Isaiah 26:1-4 “We have a strong city; He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts. “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful and trustworthy. “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. “Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner], for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
The old French 17th century Christian Mathematician and Philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in his famous “Pensées. Meaning “Thoughts”, that mankind does not realize just how great the Fall of man actually was from the Garden of Eden. It was truly paradise lost. Our heavenly Father has been on a rescue, redeem and restoration mission ever since as His plan of salvation we see through the Old Testament history, including the Isaiah passage (above). Sin entered the world and it was cursed with decay and death. The sin nature of the human heart seeks self-gratification and personal gain based upon godless ambition.
To convert means to change or turn from one religion to another, or from one party or sect to another; as, to convert pagans to Christianity. The word pagan refers to a heathen; a Gentile; an idolater; one who worships false gods. Pagan is used to distinguish unsaved individuals from a Christian. Conversion means to turn from a sinful life to a godly one; a change of heart and moral character, from enmity to God and from vicious inclinations, to love of God and to a holy life.
Properly, holy means made whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions in the life-long grow and maturing process of sanctification. But, this side of eternity, we remain the sin nature of the fallen flesh and its impure desires. We call a man holy, when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly.
True conversion is a change of heart, or dispositions by the Holy Spirit, in which the enmity of the heart to God and his law and the obstinacy of the will are subdued, and are succeeded by supreme love to God and his moral government, and a reformation of life. This conversion of the soul requires acknowledgement of our sin against a just and holy Creator in heaven and repentance of that sin; turning away in disgust of the sinfulness, putting our complete trust in the Lord, and accepting God’s mercy and grace as a gift in the atoning sacrifice by the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, sent from heaven to take our place for the wages of sin and die in our place. Acts 3:19 instructs us, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
In the Believer’s born-again process of justification and salvation by steadfast faith and absolute trust in God, they are consecrated to the Lord, meaning made sacred by ceremonies or solemn divine rites; separated from a common sin-natured life to a sacred use; devoted or dedicated to the service and worship of God; made venerable. In conversion of the soul, we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, made holy in the eyes of God; set apart for sacred services and good works for the advancement of the kingdom of Heaven. Ephesians 2:10“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
In God we completely trust.
In Christ, Brian
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