Conversion a theological term, used to denote the “turning” of a sinner to God. It occurs in Acts 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 (Luke 1:16, et al.); intransitively, in the sense of “turning back,” “returning;” and tropically, to denote “turning to good,” “to be converted” (Luke 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” (Acts 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.).
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Author: McClintock and Strong Cyclopedia
Keywords: Conversion
Bible reference(s): Acts 15:3, Acts 26:18, Jeremiah 31:18, Luke 1:16, Luke 22:32, Philippians 2:12
Source: John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.
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