The Conversion

 The Conversion

By Richard P. Joseph

9/12/2026

When most people are saved in Jesus Christ, they have a conversion.  Their conversion is from a condemned sinful nature to a vibrant life form ready to be molded by the master's hand.  There seems to be some possible confusion about people who are converted from the heathen state to Christ and those who have a religious background but eventually are “converted” to Christ.

So let’s just say that you have a Muslim friend and he converts to Christianity.  Can you say “my friend converted to Christianity from Islam”?

This reminds me of the story in Acts chapter 14 where Paul and Barnabas were preaching to people in Asia minor.  These people were heavily influenced by Hellenistic religions and when they saw Paul and Barnabas performing miracles, they immediately associated them with the Greek gods of Zeus and Hermes.  They actually ran and obtained sacrificial animals in order to honor the gods who showed up and were performing miracles.  Paul, as you can guess, corrected them by letting them know that they were mere men just like them but that they worshiped the living God who created all things and then encouraged them to turn from their vain religion and follow the God who created all things.   

Notice that Paul used the word “vain” to describe their previous condition.  In other words, they were not really worshiping anything.  The word vain denotes emptiness.  This is similar to a Muslim or a Hindu coming to Christ.  They really are not converting to Christ, they are coming to Christ from the same place as the atheist or the heathen.  This is not a lateral movement, it is a vertical one.  The Muslim and the Hindu are just as lost as the heathen guy.  There are many people that somehow think that the person moved from one religion to another.  They think that because they somehow think that Christianity is a man made religion like all other religions.  This is blatantly false.  Jesus Christ is God incarnate.  He is the creator of all that is seen and unseen.  He is not the result of some religion.  He made man.  Man made religion.  Jesus has no competition.  He is holy and separate from all others.  So, in the end, someone who “converts” from another religion really did not convert, he just simply was a person who was completely lost and is now found.  He was unsaved and is now saved.  He came from no God to knowing God just like everyone else.