Skip to main content

Faith Versus Religious Conversion

The only time Jesus used the word "proselyte", it had a negative connotation. He boldly pointed out that the scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites as they were, traveled land and sea to win one convert, and when they had done that, they made him twice as much a son of hell as themselves (Matt.23:15). It was a pointer towards the fact that religious conversion doesn't change a person; perhaps, it may worsen his condition.

The New Testament speaks of discipleship, but never speaks of religious conversion. In fact, there were secret disciples as well, who were never condemned for being secret disciples; and, when the open disciples like Peter and James went into hiding during the crucifixion of the Lord, it was these secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who came forward to fulfill the prophetic word (Jn.19:38,39).

The New Testament speaks of faith and obedience to faith (Rom.1:5) and of the Gospel of Salvation (Rom.1:16). Real conversion is not about change of religion (whatever it is); real conversion is about transforming faith.

The New Testament does not speak about going to the ends of the earth and converting people. It speaks about bearing witness (Acts 1:8) and making disciples, teaching them to observe the commandments of Christ (Matt.28:19,20). And, the commandments of Jesus were not about changing names, renouncing language or culture, or embracing some tradition of Christianity (as interpreted by them). The commandments are clearly given in the Gospels; nothing more. In fact, it is not even necessary to consider a Christian tradition (say denomination or anti-denomination, whatever) when deciding to have faith in Christ. The Lord is more interested in faith that is child-like than in faith that is burdened with human complications. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus used the word "converted", but the Greek word there is not proselutus, but strepho which means "to turn around". He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 18:3 NKJ). When He spoke about this child-like faith, He didn't talk about receiving Christianity (whatever it is) but about receiving the Kingdom (Mark 10:15). There is a simplicity and freshness associated with this that no historical tradition can contend against.

There are cases of those who have stronger faith in Christ than the ones who think they are closer to Him; and, Jesus said that it is the former that will sit with Abraham in the Kingdom (Matt.8:10,11,12,25,26; 15:28).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Placebo and the Philosophy of Mind and Matter in Drug Research

A placebo is a non-therapeutic substance administered under the camouflage of medication to deceive patients into believing that they are receiving medications; this done solely for psychological and not for physiological effects. Placebo may usually be used to compare its effects with the effects of other drugs in drug research. Let's take the case of an experiment that tries to establish whether a particular drug, say to treat weariness, is genuine or merely has the effects of a placebo. Suppose 20 candidates are chosen for this experiment. 10 are given the drug and the rest are put on a placebo while they are told that the placebo is a genuine medication. They need to make sure that the deception is well carried on for the success of the experiment. If both the groups make similar improvements after taking the treatments, the new drug seems to only function as a placebo in effect. The basic hypothesis of the placebo raises the question of mind over matter. Of course, this pushes...
Post a Comment
Read more

7 Ghastly Sins of Ministry (Micah 3)

Text: Micah 3 1.  Hatred of Good and Love of Evil (Mic 3:2) A. Values that are Self-Centered, Not Christ-Centered B. Values that are Self-Defined, Not Spirit-Defined C. Values that are Self-Glorifying, Not God-Glorifying A confused value-system that honors culture, man, and the world rather than the Law of God Luke16:15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 2. Exploitation of the Sheep (Mic 3:2) A. Manipulating People Like Things and Not Treating Them as Persons B. Over-Demanding C. Not Caring for the Well-being of Sheep Mat 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let hi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reliability, Predictability, and Paul the Octopus

Paul the Octopus has recently become very famous after his predictions for Germany and Spain during the World Cup 2010 came right. The 100% accuracy tag distinguishes him from any other diviner who had attempted a prediction during the World Cup. There were responses and reactions from various people including sportsmen, statesmen, and mathematicians. Whatever, the use of Paul has demonstrated once again that mankind's search for an extra-temporal, psychic foresight has not quelled through the historical calendar returning a decade over this millennium. The question before us is can such predictions as those of Paul be counted on as reliable (in other words, can they be seriously taken as true)? The mathematicians have plumped for chance. It's all a matter of probability, they say ( BBC News ). However, the argument of chance in itself is weak. The mathematics of chance will calculate that the probability of Paul being right seven times out of seven is 1/128. But, the conclusi...
3 comments
Read more