Conversion

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CONVERSION.—The noun occurs only in Act_15:3 (epistrophç), but in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘convert’ is found several times both in OT (Heb. shûbh) and NT (Gr. epistrephô, strephô) to denote a spiritual turning, RV [Note: Revised Version.] in most cases substituting ‘turn.’ ‘Turn’ is to he preferred because (1) in the Eng. of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘convert’ meant no more than ‘turn’; (2) ‘conversion’ has come to be employed in a sense that often goes beyond the meaning of the originals. RV [Note: Revised Version.] has further corrected AV [Note: Authorized Version.] by giving act. ‘turn’ for pass. ‘be converted’ in Mat_13:15; Mat_18:3, Mar_4:12, Luk_22:32, Joh_12:40, Act_3:19; Act_28:27, where the Gr. vbs. are reflexive in meaning. In OT shûbh is used to denote a turning, whether of the nation (Deu_30:10, 2Ki_17:13 etc.) or of the individual (Psa_51:13, Isa_55:7 etc.). In NT epistrephô, strephô are used esp. of individuals, but sometimes in a sense that falls short of ‘conversion’ as the conscious change implied in becoming a Christian. Mat_18:3 was spoken to true disciples, and the ‘conversion’ demanded of them was a renunciation of their foolish ambitions (cf. v. 1). Luk_22:32 was addressed to the leader of the Apostles, and his ‘conversion’ was his return to his Master’s service after his fall. In Acts and Epp., however, ‘convert’ or ‘turn’ is employed to denote conversion in the full Christian sense (Act_3:19; Act_9:35; Act_11:21; Act_14:15 [cf. Act_15:3 ‘conversion’], 2Co_3:16, 1Th_1:9). Conversion as a spiritual fact comes before us repeatedly in the Gospels (Luk_7:47 ff; Luk_15:17 ff; Luk_19:8 ff; Luk_23:42-43) and in the history of the Apostolic Church (Act_2:41; Act_2:47; Act_8:5-6; Act_8:12; Act_9:3 ff; Act_16:30 ff.etc.). RV [Note: Revised Version.] brings out the fact that in the NT conversion (as distinguished from regeneration [wh. see]) is an activity of the soul itself, and not an experience imposed from above. This view of its nature is confirmed when we find repentance (Act_3:19; Act_26:20; cf. Eze_14:6; Eze_18:30) and faith (Act_11:21; cf. Act_20:21) associated with it as the elements that make up the moral act of turning from sin and self to God in Christ.
J. C. Lambert.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

a change from one state or character to another. Conversion, considered theologically, consists in a renovation of the heart and life, or a being turned from sin and the power of Satan unto God, Act_26:18; and is produced by the influence of divine grace upon the soul. This is conversion considered as a state of mind; and is opposed both to a careless and unawakened state, and to that state of conscious guilt and slavish dread, accompanied with struggles after a moral deliverance not yet attained, which precedes our justification and regeneration; both of which are usually understood to be comprised in conversion. But this is not the only Scriptural import of the term; for the first turning of the whole heart to God in penitence and prayer is generally termed conversion. In its stricter sense, as given above, it is, however, now generally used by divines.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

Although the word ‘conversion’ may be rare in the Bible, the idea is common enough. People are converted when they turn from darkness to light, from Satan to God, from dead idols to the living Christ (Act_15:3; Act_26:18; 1Th_1:9-10; cf. Mat_13:15; 2Co_3:16). Their changed lives are the outward demonstration of that inward turning which the Bible more commonly calls repentance (Act_3:19; Act_26:20; see REPENTANCE). Through repentance, believing sinners receive the salvation of God. They are born anew; they become new people (2Co_5:17; see REGENERATION; SALVATION).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.

