For seven months, we have studied together the subject of conversion. We have learned that the conversion spoken of in the Bible is a turning away from sin and to God. This conversion involves the forgiveness of sins. Conversion is accomplished through Jesus Christ. He is the means of our forgiveness. (Matt.1:18) The process of conversion, though founded on God 's grace through His Son, also requires man's obedience. (Heb.5:9) In the last few articles, we have focused on those elements of conversion that require man's participation: faith, repentance, confession, and baptism. In the rest of these articles, we will see these elements at work in actual conversions.

Turning in our Bibles to the second chapter of Acts, we notice about 3,000 people turning away from their sins and being added to their Lord. (vv.41,47) In a word, they were converted. Did their conversion follow the pattern I have laid down in the previous articles?

FAITH - Jesus had told the apostles, "...you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem..." (Acts 1:8). They indeed testified as to the facts concerning Jesus just ten days later as recorded in the second chapter of Acts. "...Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice..." and began to preach the gospel to them in its simplicity. (v.14) His divinely inspired message would basically cover three points. First, the phenomenon they witnessed that day was a miracle foretold in the old scriptures (vv.4-21) Second, Jesus of Nazareth was who He claimed to be as evidenced by the wonders He performed while in their midst. (vv.22-24) Third, the scriptures that they claimed to believe and respect had foretold the arrival, power, suffering, death, and resurrection of this same Jesus. (vv.25-35) Now, please read vv.36-38 before continuing.

I have defined faith as the element of conversion in which a person's intellect is changed. Notice that Peter did not tell them to believe (have faith). This is because they had already developed faith. It was their faith that compelled them to ask what they must do. But what does faith entail? Evidently, faith was simply the acceptance of new facts; a change of the intellect. They came to "know assuredly" (v.36) some new information about this Jesus they had once rejected. Notice also that this faith was not miraculously, or supernaturally, given to them. They believed after having "heard" (v.37) the word of God. (Compare to Rom.10:17)

REPENTANCE - I have defined repentance as the element in which a person's will is changed. I clarified that repentance goes beyond the mere sorrow one feels when they recognize they have wandered from God's ways. This is evident here in that they were "cut to the heart" and clearly remorseful, yet they were told they still needed to repent. (v.38) What they still lacked was the determination to change their will with regard to where they were and what they had done. This is repentance.

BAPTISM - Just as we can be certain of their faith without it being written in the text of Acts 2, so we can be certain that they confessed their faith, which illustrates a change in one's allegiance. (Compare Rom.10:9) And having been commanded to be "baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of sins" (v.38), Peter preached some more and we read,

"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them." (v.41)

It is no coincidence that this inspired writer refers to the baptisms that occurred and then told of the number who had been converted to the collection of the saved; the one logically followed the other. That is, a person's relationship with God is changed upon being baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ".