals to no
new church membership. Mark Dever wrote, "The New Testament idea of growth
involves not just more people, but people who are growing up, maturing, and
deepening in the faith."1 Unfortunately, as you alluded, people have ulterior
motives for joining a church, such as getting a "behind the scenes" view. Once our
church started to grow and acquire new members there was an issue with
discipline. Not corrective discipline but biblical discipline. There is a lot more than
just getting someone through the front door of the church and into the membership
book. This approach was an unfortunate exercise for my local church for many
years and an unbeneficial experience for the new Christian. I recently developed a
church program that helps to clarify the seriousness of a new Christian's
commitment. Mark Dever states, "If we are more careful about how we recognize
and receive new members, we will have less occasion to practice corrective
church discipline later."2 When a new Christian can be counseled in this fashion
then they can understand better the preachings "about living right and doing the
right thing."
You quote Isaiah for your discipleship discussion. Discipleship is vital for church
growth. Some Christians take the selfish attitude that discipleship is a pastoral or
missionary task. However, it is every Christian's responsibility, the Great
Commission. Another facet of the new program at my local church is to prepare a
person to go out into the community. Community engagement for discipleship is
not sitting on a pew listening to the pastor for two hours on a Sunday. It is a
twenty-four-hour and seven-days-a-week investment. Unfortunately, for some
churches, the urgency does not exist. As you state, "We do a lot of teaching, but
we need to teach more on the criticalness of discipleship in order for other areas
to grow and multiply."
Starting with conversion over the years it has become a very touchy and confusing topic
for me. I say this because sometimes it is very very very difficult to know if someone is
truly converted or not. I always thought that when a person gave their life to Christ then
eventually there would come a sensitivity to the Spirit and then a life change born out of
the Love of Christ and conviction. Unfortunately this is not always the case. a Your
thoughts on discipleship and growth were very passionate and powerful. I can see
everything that you said working if we practice this key area more often. Sometimes I
feel as though coming church has become just about coming to church and that is it.
Having the patience and faith to teach and train others is not always in the forefront of
our hearts. I do not want this to be my normal behavior.
As I look back, I can see that I was a pew filler, show up on Sunday, sit in the
pew then pray throughout the week but not turning completely away from sin. I
grew up in the Church and had a moral compass just chose to justify some sins.
As the Holy Spirit has moved in my life and I have felt the conviction of sin more
and more.
When we consider Mark 4, conversion, I think we as Church leaders need to
spend more time explaining the relationship with Christ and the process of
sanctification. The text states, "I fear that one of the results of misunderstanding
the Bible's teaching on conversion maybe that evangelical churches are full of
people who have made sincere commitments at some point in their lives but who
have not experienced the radical change that the Bible calls conversion."[1] a
People start with the conversion process with their hearts in the right place,
seeking the Lord and this commitment but end up back on old paths due to a lack
of support or knowledge of remaining on the straight and narrow path. A focus on
building a solid foundation of a Christian community will assist Christians to
continue growth after the initial conversion process
[1] Mark Dever (2015). (p. 120). Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Crossway.
Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com
Bibliography a
Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishers,
2015.
[1] a Mark Dever. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Publishers, 2015, 117.
