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. 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] d 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 d 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 d
Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Publishers, 2015.
[1] d Mark Dever. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Publishers, 2015, 117.
