"And you
He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in
which you once walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who
now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all
once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were
by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great
love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to
come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:1-10
"...unless you are converted and become as little children, you
will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3
First step: God
"opens our hearts" and draws us to Himself
Jesus said, "No
one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws
him." John 6:44
"Now a
certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from
the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her
heart to heed the things spoken by Paul." Acts 16:14
"Jesus... said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
"Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a
man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his
mother’s womb and be born?'
"Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to
you, 'unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not
marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.’ The wind
blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell
where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of
the Spirit.'”
John 3:3-8
Second
step: We hear -- and believe -- the Gospel
"God...has in due time manifested His word through preaching,
which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our
Savior."
Titus 1:2
"...he who
hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life,
and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into
life."
John 5:24
"How then
shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how
shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach
unless they are sent? As it is written:
'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of
peace. Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Romans 10:14-15
"...it
has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it has not been given. ... Therefore I speak
to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing
they do not hear, nor do they understand...."
Matthew 13:11-17
"But
although He had done so many signs before them, they did not
believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be
fulfilled, which he spoke: 'Lord, who has believed our report? And
to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' Therefore they
could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 'He has
blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts..." John 12:37-40
"Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the
word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked
one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This
is he who received seed by the
wayside.
"But he who received the seed on stony
places,
this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with
joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a
while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because
of the word, immediately he stumbles.
"Now he who received seed among the thorns
is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
"But he who received seed on the good
ground
is he who hears the word and understands it, who
indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty.”
Matthew 13:18-23
Third step: We
believe the Gospel, repent, and become a new person in Christ.
In
constrast, many are persuaded by
human logic and feel-good promises without actually being changed by
the Spirit (which is God's work, not ours):
"Jesus came
to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,
'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15
"...
turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Acts
3:26
"Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit....”
Acts 2:38
Fourth step: We testify
to His victory, giving Him the glory -- baptism
"Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted
in the Beloved.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made
to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good
pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the
dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather
together in one pall things in Christ, both which are in heaven and
which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him
who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of
His glory.
"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. " Ephesians 1:3-14
"...they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the
conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the
brethren."
Acts 15:3
Living a life that
demonstrates true conversion
"...many of
those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to
be about five thousand." Acts 4:4
"Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and
one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he
possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with
great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all."
Acts 4:32-33
"And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of
both men and women..."
Acts 5:14
"...when they believed Philip as he preached the
things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,
both men and women were baptized...." Acts 8:12