Conversion: Turning to God in Faith and Repentance
Key Verses
“So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.”
— Acts 15:3 (ESV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)
“Correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.”
— 2 Timothy 2:25 (ESV)
Term
Conversion (ἐπιστροφή, epistrophē) — “a turning about.”
Definition
Conversion is the divinely enabled act by which a regenerated sinner turns to God in faith and repentance. It is the human response to the inward work of the Holy Spirit, through which a person embraces Christ as Lord and Savior. We commonly use the term to describe people turning away from the world and to Christ—those we call “new converts.” When we speak of evangelism, we speak of making converts. In essence, conversion is the God-empowered turning of the soul from sin to the Savior.
Explanation
In the ordo salutis, conversion follows regeneration and effectual calling. Once the heart has been made alive by the Spirit, the sinner is granted the ability to respond. It is not a cooperative effort between God and man, but the natural and inevitable outflow of the new birth granted by the Holy Spirit. The same grace that awakens the soul also supplies the faith and repentance through which we come to Christ.
Scripture makes clear that both faith and repentance are gifts from God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith,” Paul writes, “and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Even the faith by which we lay hold of Christ is not self-generated—it is measured out “according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3). Repentance, likewise, is granted by the Lord: “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25).
Therefore, while conversion involves our active believing and turning, it is wholly founded upon divine initiative. We do not turn to God because our hearts were better inclined than others, or because we were more spiritual, but because His grace enabled and worked in us. As John 1:13 declares, our spiritual birth is “not of the will of man, but of God.” This truth humbles the believer and exalts the Savior—our conversion is the fruit of sovereign mercy, not the triumph of human will.
Application
True conversion always produces visible change. The believer who has turned to God by grace will bear the marks of repentance and faith—forsaking sin, loving righteousness, and pursuing holiness. Yet this transformation remains a continual work of grace. Just as faith and repentance began as gifts, so they must be sustained by the same grace that first gave them life. The converted soul therefore lives in daily dependence upon the Spirit who first made him alive.
Reflection
Consider how gracious it is that God not only commands us to believe and repent, but also supplies what He commands. Our salvation is secure because it does not rest upon the fragility of human will, but upon the steadfast power of divine grace.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the grace that opened my eyes and turned my heart toward You. I could not have come unless You called me, nor believed unless You granted faith. Keep me ever mindful that every step toward You is a work of Your mercy. Strengthen my faith, deepen my repentance, and let my life continually bear the fruit of true conversion. In Jesus’ name, amen.