kon-vûr?shun:
I. The Words ?Conversion,? ?Convert,? in Biblical Usage
1. In the English Bible
The noun ?conversion? (ἐπιστροφή, epistrophḗ) occurs in only one passage in the Bible, ?They passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles? (Act_15:3). Derived forms of the verb ?convert? are used in the Revised Version (British and American) in Jam_5:19, ?convert,? ?converteth? (Jam_5:20), ?converted? (Psa_51:13, margin ?return?), ?converts? (Isa_1:27, margin ?they that return?). In other instances where the King James Version uses forms of the verb ?convert? the Revised Version (British and American) employs ?turn again? (Isa_6:10; Luk_22:32; Act_3:19), or ?turn? (Isa_60:5; Mat_13:15; Mat_18:3; Mar_4:12; Joh_12:40; Act_28:27). In Psa_19:7 the reading of the King James Version, ?The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul,? has been changed by the revisers into ?restoring the soul.? The words commonly used in the English Bible as equivalent with the Hebrew and Greek terms are ?turn,? ?return,? ?turn back,? ?turn again? (compare Deu_4:30; Isa_55:7; Jer_3:12; Jer_25:5; Jer_35:15; Eze_18:21-23; Eze_33:11; Mal_3:7). Thus ?convert? is synonymous with ?turn,? and ?conversion? with ?turning.?
2. In the Old Testament
The principal Hebrew word is :שׁוּב, shubh; other words are פנה, pānāh, הפך, hāphakh, סבב, ṣābhabh, in Hiphil. They are used (1) in the literal sense, for instance, Gen_14:7; Deu_17:16; Psa_56:9; Isa_38:8. (2) In the later prophetical writings the verb shūbh refers, both in the Qal and Hiphil forms, to the return from the captivity (Isa_1:27; Jer_29:14; Jer_30:3; Eze_16:53; Zep_2:7). (3) In the figurative, ethical or religious sense (a) from God (Num_14:43; 1Sa_15:11; 1Ki_9:6); (b) more frequently to turn back to God (1Sa_7:3; 1Ki_8:33; Isa_19:22; Joe_2:12; Amo_4:6; Hos_6:11; Hos_7:10).
3. In the New Testament
The words used in the Septuagint and New Testament are στρέφειν, stréphein, and its compounds, ἀπο, apostr., ἀνα, anastr., ἐπανα, epanastr., ὑπο, hupostr., and especially ἐπιστρέφειν, epistrépheiň. The latter word occurs 39 times in the New Testament. It is used (1) in the literal sense in Mat_9:22; Mat_10:13; Mat_24:18; Act_9:40; Act_15:36, etc.; (2) in the figurative sense, in transitive form. (Luk_1:16 f; Jam_5:19 f). In Gal_4:9 and 2Pe_2:21 it denotes to turn from the right way to the wrong. The opposite meaning, to turn from the wrong way to the right, we find in Luk_22:32; Act_9:35; Act_11:21; Act_14:15; Act_15:19; Act_26:18; 2Co_3:16; 1Th_1:9; 1Pe_2:25. In connection with metanoeı́n, ?repent,? it is used in Act_3:19; Act_26:20. The root word strephein is used in the figurative sense in Mat_18:3; Joh_12:40. Septuagint and Textus Receptus of the New Testament have here epistrepheiň.
II. The Doctrine
While the words ?conversion? and ?convert? do not occur frequently in our English Bible the teaching contained therein is fundamental in Christian doctrine. From the words themselves it is not possible to derive a clearly defined doctrine of conversion; the materials for the construction of the doctrine must be gathered from the tenor of Biblical teaching.
1. Vague Use of the Word
There is a good deal of vagueness in the modern use of the term. By some writers it is used in ?a very general way to stand for the whole series of manifestations just preceding, accompanying, and immediately following the apparent sudden changes of character involved? (E.D. Starbuck, The Psychology of Religion, 21). ?'To be converted,' 'to be regenerated,' 'to receive grace,' 'to experience religion,' 'to gain an assurance,' are so many phrases which denote the process, gradual or sudden, by which a self, hitherto divided and consciously wrong, inferior and unhappy, becomes unified and consciously right, superior and happy in consequence of its hold upon religious realities. This at least is what conversion signifies in general terms? (William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, 189). In this general, vague way the term is used not only by psychologists, but also by theological writers and in common religious parlance. A converted man is a Christian, a believer, a man who has religion, who has experienced regeneration.
2. Specific Meaning
In its more restricted meaning the word denotes the action of man in the initial process of salvation as distinguished from the action of God. Justification and regeneration are purely Divine acts, repentance, faith, conversion are human acts although under the influence and by the power of the Divine agency. Thus, conversion denotes the human volition and act by which man in obedience to the Divine summons determines to change the course of his life and turns to God. Arrested by God's call man stops to think, turns about and heads the opposite way. This presupposes that the previous course was not directed toward God but away from Him. The instances of conversion related in the Bible show that the objective point toward which man's life was directed may be either the service of idols (1Th_1:9) or a life of religious indifference, a self-centered life where material things engross the attention and deaden the sense of things spiritual (rich young ruler, Luk_18:22), or a life of sensuality, of open sin and shame (prodigal son, Luk_15:13) or even a mistaken way of serving God (Saul, Act_26:9). Accordingly in conversion either the religious or the ethical element may predominate. The moral man who turns from self to God or, as Saul did, from an erroneous notion concerning God's will to a clear conception of his relation to God is more conscious of the religious factor. Conversion brings him into vital, conscious fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. The immoral man who is awakened to a realization of the holiness of God, of the demands of His law, and of his own sin and guilt is more conscious of the outward change in his manner of life. The ethical change is the more outstanding fact in his experience, although it can never be separated from the religious experience of the changed relation to God.
3. Mode
The mode of conversion varies greatly according to the former course of life. It may be a sudden crisis in the moral and intellectual life. This is very frequently the case in the experience of heathen who turn from the worship of idols to faith in Jesus Christ. A sudden crisis is frequently witnessed in the case of persons who, having lived a life of flagrant sin, renounce their former life. Conversion to them means a complete revolution in their thoughts, feelings and outward manner of life. In other instances conversion appears to be the climax of prolonged conflict for supremacy of divergent motives; and, again, it may be the goal of a gradual growth, the consummation of a process of discerning ever more clearly and yielding ever more definitely and Thus experiencing ever more vitally truths which have been implanted and nurtured by Christian training. This process results in the conscious acceptance of Jesus Christ as the personal Saviour and in the consecration of life to His service. Thus conversion may be an instantaneous act, or a process which is more or less prolonged. The latter is more frequently seen in the case of children and young people who have grown up in Christian families and have received the benefit of Christian training. No conversions of this kind are recorded in the New Testament. This may be explained by the fact that most of our New Testament writings are addressed to the first generation of Christians, to men and women who were raised in Jewish legalism or heathen idolatry, and who turned to Christ after they had passed the age of adolescence. The religious life of their children as distinguished in its mode and manifestations from that of the adults does not appear to have been a matter of discussion or a source of perplexity so as to call forth specific instruction.
4. Conversion and Psychology
Conversion comprises the characteristics both of repentance and of faith. Repentance is conversion viewed from its starting-point, the turning from the former life; faith indicates the objective point of conversion, the turning to God.
Of late the psychology of conversion has been carefully studied and elaborately treated by psychologists. Much valuable material has been gathered. It is shown that certain periods of adolescent life are particularly susceptible to religious influences (compare G. Stanley Hall, Adolescence, II, chapter xiv; E.D. Starbuck, Psychology of Religion, etc.). Yet conversion cannot be explained as a natural process, conditioned by physiological changes in the adolescent, especially by approaching puberty. The laws of psychology are certainly God's laws as much as all other laws of Nature, and His Spirit works in harmony with His own laws. But in genuine conversion there is always at work in a direct and immediate manner the Spirit of God to which man, be he adolescent or adult, consciously responds. Any attempt to explain conversion by eliminating the direct working of the Divine Spirit falls short of the mark. See REGENERATION; REPENTANCE.
Literature
See REGENERATION.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

