Part 2 - True Conversion Series

The Home as God Intended

Part 2 – True Conversion

First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan

Rev. Bruce A. Shields

www.tawasbaptist.org

WELCOME

SCRIPTURE READING

Psalm 19:7 – KJV

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul”

PRAYER

We are going to begin our series “The Home as God Intended” with an important message.

All of the benefits, blessings, promises and principals in the Holy Scriptures are based on your accepting Christ.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ, you cannot receive God’s blessings, you cannot receive God’s benefits, you cannot expect to experience God’s promises in your life, and you cannot expect God’s principals to apply to you and see the results thereof.

The principals of marriage, spiritual gifts, the armor of God, etc…

So many people claim Christianity without ever truly repenting of their sin against God.

Many don’t know their sin because they don’t know God’s law.

Without true repentance there is no forgiveness.

Without forgiveness there is no relationship with Christ.

Without relationship with Christ, there is separation from God.

In separation from God you will live and die in your sin.

And we are judged by the law.

Did you know that only 3-5% of new convert are acting Christians 1 year after accepting Christ?

In 1991 a major denomination of 11,500 churches recorded 294,000 decisions for Christ.

But they could only find 14,000 in fellowship, and could not account for the other 280,000 people.

That’s less than 5%.

What we are experiencing right now in our times is a “false conversion epidemic”.

We read in Psalm 19:7 that “The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.”

What is it that the Bible says is perfect and ACTUALLY converts the soul?

The scriptures make it clear.

“The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.”

No amount of pleading, pressure, intimidation, coercion, personality, or any other method works as the law of the Lord.

This illustration I heard will help us understand the function of God’s law by looking for a moment at civil law.

If I say to you, “I’ve got some good news for you: someone just paid a $25,000 speeding fine on your behalf.”

You would probably react by saying, “What are you taking about? That’s not good news: it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t have a $25,000 speeding fine!”

My good news wouldn’t be good news to you.

It would seem foolishness.

But more than that, it would be offensive to you, because I’m insinuating you’ve broken the law, when you don’t think you have.

However, if I put it this way, it makes more sense.

On the way to church this morning, the law clocked you going 55 miles per hour through an area set aside for a blind children’s convention.

There were 10 clear warning signs stating that 15 miles per hour was the maximum speed, but you went straight through at 55 miles per hour.

What you did was extremely dangerous, there’s a $25,000 fine.

The law was about to take its course, when someone you don’t even know stepped in and paid the fine for you.

You are very fortunate.

Can you see how telling you precisely what you’ve done wrong first actually makes the good news make more sense?

If I don’t clearly bring instruction and understanding that you’ve violated the law, then the good news will seem foolish, and it will seem offensive.

But once you understand that you’ve broken the law, then that good news will become good news indeed.

Now, in the same way, if I approach an unrepentant sinner and say, “Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins.”

It will be foolishness and offensive to him.

Foolishness because it wont make sense.

The Bible says;

1 Corinthians 1:18

“18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

What we see as the power of God, they see as foolishness.

And offensive because I am insinuating he’s a sinner when he doesn’t think he is.

As far as he’s concerned, there are a lot of people far worse than him.

But if I take the time to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it makes more sense.

If I take the time to open up the divine law, the 10 commandments, and show the sinner precisely what he’s doing wrong, that he has offended God by violating His law, then when he becomes, as James says,

“…convinced of the law as a transgressor” – James 2:9

The good news of the fine being paid for will not be foolishness; it will not be offensive,

it will be “The power of God unto salvation” – Romans 1:6

So, this being true, why are so many falling away?