At the core of conversion [speaking in regard to religious concepts] is a change. You have redirected life and self. Before conversion you were not what you became after conversion. After conversion you are defined by a set of values that you did not acknowledge prior to conversion. After conversion you, by desire and commitment, deliberately became someone you were not prior to conversion.
Let's begin by realizing that what we in the churches of Christ commonly think of as conversion is not the same experience for everyone. It never has been. As an illustration, consider conversion for a devout Jew [Luke 1:5, 6; 2:25; 2:36-38] and the conversion of an idolatrous gentile [Acts 17:22-32] in the time frame of the first century. Did the devout Jew know the living God? Yes! Were his or her moral values consistent with the values/concepts of God? Yes! Were they accustomed to surrendering to the will of God? Yes! Did they acknowledge God to be Creator? Yes! Did the idolatrous gentile know the living God? No! In fact, he or she had to change his or her concept of deity in order to respond to the living God. Did idolatrous gentiles respect the values of the living God in their daily behavior? No! In fact, conversion often involved [for idolatrous gentiles] a redefinition of right and wrong. Was the idolatrous gentile accustomed to surrendering to the values of the living God? No! Often the values of the idolatrous gentile were based on self-indulgence. Did idolatrous gentiles acknowledge the living God as Creator? No!
The conversion experience for the devout Jew who always honored the living God as Creator and for the idolatrous gentile who lived in ignorance of the living God as Creator were different. The first involved an increased understanding of God's will and purposes. The second involved understanding Who God was and what His nature was.
That is a radical [but true] illustration of what should be fairly obvious to everyone. Realize the situation became more complex. Just as among those professing to be Christians today, among first century Jews were those devoted to the Law (Acts 21:20, 21); converted Pharisees (Acts 15:5); and those publicly recognized as sinners [many of whom made no pretense of following Jewish traditions or the teachings of the Law] (Matthew 9:10-13). The gentiles also included proselytes to Judaism (Acts 2:10); God fearers [gentiles who believed in the living God but who had not submitted to the requirements of proselytism] (Acts 10:1, 2; 13:16); and those who at times visited the Jewish synagogue (Acts 13:44-49). Even in the first century, the understandings that led people to conversion to Jesus Christ were not the same awarenesses for all who came to Christ.
Obviously, today, the understandings that lead a prostitute or a drug dealer to conversion to Jesus Christ and the understandings that lead a child in a Christian environment with devout Christian parents to conversion to Jesus Christ are not identical understandings. Therein lies our major spiritual challenge in God's family today. What is said to a 6 year old child in a Christian family who wants to be baptized and what is said to a 17 year old person steeped in an evil environment and evil behavioral practices cannot be the same thing.
In Ephesians Paul addressed gentiles who left idolatry to be Christians (Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-20). Please understand that conversion to Christ did not and does not result in an immediate, involuntary, automatic change. One does not suddenly know and understand things he or she never knew before. There must be a transitional period involving teaching and understanding. A new moral code for governing behavior must be developed and implemented. [In a true sense, this is a lifelong experience.] It is most unfair for third generation Christians to expect converts from a godless environment to know and understand what the third generation Christians know and understand simply because faith in Jesus Christ resulted in repentance of known sins and baptism.
The mere fact that Paul would mention lying, anger, stealing, ungodly language intended to show disrespect for others, and resisting God's influence in their lives was a definite indication that these problems continued among them after conversion. [Note the way verse 28 is worded--Paul addressed an existing problem among those Christians.]
There was a former lifestyle typified by the expression 'the old self'. There was a new lifestyle typified by the expression 'the new self'. The transition between the selves is characterized by a 'renewing of your mind'. That statement reminds us of Paul's statements in Romans 1:28; 12:2; and Colossians 3:2; Jesus' statement in Matthew 16:23; and Peter's statement in 2 Peter 3:1. There is a 'function of the mind' component to converting to and following Jesus Christ just as there is an 'obedient surrender to God' component of converting to and following Jesus Christ. Conversion involves both the mind and behavior of the person.
Their 'old self' was controlled [corrupted] by the selfish focus of the 'lusts of deceit'. The 'new self' was in the process of recovery Paul called being created in God's likeness by a dedication to God's concept of right doing in which they set themselves apart from ungodly influences for God's truth.
Conversion with its dedication to the 'new self' begins a journey back to the person God intended us to be in His first creation. That journey will be completed when we live in God's presence after our resurrection.
For Thought and Discussion
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 5