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No more practical and important material can be found in the Bible than the accounts of people being converted to Christ and His saving Truth. This begins a series of studies that must necessarily continue through several articles.
Some introductory thoughts are appropriate as this series begins. We will not be considering what people did in response to God during Old Testament times or even during Christ’s earthly ministry. The Law of Moses was never intended to provide God’s final solution to sin (Heb. 10:4) Rather, it was preparatory (Gal. 3:24) and typical of the complete spiritual blessings God would provide through Christ and His Gospel (Heb. 10:8–17). The Gospel in its fullness could not be preached until after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, because these are the fundamental facts of it (1 Cor. 15:1–4). After Jesus was raised from the tomb, He told the apostles to preach the Gospel to all the world so that people might believe, be baptized, and be saved (Mat. 28:18–19); Mark 16:15–16). It was only a few days after this command that the apostles began this gigantic task. On the Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection, the Gospel message telling men how to be saved, be converted, or have their sins forgiven through the power of Jesus’ blood, was first proclaimed. That perfect message is God’s final plan, His ultimate solution to the curse of sin (Rom. 1:16). It will never be repealed by God (Mat. 24:35; 28:20; John 12:48) and it must not be altered by man (Gal. 1:6–9; Rev. 22:18–19). Those who believe the Bible believe that God has only one Son begotten of Himself and that this Son, Jesus Christ, has only one Gospel and one spiritual Body, His church (Eph. 4:4–6). The New Testament ever affirms that in Christ and His way alone is there salvation from sin (John 14:6; Acts 4:11–12, etc). Beginning from Pentecost (Acts 2), we learn that inspired men taught others what to do to be saved and since God’s Will has not changed, whatever they did, we must also do. Thus, it is of surpassing importance that we understand these conversions.
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in the “Bible Thoughts” Column for the Hood County News, Granbury, Texas, August 10, 1980.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator
