Christian Conversion — A Point in Time or a Process?
TL;DR:
Christian conversion involves far more than a single decision. Scripture celebrates its transforming result: "a new creation." Most people arrive at that moment through a journey of discovering who Christ is, wrestling with the call to follow Him, choosing repentance and faith, resisting pressures to return to old patterns, and learning disciplined discipleship in the community of believers.
Christian conversion is not simply a single moment in time.
Christian conversion involves heart-searching, a decision to submit to Christ's lordship, and a commitment to discipleship.
The path leading to acknowledging Christ as Savior may involve various influences, such as prayer, godly mentors, Christian literature, personal crises, and loving relationships.
Conversion Has a Decisive Moment and a Longer Journey
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" — 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2011 NIV
Conversion as a process
Should conversion be seen as a process that includes (1) serious heart-searching before making a decision, (2) a decision to submit to Christ's lordship, and (3) a commitment to discipleship after making that decision?
Sometimes people think of soul-winning solely in terms of the moment when someone decides to follow Christ. They may neglect the "before" and "after" stages that, for most people, are part of responding to Christ's call. The "before" stages have sometimes been called pre-evangelism.
Hesselgrave's stages of conversion
In his book Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally (Zondervan, pages
446–452), missiologist David Hesselgrave points to several stages that generally occur in
the journey of coming to faith and growing as a disciple. Believers wanting to win others to Christ can
help people through the process Hesselgrave describes with five alliterative terms:
Discovery
"There is a person called Christ whom the true God is said to have sent into the world to be the Savior and Lord of human beings."
Deliberation
"Should I forsake my old ways and follow Christ?"
Determination
"I will repent and believe in Christ."
Dissonance
"Forces are trying to draw me back to the old ways. Shall I resist them and continue to follow Christ?"
Discipline
"I will identify with the people of Christ in His church. I will live in submission to His
lordship and church discipline."
So, when a person acknowledges having embraced Christ as Savior, that may be remembered as a specific point in time. However, the path leading to that point may have been long. A praying mother, a godly professor, a Christian book, a dramatic play, a loving friend, or a
personal crisis may have played a part in leading that person to repentance and acceptance of Christ's lordship. (1 Corinthians 3:5–10; John 4:34–38)
Twelve Steps Toward Christian Conversion, Adapted from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
These steps illustrate repentance, commitment, and ongoing discipleship. They are not a required sequence for becoming a Christian.
We admit that we are powerless over sin and that our lives have become unmanageable.
We come to believe that God can restore us.
We decide to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God.
We make a searching and no-holds-barred moral inventory of ourselves.
We admit to God, to ourselves, and to other human beings the exact nature of our wrongs.
We become entirely ready to have God remove all these character defects.
We humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.
We make a list of all the people we have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
We make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others.
We continue to take personal inventory. When we are wrong, we promptly admit it.
Through prayer and meditation, we seek to improve our conscious
contact with God, praying for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening because of these steps, we carry this message to others.
A decision to follow Christ may be preceded by years of seeking, questioning, and encounters with God's grace. After that decision, believers continue to learn, grow in character, and become more like Christ. Both the decisive commitment and the ongoing journey matter.
Acrostic: What Is Christian Conversion?
C -- Choosing to follow Jesus with all your heart. O -- Opening your life to His truth and grace. N -- New life begins as you leave sin behind. V -- Victory is found in His love and power. E -- Eternal hope replaces fear and doubt. R -- Redeemed by His sacrifice on the cross. S -- Salvation: A gift, freely given. I -- Inviting His Spirit to guide your way. O -- Obedience to His Word transforms you. N -- Never giving up when you falter or stumble.
How might viewing Christian conversion as a process, rather than a single moment, influence the way believers approach evangelism and discipleship? Should Christians place more emphasis on pre-evangelism and post-conversion growth?
In your own spiritual journey, can you identify experiences or influences that contributed to your conversion process, such as relationships, crises, or literature? How did these shape your decision to follow Christ?
David Hesselgrave outlines five stages of conversion (Discovery, Deliberation, Determination, Dissonance, and Discipline). Which of these stages do you think is most challenging for new believers, and why?
Do you agree that spiritual growth requires continuous reflection and repentance? Why or why not?
Second Corinthians 5:17 states, "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come." How do you reconcile this concept of being made new with the idea that following Christ also involves a lifelong process of transformation?
