Conviction and Conversion

It seems that I have had a spike in conversations with people about individuals who fit the Apostle John's description: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."* Clearly there are some that fool the rest of us (and even themselves in some cases) into thinking they are truly born again. In many cases the person in question shares the blame with the one who introduced him or her to Christ. 


I cringe when I think how many Sunday School children have been told, "Wanna go to heaven--then, pray this prayer." Afterward parents are told, "Jimmy gave his heart to Jesus." Or something to that effect. I believe that in many such cases we reinforce the likelihood of their damnation, not cure it. How so? By telling someone that salvation is merely a matter of "trusting Jesus" we give them a false sense of security that can insulate them against true conversion.**

Who then is a true convert? Who is it that is truly "born again?" Let me illustrate through the life of one of the past century's most interesting figures. Chuck Colson (pictured) was a brilliant lawyer who became Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon. Colson was often referred to as Nixon's "hatchet man" for his willingness to do whatever needed to be done--ethically or not--to advance the standing of his boss. During Nixon's campaign Colson was reported to have said he would run over his own grandmother to get Nixon elected. But it all came crashing down when the Watergate scandal broke into public consciousness in 1973. 


During the investigation Colson visited a friend's house and was confronted with the Gospel. His response to that conversation is both honest and profoundly important, for it shows us what must happen for a man to be born again. Colson said, "that night when I left my friend and sat alone in my car, my own sin-not just Watergate, but the evil deep within-was thrust before me by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, forcefully and painfully. For the first time in my life I felt unclean. Yet I could not turn away. I was as helpless as the thief on that cross, and what I saw within me was so ugly I could do nothing but cry out to God for help."***  


It was the conviction of sin that caused Colson to cry out to God for help. What has happened to this understanding today? We must recover the doctrine of sin and depravity from the clutches of relativism and self-help psychology if men are to be saved. Unless a man be convinced of his sinfulness he will never cry out for the help of God. 


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*1 John 2:19


**Some may argue after reading this that conversion for children, who have had little experience "sinning" must be converted by a different emphasis than the man who has spent a lifetime in gross immorality. After all, aren't kids mostly innocent? Wouldn't it damage them psychologically to tell them they are sinners and that they should feel remorse for their wrongdoings? I contend that if a child is not old enough to understand depravity they are not old enough to understand redemption. I think it worthy of note that, "Repent" was one of the first recorded public words of Jesus. If repentance is not a part of our Gospel message then it is no gospel at all.


**Colson, Chuck. Loving God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983) p.121  Chuck Colson was convicted of obstruction of justice and served 7 months of a 3 year prison sentence for his role in the Watergate Cover-up. His conversion was viewed with much scepticism by many in the media. Even after his prison term was served he was watched. Many wondered when he would recant and prove that he had used Christianity as means to elicit public sympathy.