Conversion
a theological term, used to denote the “turning” of a sinner to God. It occurs in Act_15:3 (“declaring the conversion [ἐπιστροφή] of the Gentiles”). The verb ἐπιστρέφω is used in the N. T, actively in the sense of turning or converting others (Luk_1:16, et al.); intransitively, in the sense of “turning back,” “returning;” and tropically, to denote “turning to good,” “to be converted” (Luk_22:32, “when thou art converted, strengthen the brethren”). In general, the word is used to designate the “turning of men from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Act_26:18.) In a general sense, heathens or infidels are,” converted” when they abandon paganism or unbelief, and embrace the Christian faith; and men in general are properly said to be “converted” when they are brought to a change of life through the influence of divine grace upon the soul.
Specifically, then, conversion may be said to be that change in the thoughts, desires, dispositions, and life of a sinner which is brought about when the Holy Ghost enters the heart as the result of the exercise of a saving faith in the atonement, by which the sinner is justified. The process by which this great change is effected is this: The sinner is convinced of sin by the Holy Spirit; he exercises a penitent faith in Christ as his Savior; God immediately justifies him, the Holy Spirit attests to the penitent the fact of his pardon, and instantly sheds abroad the love of God in the heart, when all things are indeed new” (Farrar, Biblical Dictionary, s.v.).
The word is also used, in a narrower sense, to denote the “voluntary act of the soul consciously embracing Christ in faith;” and in this sense it is to be distinguished from regeneration, which is “a second creation,” wrought only by the Spirit of God. Kling, in Herzog, Real-Encyklopadie (s.v. Bekehrung), gives the following statement of the relations between God and man in the whole work of conversion: “It is not a purely personal act of man (Jer_31:18, Turn thou me and I shall be turned), but includes both the divine act and the human. Conviction, calling, and justification are of God. The Word of God declares God's will convincingly in the law, and offers salvation through faith in Christ in the Gospel. In Christ law and Gospel are united. None of these divine acts preclude man's activity (Php_2:12, Work out your own salvation, etc.).... The truth lies midway between that extreme, on the one hand, which teaches that the will of man is entirely absorbed by the grace of God, and that false Synergism, on the other, which conceives man's will as capable of action, in the work of conversion, without the in working. of divine grace.”
Wesley (Letter to Bishop Lavington, Works, v. 368) remarks: “Conversion is a term I very rarely use, because it rarely occurs in the N.T.” Lavington had spoken of Wesley's idea of conversion as “to start up perfect men at once.” “Indeed, sir,” replies Wesley, “it is not. A man is usually converted before he is a perfect man. It is probable most of those Ephesians to whom St. Paul directed his epistles were converted, yet they were not come (few, if any) to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” SEE REPENTANCE; SEE REGENERATION.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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